The rest of the story....

A while back I posted (ranting) about some cute little kids in Jeff's neighborhood, who seem to be somewhat neglected. Well, yesterday, I inadvertently got drawn into the story.

Now let me preface this by saying, the kids (particularly the little boy) have become more brazen in their cries for attention. Monday night, upon arriving home from work with two armloads of groceries, the little boy followed me not only to the front door (which is in a recessed hallway, out of sight of anyone who might have been watching him), but then tried to follow me in. I kept telling him, "Sweetie, I need to go inside now to put away my groceries." No reaction, he just kept chatting away. As I am backing my way into the door, the phone was ringing, so then I'm telling him (as I'm trying to close the door), "Ok, I have to go now - I have to put these bags down and answer the phone." Again, no response. Finally, on the fourth attempt, the girl whom I've seen watching him occasionally came around the corner, and shouted "Leave her alone, and let her go inside!" This distracted him long enough for me to close the door.

When I recounted this incident for Jeff later that evening, he said he had the same thing happen twice last week - one time the child actually put his foot in the doorway so Jeff couldn't close it, and the other he put his HEAD inside the door, again, in an attempt to keep Jeff from closing the door.

And it's not that I don't want to chat with this child... he's adorable, sweet and obviously starved for attention. But at the same time, I don't want to be TOO friendly, lest he think this tactic is acceptable with any strange adult. His trusting nature could put him in danger.

So then yesterday... I went out in the morning to run some errands. When I came back, I heard someone shouting, "Hey you!" I looked around, didn't see anyone, and proceeded to unlock the door. Suddenly, from behind me, I hear, "Hey! Can I use your phone?" It was the mom/aunt/unknown female guardian of the kids. She looked distraught, tears running down her cheeks. Again, she asked if she could use then phone, adding, "I have to get out of here." Immediately, my mind was racing, thinking her boyfriend/husband was beating her, or something along those lines. She said she just needed to call her Grandparents, collect. I went inside, got the phone for her and allowed her to call.

Once she was finished, I asked her if she was okay (mistake). She went on to tell me that she had just recently gotten out of drug treatment in a town a couple hours away. After getting out of treatment, she wanted to move away to make a clean start. The parents of the children are "friends of friends of friends" whom she didn't even know prior to moving here. They arranged to allow her to move in with them, rent-free, in exchange for taking care of the children. She said the mother of the kids is verbally abusive to her, makes comments about her weight (suggesting she looked better when she was using drugs) and more. However, they have no phone (yes, a household with two active children with no home telephone) except the mom's Nextel, which can only receive (not dial out) calls.

*phew*

So, her plan was to get ahold of her Mom, and drive home last night. Whether she did or not, I don't know. But my concern over this situation is multi-layered. I mean, she might be a perfectly nice girl, and I'm glad she successfully made it through her treatment program. But what kind of parents invite a stranger who is a former (and recent) drug-addict to move into their home and care for their children? And now that she's gone, with both parents working and school ending in three days, who will care for them then?

I'm sickened by this whole situation.