"I'm going to a foster family?!," Terry cried. " I want to go with Dad!"
"Sweetie, you're not safe with him," Angela said, her social worker. "He's getting help for his drinking problem. That can take quite a while, but you can't stay here. We found a very good family for you."
"Why can't I stay with friends?," Terry asked. " At least I'd be with someone I know!" Terry neglected to mention that she really didn't have any friends. She just didn't know how to act around kids her age. They all thought she was a freak, because she always acted so scared. But she wasn't about to go to some foster family!
"You need to be with a family we know about and we screen them very carefully. Don't you at least want to know about the family?," Angela asked.
" No!," Terry snapped.
Sure, her father had problems. But who doesn't? she thought. And when he was sober, though it wasn't very often, he was the best father a girl could have. She couldn't believe that they were blaming her dad. Why couldn't they see that it was her fault and not her dads? He had told her often enough, and she believed him. He had a right to get angry if the house wasn't clean enough, or dinner wasn't on time , or if he didn't like what she had prepared. It was her fault. She brought it on herself! He was just being a good dad by teaching her how to be perfect and the consequences if she wasn't. Besides, he had an especially good reason for being angry with her. It was her fault her mom left. Her father told her , so he must be right, even though Terry was only five when her mother left. She was a terrible person, she believed, and her father was only punishing her for it, and now they were telling her that he was to blame and she was to go to some other family?
"I told you, quit blaming him!," Terry said, " I was the one who burned dinner! He had a right to punish me, to teach me a lesson for ruining dinner! Because of me, he would have to go hungry for a while!"" Terry, do you really believe that?," Angela said quietly.
"I don't know," Terry whispered, " I'm so confused...and scared."
Terry started shaking uncontrollably. Angela held Terry in her arms and did her best to comfort her. She started telling Terry about the family that had been found for her.
"The family sounds so sweet. The parents are Walker and Diana. I don't know much about their kids, but I do know that they have four boys and three s and that a few of the kids are around your age. The kids are all home schooled, you will be too, and they are a very loving family. They will help you through this. In time, if your father has proven he can be a good parent, then you may be allowed to go back to him."
"When will I go?," Terry asked, slowly pulling away fromAngela's embrace.
"You'll be getting on a plane to Tulsa, Oklahoma tomorrow morning at eight. You'll meet with another social worker named Fran and she will take you to the Hansons."
"I guess I'll go pack, then," Terry said.
She wasn't just scared, she was angry and terrified. She didn't want to go, but she had no choice. She knew they would send her to these Hansons if they had to drag her every step of the way.
