Gale sat slumped at the kitchen table, face buried in his hands as he tried desperately to think a way out of this hole he and his family had been thrown into.
It had been a little over 48 hours since his Ma had passed away. Eight hours since her funeral. 50 hours since he last slept.
The sickest part of this cruel joke was that he hardly had any time to grieve the loss of his last remaining parent, whom he had loved endlessly, because he was consumed by the unrelenting fear of having his three younger siblings stolen from him.
What was he supposed to tell CPS if-when they showed up to their doorstep? How could he, a 20 year old mechanic with no college education argue that he could take care of a 6 year old little girl, and two teenage
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“What did you just say?”
Madge’s bravado is lost and she looks down at her snow-covered boots. “I think you should marry me.”
“Wha-” Gale garbles, before shutting his eyes tightly. Couldn’t life let him handle one fucking hurdle at a time.
“I can get a job at Daddy’s office, and land myself a decent enough paycheck that if I was your wife, the combined income would be enough that you wouldn’t have to lose either three of your siblings.”
Gale’s eyes snap open at her words, and looks at her closer than he ever has. Her head is covered by a purple hat, but the hair that tumbles out of it is blonde and gently curling, sprinkled with white snowflakes. Her face is heart shaped, and she has large, innocent looking eyes.
“It’s freezing,” is all Gale says, stepping aside so that she can step inside. She does so, but stands in the foyer shyly, hands clasped tightly in front of her.
Once he has the door shut, he looks at her once more with his arms crossed against his chest. He can tell she’s intimidated by him, especially by the height difference of over a foot between them, but he can’t let this pass without careful scrutiny.
“What’s in it for you?” Gale asks directly, carefully gauging her
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Undersee?”
The soft voice silences both of them, and they look over to see Posy’s tear streaked face, her rag doll clutched tightly in her hand.
“Hi Posy,” Madge greets sadly.
Posy drops the doll and sprints towards her teacher, launching herself into her arms.
Madge, to his surprise, is able to catch her easily, and even pulls her into a tight embrace as Posy sobs into hair.
“I know,” Madge soothes as Posy mumbles nonsensical words. She takes him by surprise again when he sees her own eyes are wet. “I know, love.”
Gale watches, feeling both useless and relieved as Madge is able to calm Posy back down to a calmer state, and he can finally take Posy from her arms to tuck back into bed.
He’s making his way back to the living room, when Rory and Vick’s room’s door is suddenly opened. Standing in the doorway is Rory, and Gale is able to tell immediately that his brother hasn’t been able to sleep either.
“Don’t fuck this up,” is all he says. Gale nods.
Once he’s back in Madge’s sight, she immediately gets up from her spot on the couch and begins talking. “Look I know I’ve made a mess of this all, but the thing is, my Mom died when I was young too, and I-”
“I’ll do it,” Gale interrupts her. “I’ll marry