Chapter 12
After some time, Claudia exits the bathroom. Her hair is straightened, and her outfit is the very definition of 'Mall Goth.' C has always been interested in the various types of goth fashion. This is evident through her wardrobe choices. She grabs a pair of black pumps to complete the look. She spritzes herself with a bit of perfume and picks out some jewelry to spice things up and give her outfit a more polished feel. Once she is completely ready, she feels eyes boring holes into the back of her head. She turns around. It's just Foster. She does a twirl.
"Eh? I clean up nice right?" Foster continues staring at her. He didn't realize fishnets could look so damn good. He shakes those thoughts out of his head and hurries into the bathroom to get dressed. Before he crosses the threshold of the bathroom, he takes a few steps backward. Partially to get another look at C and partially to ask a question.
"Do you think it's okay for me to take a shower? It's fine if you say no, I just don't want to feel dirty when we are out and about." C gives the okay and foster heads back into the bathroom to get ready for the day. He showers and gets ready quickly. He is out within 10 minutes and tying his shoes as soon as he is back in the room. Right as they finish getting ready, Sylvia knocks on the door to let them know that pancakes are ready. They eat their pancakes and talk about the coloring and movies they had seen recently. Sylvia smiles and silently follows along; happy her girl seems to be doing so well.
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The whole day is spent as follows; Foster takes C to the arcade he visited with his father when he was younger. Next, they head to the farmer's market to see all the cool stuff that's produced within the community. C ends up buying quite a bit of stuff while there. She is a sucker for handmade goods. After the farmer's market C follows Foster to what he calls the 'Wooden Wonderland."
The wooden wonderland is actually a public park. It has trails that weave in and out of the nearby forest. There is a picnic area in between the playground and the trails. Now the playground, that's where things get interesting.
The playground is a massive structure, completely made of wood and the occasional metal chain to keep things together. The swings are wooden benches that are chained to a wooden platform. Next to the swings, there is a rock wall except there are no rocks. Every foothold has been carved out of the wood. The rock wall takes you up to a wooden castle. This castle is actually more like a labyrinth. There are wooden tunnels that lead to other rooms. There is a slide made out of wood (I know it sounds horrible but it's actually beautifully crafted, not a splinter in sight). There are monkey bars and different raised stepping paths made from wood. It's incredible. The amount of thought, materials, money, and time that was put into this park is clearly represented by how beautiful it turned out.
The strange thing about this beautiful park is that there were no kids. It's a nice and sunny afternoon on a Sunday. That seems like the perfect opportunity to spend a day picnicking at the park with kids. For some reason, the entire park was empty. Not another human in sight. Foster mentioned that there was an accident here a while back that left a sour taste in the mouths of the majority of the families that would visit. Now this place is just a hollow shell of what it could have and should have been. Every family sticks to the play place at the mall or to the park on the other side of town. Foster says the only kids that hang out here are typically teenagers who are up to god knows what. This haunted beauty has become the local 'make-out' spot for high schoolers. What a waste.
After the wooden park, the two visit the café to check in on Dawn to see if she needs help. Things get hectic in the afternoons on Sundays. When they arrived, there was a line out the door and every available space inside the café was taken. It was a madhouse. Foster grabbed an apron and a hat to step in and help but even with his help, the place was nuts. After watching them struggle for a few minutes, C walked to the back.
"Is there anything I can do? I know how to do dishes and I've worked a cash register before," C offers. They graciously accept her offer and with the three working as a team, the afternoon rush passes by without any mishaps. Dawn was so pleased with how C worked that she offered her a weekend position. C accepted. She had a lot of fun working at the café with the Fosters, and she could always use the extra cash, especially considering she just blew it all on a ton of homemade jellies and soaps from the farmer's market.
After the café, Foster took C to the mall but they didn't stay long. There were way too many people and malls aren't really either of their cups of tea. They settled on seeing a new movie in the theater. They grabbed a large popcorn, and they shared a soda. They sat at the back of the theater so they could share comments throughout without being too disruptive. It was a horror flick of course, so pretty early into the movie C was hiding in Foster's chest for protection from whatever atrocities were flashing across the screen. Foster didn't mind so much. He has grown to enjoy watching movies with talkative but timid C.
Once the movie ended, Foster and C walked back to the brick palace, hand-in-hand. It's almost as if their hands are magnets. It was rare to see them separated throughout the day. C hugged Foster and waved him off before heading inside. Once she had reached the second floor her mom was at the table with hot cocoa and a paper and pen to jot down the juicy details of the day. C blathered on about everything they did together and how happy she is that she has Foster to show her around. He makes a great tour guide. Before they knew it, it was ten and C was ready to turn in for the night.
Claudia set out her clothes and packed her bag for tomorrow. After that, she changed into some pajama shorts and a white cami before laying down. She reached under her bed and pulled out the book she refused to let Foster read. It was her diary, well kind of.
She treats her diary as if it's a phone call to her dad. Claudia wrote multiple pages about Foster and how kind he is and how much he has done for her. If her dad were here, he and Foster would have gotten along great. After writing about her day, she hid the private book back under her mattress and turned out the lights to try and get some sleep. Unfortunately, the excitement from the day was overflowing, making it difficult to be still. When laying down was no longer bearable she got up and turned on the lights. She cleaned up her room and rearranged the furniture to make it easier for her and Foster whenever the next time they colored together would be. While rearranging everything she found Foster's shirt hanging from the knob on the inside of her bathroom door. She took it off the handle.
As soon as she had lifted it from the handle, that familiar scent greeted her nose. The same scent that helped her the previous day when she was panicking. The scent she fell asleep with last night. She pulled the shirt on over her head. It fit her like a baggy dress. She took off her shorts and cami underneath because it was a bit uncomfortable trying to lay down in all the extra fabric. Once her head contacted her pillow, she took in a deep breath of that lovely scent and was able to find her way into a sweet dream.
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Foster had made his way home a few minutes after dropping off C. He entered the café and locked the door behind himself. His thoughts were racing a hundred miles a minute. He felt energized. For the first time in ages, he felt truly happy with how everything in his life was going. Dawn noticed how his demeanor had been changing the last few days as well. She was a bit worried about leaving him in a different house in case he ended up having a nightmare, but he seemed to have made it through the night without any trouble. Dawn gave her son a big squeeze and then shoved him up the stairs. It was late and he had a big presentation tomorrow. She wasn't about to let him stay up all night in fantasy land. He has important things to do.