Mostly I just stared out the window as we drove to the new house. Kelly sat in back next to me which seemed to annoy John who was our driver again. He had to take out one of the car seats, likely had to put it back in later too. If I had my way he would have taken both of them out but I was use to them by this point.

Kelly kept glancing at me. Her permanent smile ever present. I knew she wanted to tell me again how great it was going to be or somehow try to pass on even a little of her excitement to me. Thankfully even she knew saying all that again at this point wouldn't change anything. More than once she almost tried to take my hand before she stopped herself.

That made me wonder some. If she tried I’m not sure I would have stopped her. It wouldn’t be for the sense of danger touching people usually filled me with. There was no danger from Kelly. Perhaps if she was wrong about this house but that wouldn’t be her fault. I think the only reason I’d likely stop her would be because I’m not sure she would ever let go.

At the last house I realised at some point that most people that wanted to hurt me showed me that rather quickly. I hated being touched but a lot of that was force of habit. Strangers freaked me out but Mary and Sofi were nice. The Lopez family never hurt us either. I flinched out of habit now but everyone around me touched me at some point. It use to terrify me and sometimes it did. A lot of it now though was out of habit.

Looking out the window some more I realise I was trying to think about anything other than what was about to happen. Was that because I couldn’t stop or change it? Like when I was going to a doctor or the dentist. I knew people were going to touch me and it just had to happen. Did I really want to stop this? For some reason the normal dread of how bad it was likely to be didn’t seem as strong as it had been in the past. Kelly seemed to really believe this was good.

What would I do if it were true. What if everything Kelly said was real and this place was all she said. Why did that scare me more than another miserable year or two in the long line of houses. I didn't want to think of that. I have done it before and it’s not a good place to go. It makes it so much worse when you find out that their all the same. That tiny piece of hope wouldn’t go away though. Ashleys words ran through my mind again. “Where ever you go Avery. Find the good people. Find the good ones and trust them Avery. You can’t trust everyone, but you have to let the good ones in.” It was so much easier when I knew there were no good people.

We turned off the big roads now and I could see houses all around us. This was it. Where ever I'm going, here I am. The neighborhood was nice. Not rich or even almost rich like where Ashley went but not run down at all. The houses all had nice yards and bushes cut in neat shapes and rows. Several had flowers in clean patches.

***

The van stopped in the middle of the block. I had to look past Kelly to see the house but it was bigger than most on the street. Most had a garage in the back away from the house a bit. This one was on more land though. There was a wide driveway with a two car garage attached to the house. Tall wooden fencing on both sides with gates blocked the back yard from the road. It was yellow with siding and brown gutters. The roof was taller too. It looked like they built onto the home and added something up there. There were bushes along the front under the windows and a couple little islands in the yard with pretty flowers in them. A small walkway led from the top of the driveway along the front of the house to a small porch where the front door was.

“Wait here with John as he gets your things.” Kelly said as we got out of the van. John was already around back stacking my stuff on the sidewalk. “I need to check with them then I’ll wave John and you up.” Then Kelly added “Smile, it's going to be alright you'll see.”

I tried to smile but I don't think I pulled it off. At least she didn’t say it would be wonderful again. When Kelly got to the door I could see a man with blond hair and a woman with light brown hair greet her and she stepped just inside the door. That must be Robert and Emily Nelson. I looked at John and he looked at me and cracked a small grin.

“It's okay, Kelly might be a bit green and sometimes too excited, or a lot of times too excited.” John said. “She has a good eye for people though. If she says this is gonna work, she is likely right.”

Not sure if that really helped or not. I just kind of looked at the house some more until Kelly popped back out still smiling and waved us to come up. John tossed my backpack over a shoulder then stacked my walmart bag on top of my box and started for the door. The walmart bag with almost a full pack of my diapers in it along with the powder and wipes.

I followed John already not liking how this was starting. I wanted to kind of hide that bag behind the box or something. Now the first thing they would see is my huge baby style diapers. You could read them thru the bag outlined by John’s overly large chest. Well, if there's one thing all homes have in common it's that there is no privacy and no secrets. Just wish my secret would have lasted at least sixty seconds.

