Night Changes

Melinda May released a deep sigh as she shut the engine of her car. She rested her head on the steering wheel. She was really tired. It was an everyday story. Teaching self-defense to different age groups did that. And sparring with one of your employees definitely did that. Releasing a deep breath, she stepped out of her car and locked it. She entered her house. “I am home!” she called out to the house. She heard some sound in the kitchen and walked towards it.

“Just in time, sweetheart,” Phil Coulson said as soon as he saw her. She smiled and walked to him, leaning up on her toes, she pressed a quick kiss to his lips. His hand rested on her waist and stopped her from moving away. They had been married for over twenty years and their bond had only strengthened over the years. “I miss the days when we could make out without a worry,” Phil whispered, turning his attention back to the pot on the stove. Melinda chuckled but agreed with him when he said, “Worth it though.”

“Where are they?” she asked.
“Leo should be in his room, working on some science stuff. Bobbi and Nat are in the backyard.”

Melinda smiled. Her kids. She had never thought she could be a mother but Phil had talked her into fostering kids. She still remembered the day they had brought Leo Fitz in their home. Melinda had fallen in love with him and so had Phil. They had adopted him soon. Over the years, their family had expanded to include Barbara Morse and Natasha Romanoff. Phil and Melinda were proud parents of three absolutely wonderful kids – two teenage girls and an almost teenage boy.

“You should have enough time to take a shower before dinner. By the time, you are back, I will have dinner ready,” Phil told her. Melinda pressed another quick kiss on his lips before hurrying upstairs to their room. She pulled out her home clothes from the wardrobe and then moved to the ensuite. Stripping out of her work clothes, she turned on the shower, letting the warm water soothe her muscles. Her mind wandered to her kids. Leo had been six when they had brought him home. He was a sweet little boy and somehow, he had managed to sneak into their hearts. There was no going back after that.

Barbara, who hated that name and preferred to be called Bobbi, had come next. She had come to live with them at the age of eleven after a tragedy with her birth family. It had taken her some time to be able to accept them as her new family. There had been lots tears and anger. But soon enough they had convinced her that they had no intention of replacing them. The adoption had taken longer than Leo’s due to Bobbi’s hesitation.

Natasha or Tasha like everyone in the house called her had been the last to join their family. She had come in as a twelve-year-old with no known family and an unrivalled temper. Her anger and distrust had been a by-product of her previous experience with foster parents. With patience and love, they had gained her trust. It had been a hard but their patience had been rewarded. Gaining the kids’ trust had been a really long process. They all had their monsters and they all took time to accept their love. But it had been worth it.

Melinda shook herself out of her thoughts and stepped out of the shower. She dried herself and dressed into her pajamas. Leaving the room, she walked down the stairs to the dining table, where her family was. “Mum,” Leo called out as soon as he saw her. Giving her his bright smile, he rushed to her and pressed a kiss on her cheek. Melinda couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on her lips. She ruffled his hairs and allowed him to lead her to the chair. She sat next to him with Phil on her right, at the head of the table. Bobbi sat in front of Melinda and Tasha to Bobbi’s right.

“How was your day, Mom?” Bobbi asked, as everyone started serving themselves spaghetti.
“It was alright. Tiring as usual,” Melinda told them. “What about you people? School starts in a week. You guys ready for it?”
“Uh huh,” Tasha nodded. “I don’t miss the classes but everything else. I miss that.”
“Bobbi?” Melinda asked her oldest daughter.
“I miss basketball.” Melinda rolled her eyes at that. “What? I do miss it.”
“I miss the classes,” Leo said.
“I miss talking about American history,” Phil added. Everyone rolled their eyes at that. “What? You people don’t appreciate it much,” he pouted.
“Well, Bobbi does attend your class, Dad. And I will be attending them starting this year,” Tasha reminded him.
“That’s fair, I guess,” Phil smiled.

The rest of the dinner was completed in comfortable silence. Melinda enjoyed eating the meal. Anything Phil cooked always tasted wonderful. She thought it was his talent, he thought it was the magic of love. They both agreed to disagree.

