Chapter 15 - A Judicial Rescue Attempt

August 12

Groundskeeper watched as Max left the grand hall in the company of kids her own age. At first, she hadn’t been sure about the quiet kid that her partner Ms. Proctor had brought home one night. She had been even less sure about the hollow in the maid outfit that trailed behind her ready to strike, almost like an attack dog.

That night Ms. Proctor had explained Max’s story, and Groundskeeper wanted to help. So when the awkward kid turned out to be a hard worker, it was even better. When the Watchers started showing up around the cottage and following the two of them around while they were working, she suspected that the work-study plan wouldn’t work out in the long term.

When Ms. Proctor heard Groundskeeper's suspicions, her face had grown serious, “I figured it would only buy us a little time. That’s why I’ve been working to get a lawyer, and a court date with Filomena to adopt Max.”

“Wait, you weren’t teaching Filomena how to be a familiar?”

“What? Of course not. That’s not something you teach. It’s up to each pair to figure out how to work together. I’d not deprive Max of that experience.”

“I don’t think the human court system will let us adopt her.”

“Us? I didn’t really want to force you-”

“Don’t be silly, P,” Groundskeeper had said, “We’ll adopt her together. That kid’s been growing on me. But I think we need to get the Hollow Lands involved. Filomena’s a princess right? I’m sure she’s got connections. Set her to work on that instead.”

“We still need to give the human courts a chance.”

“That’s fine. I’m not saying to stop talking to lawyers, but have a backup plan, you know?”

“Alright.”

Sure enough, just as they had suspected, the School Board dissolved the work-study program and wanted to send Max back to live with her aunt and uncle. Luckily, they agreed to give them more time to get a ruling on the adoption.

When the sorting ceremony finally came around, she and Ms. Proctor stood and watched proud as could be as their kid entered the stone archway, and returned a member of Den House, just like her mother. They unfortunately lost her in the masses of happy families, and Groundskeeper ended up at the food table and completely separate from Ms. Proctor.

“Ah, yes the attack dog…” someone said and the hall got very quiet.

Groundskeeper tried to push her way through the crowds with loaded plates. She had every intention of knocking that arrogant, little human to the ground and keeping him there with a barrage of kicks. Unfortunately for her, and fortunately for him, he was banished by the Dean of Students before she got there.

She sat fighting to keep herself calm as Max had a panic attack. Ms. Proctor said she stood her ground against her uncle. The pride in her voice matched Groundskeeper’s. They didn’t really mingle with the other families afterward, but the occasional alumni would wave and say hi to Ms. Proctor, and give Groundskeeper a strange look. It was no secret that she was less popular than her better half, so she shrugged it off.

When the students returned, Max rushed toward the two servitor spirits, her eyes were wet with tears not yet formed, and she asked if they could go home. Filomena followed behind her silently, but met their quizzical looks with an expression that said she would explain later.

They walked quietly back to the cottage, and Max went straight to her room. Filomena stayed in the entrance with them, and explained that one of the girls she was rooming with had gotten the wrong idea about Filomena and had been pretty nasty about it. Groundskeeper was confused about what that meant but decided not to press it, she could ask Ms. Proctor to explain later.

The next evening, everyone gathered around the dinner table and ate another of Ms. Proctor’s wonderful dinners. She had cooked steaming, buttery mashed potatoes, a beef roast that melted in your mouth and imparted a heavenly, juicy, salt and pepper beef taste, and green beans cooked in butter and sprinkled with crumbled bacon.

They were all picking at the last bits of the large berry tarts that were for dessert, trying to find room for the flaky, buttery marvel, when Ms. Proctor spoke, “I think we should have a meeting, you might even call it a family meeting, if this adoption goes through we’ll probably start having a lot of them. I think it’s important that we are all on the same page.”

That sounded reasonable to Groundskeeper. Max and Filomena had integrated so well into the household, she had a hard time remembering what things had been like before they arrived. It had only been a short while, but it felt like it had been forever, and also like it had been no time at all.

“How do you feel about all of this, Max? I know you told the board you wanted to stay with us, but we sprang all of this on you suddenly.”

Max stared intently at her dessert for a long while. She’d been quieter than usual since the other night. Something was clearly bothering her.

“It’s fine,” she said, not looking up from her plate.

“Hey, kid. If something’s bothering you, you can talk to us about it. No judgments.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

She didn’t say anything, for quite a while.

“I don’t know what to think,” she finally admitted.

“About what?”

“About adoption!” she sniffed, “Doesn’t that mean that my parents aren’t my parents anymore. You’d end up being my moms, and I don’t mind that, but my parents were the ones that I talked to, and brought home report cards, and I just don’t know if this is right.”

“Oh, honey,” Ms. Proctor said, “We aren’t trying to replace your parents.”

“Yeah, I’m too young to be a parent,” Groundskeeper said, snickering inappropriately, “I’m more of a super hot aunt.”

“Groundskeeper,” Ms. Proctor hissed.

“Er, sorry. The point is we’re not trying to be your parents. Just keep you safe and healthy.”

“But why?” Max asked, through her tears, “You don’t even really know me!”

