Free Second Chances by Lincoln Cole

let me help,” Richard said.
    “And she is,” Meghan said, holding up the folders Nichole
had been working on.  “Help her with the things she asked for. Nothing more,
and nothing less.”
    Richard sighed.
    “I can get in trouble with the courts if I submit that
paperwork.”
    “You could. You probably won’t,” Meghan said.  “But you’re
right, you could. What if Nichole was the guardian for those two kids?”
    “Then she could submit the paperwork for her brother and
sister anyway,” Richard said.  “But, if they don’t know where their Mom is or
what happened to her, there’s no way the courts will approve her becoming
guardian.  They can’t easily make Nichole the guardian if her mother is only
missing. It would take months of paperwork without more information.”
    “Then just submit this paperwork and get Kenni
transferred.”
    Richard frowned.  “And what if the judge asks to speak to
the Mom?”
    “Then stall and throw up roadblocks.  You’re good at that
kind of thing.”
    “It wouldn’t be easy.”
    “Is that really what you’re worried about? Having to put in
a few extra hours of work to do this for her?  Or is it something else?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Is it because she lied to you?  She looks up to you, and
you treat her like a daughter.  It breaks your heart, knowing she didn’t trust
you with this.”
    Richard waved his hand, brushing the thought away.  “She
lied, but that isn’t the issue. The issue is ethics.”
    “Are you sure?”
    Richard didn’t reply.  Honestly, he wasn’t.
    Meghan glanced down at her watch.  “It’s almost five. I
think I’m going to go home.”
    “Okay,” Richard said.  He rubbed his face.  “I should as
well, so I can get ready to meet my brother.”
    “It won’t be too bad,” she said.
    “I know,” Richard replied.  “I know it won’t. I…I honestly
don’t even know why I’m so apprehensive about it.  It isn’t a big deal.”
    “No, not really,” Meghan replied.  “Have a good night.”
    “You too,” Richard said.
    Meghan headed back to the lobby and a second later he heard
the elevator opening.  He waited a few minutes and then headed out as well.
    On her desk Meghan had left a manila folder, sitting on the
edge of the counter.  Richard flipped it open and saw Kenni and Tyler’s paperwork,
neatly folded and paper-clipped.  A post-it note was attached to the front. It
read:
    A little extra risk never killed anyone.

Chapter 10
Nichole
     
    After leaving the office, Nichole wandered for a bit. She
thought to head to her afternoon job, but her legs refused to go in that
direction. She was too miserable and exhausted to want to talk to any more
people today.
    She was still upset, but a large part of her was more angry
than upset now.  She was angry at the entire situation, the circumstances that
had brought her to this point.  She didn’t have anywhere to turn to for help,
and it was infuriating.
    She was sick of constantly having to worry about what to do
next. She hated wondering how people felt about her, and how they treated her. 
She shouldn’t need to go to anyone for help, ever.
    It had never really sunk into her just how cold of a place
this world could be.  All she wanted to do was live her life quietly and be
content, but that wasn’t what she was being offered. Instead, it felt like
there were invisible arms holding her back.
    She looked over at a random passerby heading the other
direction on the sidewalk. He was a twenty something guy in a business suit,
talking on his phone and ignoring the world around him. She stepped in his way,
forcing him to notice her.
    “Is it worse that I’m a woman?” she asked him. “Or that I’m
black?”
    He looked at her like she was crazy and then kept walking. 
She felt the urge to laugh and kept wandering down the road, smiling even
though she had nothing to smile about.
    She called her other job and told them she wasn’t coming
in.  She felt