Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79749 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 399(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Hemlock inches forward, passing the toy car to Eli. The child looks up at Hemlock and bravely presses the button on the top of the car, a wide smile spreading his entire face.
"It shakes in my hand," he says.
"That is a great car," Hemlock says, pointing to the toy in Eli's hands. "You can play with it if you want."
I watch, realizing this was one of Caitlyn's tests when she dips her head at Hemlock. The man smiles as if he is worried he is being graded as well.
"Thank you, Mr. Hemlock," Eli says.
"You're welcome," my boss says to him, a softness in his eyes I usually only see when he's looking at Zara.
"Hey," Zara says when she comes into the room from the kitchen. "I was checking to see if anyone was hungry?"
Eli's eyes open fully, and I realize he went straight to his room yesterday evening and went to sleep instead of eating. He had some peanut butter crackers and apple juice after we left the hospital but nothing else. The child has to be starving by now.
"Eli? Are you hungry?" Zara asks.
Eli once again looks back at Aspen for assurance. When she smiles at him, he pops up from the floor, the car Hemlock gave him clutched in his hand. He makes it halfway to Zara before realizing he still has it, and then sadness darkens his eyes as he turns to hand it back to Hemlock.
"You keep it safe for me?"
Eli smiles, dipping his head as if he's been given the greatest gift ever.
"Can I have some of the red food?" Eli asks as he inches closer to Zara.
"We'll have to see what red food we have, but you can have any that you want," Zara says, looking over her shoulder to wink at Hemlock before leaving the room.
Once they leave, we all turn back to Caitlyn who is now sitting on the sofa, typing notes into her tablet.
"How was that?" Hemlock asks, verifying my earlier assumption about him entering the room being a setup.
"Perfect," Caitlyn says with a smile. "Eli is a great kid. It's clear he's afraid to be noticed. He doesn't trust easily, and he's even more standoffish around men."
"So he's been abused?" Aspen asks, her voice betraying the tears she's trying to hold back.
Caitlyn shakes her head. "Not necessarily. The obvious bruise on his cheek means he suffered something. Getting hurt while playing isn't unheard of, but I don't know how he was treated afterward. He could be more resistant to men because the ones who controlled him were men. He could've been yelled at rather than physically hurt, which poses its own set of problems. We'll work through all of it. I have no doubt that he'll make a full recovery and will be a well-adjusted child, but it'll take time. The one thing I urge you to do more than anything else is to be consistent. You still have to parent him. Eventually, he'll be brave enough to push boundaries just to make sure they're in place. Kids thrive on structure and rules. It's okay if he plays with trains and cars that make noise during the day, but if he gets out of bed in the middle of the night, it's not okay for him to play with things that make a lot of noise then. That sort of thing. Explaining why the rules are in place, something like, people are sleeping, so we need to respect their time, is perfect."
I nod in understanding as she speaks, grateful she's explaining all this to us because I feel like a fish out of water. My interaction with children is so limited, and it's left me feeling a little helpless.
"He needs to be heard. I urge you to be present when you're around him. No phones, and limited interruptions, especially for these first crucial weeks. In saying that, he also needs to know that although he's important in your lives, that you have other responsibilities as well. We'll work through scenarios like that as we progress. He has to be put in situations or observe situations so he knows what's expected of him and others," she continues. "There will also come a time when he's going to need to be around other kids. I don't know if you noticed my gentle prodding, but in opposition to what I was told, I don't think he's been around other children."
"I noticed that," Aspen says in a whisper, but she doesn't go into detail about the assumptions we were working under with the living quarters we found in Hartford.
"All in due time," Caitlyn says with a smile. "I'll be back in a couple of days for another session with him."
"I'll walk you out," Hemlock offers, giving me a moment alone with Aspen.
She hisses a huge breath once we're alone, and I hate the way she seems more stressed now than relieved, as she runs her hands over her head before going back to gather the toys that were left behind.