To my surprise as John entered the home a lot more aquardly than someone with his muscles needed to. He actually turned away from everyone right away. He set the box down and quickly picked the bag up and hid it behind the box. Then covered it more with my backpack. John just made my liked list, bigtime. I followed him in far enough for Kelly to get the door closed. John and I made eye contact and he smiled and even winked. I smiled and gave the biggest “Thank You” with my eyes I could.

The house was bigger than it looked from the street. There was a wall just inside the door in an L shape with a tile area. Kelly motioned me into the main room by moving her hands toward me. I think she might have actually pushed me if I didn't back into the room. I must have made the most ungraceful entrance possible short of falling. I literally backed into their home as if Kelly was stopping me from running for the door. She grinned like she might have thought that's exactly what she was doing. She wasn't, well mostly not.

I turned away from Kelly and John to see what must be everyone. The man and woman were standing somewhat in the middle of the room. There was a loveseat with two girls on it who looked very similar and another girl standing a little behind and off to the side of the woman. This girl looked almost like Ashley’s little half sister and was my size. That must be Cindy the chinese girl they were adopting. Wait. The five year old who was about to start kindergarten was as tall as me? The world is so not fair.

My eyes darted about for a bit as I took in the room. It was bigger than you would expect from the street. The back wall held a large couch that looked like the ends reclined but four people could sit on it. Next to the couch closer to me was a large reclining chair likely where the man sat. In front of those was a large glass coffee table with some plant in the center and a tray that held a lot of coasters. The carpet was dark grey and really thick.

Almost right next to me and blocking most of the front window was the biggest television I have ever seen. There were two tall thin speakers next to it and when I looked back there were two small ones over the couch and chair. On the left wall was a loveseat that held two girls, an end table on either side.. The thirteen year old twins Grace and Faith.

Right of the recliner was a series of stools like at a bar. They were in front of, well, a bar. It looked into the kitchen. The bar only sat three.I couldn’t see it very well but as far as kitchens go it's kind of huge.

Going past the door to the kitchen was a space almost big enough to be called another room but it wasn't separated from the living room at all. There was a small stairway in the middle of it that looked like it went into the garage. On the wall facing the front yard there was a large desk with a rather large computer on it. There were two office chairs in front of the desk and they looked really comfortable.

On the wall to the kitchen was a bookshelf mostly full of books but with little planes taking up one of the higher middle rows. Some were sitting there but a couple really small ones were hanging on a string or something. They looked kind of neat. There was also a soft chair with a footstool like at the Lopez house but this chair was way more new looking.

The wall facing the garage had a lot of pictures on it of the family. Everyone seemed to be there in more than one photo. They had a big group shot right next to the computer stuff with them all dressed up.

There was a hallway next to the loveseat heading away from the couch that went into the rest of the house. I could see more pictures there as well. Over all the house was nice. All the stuff looked mostly new. Everything was really clean too. I tried for a moment but I couldn’t find anything that looked out of place or even a piece of lint on the carpet. Everything being so perfect made me more nervous.

Everyone was looking at me. Even John and Kelly. This was always the worst part. Like I was up for final inspection. I’ve never seen a kid be turned around and kicked out when they first entered a home but that didn’t mean it didn’t feel like it could happen. Would they just not like me? I was half waiting for them to start laughing at me for wearing girls clothes or for having long hair or for...not having a family of my own. Something. I was not sure if I wanted to be here. Maybe this would be “Wonderful” like Kelly had said or maybe just a different version of all the other houses I’ve been in. All I could do was stand there and, be judged.

Kelly finally broke the moment. “Well, Avery this is the family I have been telling you about. Mr. Robert Nelson and his lovely wife Emily.”

Robert was almost a tall man. Not quite a tower but nobody could call him short. He looked fit and healthy in his slightly faded jeans and short sleeve shirt with a collar on it. His arms showed he was in shape and likely fairly strong. Not like John huge strong though. He had blond hair that looks like it was passed to his daughters. He had a calming yet strong face. His eyes were deep blue and looked relaxed. Most things are usually nice in the beginning but for now he seemed mostly safe. Not harmless though, I could see a presence there. He had a command he carried that you could feel about him.