“Ah,” Ms. Proctor said, “This is probably not something that your parents would have told you about. I don’t know how much they talked about their time here, but Adeline, your mother, she saved our lives when she was a student here.”

“She what?”

“It’s true kid,” Groundskeeper added, “Y’see we were going to be dissolved and she came swooping in demanding that the School Board let us live and be together. It was the stuff of legend.”

Max looked unconvinced, “Dissolved? My mother never swooped in her life.”

“She did,” Groundskeeper insisted, “I’m pretty sure she had a cape and everything.”

“Groundskeeper,” Ms. Proctor admonished, “Of course she had a cape, all of Den House does.”

“Oh, right,” Groundskeeper paused, “See?”

Ms. Proctor gave Groundskeeper a loving but exasperated look, “You probably don’t know much about servitor spirits, but you will learn about us in school. Suffice to say, we are generally considered nothing but tools, and we were about to be discarded like tools when your mother stepped in and convinced the School Board to allow us to remain, and more importantly to remain together. That’s why…”

“That’s why we want to help you. Your mom helped us and we never got to repay that. It helps that you're kind of cool, in your own way.”

“Most importantly, we don’t want you to think that we are trying to replace them. Adeline and Johnathan were your parents and no one can take their place. If we can help you become a successful, independent, well-adjusted adult, we’ll be happy. To that end, we can take on whatever role you need us to, and be as involved or uninvolved as you like.”

Max wiped her eyes, clearly feeling a little relieved, “Thank you.”

“Now, about the adoption, if you really don’t want it, we can cancel everything, but you’d be on your own, legally speaking, in regards to your uncle.”

“I’m fine with the adoption if you meant what you said about not trying to replace my parents. That was really my only concern. The last month or so with you has been so nice. I’d like to continue living here.”

“Then I think it’s time we got everyone up to speed,” Ms. Proctor said, taking a bite of her dessert.

“I’ve hired a lawyer, a former student here who owes Groundskeeper a favor for overlooking a little weedberry patch in the endless garden when they were here, and I called in a marker with the head clerk to have the hearing a little earlier. From what I’ve heard, the judge is big on family values, which means we need to be able to prove that you living here is better than with your uncle. That’s going to be tough, given his penchant for seeming on the up and up at first glance.”

“Then what do we need to do?” I asked.

“For a start, Filomena, you will need to wear a suit,” Ms. Proctor said, eyeing her current attire.

She was in a loose oversized pale yellow t-shirt that was hanging off one shoulder. I wasn’t sure what she was wearing underneath it, but a safe guess was not much. She was used to the year round sub-zero temperatures of the Southern Wastes, and as such, even the mild weather of the academy grounds caused her to overheat. She had gotten in the habit of wearing as little as she could get away with.

“Do I really have to? It’s going to be so stuffy in the courthouse,” Filomena practically whined.

“Yes. If you aren’t in something respectable, it will reflect poorly on this household. To that end, I do want to get a picture of you in that nasty maid outfit you were in when you first arrived.”

“Oh! Good idea. Seduce the judge, and we’ll get the ruling we want.”

“No!” We all said at more or less the same time.

Ms. Proctor took a deep breath to bolster her patience, “It will show that he was mistreating you, when we took you in. It should create some cracks in his otherwise flawless veneer. We’ve been working with the lawyer about things that need to be settled to show the two of you being properly cared for. I don’t see much that needs to change in that regard now that Maxine’s room is complete. Granted, if you need anything, just let us know. We’re happy to get you what you need.”

“And what about what Filomena-”

Groundskeeper was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Now, who could that be?”

Ms. Proctor got up and went to the door of the cottage.

“Oh, Mailman, how are you? Do you want to come in out of the cold? I could get you some tea, and I even have a spare bruit berry tart if you’d like.”

“Yanno, that is awful tempting, but I’ve got a few siz’ble packages I gotta get to the Dean o Hollows before they leave fer the night. I’ll take ya up on that offer next time, tho. Just dropping a letter off fer you an the missus.”

“Oh, stop it, you. You know we aren’t married.”

“Yeah, well, ya would be if ya could, an that’s good ‘nough fer me. Be seein’ ya. Say hi to the missus and that kid a yers, huh?”

“I will, you stay warm now. Ok?”

Ms. Proctor closed the door, and returned with a large manila envelope that had been full of papers. Ms. Proctor walked slowly reading one of them intently.

“Who’s it from?” Groundskeeper asked.

“The lawyer, it seems he wants to meet with Maxine and get her views on this whole matter. Seems Derek’s brought his own attorney in to contest the adoption. Some poppycock about us having brainwashed and abducted his neph- well, Maxine. Trying to say we are holding her here against her will.”

“That’s insane,” Filomena said, “What is his problem?”

“Who knows? I’d sure like to give him a whole new set though,” Groundskeeper grumbled, cracking her knuckles suggestively.

“Now, now, let’s focus on something productive,” Ms. Proctor said, putting a hand on Groundskeeper's shoulder.

“When is the meeting?”

“The 28th. All parties will be present, and the judge will get everyone’s side, and review any evidence.”

“Well, then, let’s talk about what Filomena’s been up to, and then get everything ready.”