Back at the house, Laura was helping her new children unpack their belongings into what was now their bedroom. The day before, they had emptied most of the drawers and cupboards of Samantha’s clothes, putting everything in the living room for the moment to look through later, and packed her toys and games into plastic crates which Laura assured them they would be welcome to go through and keep anything they wanted. A few things they liked were spotted while they packed so they kept these out up in the room. Since the both liked drawing and being creative, all her art supplies were left where they were, ready to be used by their new owners.

It had felt a little disrespectful taking her posters and other personal pictures down but Laura reminded Ryan and Erin that this was their room now, for the next several months at least, until they could have the planned building work done, so it was important that it was made to feel like their own, not someone else’s room that they were staying in. There was one poster from a movie that Ryan was also a fan of so that stayed up, as did one of a band that Erin liked, but the rest were carefully rolled into tubes that Laura found in the garage and put with the rest of Samantha’s property downstairs. Although Erin would have first dibs on any of Samantha’s clothes she wanted, Laura intended to let Amelia look through what was left in case there was anything she wanted before the rest got donated.

Once the shelves, cupboards and drawers were empty, Laura helped them wipe down all the surfaces with lemon-fresh wipes then they pulled of the bedding that the three girls had shared the night before and Laura promised they would pick up a new set on their way home. She had then driven them to the group foster home to collect their belongings which, heartbreakingly, did not take very long at all to pack up and required only one car journey to transport. Laura assured the siblings that, once the holidays were over and things were more settled, they could have any of their friends over from the home that they wanted. Erin’s precious doll collection probably took up the most room, filling most of the boot of the car, but there was plenty of room left between the children on the back seat and in the passenger space in the front.

They had stopped at the large supermarket on the way home so that the children could pick out a new duvet and pillow set and the sheets and extra pillowcases needed to go with it. Since they would be sharing Samantha’s double bed for now, Laura also bought some extra pillows so they could be comfy. Thinking it was a good time to pick up some other bits and pieces they might need and conscious of the shops limited Boxing Day opening hours, they had gone around the necessary aisles and picked up new toothbrushes, their favourite brand of toothpaste, deodorant, soap, shower gel and anything else Laura thought they might need to feel at home. By the time they got back, they were feeling too tired to unpack, which was not surprising under the circumstances, so Laura had helped them put on the new bedding then they had watched some comedy special on TV while she made dinner which they ate on the sofa, watching a movie.

After the movie, the children had asked if they could take a bath, promising that they didn’t mind sharing. Knowing from recent experience that the tub was comfortably big enough for an adult and a child to share and therefore easily big enough for two children, and thinking that a hot, relaxing bath before bed was probably a good idea after the excitement of the last couple of days, Laura had happily agreed and had gone to run them a bath with plenty of bubbles while they went to the bedroom to undress. Over the last few weeks, she had got so used to Samantha walking around the house in her birthday suit and, of course, all the children had stripped off to play in the snow at the party so it really came as no shock to Laura when the two pre-teens came wandering in naked to see if their bath was ready. Laura was pleased to see her new son acting like a gentleman and accepting the taps end as she left them to enjoy their bath.

A little over an hour later, during which she had started sorting Samantha’s clothes by type and setting them out on the back of the sofa and on the dining table to make them easier to sort through, they had come down in their pyjamas to wish her goodnight and to ask for water to take to bed which she had happily provided.

It had felt a little strange to be all on her own in bed that night. The times recently where she had let Amelia have the use of her husband, she had had Samantha to snuggle with. Not that she resented the fact that her husband was spending the night away with his young lover. It had been her idea after all! She hoped they liked the restaurant she had picked for them and the hotel’s association with Sidney! The reviews she had read before booking had made it clear that they would be made very welcome there and not given any trouble over the nature of their relationship. In fact, it seemed that the fact that the Roebuck International chain were welcoming to such couples was something of an open secret. Not wanting to disturb her new children, Laura had put the TV on the in bedroom for company and was very soon asleep herself.

Feeling refreshed and invigorated, the three of them were now unpacking the sibling’s possessions and finding places for them around the room. Erin, who also liked horror, had opted to keep some of Samantha’s books, especially the ones by Stephen King, and some of her fantasy titles but neither had been interested in her teen romance collection so these had been taken downstairs. Since there were two fairly long shelves for books, it was decided that they could have one each, Erin taking the upper one as that was where the books she was keeping already were and Ryan putting his sci-fi and game-related books on the lower shelf.