Emily was average in height. She wore a long skirt that came down to just above her ankles. Sandals with a heel that made me think of Ashley made her seem a little taller but she still only came up to her husband's nose. Her blouse had no sleeves with a large lace collar and buttons that looked like pearls. She also had a pearl necklace on and a gold bracelet on her right wrist along with a few gold rings. Pearl earrings dotted her ears and her makeup was simple but made her look really pretty. She had long light brown hair that was tied up in a neat bun on top of her head. Some hairs near the front were strategically left out of the bun to “frame” her face as Ashly called it and it did add to her look well. Her eyes, her grey blue eyes made me micro flinch for a second. Here she was a complete stranger, but her eyes held hope and love and something else I can't quite place. Maybe a need? I caught myself staring at her for too long a moment before I made myself look away.

Kelly continued the introduction. “Almost hiding here we have this nice little angel Cindy, their other foster child who I understand is in the process of being adopted.” Cindy twitched her mouth a little as if she almost thought of smiling but never finished the idea. It’s hard to see from here but she really does look my size. At least Kelly hasn’t called me angel, yet. She wore a simple blue dress with a little skirt to it that came to her knees. Short sleeves and white tights with blue sneakers. Her hair was as black as mine and layed around her head and shoulders with bangs in the front that went to just above her eyebrows. Her big brown eyes showed that she was almost as uncomfortable as I was which surprised me a little.

“And over here” Kelly concluded. “We have their lovely daughters Grace and Faith.” The one she called Faith said “I’m Grace” which made Kelly hide a small wince. I thought identical twins were supposed to be, well, Identical. Sure they looked very much alike. From farther away or if I couldn't see their faces they looked alike. Even their boobs looked the same size. I tried not to really look at those because Ashley said it was rude. They did look really similar but to me they were clearly different. It’s the eyes. Sure their eyes looked the same as far as color and stuff but that other thing in eyes it's totally not the same at all. Differences aside they mostly looked like they were trying to be nice and see what I would do. Did they expect me to do something weird? I couldn’t see how tall they were sitting but it was definitely taller than me, and Ashley too for that matter.

They had their fathers blond hair and it was past their shoulders with a lot of wave to it. They had each parted it the same way but on different sides. Their ears had two earrings each in them with the lower ones dangling purple stones. They had on long sleeve blouses with the front sort of held closed with a string going back and forth that opened into a V. Grace had blue and Faith white. They had sneakers that matched their tops with jeans, white jeans for Grace and blue for Faith so that their clothing was opposite where everything else was the same.

“And of course, Here we have Avery.” Kelly said almost stepping back and raising an arm as if to finish with a “Tada”.

My eyes were as big as saucers. I tried to not look as uncomfortable as I felt but it just didn’t work. My mouth at least managed to smile some but the rest of my face just wouldn’t follow along. I meekly raised my right hand and bent my fingers together in a small wave as I almost begged the rest of me to make a better impression even though I had no idea just what or how that would work. I felt dopy. Like someone told me something was hanging out of my nose ten minutes after I had already been in the room.

Everything about this place at first glance made me feel like I didn't belong here. Things were too clean. Everyone was dressed too well and all the stuff was new and shiney. I think the only dirt in here not part of one of the plants was on my shoes, which were now standing on this thick likely expensive carpet. I was going to be in trouble for making a mess before Kelly even left. “This was not going to work.” I thought to myself as I looked everyone over. Everything was telling me that. Everything except, Emily’s eyes. Those eyes somehow said “It's alright”.

Kelly knelt down in front of me and in a soft voice said. “John and I need to go now, I’ll be back from time to time to see how your doing though. Everything is going to work out you'll see.”

Standing once again Kelly said to the room at large. “I find it’s best for the family to get to know each other as a family. Without me lurking around, unless there is something more then I'll be on my way?” She ended with a question.

Emily came up to her and they shook hands. “Thank you for everything Kelly. Let me see you out then” The three made their way past me out the front door.

Robert clapped his hands together, it likely wasn't very loud but I did jump a bit anyway before he said. “Alright then. Lets let Avery get settled and a little more comfortable. There will be plenty of time for us all to get to know each other. I think she’s felt on display long enough.”

For a long moment nobody moved. Then Cindy took a slow careful step toward the hallway before picking up speed and going to one of the rooms at the far end. The twins stood together and walked into the kitchen. They waited a moment before I could hear them whispering to each other but they were too far to hear what they were saying.

