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Elise furrowed her eyebrows as her heart rate began to kick up a notch. “Yes,” she said.
“It’s my understanding you’re currently caring for your two minor brothers.”
“That’s right. I have been since my parents died.”
“Oh, yes, I’m very sorry for your loss. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
Elise did mind, and her mind ran circles around where this could be going. “Okay,” she said timidly.
“I see that you were awarded temporary custody of the boys and have petitioned for permanent custody. How old are you, Miss Hart?”
“I’m twenty-two.”
“And are you currently employed?”
Elise didn’t want to answer the question. Who did this woman think she was to ask these intrusive questions? Still, she didn’t want to cause any problems. “No, not right now. The twins are out of school for the summer, and I’m taking some time off until they go back to school.”
“I see.”
Elise could hear the sound of the woman typing something.
“And what is your housing arrangement?”
Now Elise wanted to hang up the phone and run out into the yard with her brothers. “We live in the house we grew up in.”
“And your parents left the house to you?”
Elise leaned over the counter and rubbed her eyes with her finger and thumb. “Well, not exactly, they didn’t have a will.”
“Alright,” the woman said.
“Do you mind if I ask what these questions are about? I’m taking care of things here. The boys are fed and clothed and safe.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’re doing the very best you can. In situations like this, if there doesn’t seem to be any issues, and a family member is willing to take them in, it’s pretty simple. But in this case, another relative has come forward requesting custody of the boys.”
“Another relative? Who? My grandparents are all dead. We don’t have anyone else.”
“It’s an aunt. She and her husband live in Georgia.”
“Aunt Kacey? We barely ever see her. She’s my dad’s sister, but I’ve only met her a couple of times. They weren’t close.”
“Yes, well, she has petitioned for custody, and we have to look into that as an option.”
“So are you saying she could take my brothers from me?” Elise felt as if her heart would pound out of her chest as the room slowly closed in on her.
“I’m not saying that. When a situation like this happens, we take lots of things into consideration. We just want to do what’s best for the children. To do that, we need to gather some information.”
Elise put her hand to her throat and begged her heart to slow to a normal rhythm. “So what would make you decide it’s better for them to go live with her?”
The woman sighed loudly. “We look at living situations, employment, financial stability, those kinds of things.”
Elise swallowed to push down her emotions. Thoughts swirled of one too many bills that were arriving every day, along with the fact that she didn’t have a job or any real prospects with an unfinished college degree. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I won’t take up anymore of your time today. We’ll be in touch again soon because we’ll need to come by and see the housing.”
“Alright, thank you.” Elise said goodbye before hanging up and sat wondering why in the world she had thanked the woman who might be trying to ruin her life. She folded her arms on the table and laid her head down, trying to keep the tears at bay. “God,” she whispered. “I already lost my parents. Please don’t let me lose my brothers too. If they saw our house yesterday or looked at the bank account, they really might take them. Somehow, God, make a way. Any way at all.”
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