As the dinner ended, the three kids quickly cleared the table and set the dishes in the dishwasher. Melinda shared a look with Phil. They needed to talk to the kids about something really important. And they didn’t want to screw it up. Not that there was a great chance of screwing this up. Her kids were wonderful and this was going to be a follow up conversation. “Kiddos,” Phil called out. When he had everyone’s attention, he continued, “Why don’t we go to the family room, huh? There is something we need to talk about.” Sharing a look amongst themselves, their three kids hurried towards the den.

“It will be alright,” Phil assured her, noticing the small frown on her face. She nodded. She knew that but still worried. She followed Phil to the den. It was the room they used to spend some time together as a family. The three kids were sitting on the couch, looking at them expectantly. Phil took his seat on the armchair and Melinda perched on its armrest.

“What’s going on? Mom? Dad?” Tasha asked, a slight frown on her face.
“Yeah. You people are worrying us,” Bobbi added.
“I think this is a follow up conversation from the one we had last week,” Leo gave his opinion.

Melinda smiled. “You are right,” she told him. He was perspective and this was the third time they were having this conversation with him. They had done this once with Bobbi. Tasha was new to this.

“Does this mean you have found someone?” Bobbi asked excited.
“Yes. Catherine had found who she thinks will be a perfect for our little family,” Phil informed them.
“Are we getting a new sister or brother?” Tasha asked with a small smile.
“A sister,” Melinda informed them. They all looked ready to jump in joy. She raised her hand and spoke in a firm tone, “Remember…”
“Do not overwhelm her. Do not crowd her. Everything happens at her pace,” Leo parroted.
“Yes. We know the drill, Mom.” Bobbi fondly rolled her eyes.
“Wait,” Tasha interrupted them, “You got a similar lecture before I came to live here?”
“Uh huh,” Leo nodded. “It’s my third time.”
“My fourth,” Phil said cheekily. The kids laughed. Melinda glared at him and was rewarded with a kiss on her cheek.
“So, tell us about her,” Tasha demanded.
“Is she into sports?” Bobbi added her own question.
“Is she older than me? Or younger?” Leo asked enthusiastically.

“She is same age as you,” Melinda informed her son. “Which means she will be in class with you.” Leo grinned and pumped his fist. He had been a little upset since Tasha would be moving to high school and he would be left alone in the middle school. Not anymore. “Her name is Mary Sue Poots. She has been in the system all her life. Due to some reasons, her file was transferred to Catherine, who immediately thought of us.” A dark look crossed Tasha’s face. She had first-hand experience of how cruel some parents could be. Melinda and Phil had always regretted not being able to bring Tasha sooner in their family. Had they done that, they could have saved her from a lot of pain.

“We will take care of her, Mama,” Tasha spoke confidently. “She’ll soon figure out that this is the best family she could have asked for.” Melinda felt warmth fill her at these words.

“Thank you, Tasha,” Phil smiled at her, his eyes crinkling in the corners.
“When will she be coming home?” Bobbi asked.
“We’ll be going tomorrow. If everything goes well, she’ll come back with us,” Phil informed them. “But before that, we need to make sure that her room feels a little homely.”

So, they all set out to do exactly that. Clean bedsheets were put on. The curtains were changed to a much livelier blue color. Catherine had told them that Mary preferred that color. By the time they were done, Melinda found herself wishing for a cozy bed. “We should call it an early night. We have a long day tomorrow,” she said. She kissed her kids and after ensuring that they were all fine, she went to her and Phil’s room.

Soon they were both lying on the bed. Melinda shifted till her head was on Phil’s shoulder. His hand wrapped around her; his fingers softly played with her hairs. All tension drained out of her body. This was her home. Phil’s arms around her; her kids in their rooms. This was her home. “Nervous?” Phil asked her, shifting so he could see her. Melinda was nervous. She had been nervous when they brought Leo home and again when Bobbi came to them and again when Tasha came. “I am,” Phil confessed. “Her file doesn’t have much. There is so much missing. Who knows what horrors the poor kid has seen.”