Robert sat on his chair and looked at me with a smile. At least he seemed relaxed. “I know this must be a lot to take in at once Avery.” He started. His voice filled the room but he spoke softly. It had a rhythm to it that was warm. “I’m sure it doesn’t mean much just for me to say it yet, but know that you are safe here. Nobody is going to hurt you under my roof I will make sure of that.” Sitting back with a small sigh he continued. “Were all glad to have you here. In some ways we likely need you as much as you need us. Whatever God has planned for us all, now you are a part of it. Please, have a seat. Your home now.”

His words were true. At least he believed they were true. I don't know anything about God's plan or whatever but it was clear everything he said he meant. For now. Everything is usually mostly nice in the beginning. I took a seat on the far side of the love seat the twins had been in. It was better now that most of them had left. This chair was surprisingly soft. I curled my legs under me making sure to keep my shoes off the furniture and made myself small in the corner.

Emily came in a moment later. At first she sat down next to her husband, Then she moved farther down the couch so that she was closer to me. She sat a little weird. There wasn’t anything wrong with it but it looked different. Smoother and graceful. It didn't look like she was trying to act in some special way more it was just how she was. She smoothed her skirt behind her and almost floated into the couch. Crossed her legs and bent them off to one side then straightened her skirt out over her legs. As her shoulders shifted back she grew taller and thinner. Her hands drifted into her lap and she turned her head towards me with a growing smile. Somehow she was also taking up as little space as she needed but without hiding like I was. Everything was all one smooth motion. I couldn’t help but watch.

We made eye contact and there was that same way about her eyes. Nothing about this was comfortable for me except those eyes. I was stuck here regardless but the way she looked at me made me feel, I almost wanted to believe. Maybe this was going to be alright. Maybe Kelly was right. That hope was creeping in and I couldn’t push it back. When this goes bad, it’s going to hurt I thought to myself.

“I know all of this is new and probably a lot to take in like this.” Emily said. Her voice was very different from her husbands. It was like a ripple on a pond. Going only as far as it needed to and had a melody to it. Like a poem almost, even though there was nothing fancy or any rhyme to her words.

“Were not very practiced at this I'm afraid.” Emily went on. “You are only the third foster child we have taken in. The second was only with us a short time. Her family had some things they needed to work out and we took care of their little girl so they could focus on it. A couple months later she was back with her parents.” Emily shifted slightly, looking for the right words. “I think this is the part where were suppose to give you the rules of the house as it were. I’m sure we have those but for the life of me I can't seem to recall many at the moment.” She almost looked embarrassed. “We believe that good people know right from wrong without the need for such things to be spelled out. We don't have some rule against stealing for example because everybody already knows stealing is wrong.”

Emily's face shifted as it seemed she found her thoughts. “I guess our rules are more expectations than some form of law. Meals are about the same time every day. We clean the home every sunday after church and everyone does their part. If you make a mess you are expected to clean up after yourself.” She paused as she looked at me for some reaction. I twitched a small nod not knowing what I was “expected” to do.

“We won’t ever stop you from eating but if you must snack there is fruit on the kitchen table and we would prefer you use that. We don't spank or have some list of arbitrary punishments we dole out. If there is an issue we find what makes the most sense and work together to get past it.” Emily continued.

Did she just say I can have all the food I want and they won't spank me? My radar went off. This has to be a trick of some kind. Normally I can see that in people. Emily didn’t look like she was trying to fool me though. She looked like she was saying things as they came to her and that was just how it was.

Again Emily spoke. “I’ll show you around in a moment. Your free to shower as you like, we expect you to keep clean but from what Kelly said that won’t be a problem. I'll show you where the vacuum is and other cleaning supplies should you need them. If there is a special soap or shampoo you would like we can see about getting things like that as well. I guess most of this we will just have to play by ear.”

“One more comment” Emily said after a long pause, seemingly as something came to her. “We know were not your real parents. We don’t expect you to call us mom and dad.” I looked up at her and she winced slightly. I knew what she meant and honestly it was nice. I hardly remember my mom. No matter how good or bad she was, only she was my mom.

Emily went on. “We don't know what you have been through. We know a lot of it was unpleasant. Honestly even if we knew everything, we know we can't possibly understand just how that felt or makes you feel even now. If we can, know that if you want us we are here for you now. We know you don't trust us. You have no reason to yet. We will work to earn your trust over time. That's the best we can do. Were not perfect but we try the best we can with the help and guidance of God and the teachings of Christ.”

