“Vince here.”
“Mr. Sothard?” a woman’s voice asked.
“That’s me,” he answered, a little warily. “Who wants to know?”
He freaking hated telemarketers. Especially ones who knew his name.
“This is Midge Berlotti from DHHS.”
Vince immediately went on alert. This contact was being initiated much sooner than he’d expected.
“Oh. Ms. Berlotti,” he practically tripped over his tongue. “I’ve been hoping for a call.”
“Well, as for that, you and Ms. Heiger have been approved for everythingso far. That includes both your background checks, andyourclasswork. What I’d like to do now is schedule a time for our first in person, home visit.”
Vince was excited, but knew this could get tricky.
“Well, I’m pretty sure Lace told you in the bios we had to write, that she’s not only working full time on a fishing boat, but on her one day off a week she’s undergoing chemotherapy,” he said, hoping for a modicum of understanding.
“I’m fully aware of that, and we’re willing to make arrangements that will suit everyone involved,” the woman clipped, all business.
If there was any empathy in Ms. Berlotti, she wasn’t wasting any of it on Lace’s situation.
Vince tried to control his snarl. “Well, she’s working every day until next Tuesday, and she generally doesn’t get home before eight or so at night,” he told the woman as succinctly as possible before going on.
“Tuesdays, she has her infusions in the morning, and is generally free by twelve-thirty if you’d like to aim for something then. But I’ll warn you, she’s often pretty wiped out.” Vince had seen Lace go both ways, so he wasn’t going to sugar-coat anything. “The only variable in her schedule, if you can work with it, is when the weather gets bad and the fleets can’t go out. In that case, Lace would have an entire day free, and a spontaneous appointment could easily be accommodated.”
Ms. Berlotti huffed. “We don’tdospontaneous.”
Well, pardon me, Vince wanted to return, but held himself back.
Dear Midge went on to outlineheragenda.
“We can perform a home visit and our initial inspection as soon as possible with just you present. But we’ll have to pin down a Tuesday afternoon interview with Ms. Heiger. I’ll make a note that her energy might not be up to par, but that’s all the leeway I can give.”
There was a loud sniff, as if any concession to Lace’s level of fatigue would be a huge hardship.
Vince cleared his throat instead of swearing at the woman like he wanted to.
“Just to reiterate what I put inmybio,” Vince reminded her, infusing his voice with a little steel. “I’m retired military, andI’llbe the primary care-giver for any child we take in, which means I’ll be modifying my work schedule to mesh with theirs, and Lace’s levels of vitality while she’s at home, shouldn’t be a problem. The very good news is that Lace is half-way through her treatments, and her work hours, once this fishing season is complete, will leave her with office tasks, only. That will allowher to be around on a more normal time-table, at least for five months out of the year.”
“Ifullyunderstand what I’ve read, Mr. Sothard.”
God, she sounded prissy as she continued.
“But I have to see your living situation and meet you both to ascertain those things for, myself.”
“I agree. You do,” he concurred judiciously. “And we look forward to it.”
Not.
He went on before she could spew any more negativity.
“I have no doubt that when you come here and see this great house, and the yard that’s every kid’s dream, you’ll regard our space as not only adequate, but perfect. And when you meet Lace, finding out what a warm and caring person she is, you’llknowwe have the perfect place and attitudes to make a difference in a foster child’s life.”
“Let’s hope so,” the woman abridged crisply again.
Cripes. Talk about uptight.