"It's you. Where are…I mean where is she?" Reyona asked anxiously as she tried to calm her breathing.
"Just down the hall," Maxwell said with a keen look. "She is stable now, okay? The nurse is with her. I was going to get the boy something. He wouldn't leave his sister."
Reyona looked past him towards the hall and said "Oh, okay. Can I see her now?"
Maxwell saw the anxious look on her face and said "You know what? Why don't you come with me to the cafeteria? The doctor should be done then."
The disagreement was instant. "I don't want to…"
"The doctor won't let you see her yet. Would you rather stay here in the hall than come with me to get something for the boy? You can even help me to pick what he might like. I have no clue."
Reyona finally noticed that his hands were still on her arms, so she stepped back from him and said "And why would I know that?"
She wanted to walk past him and then remembered she had no idea which way led to the cafeteria. So, she raised her brows at him, and he smiled before pointing in the direction of the side door.
They were both silent for a while as Reyona finally took in how she must have looked to him earlier.
Wide-eyed and running around like a headless chicken.
"Sorry for running into you," She blurted out in misplaced embarrassment.
"Why? I love it when you run into me, Miss Dexter. It beats you avoiding me all the time."
As much as she had a ready answer for that, she merely looked at him and swallowed her retort.
She looked away from him when he smiled and said in the least accusing tone she could muster "You didn't tell me what happened to her."
"I… We will have a meeting with their social worker later for a report, but from what I know, the girl nearly drowned."
Reyona's hand flew to her mouth in horror as her eyes darted towards the direction they were coming from like she wanted to return to ensure the girl was okay.
"She is fine now" Maxwell said emphatically, as if reading her thoughts. "They are only doing a routine checkup at this point. Then they want to keep her today for observation."
"Verified foster parents, my ass. What were they doing when she got so close to the wa...? Hold on, she can't swim? A girl of that age can't swim?" she asked hastily as they entered the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was mostly empty at that time, and there were enough seats around.
Maxwell guided her towards one as he answered her question.
"They think it was deliberate."
"What? That is ridiculous! How can…?" the look on Maxwell's face stopped her. And she asked in a near-whisper. "Do you think she can do that?"
Maxwell pulled out a chair for her and went to sit in front of her.
Only then did he answer her, "The truth is, I don't know. I don't know enough about them to know what they can do. Hell, I don't even know much about kids. I have stayed clear of them all of my life, and now this."
Reyona looked at him for a while before she said "And I know about as much as you do or even less. Yes, I have been married for so long, but I have never been a mother. I have… I am not even supposed to be here. I am not supposed to be involved with them like this. What did you think I was going to do when you called? Why am I… what are we doing?"
Maxwell held her hand to calm her down and she looked at him. "We are here to get something for that boy, then we would find out what happened and do whatever is in our capacity."
When she wanted to withdraw from him, he held on and said "You and I are the same type of people, Miss Dexter. We are not the type who walks away from the helpless. Irrespective of the circumstances, these kids need our help, and we just can't walk away. That is what we are doing here."
When Reyona sighed and covered her face with her free hand, he added, "And I have not had the chance to say this before, but you are one exceptional woman, Reyona. Not many women in your shoes would be able to do what you are doing right now. It doesn't make you weak. It just makes you…" the pause made Reyona remove her hand from her face to look at him.
She wanted to complete the statement by saying "A fool? Is that what it makes me?"
But the adoring look on his face at that moment killed the question in her throat, and she had to clear her throat before she could manage to raise her brows to him in question.
"... you." he completed quietly. "It just shows how uniquely different you are, Miss Dexter. I don't think any other woman can measure up to that." he completed, almost to himself.
Then he stood abruptly, letting go of Reyona's hand that suddenly seemed devoid of something.
"Now that you are here. Help me out. What do you get a little boy that has got quite the mouth on him?" he asked with a grin.
"Veggies? Maybe some meat? Potatoes, I am sure some potatoes will be good for him" she finished lamely.
"You are not sure, are you?" Maxwell asked with a knowing smile.
"Not one bit" she admitted sheepishly. "You can ask Celia. I am sure she would know that. She looked like the sort who would have researched every single thing that her child would do from infancy to puberty."
Maxwell chuckled as he said "That sounds like Celia. You know what? We don't need her. We've got this."
With that, he walked confidently towards the displays of meals in the showglass where servers were waiting.
Reyona peeled her eyes off his back and stared down at her hands as his last statement echoed in her mind.
"We've got this."
What exactly had she got?