60|I'll Be Good

"I have good and bad news for you," Smith said. "Which one do you want first?"

"Hit me with the bad first."

"Alright, unfortunately, I can't get through to the social worker."

Marybeth rolled her eyes. She could have told her that. "What's the good news then?"

"We've managed to get beds. It's actually two cots at Safe Haven for the little boys—"

Marybeth cut in, asking, "what about Adeline? Where does that leave her? You can't separate them. They don't know where their mother is, and Adeline's been looking after them the whole day. They won't handle the separation well—"

"With all due respect, are you trying to teach me how to do my job?"

"Of course not! But you're the one who read me the riot act about not following protocol, and I'm pretty sure leaving one of the children by herself is not protocol!"

"Marybeth!" Smith inhaled hard, clearly outraged by her brazenness. "You understand Safe Haven is doing us a favour here, right? There is no bed for Adeline. They've taken in four of ou