Awake and Dreaming - Kit Pearson [13]
Ms. Sunter smiled. “Do you know what your father’s name is?”
“Alexios,” whispered Theo.
“Alexios what?”
“I don’t know. My mother never knew his last name. He was going back to Greece the week after she met him. She didn’t have his address and she never heard from him again.” Theo flushed. Rae would be furious if she knew she was saying all this.
Ms. Sunter sighed, scribbling in her notes. “I don’t know my father either—he left when I was a baby.”
“Oh.”
Ms. Sunter looked as if she expected her to say more. Theo shifted impatiently and wished the counsellor would get on with the hard part—the questions about Rae.
“Let’s talk about your mother now.” Theo got ready. “She’s working at the Hastings Diner, right?”
“Yes.”
“What are her hours?”
“Ten to six.”
“Who takes care of you after school?”
Theo thought fast. “A woman in our building called Mrs. Mitic. She’s really nice. We watch TV together until my mother comes home.”
“Does Mrs. Mitic make your supper?”
“No, my mother does after she gets back from work.”
“Do you get enough to eat, Theo? I know your mum must have a hard time stretching her salary.”
“My mother’s very good at budgeting,” said Theo.
“And what sort of things do you have for supper? What did your mother give you last night, for example?”
Theo tried to remember what she’d fixed herself. “Kraft Dinner,” she said finally.
Ms. Sunter sighed again. “Yes. A very popular meal.”
She asked Theo several questions about the apartment and Theo was careful to say that it was warm and clean.
This was like being on welfare, when every aspect of her and Rae’s life was constantly being scrutinized. “They’re such snoops!” Rae used to complain. That’s why she stayed off welfare whenever she could.
But at least the counsellor wouldn’t make a home visit like a social worker would—then she’d find out that Rae was seldom there.
“Theo, I want to ask you something very important now. Is your mother nice to you?”
Theo pretended to look shocked. “Of course!”
“She never hits you?”
“Never,” said Theo firmly. She remembered a line from a TV show. “My mother is my best friend.”
“That’s good to hear. Does she have a boyfriend?”
The question came so fast that Theo didn’t have time to lie. “Sort of,” she admitted.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she likes this guy she met in January—but she’s only seen him a few times,” she added quickly.
“Are you sure, Theo? He doesn’t live with you and your mother?”
“No, he doesn’t. I told you, she hardly knows him.”
“Have you met him?”
“Just once.”
“Was he nice to you?”
Theo nodded.
Ms. Sunter studied her and Theo tried not to look down. “Theo, you know that if anyone—your mother or her boyfriend or any other adult—was doing anything to you you didn’t like, you could tell me. If things ever got really bad at home you could go and live for a while with a family who would take good care of you until your mother was ready to have you back. Would you let me know if you wanted that?”
Theo nodded again, but her face burned.
A foster family—like Myrna had mentioned. Lots of kids lived with foster parents. One girl in Theo’s last class said her foster family was mean to her. Another boy was very happy with his.
That was the problem—how would you know what they’d be like if you couldn’t choose? And even if the family was nice, you would never really belong to them. Not like being in a real family—not like the families in books.
Now Ms. Sunter was telling her how important it was to work hard in school. “I grew up poor, you know. My family lived on welfare for years, but my brother and sister and I all went to university. You can do that too, Theo. I see from your test results that you’re very intelligent. Mr. Barker told me you wrote a wonderful poem, and the librarian says you read exceptionally well for a nine-year-old.” She smiled. “Perhaps you’re a dreamer. That’s not a bad thing. But you have to live in this world, Theo. Do you think you could start paying attention in class? Could you try a little harder to make some friends?”
Once again, Theo nodded—the way