Page 1 of Coming Home for Fall 2
Chapter 1
“Mom?”
Mallory was still standing in the entryway, bags at her feet, waiting for her mother to explain what in the world was going on. The young woman with the baby on her hip wasn’t providing any explanation of her own, which Mallory noted as yet another point against her. The first point was from this person’s overly confident way of answering the door to a home that didn’t belong to her. Who does that?
“I–uh–” Callie whipped a few wet strands of hair out of her face and smiled at her daughter. “Sorry, you just surprised me and it’s so early. I was in the shower, obviously.” She looked at the other woman with a somewhat strained expression. “Sasha, sweetie, would you excuse us please? I need to go talk to Mallory outside for a moment.”
“Of course,” Sasha replied, stepping out of the way as Callie made for the door. She grabbed Mallory’s hand and dragged her out onto the front step, closing the door behind her on the way. It slammed shut with a loud bang and Callie winced. A second later, the sound of a baby screaming came through from the other side. “Shoot. I didn’t mean to upset Dot. Loud noises don’t usually bother her, but you slam a door in any baby’s face and it’s going to make them cry.”
“Dot?” Mallory gawked. “Who is Dot?”
“The baby.”
“No, I put that together! What I really meant is why is there a baby here? And who is that woman? Did you call her Sasha?” She didn’t mean for so many questions to spill out in the form of one sentence, but the longer her mother made her wait, the more anxious Mallory had grown. “What is going on, mom?”
Callie sighed and folded her arms, as ifshewas the one who had something to be irritated about. “There’s really no need for you to be so animated about this. Your father and I have decided to sponsor this woman who was previously living in a homeless shelter with her infant child.That’swhy she’s staying here.”
“Oh.”
“Happy now?”
“Not particularly, no,” Mallory said, looking shamefully down at her feet. If she’d known the backstory of this poor woman, she never would’ve behaved so rudely to her just then. She rubbed her face, exhausted from the red-eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come in so hot. It was just so jarring to see her standing on the other side of the door. Then when I asked who she was, she didn’t give me a straight answer. She just said she was living here, and that really confused me. She was acting very…”
The word ‘entitled’ came to mind, but Mallory quickly pushed it from her thoughts. How could she call someone in this kind of situation ‘entitled’?
“Never mind,” she said after a few seconds of struggling to find an alternative word. “It was just the last thing I was expecting. Obviously, if she’d told me who she was, I wouldn’t have been so shook.”
Callie nodded. “I understand. She probably doesn’t like to announce to strangers that she’s a single mother fresh out of a women’s shelter.”
“No, you’re probably right. That makes perfect sense. Some people can be so judgmental about that stuff.” But not Mallory,or so she was telling herself right then. Her stomach continued to sink as she thought about just how aggressive she was being a moment ago in the entryway. “That’s actually really cool that you and dad decided to sponsor her. I didn’t even know that was an option. What program are you working with?”
“Er–I can never remember the name,” Callie said dismissively. “It was all organized through a social worker at the shelter.”
“Ah, okay. Which shelter?” Mallory wracked her brain, trying to think if she’d ever seen a women’s shelter anywhere near Ferndale. “Is it around here?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?” She frowned, some of the doubt from before rushing back to her like an unexpectedly powerful wave. “How could you not be sure?”
“Chalk it up to my aging mind, I guess.” Callie laughed, though there was a nervous tinniness to the sound. “I’m sure I have the name written down somewhere. It’s a shelter we used to give money to somewhat regularly, so I know it’s legit. But I don’t see why it matters anyway. She’s here now, and she’s going to be staying here for as long as she needs to.”
“It doesn’t matter, I guess. I’m just surprised you don’t remember the name or even where the shelter is located.”
Callie gave her daughter a look. “Like I said, I’m getting older! Sue me, but my mind just isn’t what it used to be.”
Mallory hated when her parents made jokes about aging. It reminded her of both how old they were getting, and how old she was getting. But in this case, that wasn’t what gave her pause. Her mom’s mind was still fairly sharp, and even more to the point, Mallory knew her dad would never allow some stranger to come live with them without doing his research.
“Where’s dad?” she asked. “Is he home? I’ll bet he has all the names and paperwork. You did sign some sort of paperwork, right?”
Callie scoffed. “For what?”
“For what?” Mallory shook her head. “For any number of things! These shelters are typically run by the state, or they are state funded, and if this woman applied to be housed through some sort of program, then I’m guessing they had to file some paperwork with the government. If it’s anything like the foster system, you and dad would actually be getting some sort of stipend to offset the costs of her living here.”
“It’s not about the money, Mallory!”
“I never—”
“And this is not like the foster system at all!” Callie insisted. “Sasha is a grown woman.”
