Interlude - Mary II
Chapter 17 ~ nosex
Today was the day. Chief of Police Larry Hawkins was getting Mary from the hospital and taking her out to a remote horse ranch in west Texas. He was both happy and worried for her... he hoped she would be ok out there, so far from the world.
The world that tried but hadn't managed to destroy her... and that thought made him a little more optimistic for her chances.
He arrived at the hospital and they knew him so he was buzzed past the front desk, he would meet Dr. Linda Marcus in her office, but she wasn't there. He walked down the hallway to the common area and asked the man at the desk there, "Is the doc in?"
"Yes sir, she's expecting you," and buzzed the door, unlocking it.
He stepped in and found the three of them, Dr. Marcus, Mary, and Lucy sitting over in what he understood to be Mary's favorite corner, overlooking the garden. He started walking toward them, the younger girls with their backs to him, but Dr. Marcus saw him and gave him a small "hang back" wave. He was just barely in earshot already, but he stopped and found a wall to lean against, waiting.
"I'm really going to miss you," Lucy said with a tear in her eye.
"Me too," Mary also crying, and they shared a hug.
"I got you this..." Lucy produced a wrapped present from the seat beside her. "It's dumb... we're too old for this stuff now... but my Mom gave it to me..."
Mary unwrapped it and opened it, it was an old doll, made of some sort of rough cloth, with sewn on eyes and a mouth, and a head covered with yellow yarn for hair.
"My mom said her mom had given it to her when she was little, before she died.... before grandfather...." and Lucy trailed off. "But my Mom gave it to me when she got out of the hospital. It was the only thing she kept when the big house was sold off."
Mary held the doll, and looked to Lucy.
"She said it reminded her of her mom and when times were happy, so she gave it to me, and said it was my turn to find happy times." Tears were rolling down her cheeks, now.
Dr. Marcus turned her head to hide a tear also rolling down her face, wiping it discretely. She didn't want to appear unprofessional. Chief Hawkins noticed.
"But now I want you to have it. I want so much for you to be happy... and this is the only thing I have that I can give you that means anything to me."
Mary looked at her, tears running down both her cheeks, and embraced Lucy, fiercely. "I love you," she said to her friend. "I love you."
Lucy held her back.
After a long time they broke their hug and wiped their eyes, laughing at themselves, softly. "I love it, I will keep it forever and it will always remind me of you, and today." Mary said, looking at Lucy's doll.
Lucy wiped another tear. "This isn't goodbye forever. As soon as you get settled we'll talk, and figure out how to visit."
Mary nodded and smiled, but she had her doubts... she wasn't quite to the point where she could think of herself as having a future that far ahead. Right now all she knew was that she was going to Texas to be with people she'd never met at a place she didn't understand. She knew what a horse was... she'd seen pictures... but a whole farm of them? Beyond her comprehension. But she trusted Lucy, and Lucy said she wanted to visit, so she would hold on to how that made her feel... happy.
Dr. Marcus felt like this was a natural break in their goodbyes, he waved Chief Hawkins over. "Hello, ladies," he said walking up, and the younger girls looked up at him.
Lucy smiled, she'd always liked him since he started taking care of her the day after... The Circle ended, and how he helped get her new apartment and stuff. "Hi Larry!" she smiled at him, and he smiled back, he had to watch himself to not get too attached, but he absolutely adored Lucy. What he'd just overheard and the gift she'd given Mary only strengthened his feelings.
"And hello Mary, are you ready for your big day?"
The younger girl had gotten to the point where she would trust him to not hurt her, with Dr. Marcus's help.... but she wasn't quite ready to smile at him, yet. She just nodded at who she thought of as "the large police man," since she had never met him out of uniform.
"I've been telling Mary about your busy day today, first the airplane ride, and then the long drive through the desert. She said she would be brave," Dr. Marcus said, giving him what he recognized as a slightly worried look.
He'd already spoken with Linda Marcus on the phone several times, they were all worried about this trip, to an extent. Mary just hadn't been challenged in this way, yet, being alone with a man for hours at a time, traveling across the country. But he'd visited her several times, had gotten her used to his presence, and he knew to never invade her space, much less ever touch her. She still would only allow three humans to touch her, and he wasn't one of them.
"I think Mary will be just fine," he said softly, making eye contact with her. "She's a tough girl, the toughest I've ever seen. A little trip in an airplane is nothing." He thought he might have seen a hint of a smile... not on her lips, but in her eyes, as she looked at him silently. But who can say, probably just wishful thinking. "I hate to rush us, but you know how it is to fly, now.... we need to get there hours ahead of time. Are we ready to go?"
And suddenly Lucy was crying out loud, hugging Mary. "I'm sorry," she said embracing her. "I thought I was ok with this but I guess I'm not."
Mary held her back, and Dr. Marcus was astounded to hear Mary say, "It will be ok. I will be ok. This is going to be really good for me, please don't cry." Mary actually comforting her friend for a change, instead of the other way around.
Suddenly, Dr. Marcus wasn't worried for her, at all. She knew Mary was going to survive. She smiled, and felt a great wave of silent relief.
