Chapter 20: Tammy

Things went smoothly on the next morning. Henry was able to retain a local solicitor and before noon, Chien-Mei had signed over the custody rights to Henry. Tammy was thus formally given into her father's care.

Henry had also called his family practitioner, Dr. Lewis, who promised to look into possibilities to accommodate Chien-Mei in a care facility in the vicinity of Maidenhead. Chien-Mei's current physician, Dr. Rasgupta, promised to call Dr. Lewis and to fill him in on Chien-Mei's needs.

Henry and Tammy spent most of that afternoon with Chien-Mei. They stayed until the woman was too tired, and then Henry loaded his daughter into the car and drove to the Youth Services office. Some time in the afternoon, Mrs. Fitzsimmons had dropped by to say good-bye to Tammy and to tell Henry that Sandy Wallis, Tammy's friend, could go with them for two weeks. That would give Youth Services an opportunity to find new foster parents.

Apparently, a site visit with Horace and Sam that morning had been disastrous. With Henry's two hundred pounds in their hands they had decided to celebrate. As a result neither of them was in a state to answer questions from the case worker. The three remaining children had been transferred into a temporary care facility, but Henry and Tammy could pick up Sandy at the main office.

Sandy was bubbling with excitement when they showed up. The way her crooked teeth showed when she smiled made Henry cringe inwardly. He would have her see an orthodontist at the first opportunity he swore to himself. Right now he saw to it that both girls climbed into the back seat. He then quickly drove off. He was eager to get a start now that the time was approaching five o'clock.

The Defender was not a very good car on a motorway, but Henry made good time in spite of its drawbacks. It was shortly after eight when they drove up to his house. He had called from the road on his cell phone and the women had waited with dinner. Pat and Megan were the first to greet them and they got their surprise when two girls climbed out of the car.

Henry made the introductions and he felt that the twins were slightly apprehensive over meeting Tammy. It was Megan who broke the ice by simply hugging the gangly Eurasian girl whose eyes showed her pleasant surprise. Sandy was standing to the side, uncertain of her position until she was spotted by Milena and Chris and pulled up the stairs and inside.

Milena had prepared a room for Tammy on the second floor and now she and Chris rushed to clear one of the unused rooms on the third floor for Sandy. Meanwhile, Tammy stared in awe at the bedroom that was to be hers. Henry felt his heart warm. The women had clearly gone through a lot of effort to prepare the room for the new family member.

The room selected for Tammy had been renovated before but it had never been furnished. Now it had a double bed, a wardrobe, a sofa with a low table in front and an entertainment centre with a television set and stereo equipment. This was a teenager's room to be sure, not a child's bedroom. Tammy was speechless.

At dinner, the two new girls looked around apprehensively. Neither of them was accustomed to real silverware and china plates and with just seven people, the huge dinner hall was looking empty and intimidating.

"Tammy?"

She looked across the table at Henry.

"This is just an old dinner room. It's much too big for everyday use. We're as much out of place here as you are. Okay?" Henry asked.

Tammy smiled back and said gratefully, "Okay."

"Okay, Sandy?"

Sandy just nodded, too shy to answer.

"Tomorrow will be a busy day," Henry continued. "You girls need clothes. Maybe Pat and Megan can help you? I have no clue of what you girls wear these days."

Pat grinned at that and nodded, but Tammy was apprehensive.

"I like my clothes."

Megan spoke up. "Listen, Tammy, nobody wants to change you into somebody different. We'll just help you pick some new stuff. You also need a haircut! Badly!" Megan ended with a giggle.

There was a smile on Tammy's face. "A haircut? I guess I need one. Sam used to cut our hair herself."

"See?" Pat cut in. "We'll just help you along but you make the decisions."

"Ha-hmm, within reason," Henry stated.

"I - I don't have money for shopping," Sandy spoke up apprehensively.

Henry made a dismissive motion with his hand and gave her a warm smile.

"Don't worry about that. We invited you. You can't run around in the same clothes for weeks. Just go along for the ride and enjoy!"

On the next morning, Henry drove Pat and Megan to school. He wanted to talk to the headmistress about the possibility of Tammy transferring to St. Ursula's. Fortunately, Ms. Leitch was free to see him.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Ruiz-Costa?" Her look fell on the two girls. "Don't tell me you've taken in another two."

"But I have! Please meet my daughter, Tamara, Tamara Wu. She will be living with me and she has to transfer from her old school in Exeter. She was in foster care for the last half year due to her mother's illness, and those circumstances were not conducive to academic success. That's one reason she's moving in with me. Her grades were really good before that. We have her report cards here. If you could find it possible to accept her, I can find a tutor to help her catch up."

Charlene Leitch looked at the gangly Eurasian girl who stared back at her. She smiled.

"I'll set up exams with a few teachers. I'll notify you as soon as I have a date set. If she works out as well as the Maxwell twins it will be our win. What about the other young lady?" she asked nodding at Sandy.

"Sandy is a friend of Tammy and she is staying with us for a few weeks until the Exeter authorities find more suitable foster parents for her. Perhaps you could have them both tested? It would give you a frame of reference."

Charlene's eyebrows shot up but she caught the flicker of Henry's eyelid and played along.

