"Would one o'clock this afternoon work?"

"Yes. Where is it?"

The person on the phone gives an address. 

"All right, we'll be there."

"Thank you!"

And Veronica looks up the address and gets flying directions and tells Anna-Charlotte.

"Okay. Should I leave my library books here in case my foster parents don't live near this library?"

"I don't think they'll send you home with foster parents today, but in case they do maybe don't bring all of them, just two or three so I can carry them home easily."

"Okay."

And off they fly.

Anna-Charlotte is nervous, but working to hide it; only the white of her knuckles clenched around the books she clutches to her chest give her away. 

"It'll be all right, Anna-Charlotte."

"I know."

Her fingers do not unclench. 

"Dear God, we pray that You will guide Anna-Charlotte to good and loving people who will make a place in their home for her, shaped just right, and that she will grow up there safely and happily."

"I would definitely hug you right now if we were on the ground."

"Well, we'll be landing soon."

Nod. 

They land. Anna-Charlotte hugs her. 

Hug!

And in they go. "Hello, I'm Veronica Norton, we have an appointment?"

"Oh, hello, yes! And you'd be Anna-Charlotte Sharma, is that right?" 

Nod. 

"Okay, I'll page the social worker assigned to your case, and then you can talk to for a bit, okay?"

"Okay." 

The social worker ushers her into her office and talks to her about what she thinks she needs in an environment and what problems her guardians had that they should be particularly careful to watch out for and also various other information about her that wasn't on her legal documents, and then gives her a piece of candy and sends her back out. 

Veronica's waiting, reading a waiting room magazine which she sets down when Anna-Charlotte emerges. "How'd it go?"

"Fine I think. She gave me a piece of candy."