The shelf above the desk seemed the best place for Erin’s doll collection and she proudly put the Stacie-as-Sidney that Samantha had picked out for her in pride of place in the centre. As it currently stood, the collection filled the entire shelf with no room for expansion but Laura promised that they would work something out – either more shelves or a special cabinet so that she could keep adding new dolls as and when she found one that was worthy of inclusion in this rather exclusive collection. For now, Ryan’s action figures and other models, the collectable ones that he liked to keep on display rather than the ones he played with, were able to fit on his book-shelf.

The relatively small collection of toys they had brought with them - tubs of Lego, boxes of action figures, board games and a few other bits and pieces fitted easily into one of the cupboards while the cuddly toys were arranged along the top of the bed’s headboard. There would be plenty of time to add their own posters, photographs, art work and anything else they wanted but for now at least the room was starting to feel like their own, with familiar items on display and their own clothes hanging in the wardrobe and a little in the drawers that they had been allocated two of each.

“So where are we going to put the picture of Samantha?” Erin asked with a giggle. Laura admitted that she had been wondering about this, since the picture of Samantha as Sidney that they had kept, intending to put in this room, had her leg dangling down so it could not really go on top of any cupboards that needed to be opened. This would be something they would need to think about but they all felt sure that they would come up with a solution in time.

“What time are the others getting back?” Ryan asked, referring to Josh and Amelia.

“We didn’t really set a time,” Laura explained, “I assume Amelia’s parents will let us know when they’re on their way to pick her up but I expect if we don’t hear anything else, they’ll be back in time for dinner. As we’ve all eaten quite heavily recently, I was going to make a cold meat salad with the rest of Samantha and the Emily ham, does that sound good? I’ll do some garlic bread on the side.” Both children enthusiastically agreed.

“Ella and Lydia live across the road, right?” Erin asked as they headed downstairs.

“That’s right.” Laura smiled. “For about three more weeks, at least!” Both children giggled.

“Can we ask them over some time?” her new daughter asked. “Like a play-date?”

“Of course!” Laura agreed warmly, happy that the children seemed to have made friends at the party, even if the friends in question weren’t going to be around any more after the middle of the the next month. “Better organise it soon!” she suggested. “The party will come around sooner than you think!”

“Oh yeah, and speaking of parties…” Erin ventured, hoping that she wasn’t over-stepping or being presumptuous. Laura’s warm and inquisitive smile reassured her and she continued. “Well, do you think we could throw them a Sidney party? Maybe the weekend before they… you know?”

“A Sidney party?” Laura asked, curiously, “What’s that?”

“You know?” Erin prompted. “Like Samantha suggested on Christmas Eve? She said it should be a thing for girls who are going to roast at a party, since they’ll miss most of it. They should get a little party before where everyone dresses up as Sidney? It could be fun?” she suggested. “Doesn’t have to be big, just those two, the other girls from Christmas and maybe a couple of their school friends? I’ve already got the hat and boots from Emily,” she reminded her new mum, “and Amelia has her own set too, so does Willow!”

“I think that sounds like a lovely idea!” Laura smiled, happy to see that her new daughter was so thoughtful and considerate. “I’ll have a chat with her mum later and we’ll sort something out. But what about you?” She turned to Ryan with a cheeky grin. “Think you can handle a party full of naked cowgirls? Want a hat and boots of your own?”

“I…” Ryan blushed a little but chuckled. “I might just play video games in your room that evening if that’s okay?”

“Probably smart!” Laura chuckled, remembering how Marshall would retreat to his own bedroom when she had her girl-friends over when they were kids themselves. “In fact…” She took out her phone and sent a message to Miranda, asking if it would be okay to pop over as Erin had something she wanted to discuss. A message came back almost immediately that they were at home and that the girls would be delighted to see their new friend. “You’re welcome too,” Laura smiled at Ryan, “or you’re just as welcome to stay here and have some time to yourself if you’d rather? I’ll only be across the road and you have my number in case you need anything.” Ryan concluded that he would rather stay and chill out in his new bedroom so Laura and Erin put their coats, trudged carefully through the rather compacted and re-frozen snow on the pavement and crossed the road to Miranda’s house.


To be continued...