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.“How is it we snagged you away from Towering Pines in the middle of the summer?”Well.It wasn’t exactly a trick question, but.His hearty laugh was too loud for the little room.He tented his fingers in front of him.Yes, she was sure the man could palm a basketball, maybe two.“Let me rephrase that.” He looked at her resume again.“You are overqualified for the position the executive director hired you for.I’ve got three e-mails here from other staff who have spotted you doing something phenomenal with the kids and were so impressed they had to share it.That doesn’t happen around here, Gia, especially in a short amount of time.I’ll be honest.This place is a mess.I took over this department a year ago and it’s been slow-going.Good employees are hard to find and keep with what we can pay.Granted, I have some key staff who uphold the standard and make us look good, but this is a hard population and community to serve.Some of these kids don’t have a safe place to sleep or enough food.So again, being brutally honest, a professional like you could work anywhere.Why here?”“Well, sir—”“Coach is fine.”“Well, Coach.” She shifted in her chair.“Honesty, right?”“Speak freely.”“All right.First of all, I don’t believe you can be overqualified to work with kids.That’s never made sense to me.How can you know too much to handle a six-year-old? As for Towering Pines, I wish I could have finished the summer.I miss it.I enjoyed taking the lead there, training staff, and helping develop ideas, but I’m recently married and my husband’s home is here.The timing was right to make the move.It would have been my last summer anyway.There’s not a full time job with benefits for me there.”“Congratulations on your marriage.I didn’t know you were a newlywed.”“Thank you.Regarding my work here, I needed a job and no one else made an offer.I love to work with children.In fact, I intend to continue my education and specialize in children’s psychological care.”“There are occasionally other positions in our system here.Program coordinators, things of that nature.”“I know.I’ve applied, and now I have my foot in the door as they say.Maybe something will open up.”“Anything with city, county, or federal funds moves slow, but don’t give up.”“I won’t.”“There’s another reason I wanted to visit with you.”“Yes?”“How are you with angsty thirteen-year-olds?”“My specialty,” Gia said and laughed.“Why?”He scooted his chair forward and moved his laptop aside so he could rest his arms on his desk.“I wasn’t on vacation last week.Wanted to be, but my wife and I had to travel to Tennessee with our seven and nine-year-old daughters to move my nephew back with us.At least temporarily.”“I see.”“It’s a bad situation.My sister is either not able or not willing to give him the care he needs.He sustained some major injuries two years ago in a car accident that killed his biological father.There are some physical disabilities, but he should be participating in his own care and his own life a lot more than he is.He has shut down.”“Is he enrolled in any of the scheduled activities for the day campers?”“Not yet.I’ve brought him to work with me a couple times in hopes he’d make friends and want to take part, but so far he’ll only hang in that game room.This whole building is ADA compliant.We don’t have any specific programs for kids with disabilities, but we don’t turn anyone away providing they can safely participate.Believe me; Ty could participate if he wanted to.”“What would you like me to do?”“With your permission, I’d like to schedule you to work with that age next week.I’m going to insist he come here with me.I’m hoping you can observe him, maybe try to draw him out and let me know your professional opinion of his behavior.”Gia scanned her brain for questions.The community center was not an overnight Christian summer camp.Most activities were co-ed, and the kids went home by six o’clock.She could easily interact with Ty.“I appreciate the candidness of our conversation and the confidence you have in me.I’ll try my best, but Ty is an angry, adolescent boy.He might do well with someone like himself, a guy, someone he can identify with.”“Understood.I’ve already spoken to a young man on staff who might relate.”“How is Ty’s relationship with you? If you don’t mind my asking.”“Not at all.I have two daughters who think they are princesses.Ty was always my little buddy.He’s been with my family a lot.We used to spend hours on the basketball court.Now it reminds him of things he thinks he can’t do anymore [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]