“We will have to be careful. At least until we know things that can trigger her,” Melinda said. She sighed and snuggled into her husband. “Is it weird that we haven’t even met her and yet I am feeling protective about her?”

“No. I am feeling that too. I think that’s the part of being parents.”

Skye kicked her feet against the grass. The magazine was really boring. She had been trying to read it since an hour but she couldn’t. It made sense. It was a science magazine, and science was not Skye’s strong subject. She looked around. She was sitting in the playground attached to Saint Agnes group home. That was where she lived. Mostly. Sometimes a couple would foster her and she would go to live with them. But she was always sent back. Always. She had come to the group home as a baby. The nuns told her that she had been a fussy baby who cried a lot. Skye had no idea what they expected to achieve by telling that to her. It’s not like she could go back in time and change it.

“Hey,” a voice brought Skye out of her reverie. She looked around and saw her new social worker walking towards her. She was closely followed by a couple. Skye stood up, shoving her hands into her jeans pocket. She took her time to observe the couple. The man looked middle aged, thinning brown hairs and blue eyes, which Skye noticed when he came closer. The woman appeared to be younger, with black shoulder length hairs. She was beautiful. He was American and she was Asian. Had Skye been ignorant she would have thought they were her birth parents. But she knew better. Those people had just left her. She waited patiently as they approached her.

“Miss Dsouza,” Skye greeted her social worker with a nod and was rewarded with a warm smile. Skye liked her better than she liked her previous social worker but the woman had done nothing to gain her trust.
“This is Philip James Coulson and his wife Melinda May,” Miss Dsouza introduced the couple. “They want to foster you. Long term.” Skye raised an eyebrow. “This, as you know, is Mary Sue Poots.”

“Skye,” she corrected without a second thought. She had been left without a name. And for some wonderfully stupid reason, the nuns had named her Mary Sue Poots. She hated that name. She looked at Miss Dsouza and asked, “Have they met Sister Margaret?” Sister Margaret often dissuaded parents from fostering her. She told them how difficult Skye could be. If they hadn’t met her yet, Skye would not get her hopes high in case Sister Margaret changed their mind.

“Yes. They have,” Miss Dsouza replied, her smile still warm. “I made a promise to you. And I have no intention of breaking it. Now, while I start the formalities, why don’t you people get to know each other a little better.” Miss Dsouza walked away, leaving the three of them in each other’s company. Skye gestured them to take a seat and they obliged her.

“I take it you prefer to be called Skye,” the woman – Mrs. May – said.
“You’d too if some nuns named you Mary Sue Poots,” Skye retorted. A small grin appeared on the man’s face while the woman smirked. That was not a reaction Skye expected but she’d take it. “Do you have any other kids?” Skye asked. Other kids didn’t like her and the fosters trusted their own kids over Skye.

“We do,” the man – Mr. Coulson – told her. “Three.” His tone held pride. Skye wondered if his kids knew they were lucky that he talked about them with such pride. No one ever felt proud of her for anything. Not that Skye had done anything to make others feel proud.

“They were foster kids too,” Mrs. May told her. “We adopted them. Leo has been with us for six years. Bobbi for four and Tasha for two.” She was giving Skye a look that made her feel as if she understood the reason Skye had asked the question. If they were foster kids, maybe they wouldn’t be so bad. Wait –

“Six, four, two. Seems like a pattern?” Skye smirked. The couple laughed.
“It was a coincidence,” Mr. Coulson grinned.
Skye nodded thoughtfully. “And they are okay with me?”

The couple shared a look and it seemed to Skye as if they were communicating silently. Was that even possible? Skye was not sure. They looked back at her. Mrs. May was the one who spoke, “They are already looking forward to meeting and getting to know you. They are really excited.” Skye nodded in acceptance though she did not entirely believe them.