"Indeed, why not. Would you be willing to test, dear? There would be no pressure for you, but it would help us to evaluate your friend much better."

"I suppose I can," Sandy mumbled, her first words spoken since entering the office.

"Splendid! I'll give you a call then. Oh, did you hear about the sorry state of our music room? We'll have to close it I'm afraid. The plaster is starting to come off the ceiling. It must be the shocks from the construction site."

Henry sighed. He knew when to knuckle under. St. Ursula's was a very good school and it had quite a waiting list. He could not expect to get the girls in for free.

"Funny that you mention that, Ms. Leitch. There is this excellent painter who did my own dinner hall three years ago. Perhaps he could have a look at your music room?"

"That would be awfully helpful," Charlene Leitch beamed. "Mrs. Maxwell was so nice as to equip our new computer room, did you know?"

"We talk from time to time," Henry grinned, "but never about computer rooms."

They spent the rest of the morning at a dentist's private practice and at a gynaecologist's office. While the latter gave both girls a clean bill of health pending a few tests, the dentist was less than pleased. Braces were needed for both girls. They made an appointment with an orthodontist for the next week. It was noon when they were done and they decided to have lunch in town.

Henry was amazed at Tammy's appetite, but Sandy ate sparingly confiding that she did not want to grow too 'womanly'. Henry did not pry, but he imagined a guy like Horace would not be above copping a feel off a buxom teenager.

Sandy loosened up sufficiently during lunch to participate in the conversation. She was not stupid and she realised that with all those doctor's appointments and school exams, Henry was up to something. When she asked him about it, Henry just gave her a smile and asked her to be patient.

They picked up Pat and Megan after school at two. Henry gave the twins free rein (and his credit card) as they descended on the unsuspecting staff of two or three clothing stores. Pat and Megan had no extravagant tastes and Henry trusted them to assist the girls in buying a sensible stock of everyday clothes. It was long past five when they finally drove home.

On the next morning whilst the twins were at school, Henry took the two younger girls on a tour of his property.

It was hard to comprehend for Tammy that she would someday inherit at least part of the land she was shown. Nothing in her fourteen years had ever prepared her for this concept. As a matter of fact, she had not seen much of the world except the immediate surroundings of Exeter. Sandy, on the other hand, had known vacations in the countryside when her parents had still been alive. To her it was just nice to walk the land along the river.

Driving the old Land Rover, Henry took them to the Woodbridge property and to Woodbridge Manor. Ellen was standing near the stables when they arrived.

She did a double take when Henry introduced Tammy as his daughter, but she got over the surprise quickly when he explained things. Henry introduced Sandy next, explaining how she would have to return to Exeter as soon as the Youth Service there found room with foster parents. As he had anticipated, mention of returning to the foster system put a visible damper on Sandy's mood, something Ellen could not fail but notice. Kind person that she was, she offered to show the girls a filly born just five days ago.

With lots of 'Ooohs' and 'Aaahs' the girls watched the filly as it nursed. Henry gave Ellen a grateful smile, a smile that filled Ellen with warmth. Subconsciously, she still craved his approval and for the first time, he used that power on purpose.

"Who would have thought that I've had a daughter for fourteen years?" he asked rhetorically.

"She's really sweet," Ellen answered.

She saw Sandy who had wandered off to another box. She was petting the head of a beautiful chestnut stallion and Ellen was startled. She caught herself in time and walked over slowly.

"Sandy," she said calmly, "slowly pull back your hand. Atlas is a biter."

Sandy froze slightly, but she could not resist rubbing the nose of the horse before she withdrew her hand.

"But he was quite calm and he liked being petted," she defended herself against the unspoken reprimand.

"So I saw, Sandy. Do you like horses?"

"I love them! When ... when my parents were ... still alive we'd spend vacations on a farm in the Dartmoor. I was allowed to feed and ride the ponies." Sandy had a wistful look on her face as she spoke.

"Would you like to come and help me with the horses?"

Sandy made big eyes. "Oh, could I?" she squealed.

"Sure," Ellen said dryly. "And since Harry engineered this, I'm sure he won't object."

She gave Henry a significant look and he grinned back sheepishly.

"Why don't you come over this afternoon?" Ellen added.

Sandy looked at Henry who nodded.

"I'll come right after lunch!" Sandy promised.

Tammy had watched the interplay intently. Whilst Ellen showed Sandy another horse, she went over and gave her father a firm hug.

"Do you think Mrs. Winthorp may take in Sandy?"

"I don't know. I thought it was worth a try to bring them together. Ellen is living alone. Having somebody to care for may allow her to open up more. She's got so much to her credit but she does not realise it."

"She's very nice, but I like you better," Tammy assured him.

It was during lunch, after Pat and Megan had returned from school, when the telephone in the hall went off. With everyone having their cell phones, the land line connection was rarely used anymore. Henry went to answer it.

"You have to keep your cell switched on!" Josie admonished him.

It was a constant complaint from her side. To Henry it was more of a nuisance than a blessing to be on call all the time. He managed to misplace, switch off or forget to recharge his cell phone frequently. He realised that he had switched it off after recharging it on the day before.