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me," she joked. "Is that the
way you wear it now? Up in a bun like that?"
    "No, you'll see after I've had a
chance to clean up. Janet, Gracie wants some biscuits," I said.
    "Pancakes," said Gracie.
    ~~~
    I hoped to avoid another shock like Janet
had experienced, so after breakfast I rushed back to our room to make myself
presentable for the day with a shower and blowing out my hair. Little Gracie
made my day again by saying, "Pretty, mommy," once it was done. Then
I bathed her and got her dressed again, then went to see Amber.
    Amber's eyes widened when she caught a glimpse
of me from the floor of the playroom where she was helping Enoch build a Lego
tower. She jumped to her feet and threw her arms around me. "Janey, you
look, just, stupendous!" she cried.
    Well, that was another positive vote. I
smiled and twirled for her, then put Grace down with Enoch and hugged Amber. I
drew her over to a couple of adult-sized chairs where we could talk while the
little ones played.
    "Tell me all about it, Janey. I'm so
excited to see you! Do you think I should go to college? Have you met any
friends? Do the boys like you?" Her questions were coming so fast I
couldn't possibly answer, so I put my hand over her mouth.
    "Slow down, sis, you're going to
helicopter right out of this room. Yes, I think you should go to college; yes,
I've met friends and yes, some of the boys like me. Shall I tell you about
it?"
    "Oh, yes! I'll be quiet," she
said, practically bouncing in her excitement. She made a zipping motion across
her lips, folded her hands in her lap and looked at me, her eyes shining with
anticipation. Because she was my baby sister, I decided not to tell her about
the drinking, or my obsession with Justin Mackey. All in due time, and I'd talk
to at least Annalee and maybe Celeste about it. But, for now, telling Amber
about Rihanna, her friends and my classes seemed to satisfy her.
    At lunch, I got quite a bit of attention
from the hands, ranging from sidelong glances to winks and big smiles. I loved
it. Like most of the younger hands Russ had taken in over the years, the
majority of the recent additions were shy or sullen; loners that life had
beaten down before they even got to be adults.
    The boldest of them, a boy of nineteen
named Tyler, lingered after lunch to ask me if I'd like to ride with him later,
when he’d finished his chores. I looked to Charity for guidance, and she nodded
ever so slightly. "I'd love to," I said. It seemed this wouldn't be a
boring week for boys after all.
    When he'd gone and Gracie put down for her
nap, I went in search of Charity, who was resting. When I saw her lying down on
the library sofa, I started to tiptoe away, but she called me back. "I'm
not asleep, just putting my legs up for a while. This baby must be a boy, I
swear he already weighs as much as Russ," she joked. I laughed and asked
her if I could bring her something to drink. A few minutes later, we were both
enjoying Janet's scrumptious homemade lemonade as we gossiped.
    It was time to talk to Charity about what I
was doing at campus, not just studying, which I was, but also my growing social
life, my friendship with devil-may-care Rihanna, and my attraction to one of my
professors. Charity wasn't that much older than I, twenty-four to my eighteen,
but after being a foster mother to the five of us, she was wiser than her
years. She listened and responded as I chattered, smiling at the fun, frowning
a little when I hinted that I might have had a drink or two.
    Her face cleared when I told her how much I
was enjoying classes, and that I was making top marks in everything but math. I
was at least passing that, I explained. I just didn't enjoy it. Charity became
very troubled, though, when I took a deep breath and told her I might be in
love with one of my professors. "You haven't, er, done anything with him
have you?" she asked.
    "No, nothing like that. I just gaze at
him all through class and drool," I laughed. "He's