"By the way,” Robin said when she'd finished eating the plate of vegetables and a small bowl of guacamole Jorge had provided, “I called DeAnn to see how things are going."
"I'll bet she is just over the moon,” said Beth with a smile.
"I guess."
"What?” asked Harriet. “Is there a problem?"
"I'm not sure. Like I said, I called, and DeAnn said things were okay, but I could hear the little girl screaming in the background, and DeAnn sounded like she was really stressed. I didn't want to press too much, but she finally did admit that things were a little rougher than she had anticipated. The child has been screaming nonstop since she got there."
"Did she talk to Joseph?” Harriet asked. “He's her social worker, isn't he?"
"Yes, she did call. He said sometimes children who come straight from the orphanage have a little rougher transition. I guess the kids usually go into foster care for a while first."
"Do you think she wants any help?” Aunt Beth asked.
"I'm not sure she'd ask for it, but I think she's going to need some relief, especially if the little girl keeps crying."
"Maybe I'll stop by on the way home from church tomorrow,” Aunt Beth said. “Just to see how it's going."
Robin sighed. “I think that would be good. I'm going to go check on Mavis and Carla and Neelie's baby tomorrow, see if anyone's contacted them about her or anything."
"Let us know what you find out,” Harriet asked.
"Maybe I'll give Phyllis a jingle when I get home and see if she has any ideas,” Beth said. “I'm sure Joseph is good at his job, but Phyl has been doing this a lot longer than he has. I'm sure she's seen it all."
"I guess it couldn't hurt,” Robin said and stood up. “I better go-I just thought you would want to know about Neelie."
"Thanks,” Harriet said. She turned to Aunt Beth. “Shall we go?"
"Yeah, we've got some dog blocks to work on."