Chapter 5

Talking with others wasn’t supposed to be difficult, but Vivian was terrible at small talk and couldn’t think of anything to say or ask.

“What’s your favourite type of movie to watch?”

Blinking once, Vivian stared at her father, who looked at her with all seriousness. The sudden change in subject gave her a bit of whiplash but it wasn’t unwelcome. “Documentaries are always great,” she answered, trying to think of others. “Fantasy stuff like, uhm, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings are also good, too.”

From this topic they broached others, each sharing their likes and dislikes of things such as books and food, to more general topics like if the new statue in the park was abstract or just badly designed.

The more they spoke the more comfortable they both felt. After half an hour Vivian had tucked her feet up on the chair, allowing it to slowly spin only for her to use the desk to stop it from going all the way around, bringing it back so she could face her father again.

To Samuel’s credit, he looked amused by this display, unbothered that his daughter wasn’t being proper during their first meeting.

After an hour, a knock at the door interrupted their conversation and both quieted. “Come in,” Samuel called out, his tone changing from the one he’d been using when speaking with his daughter.

The door opened and the three adults who’d given them some privacy to become better acquainted all stepped back into the room.

“How are you getting along?” Cassidy inquired with a bright smile.

“Fine,” Vivian answered, switching back to speaking in short sentences or single word replies without meaning to. Cassidy was nice enough, but Vivian didn’t feel at ease with the woman.

“Mr Devreaux, would you mind if we spoke with Vivian alone for a couple minutes?” This time it was Gerry who asked the question as she took a step closer to the girl. “We just want to touch base with her before taking the next step.”

“Of course,” Samuel nodded before returning his gaze to his daughter. “I’ve enjoyed meeting you, Vivian.”

“Me too,” she said, voice soft as her father got to his feet and offered his hand. Vivian stared at it for a few seconds before extricating herself from her chair to stand before taking his hand.

The handshake was brief but felt odd. She was glad he hadn’t asked for a hug or something of the sort; of all options a handshake was the best choice he could have gone with.

Charles and Samuel left the room, Cassidy closing the door before both women turned to look at their charge.

Vivian stood in place, feeling awkward again as Gerry and Cassidy took a seat on either side of her own, which she gladly sat back in.

“So, what do you think of your father?” Asked Cassidy, not bothering to ease the conversation around to the topic they needed to discuss. “Do you like him so far?”

“He seems… nice,” Vivian shrugged, letting the chair slowly spin her around without caring if it was rude or not. The two women were people Vivian had dealt with before and she’d long since gotten over feeling the need to be polite at all times in their company.

“Nice how?” Probed Gerry.

“Uhm…” Vivian hummed a little as the lawyer came into view. “He asked about things I like and stuff?”

A sigh came from behind her, Cassidy not overly impressed with the answer. A second later the social worker came into view as Vivian’s chair continued its way around. “So you found him nice because he tried getting to know you?”

Vivian frowned at this, not sure how to put what she wanted to convey into words that made sense. “He didn’t… push. He… let me ask what he asked. Everything could be asked back to him.”

“Ah, so you liked that he kept to things you could share between the two of you?”

“I guess.” It wasn’t quite what she’d been trying to say, but it would shut the woman up on the topic for now.

“Well,” Gerry began, taking a breath as she spoke. “We’ve done the usual background check, house visit, interviewed the family members and people who know them and everything checks out. If you want to pursue living with Mr Devreaux, with the intent of him taking full custody of you in his role as your biological father, everything is ready; you just have to say the word.”

“And if I don’t?” Vivian asked, looking down at her hands, which were resting in her lap.

“Then we’ll bring you back to the Millers, who will continue to foster you. We would then inform Mr Devreaux of your decision, unless you’d rather do so yourself.”

“Do I have to make up my mind right now?”

The women shared a quick look that Vivian caught before her chair spun too far to see both at the same time. “Technically, no,” Cassidy began, hesitation in her voice. “There’s no expiry on you going to live with Mr Devreaux from our end.”

“But he could change his mind,” Vivian finished for the social worker.

“Technically, yes, but we very much doubt he would do that,” Gerry tried to assure the girl with a smile. “He was very keen to meet you, to get to know you as a person. Finding out you existed was a clear shock to him, but since then he’s been more than cooperative, going above and beyond what was necessary for this to work out.”

“Hmm…” Vivian hummed as she finally put her feet back on the floor, stopping the chair as it faced the door. “What if I go, and change my mind? Can I return to the Millers’?”

“There is a probationary period of three months should you choose to live with Mr Devreaux. After that period, a final check in will be done and you can decide to stay or leave for good at that time.”

Vivian thought this over. Three months was a decent amount of time, though not enough to really get to know the people sharing the home. From experience, she knew people could hide who they were for at least that long; it was around the five month mark they usually started to reveal their true nature.

Still, it was better than just signing her life away from the very start.

“Okay. I’d like to stay with him.”