“Tell us something about yourself, Skye. Do you have a hobby?” Mr. Coulson asked. Skye was surprised though she tried not to show it. Never before had a foster parent called her Skye, no matter how many times she told them to.
“I draw,” she shrugged, not wanting to draw too much attention to it. Most people just told her it was a waste of time.
“That’s impressive. Can we see?” Mr. Coulson asked. He looked really curious and excited. Mrs. May too looked curious though she was doing a much better job than Mr. Coulson in hiding it.
“It’s in my room,” Skye told them. “I can get it…”

She was interrupted by the arrival of Miss Dsouza. “The documents are ready for your signatures,” she told the couple before turning to Skye, “Why don’t you go pack your bags?” Skye gave her a nod and moved to leave but Mrs. May stopped her. She looked slightly sheepish as she pulled out a small bag from her pocket. Skye wondered what it was. She was surprised when the bag unfolded into a proper duffel bag. Confusion filled her when Mrs. May offered her the bag. She looked at Miss Dsouza for guidance. “They didn’t want you to use a garbage bag for your stuff,” Miss Dsouza explained. Skye felt her mouth open in surprise. This was going to be her tenth foster home. Never before had anyone thought like that. She felt her eyes getting moist. She gritted her teeth and accepted the bag with a small thanks. Leaving them behind, she rushed to the room she shared with five other girls.

Skye started filling the duffel bag and the one backpack she had with her clothes and other necessities. There were few. The group home didn’t receive enough funds to get new clothes for all the kids. And there were a lot of kids to take care of. She pulled out her copy and the bundle of papers from under the bed. It held all her sketches. Skye never liked to leave them behind. When the bag was packed, she picked it up and went towards Sister Margaret’s office.

“Mary Sue, where did you get that bag from?” Sister Margaret exclaimed as soon as she saw Skye. The look she gave her clearly said that she believed Skye had stolen it. Skye clenched her teeth. She was not a thief.

“We gave it to her,” Mr. Coulson told her. His voice was hard and had lost all the warmth. Mrs. May had her hands clenched. Skye wondered what was going on. Sister Margaret looked a little lost. Skye knew what it felt like. She was as surprised as the nun. These two people were…weird. “If that was all, maybe we should leave,” Mr. Coulson asked. He got up from his chair as did his wife. They turned towards Skye. The hardness on their faces disappeared in an instant. “Come on, Skye,” he reached out to her. She held herself stiffly, hoping that he wouldn’t notice her discomfort. He did but instead of reacting negatively to it, he gave her an apologetic smile. “Let’s go home,” he said. Skye nodded and followed them to their car. Home. She didn’t have a home.

Mr. Coulson put Skye’s bag into the car for her and gestured her to hop in. As Skye got into the car, Mrs. May asked, “Skye. Will you fine alone in the back seat or would you like me to sit with you?”

“Alone is fine Mrs. May.” Skye smiled at the woman. She nodded in response and sat in the front seat while Mr. Coulson took the steering wheel. As the car began to move, Skye waved a bye to Miss Dsouza, who waved back.

There was a silence for a few minutes before Mrs. May turned to look at her and spoke, “You don’t have to call me Mrs. May, Skye. Call me Melinda. Mrs. May makes me feel old.” She winked towards her and Skye couldn’t help but grin.

“You are anything but old, dear,” Mr. Coulson grinned at his wife. “And call me Phil, Skye. My students call me Mr. Coulson.” Skye nodded at them.

“Students?” she asked, hoping they won’t mind her inquisitiveness.

“Oh! I didn’t tell you, did I?” he asked. “Sorry about that. I am a teacher in high school where we live. I teach history, mostly American. Melinda here owns a martial arts institute.”

“You know martial arts?” Skye asked the woman.

“I do. So, does Phil. We were both in the FBI.”
“That is so cool,” Skye exclaimed. “So, you two were like spies?”
Phil laughed. “More like agents.”
“Cool.”

It was cool. Skye wondered if they would be fine with sharing a few stories but didn’t ask. She didn’t want to get too attached. That always got her hurt. It was a simple rule. Don’t get attached and don’t expect too much. That ways it didn’t hurt much when she was sent back. She knew these two would be sending her back soon. She was a trouble child. She had tried to run away once. Like the nuns said, she had the devil inside her. She looked out of the window and tried not to think about her previous foster families. She watched as the buildings passed by. The car was slowing down. Skye assumed that they were about to reach their destination.

