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you?”
    “I am one-hundred percent certain that no one here tried to contact me, ever. The police report clearly states that this Toby person was told about me. He was even contacted a second time to see if anyone of the family would be interested in taking me in; they’re pretty quick to find a suitable guardian if there is one. I was not told about this information until my birthday. I was not contacted by anyone here. I didn’t even know this place existed until two weeks ago. It’s definitely something I would remember, and it’s not like we orphans are burdened by a surplus of letters from unknown family members.”
    “Does anyone know that you’re here?”
    “Do you mean does my mother’s so-called family know that I’m here; the family that she ran away from, and that let me rot in the system for the past twelve years because they couldn’t be bothered with me?” I gave a small, humorless laugh. “No, they don’t know I’m here, and I don’t really care to let them know.” I was getting a little heated. A lot of not-so-good stuff had happened in the last twelve years, and I could’ve been away from it all if only someone had given a damn.
    “I understand. I’d probably feel the same if I were in your shoes.” He held up both hands defensively.
    “No offense John, but you don ’t understand. It’s not like a “Lifetime” movie where some gentle couple fosters a houseful of kids out of the goodness of their hearts. You definitely don’t understand, but you absolutely would feel the same if you were in my shoes.”
    “I wasn’t trying to offend you, Della. The fact of the matter is, I didn’t know about your momma and I should have. There’s a very good possibility that the rest of your family didn’t know either. I’m certain that Connor didn’t know, because he threw a fit when your grandpa stopped paying the taxes on the house. That’s when he started doing it, because he didn’t want his baby sister’s place to be taken away. That’s what he told me at least.” His fingers tapped into the desk. “I don’t think he would’ve been doing that all these years if he knew what happened to her. He would want to know that you’re here. I think that Toby kept the information to himself, for whatever reason. They’re good people, your family is; don’t write them all off because one man was being a dolt. At least think about it.”
    It never occurred to me that not everyone here would have been told. I thought families told each other everything, but maybe that’s because I’d never been a part of one before. I promised I would think about it, and we continued our meeting. There really wasn’t that much to sign, but he seemed relieved when I had initialed the last paper.
     

CHAPTER FOUR
     
     
    “Della, do you need a ride somewhere? Are you staying at a B&B?” John said while following me towards the door.
    “Well, no. I mean, I could use a ride, but I was just going to stay at Ga-my mother’s house.”
    “I’ll take you on over then.” And before I could give my assent, he grabbed up my bags, walked out of the bank, and loaded up his sedan with me trailing lamely behind him.
    “How far away is it?” I ask ed when he turned on the engine and rolled down the windows to let the heat out.
    “Not too far off. Nobody has lived there for a really long time, not since your Grandma Anise was alive and she moved out when she married your granddaddy, only spending a weekend here or there until she died and they closed it up for good. It was left in trust to Gabby, and now to you. ” He paused a moment to grab a toothpick from his breast-pocket, then stuck it in his mouth. “It isn’t in the worst shape since it’s a well built house, but it hasn’t had even minimal maintenance done since your momma moved away. Definitely not move-in ready. I’d actually be more comfortable if you stayed somewhere else for a few days. I’m sure if you called Connor, he’d be happy to