I almost eye rolled a the god stuff. I’ve had people try and tell me about how great god was. Really, if there were a god how the hell could my life be like this. If this is god's plan or whatever than any all powerful all knowing god that lets all this happen, I want no part of.

Emily’s posture firmed slightly. “I am not going to apologies for following God and his word.”

Here it comes I thought. This is how it's all going to turn. Honestly I thought it would at least take a couple days. Better to get it over with at least.

Emily continued. “We are a family of Christians. We believe and follow the word of God and the teachings of Christ. We are proud of this, it’s who we are. We will not force God upon you. It is a choice a person can only make for them self. We would be delighted to take you to church with us, to prey with us. We know that we can not make you believe or follow God. We don’t want you to pretend to either. When we go to church you can stay here if you want to. We have someone you will meet later who sees to the house when we need to be away who can watch over you while we are at services. If at some point you choose to look into God's word and his teachings we will happily help you find him in your soul. We respect you and your views if this is not what you want. We ask that you simply respect our ways in turn.”

Well that sounded good. I have seen the will of god bit before though. That house was one of the worst. I visibly shivered at the memories. Emily frowned slightly and her eyes showed sorrow. The speech was almost too good to be true. Sure they said it was my choice, that's how it worked. Just if I didn’t make the “right” choices, I’d be punished. So what was it going to be. If they weren't going to spank me perhaps lock me in my room? Maybe another closet. I don’t think I can handle that again. Hopefully this house won’t last too long. Maybe Kelly really will come back and check on me soon. Maybe I can find a way to show her how this place really is and go back to the shelter. It was lonely but I found a friend before. It’s definitely better than what I’ve seen of “Good Catholic homes”.

“Well then.” Emily said after a long pause. Maybe seeing if God had anything to add. “I guess it's time for the tour.” Her smile was back and she stood as smoothly as she had sat before.

“I'll move to the garage and give you two some space then if that's alright.” Robert said. He headed to the stairs near the computer.

“Don't hide too long dear” Emily said after him. “Dinner will be in a bit over an hour.” Emily turned to me and shot a warm smile. I think my face was stuck in a blank expression. Too many unpleasant things were going around in my head to really focus on putting on a good show. “Let me show you the kitchen first.”

I stood, not nearly as smooth as Emily did. “My, Kelly was right your hair is beautiful.” Emily said and reached her arm out as if to touch it. I twitched back instinctively.

“I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to be touched. It’s going to take some getting use to, might take some time.” After a small pause, “Can I see the back?” Emily said as she slowly started to circle me. I didn’t think she was going to grab me when I wasn’t looking. Besides hiding my hair from her was just silly. Everyone I met always wanted to look at my hair. Best to get it over with. I turned toward the love seat I was sitting on so she could get a good look.

“So pretty, you should be proud. I really like how the sides come together here it's just gorgeous. Your quite the pretty young lady Avery” She said admiringly.

Not exactly what I was going for. Gorgeous, pretty young lady? She has to know I'm not a girl, you would think that my file and whatever Kelly told them about me would mention that I have parts on my body that are certainly not those of a “Pretty young lady.”

“You did that hair all on your own Avery?” Emily questioned as I turned to face her again. I nodded and didn’t really want to but I smiled a little. I was proud of my hair and how well I could braid it.

“This is the kitchen.” Emily started as if it were not completely obvious. She showed me the inside of the fridge and how the water and ice worked on the door. Where the cups and glasses were kept and the little step ladder next to the fridge if I needed something that was too high. After pointing everything out she asked me to sit at the table. It was a huge table made out of a pretty wood that looked solid and strong. She pulled a booster seat out of a cupboard and set it on a chair for me. I pouted at the reminder of how short I was. Once I was seated there really wouldn't be a practical way for me to eat at this table without it, just too big of a table. I guess one of those rules she forgot to mention was no eating in our rooms?

“If you promise not to let the other's know, Cindy and I made brownies earlier. Their still a little warm sort of. You can have one before dinner.” She sat a small plate in front of me and herself as she took a seat next to me. Large plate of brownies before us. Lifting the cover she placed one on each of our plates. It smelled great and I realised I was hungry. It was even lightly covered in powdered sugar. Never turn down food I thought to myself and I picked it up and took a bite. It was somehow better than it looked. My eyes smiled. She smiled as she noticed my enjoyment. I guess there’s no point in making it bad until it becomes bad so making the best of it I simply enjoyed the treat.

