Vince was definitely not planning on it being a short-term thing, however. If he had his way, he’d work up toreallydating Lace, breaking down whatever doubts she held about herself, adding Inez to the mix, then seeing about getting a pretty great “happily ever after”.
Vince had never imaged something like that for himself before; domestic bliss. But the more he thought about it, the better he liked the idea.
After parting company with Statler just before noon—having enjoyed several cups of coffee at a local diner where they’d hashed out details as they watched the deluge outside the oversized windows—Vince’s phone had buzzed as he was starting to pull out of the lot.
Social Services.
Heart in his throat, he’d immediately parked again and taken the call.
And it was all good.
They’d wanted him to know that his background check had already been run; fast-tracked because the agency was currently very short of foster parents. Which was bad for any kids in limbo, but very good for Vincent.
He was now all set up to start his on-line classes as soon as he wanted.
It would take thirty hours to complete all the class work, andwhenhe passed—notif—the agency would then send someone out to do a home assessment at Lace’s. The bathroom wouldn’t be finished by then, but the rest of the house was sure to be approved. It was clean, it was homey, and once the social worker met Lace, there was no way they’d be turning him down.
When he’d further questioned the woman in charge about logistics, she’d told him that Lace would have to undergo a background check as well, but Vince and Lace had alreadyfigured that would be necessary. Lace was completely prepared to do whatever it took to get this process rolling.
Normally, the woman from the state had told him when he’d inquired as to time-tables, it took over six months to complete the entire vetting process for foster parenting. But since they were pinched for available homes in the area, the agency was fast-tracking everyone through the needed steps to help mitigate the shortage.
Which was fine with Vince.
The sooner the better.
Not that any delay at all was going to stop him from attempting to be with Inez for all her treatments, but as her foster parent—when and if that happened—he’d have guaranteed access toallher care and associated details.
Vince actually found himself whistling when he got off the phone.
He hadn’t seen his parents before he’d left the house that morning, so after stopping to make sure there were no emergencies at Diver Downeast—where he got some brotherly razzing from Trask—Vince purposely headed back home to tell his mother all his good news.
“Vince,” she greeted as he walked in the door. “I didn’t expect to see you until tonight. Weren’t you supposed to work at the dive shop today?”
He normally worked on Saturdays so his married brothers could spend time with family. But…
“I switched shifts with Trask,” Vincent told her, coming over to kiss the top of her head.
All Ellen’s boys towered over her.
“I had a meet up with Stat this morning, where we went over the bathroom with a fine-toothed comb. Good news. He’s carving time out of his semi-busy schedule to get it done ASAP.”
“That’s great,” Ellen responded, then looked at him a little…cagily? “Do you, uh, have any idea when you might be moving out?”
“Ma,” Vince responded, exaggeratedly emphasizing the “A”. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
She chuckled. “No. But Iamtrying to sweetly boot you out of our nice guest suite you’ve been using since you felt stifled in your old room. We’re going to have company in a few days, and if you’re still here, I’ll have to ask you to move back into your childhood bedroom upstairs.”
“Not a problem,” he assured her, “ifI’m still here.”
He opened the fridge to pull out the fixings for a sandwich.
Vince needed real food. The coffee he’d had was sloshing around in his stomach. “Who’s coming?”
“Friends of Tex. He called this morning and gave me a heads up. A nice young man he knows wants to visit Maine with his new wife,” she told Vince, taking the bread and cold cuts out of his hands and indicating that he should have a seat at the kitchen table while she put together his sandwich.
Yeah. His mother spoiled him. Vince loved it.
She kept talking. “The man’s name is Obadiah, but he goes by Obi-Wan,” she snickered. “You military people and your nicknames.” She shook her head.