“We are here,” Melinda announced. The car had stopped. Skye stepped out and found herself looking at a two-story house. The house looked inviting, instead of cramped or badly maintained. Skye hoped that was a good sign. She waited for Phil and Melinda to get out of the car and when they did, she followed them in. “Welcome home, Skye,” Melinda whispered to her. It felt good to hear but Skye knew this was not a home. It was just another place she had to stay in.

Inside of the house seemed homely. As she entered in through the main door, Skye found herself in a spacious foyer. The living room was immediately to the left of the foyer, cozy and inviting, furnished with plush sofas, a coffee table, and adorned with photographs on the wall. Skye could see Phil and Melinda along with three kids. The boy was probably her age, the girls - blonde and redhead - were definitely older than her.

Straight ahead from the foyer was the open-plan kitchen and dining area. The kitchen had modern appliances, a central island, and overlooked the backyard through large windows. The dining table was situated adjacent to the kitchen, surrounded by chairs for family meals. There was a door that probably led to the backyard.

Adjacent to the kitchen was what Melinda told her was the family room. “We normally spend our time there, playing games, watching movies.” Skye could see bean bags and floor cushions, a large TV, and shelves for books and games. Voices were coming through the open door. Phil hurried towards it while Melinda stayed behind with Skye. She pointed towards one of the other doors and said, “That’s our study.”

Near the study was a bathroom painted in bright colors and decorated with quirky fish-shaped hooks for towels, making it feel fun and welcoming. Next to it was the laundry room, where the hum of the washing machine echoed softly. At the end of the hall on the ground floor was the guest bedroom. It was cozy, with a bed covered in fluffy pillows and a small desk.

Melinda led Skye back to the living room as Phil walked in with three other people behind him. Skye steeled herself.

The tallest one introduced herself as Bobbi. She had blonde hair and a smile on her face. Welcoming smile. Skye gave her a small smile in return. The other girl, Natasha, was shorter. She had beautiful red hairs and seemed to be watching her moves closely. She was not smiling but her face looked open. The boy, Leo, was practically grinning. When he introduced himself, Skye noticed he had a slight accent. Skye smiled at him too. Phil did the introductions on her behalf and made sure to tell the others that she preferred to be called Skye. “Why don’t you three show Skye her room?” Phil suggested. They nodded and Skye followed them up the stairs to the right of the foyer.

Upstairs looked homely too. Phil and Melinda had obviously taken great care to make the place look inviting. Skye took this as a positive. The house looked like it belonged to someone good. She looked at the door right next to the stairs. “That’s Mom and Dad’s room,” Bobbi told her. “They have a bathroom attached to theirs. We share the hall bathrooms. I’ll let Mom show you her room.”

They moved further and Skye saw Leo’s room which was next to Phil and Melinda’s. The next room was Bobbi’s. While Fitz’s room had been clean and organized, Bobbi’s was messy. “It’s an organized mess,” Bobbi assured them. The room in front of Fitz’s was Natasha’s. It was even messier but somehow Skye figured that Natasha would have no trouble finding her things despite the mess.

Finally, Bobbi opened the last door. It was right in front of Bobbi’s room. “This is your room,” Bobbi said. Skye entered and looked around. The bed was in the center. There was a dresser next to the door. On one side of the bed was the nightstand. On the other side was a desk and chair. The walls were light blue. Even the comforter was blue. There was also a bean bag. There was a big window on the side from where she could see the backyard. Skye couldn’t believe her eyes. Her room was like Bobbi, Fitz and Natasha’s, minus the personal touch. She looked at Bobbi and asked in a small voice, “All this for me?”

It was Natasha who answered in positive. Her face held understanding while the other two looked upset. Skye looked at them and Natasha followed her gaze. “This was their first foster home,” Natasha told her. Skye understood. They didn’t know what most fosters were like.
“What about you?” she asked Natasha.
“Fourth.” Natasha smiled sadly. “I was in pretty bad places but I finally ended up here.” She looked at Skye for a few seconds and asked, “You know about good and bad homes, right?” Skye nodded. “This is better than the best,” Natasha told her seriously.