After we finished she showed me a doorway in the back of the kitchen. There were three doors back there walking in to the right “That goes to the back patio and yard.” Emily instructed. “Feel free to explore that at your leisure. There's a barbecue and a swingset and a few other things out there. This door goes to the twins room upstairs, and this is the basement.”

The basement was mostly for storage it seemed. There was a laundry area and a pantry with a ton of canned goods and dry stuff. There was a well used pool table with a rack of sticks and stuff to play the game with. There was also a ping pong table with another smaller rack of that stuff. The entire floor had this really short fake grass stuff on it. When I noticed it Emily said it was so your feet don't get too cold if you take off your shoes.

As we passed through the living room to the hallway Emily continued the tour. “This first door on the right is going to be your room. We can see it in a minute. This door across from that is the hall closet.” It contained towels and a vacuum and most of the general cleaning stuff. The more location specific stuff for the kitchen she already showed me. “This next door on the right is our room. At the end of the hall is Cindy’s room. Here to our left is the bathroom. There is another half bath in the basement but this is the only shower and tub.” A pause as we entered the bathroom when Emily continued. “As you can imagine with all these girls it gets a bit crowded in here. We do most of our hair and makeup in our bedrooms.”

She showed me an assortment of shampoo and conditioners as well as different things to scrub with. Something called a loofa sponge. When she noticed my confused look she explained what it was for and recommended using it a few times a week for really soft skin. There were almost as many different types of lotions in the cupboard next to the medicine cabinet as there were shampoos. She showed me the makeup removing pads and pimple creams and a bunch of other stuff I really didn’t see myself using. She started in on the feminine sanitary things which I really didn’t want to hear about before stopping herself and seemingly slightly embarrassed said “I guess you don't really need these.”

“Let's get your things and we can see your room which I'm sure is what you have been waiting for.” Emily said as we made our way back to the living room.” I quickly stepped ahead of her and picked up the walmart bag and my backpack making an attempt to hide it but likely failing. Emily paid no attention though and just grabbed the box and I followed her up to what was now to be my room.

We entered and I was a bit taken off guard. It was nice and clean and full of nice furniture. It was too nice. Standing just inside the door most of the room went back and to the right with a large window into the back yard. To the right I was sharing a wall with the stairway to the basement. The floor was covered in thick carpet like the rest of the house, if anything it felt a little softer. It was a really light grey or dark cream color.

The bed was a twin covered in blankets and… I can only call it fluff. It was so thick and fluffy I was almost afraid to even touch it. There were three normal bed pillows and two little square pillows all arranged neatly on the head of the bed under the window. What am I supposed to do with all those pillows?

On the wall to the hallway was a white desk with a jar holding a few pens and pencils and little sticky note pads sat next to it. There was a stack of notebook paper and envelopes on one side sitting on top of another ringed notebook like what I used for school. The other side of the desk had a smaller sized book with a fancy cover that said Journal on top of it. There were three drawers on one side and one in the middle. In the center of the desk in front of the desk lamp was something I was definitely not in any way expecting. There was a tablet. The only reason I even knew what it was is because Mary had one she brought over a couple times. She would show us videos of different ways to braid hair and other things on it. Was this for me? Surely someone had left it in here when they were cleaning or something.

On the wall shared by the basement stairs was another desk like thing. It had a big mirror on the back of it though with lights up the side. There were many little shelves and drawers along the front of the mirror and a couple bigger drawers off to one side. It was also white and matched the rest of the furniture. There was one small office like chair at the desk but both the desks had a plastic thing under them so the chair could roll easy.

Next to the desk was a trash can and next to the mirror desk was a can that looked very much like the diaper can I had at the center. A large dresser with four drawers was sharing the wall with the mirror desk. The walls were white. They had trim on the floors and ceiling though that matches the curtains and bed frame. Sadly that matching color was a soft pink. There was another door in the room that had a mirror covering it and as Emily shut the door with us inside I could see all of myself in it. I promptly closed my mouth. This was one of the nicest rooms I have ever seen. Pink trim or not. Emily set the box on the mirror desk and noticing where I was looking began.

