One Mile Forward

Today was the last day that I would be living with the Chefitz's, and I knew it would be. I heard Miriam answer the phone and immediately back out of the living room and into the kitchen where she thought she was out of earshot, (she wasn't). I heard her say my name four times and I heard the worry in her voice. And so I knew they found somewhere else for me to live. I had only been living in the Chefitz home for 11 days but I really liked it here already. For one thing, they have two different playrooms and the second one had a massive TV with open access Netflix and Disney Plus! Something I had never had before. They also have epic snacks like Cheeto's, Thin Oreo's, Pizza Pringles, Kool-Aid packets and when no one was looking I would just drink the packets plain! Kinda gross, but kinda amazing. There were two other kids living here too that also weren't born into this family so I didn't feel like such a freak for being here in the first place. But now I would be moved somewhere else, again, to a place I had probably never been to before and not to sound like a girl, but I was kind of scared. 

I got here 11 days ago because my dad was strangling my mom. He would always hit her and yell at her, but this time it felt different. He kept calling her a whore and a prostitute and even though I didn't exactly know what that meant, I knew it was bad. I thought he was going to kill her and even though she didn’t love me I still didn’t want her to die, so I called 9-1-1. I knew I probably shouldn't have because now they were going to take me away for good.

Once I saw the flashing lights outside the window I ran upstairs to the bathroom and hid in the bathtub. I didn't want to get in trouble for turning in my dad, even though he deserved it, big time. I didn't want to get taken away either because I had two pet iguanas that lived in a huge glass tank in my big brother's room while he was away at boarding school and I knew they wouldn't let me bring them with me when I went. The truth is, I probably wouldn't have been able to carry it anyway but I still doubted that they would even let me try. 

I heard the loud banging on the front door and I heard more of my dad's yelling, and my mom's sobbing and then a loud thud which was a karate kick and the door was down. About a minute later I heard boots climbing the stairs and about 20 seconds after that someone was in the bathroom with me pulling back the shower curtain, revealing my hiding spot. It was a policeman and police woman and they asked me if I was OK. I don't remember what I said, or didn't say, but the next thing I knew I was helping the lady police woman pack a garbage bag of my clothes, books, and other things, but not my iguanas (I didn't even ask).

Then I was in the police car which was actually pretty cool and, on my way to the Chefitz's house in Columbus Ohio. I guess you could say I got pretty comfortable here, and that I'm sad to go. I knew I wouldn't be here forever but I was hoping it would have been longer than this.

It's dinner time and I'm sitting at the way end of the table next to Micky and Sass. Micky is 9 years old just like me and he's been living here for over three months. Sass is really shy because she's only 6 and she's been here for just a week. I don't know what happened to her but she has a broken foot and is missing two teeth that don't look like they fell out on their own. Down the table sits the three actual Chefitz's boys who are all teenagers but pretty nice. Miriam is their mom and she's the nicest of them all. 

"So Caleb, I got a call today that there is a really nice family looking to foster you full time!" She tried to sound excited but it came off sounding more like worry. "Isn't that great?" I just gave her a look because I guess I'm kinda shy too. She continued. "They have one other boy living with them who is a year younger than you and who is really happy there. He will be in school with you and can show you around, help you get acclimated." I just kept staring so she went on, "I know it's a little bit scary to move to another place, a place you've never been before, but I think this could be the fresh start that you need." She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me. "And you can always call us if you need anything at all you know that right?" I said I do, because I did. "We're really going to miss you" I said I would miss them too because I really would. 

The next day we packed my garbage bag of things. Only Mr Chefitz bought me a real duffle bag so I wouldn't look as homeless as I felt, and I think I love him for that. By 10 ‘o clock that night a car service was there to get me and bring me to another new place I had never been before. The same Policewoman who brought me here was waiting in the car to escort me to my new 'home'. That made me feel a little bit better because she was what they call a ‘familiar face’. We chatted a bit on the ride but I can't exactly tell you about what because it was just small talk and I wasn't really paying attention. I guess I was pretty tired is the truth. 

The drive lasted hours because we were crossing state lines. She told me my new home was going to be in a suburbs of Chicago called West Rogers park and that I was going to start a new school for boys in two days. I was scared, but I had done this before and I knew I could do it again, I just wished I wouldn't have to. 

I fell asleep for a while because when I woke up the car was slowing down weaving through the backroads in this new suburban town. The car stopped in front of a really normal looking house with a big lawn in front. There were yellow curtains in the windows and I felt as if the fabric was personally inviting me in. Outside the car, the sky was waking up too and turning all sorts of soft blues and pinks, reminding me that even though it feels dark on the inside there's still color left in the world. And that maybe they would even have a huge glass tank inside with two iguanas, waiting for me.