CHAPTER EIGHT — THE WOMAN AT THE MEETING

Grace met me outside the county office on Friday morning.
She wore a green scarf and carried a notebook filled with questions rather than accusations.
She said she had agreed to be interviewed by Officer Brooks and had provided the names of people who attended Second Lantern meetings.
Then she handed me a printed invitation to the organization’s Tuesday presentation.
The invitation showed a photograph of two empty chairs under a paper arch.
Its title was ONE HOME FOR TWO.
I recognized the language from Paula’s conversations with Ellis.
A line beneath the title promised donors a living example of two siblings reunited by community action.
No child had been publicly named.
The implication was enough to make my stomach twist.
Grace pointed to the bottom of the invitation.


“It says the demonstration family has already been confirmed,” she said.
“Roland never approved that claim.”
We brought the invitation to Nia, who took one look and made a call to the organization’s director.
She explained that no agency approval existed for the children’s participation.
She asked that any materials implying otherwise be withdrawn.
Then she arranged a separate meeting with Ellis so her wishes could be documented in an appropriate setting.
I was not in that room.
It was important that Ellis could speak without looking at my face for permission.
Afterward she told me only what she wanted me to know.
“I told Nia I want Theo with us if the adults decide it’s safe,” she said.
“And I told her I don’t want Paula making plans about my brother.

”
I hugged her when she asked.
The visit schedule continued with a day trip to a children’s museum on Saturday.
Theo and Ellis spent an hour arguing about whether a butterfly could beat a beetle in a race.
The Morrows laughed with us, and we took photographs for the children’s memory books.
When we got home, Paula waited beside her fence.
“I hear the county visit went well,” she called.
I did not stop walking.
“And yet you still haven’t thanked me for offering to help.”
Gabriel turned toward her.
“You need to stop contacting our children about placement.”
Paula moved closer.
“You’re not their parents.”
Gabriel’s face tightened.
“We are the adults responsible for their care today.”
“Today,” she repeated with a sharp smile.
Ellis took Theo by the hand and led him indoors.
I stood beside Gabriel, although every part of me wanted to follow the children.
“The agency knows about the promises you made,” I told Paula.
Her smile disappeared.
“There is nothing illegal about caring what happens to children.”
“Then care without frightening them,” I said.
Paula looked over my shoulder toward the house.
“You think I did this for myself,” she said.
“You have no idea how much I stand to lose if Tuesday goes badly.”
The words hung between us.
I asked what she meant.
Paula caught herself and stepped back.
“Nothing,” she said.
She shut her garden gate with a force that made Mabel bark from inside.
Gabriel stood motionless for a moment.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Every word,” I answered.
I wrote it down before the memory could soften.