“This is the closet. It's not too big but for now it should work.” Emily said as she opened the closet door. “There is a small stool here and a little ladder too if you need them, plenty of hangers and room for shoes. Hooks here on the back of the door for hats or scarves and so on. You have a desk with some things so you can write your friend Ashley when you want to. The vanity here is for your hair and other beautification things. I think the bed is self explanatory. There is only one chair but we have an extra stool over there and a foot stool too if you and some of the other girls choose to hang out in here, or friends when you meet people. The dresser should help make up for the not so big closet for now.”

“One thing I want to make sure you notice is this.” Emily said and went back to the door. “We take personal privacy here very seriously. This door locks from the inside. It is for you to know you are alone when you need to be. Changing clothes or, other things.” She glanced at my walmart bag at the last part. “I think we have the key somewhere but please don't make us need to look for it. Nobody is going to barge in here. This lock is so you know that. It's probably not the safest thing to put on an eight year olds door but the other girls have one and Robert and I feel it is important. Please don't keep it locked all the time incase there is a fire or something bad happens. When you need to though, it's here for you.”

Well that was surprising. I have had locks on my bedroom door before but they all locked from the other side. Was this another trick or did she mean it. Was the key really in her pocket ready to use at a moments notice? Another thing we would likely find out all too soon.

I was tired of holding everything and it's clear she already knew so I needed to own it. I set the backpack on the bed and the bag of diapers completely in the open on the what I now know is a vanity.

“Are these the, items you need?” Emily asked gesturing to the bag of diapers. What could I do but nod. She took everything out of the bag and set it all up on the vanity. Then taking her phone out she took a picture. “I’ll see that we get more. Will this last you a couple days?”

I felt like I blushed a little but looking in the pack I counted seven so looking back at her I held up two fingers.

“Two days?” Emily asked.

I nodded again. I used three a day and already had my second one for the day so even with one for at night I had enough for two more full days. I liked the thinness of the goodnights better but I had to admit not having to worry about how full they were was nice. I didn’t need to worry about trying to find a bathroom I could use at all anymore. The pooping was a problem but I was getting use to it. Mostly I would just hold it until I was going to change anyway. Now I never needed to stop what I was doing to go pee at all, just three changes a day and I only needed a bathroom to shower. These worked so well that when I realised I needed to pee I simply went without giving it a second thought. Most of the time they never got near all the way full. At least that's what the lines said on them that changed colors when they got wet. Now that I was in a house again I guess I can poop there but these didn't just pull off and on so not too sure that would be easier.

“I'll let you get your things put away then.” Emily said as she opened my door. “Dinner is in a little over an hour, someone will let you know when it's ready if your still in here. Is there anything else you need right now?”

I couldn’t think of anything. I was still kind of blown away with the room and all. Even with the pink trim it was way more than I was expecting. Then I remembered. Holding up one finger gesturing to wait a minute I moved over to the desk and picked up the tablet. I don't know why this was here. Was it a test to see if I would steal it? I handed it to Emily so she could put it where it belonged.

“Sweety no, we left this here for you.” Emily said and set it back on the desk. “It’s hooked up to the internet already and everything. You have to set up the screen lock but it’s yours to use if you want it. It has a child filter on it we installed but it won't spy on your email or anything like that.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. Screen lock and internet, filters and email? I only seen Mary use hers and she clicked things so fast it was impossible to know what she was doing. The confusion must have been clear on my face.

“Have you ever used one of these before?” Emily asked. I shook my head no. “Alright, I’ll see if I can get one of the twins to help you. They can probably explain things better than me anyway.” With the issue settled apparently she smiled again and closed my door as she left to make dinner.

Wow I thought as I finally had a moment to myself. That taste of hope was at least gone now that I heard the god speech stuff. Now all I had to do is ride it out until the next house. I have to admit though. “Until it gets bad, I could really get use to this” I thought as I laid onto the bed with my feet hanging off, which almost smothered me in fluff. It had this thick top blanket thing on it. It has to be just to make the bed look fancy because it’s way too thick to be used when sleeping.

It didn't take me long to unpack everything. I even hung up my four other shirts. Ashley would be so proud. They looked kind of silly in the closet with it so empty. There were clips on the hangers too so I even hung up my other two pair of pants. Lining up the seams and everything. I smiled to myself as I imagined Ashley’s reaction to seeing this. Bet she would think someone else did it. I didn’t really want to wander around anymore so I started to write Ashley a letter until dinner was ready.