A New Family, A New Beginning

This story contains references to child abuse.

“TJ, these are your new foster parents, Amanda and Justin Sycamore,” Wanda introduced.

TJ gave a small smile, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, TJ. Do you need any help with your bags?” Amanda asked, bending to look at the boy.

TJ shook his head, clutching the straps of his backpack tightly.

Amanda nodded. “That’s okay, sweetheart. No one will touch your stuff unless you allow them to.”

Justin nodded. “Well, why don’t we go look at your room and do a house tour, yeah?”

TJ nodded, shifting his bag on his shoulder. He followed the couple into the house, looking back at Wanda to make sure she was following. The social worker smiled and nudged him forward with a nod of her head, walking in after him.

“So, TJ, your room will be right next to Michael’s, just up here,” Justin told the boy, walking up the stairs.

Amanda pointed to a closed door. “This is our room and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Let’s go check out your room.”

She led them over to the middle door in the hallway, smiling at TJ. “Do you want to do the honors?”

TJ shrugged, reaching for the doorknob. The entire time, his eyes never left Amanda and Justin, eyes darting between them to gauge their reactions. He saw no sign of deception or annoyance, so he turned the knob and opened the door, walking in carefully. There wasn’t a lot of decoration in the room, but the walls were a fern green color and the comforter on the bed was printed with sloths.

“Wanda told us some of the things you like. If you want anything different, we can get it for you,” Justin offered from the doorway.

TJ smiled. “It’s…perfect,” he whispered.

Amanda smiled back, pulling her husband into a side hug. “We’re glad you like it. If you want, you can leave your stuff here and we’ll continue the tour.”

TJ paused, thinking about it for a second before shrugging his backpack off and placing it next to the door. He looked up at the adults expectantly.

Justin smiled, moving aside so TJ could walk out. “Let’s go.”

Amanda and Justin showed the 9 year-old the living room, the den, the backyard, the dining room, and the kitchen.

“If you ever get hungry, you can grab a snack whenever you need to. We have plenty of food. Do you want a snack now?” Amanda asked.

TJ shook his head. “No, thank you.”

“Well, Michael should be back in an hour. Is there anything you want to do?” Justin asked.

TJ shrugged, running the toe of his shoe along a grout line in the tile. No one besides Wanda had ever asked him what he wanted to do before.

“That’s okay, bud. Do you wanna go watch some TV? I’m sure we can find something you’ll like.”

TJ nodded, looking over at Wanda. Wanda sighed.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t stay. I have another family to visit today. But I promise I’ll be back.”

TJ deflated, tears brimming in his eyes. “Okay. Bye.”

“Hey.” Wanda knelt down. “It’s not ‘goodbye’. It’s ‘see you later’. I promise I’ll visit as often as I can. I’m not just going to forget about our time together, kiddo.”

TJ gave a small smile. Wanda ruffled his hair.

“See you later, kiddo. Be good, okay?”

TJ nodded, scratching at his wrist. Wanda stood up and walked away, giving the boy a sad smile. Justin followed to show her the way out. Unsure what to do, Amanda stepped closer to TJ.

“Do you wanna go see if there’s something fun to watch on TV?”

“Sloths?” TJ asked, looking up at her hopefully.

“Of course, sweetheart. There’s probably a documentary on them that we can find.” Amanda extended a hand. “What do you say?”

TJ hesitated for a moment, just staring at Amanda’s outstretched hand. Tentatively, he put his hand in hers, letting the woman lead him to the living room. She turned on the TV, pulled up the nature channel, then typed ‘sloth’ into the search bar and found a few documentaries.

“What about this one?”

TJ nodded, bouncing slightly. He caught himself, sitting on his hands and looking away sheepishly.

Amanda noticed. “It’s okay. I’m excited, too.”

TJ smiled shyly then turned to watch the documentary. At the door, Justin was talking with Wanda.

“So, you kept him before us?” he asked.

Wanda nodded. “Yes. As an emergency placement. Unfortunately, a social worker can’t care for a child from their open cases for more than two or three months, depending. Otherwise, I’d love to keep him. He’s a sweet boy and he doesn’t do well with change.”

“I see. Is there anything you can tell us about how to help him?”

“Most of it is in his file, but he’s very shy. His birth parents were very strict about children not being seen or heard, so you’ll have to reinforce that he’s allowed to be here and that you want him to be here. If he does say anything, don’t make a big deal out of it, he tends to shut down with too much attention. He won’t eat unless he has explicit permission.”

Justin nodded. “Okay.”

Wanda sighed. “There’s one more thing that’s not actually in his file. The reason he’s in foster care, aside from the neglectful nature of his parents, is that they…” Wanda lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. “Well, they killed his older sister. She died from malnourishment and physical abuse. She gave TJ her rations so he wouldn’t go hungry, but their parents didn’t appreciate it when she told her teacher, who reported them to child services.”

Justin felt his heart clench. No wonder TJ was so anxious and reserved. He probably had survivor’s guilt from watching that happen.

“Thank you for telling me that. I’ll let Amanda know and I’ll definitely keep it in mind.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I stop in every now and then. I really would have liked to keep him, but government rules,” Wanda told the man.

“Of course we don’t mind. You’re his family, too.”

“Well, I’ll see you later, Justin. Have a good day.”

Justin waved as the woman left. “You, too, Wanda.”

He closed the door and went to the living room, where his wife and new son were watching a documentary on sloths. He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Justin noticed the skeptical look TJ was giving him, but he just smiled at the boy.

“Hey, buddy. You enjoying the documentary?”

TJ nodded and smiled, pointing to the TV. “Sloths.”

Justin smiled. “I see, buddy. Sloths are fun.”

The smile on TJ’s face grew wider. He was still wary of this new family, but Wanda seemed to trust them and TJ trusted her. She’d never lead him astray before. When the door opened, he jumped, turning to the entrance of the living room. He saw a boy about a year younger than him walking in, putting his backpack next to one of the dining room table chairs.

“Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad!” he greeted, then noticed TJ. “Hi! You much be TJ! Mom and Dad told me you’d be here today! I’m Michael.”

TJ gave a small smile and waved.

Michael sat down in the arm chair next to the couch. “Whatca watchin’?” he asked.

TJ pointed at the TV. “Sloths.”

Michael nodded, pulling his socked feet up to cross under him. “Sloths are cool.”

TJ smiled wider. He’d never felt so accepted by anyone other than his sister. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.