"I'll call as soon as I can, ok?" Mary told her crying friend. "I have your cell number and Skype. As soon as I can, I'll call. I promise."
Linda held out a box of tissues for Lucy, who smiled and took one, dabbing her eyes.
Mary pulled away, holding the yellow-haired doll in one hand, and Lucy's hand in the other. "Thank you for everything, Lucy. I love you."
Lucy laughed and sobbed at the same time, squeezing her friend's hand. "I love you."
Mary looked up at Chief Hawkins. "I guess it's time to go?"
"I guess it is," he said, saying nothing more. His voice was a little thick and he didn't trust it to not crack if he said anything else. Dr. Linda Marcus noticed.
Mary turned to Dr. Marcus, looking up at her. "Thank you for helping me. I..." she wasn't sure what she wanted to say. "I guess just thank you. Thank you for being here when I needed you. For making be be able to... be ok." Mary was grasping to put words to what she was feeling, so instead she just did what she felt, she hugged her doctor around her waist, and squeezed.
Linda was caught completely off guard, this was more raw emotion than she'd ever seen from Mary, apart from how she was with Lucy. She dared to hug Mary back, and though she felt the little girl's body flinch and was shaking under the contact, but Mary didn't break the embrace. Linda waited until Mary was done, and then offered her the tissue box... Mary laughed, a little, taking one and dabbing her eyes. too.
Mary only had a small bag, she wanted none of her possessions they found at her uncle's house or her parent's pool house in the back, she only had a hair brush and some underwear, a few pairs of socks, and a tooth brush, and a change of clothes. Dr. Marcus had bought her an outfit in which to travel today, jeans, shoes and a t-shirt, but aside from what she was wearing and the one outfit in her duffel, that was all the clothes she owned in the world. Almost every possession she owned. She looked up at Chief Hawkins, "So I guess let's go," and she started walking toward the door.
Hawkins couldn't keep in a chuckle, and he looked at Linda and Lucy, then followed Mary toward the door. Linda and Lucy followed.
They left the front door... all of the hospital staff just happened to be in the corridors on their way out, and they all said goodbye to Mary, and that they would miss her. Mary had a small smile as she waved back to them. They stepped out into the sunshine, always a shock from the cool, shadowed interiors of the building, and squinted for a moment, letting their eyes adjust. Chief Hawkins had parked right in the front, at the curb. As he was starting to say, "Well," to get them moving, another car pulled up, quickly. The passenger door opened and out ran Nora, in a prim dress and heels, eyes red, and on Mary.
"Oh thank god I didn't miss you," she cried, and ran up to the small girl, and took her in a fierce embrace. This made Dr. Marcus visibly nervous and she reached out as if to stop the taller girl, but it was already too late.... and with relief, she saw Mary slowly reach up and hug Nora back.
Nora felt Mary's embrace and began to sob. "I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry I never visited... since we were... rescued... I've been running. I was so angry, angry at what they did with us, I thought if I ran fast enough it could never catch up to me." She broke the embrace, took Mary's hands, and spoke, unable to look her friend in the eyes. Her face was turned down and tears were falling to the pavement. "I wanted to come... but every time I started to call Lucy to come with her.... I felt it... my heart... racing, and I would get so scared. It wasn't because I didn't care for you... love you.... I thought... maybe if I came to see you, the one of us who had been maybe hurt the most by all this... it would make it too real for me. I was happy to be angry.... I didn't think I could handle being so sad. I know that is horrible of me, and I am so selfish. But I am here now, thank god I caught you in time... and I am so sorry... and I love you... and I hope you can forgive me." And Nora was done, and she took a deep breath, ready to accept whatever anger Mary had to inflict upon her.
Dr. Marcus herself was flummoxed, having no idea what was going to happen next.
Lucy looked at Mary, and Nora standing before her ashamed, bemused at how scared Nora was... Nora didn't need to be. Lucy knew.
Mary studied Nora's face, the face she had missed, one of the few faces that had ever made her happy in her entire life. "Nora," she said softly.
Nora just sniffled.
"Thank you for coming to say goodbye to me. I love you."
Nora looked into Mary's face, finally, with a look of shock. And then she laughed, and crying she embraced Mary again and cried harder, Mary just holding her, taking in her pain, offering what comfort she was capable of.
Finally Nora was done, and she broke the embrace. Lucy held out a tissue, she'd taken an extra, and they all laughed gently as Nora dabbed her face. "I'm so stupid," Nora said. "I should have come sooner."
"I understand," Mary replied squeezing her hand. "I totally understand. It took me a long time to stop running, too."
Taking a deep breath, Hawkins walked away and put Mary's bag in the trunk and held the door to his car open for her, and after one more hug between the three of them Mary got in the car as he held the door. He tipped his hat to them and with a smile said, "Ladies," got in on his side, started the car, and left.
As they watched them drive away Linda stood next to Lucy who was holding Nora's hand, and put her arm around her. "I really think she's going to be ok," Linda said.
"It was touch and go for a while, but I think we pulled her through," Lucy said with a smirk, looking up at Dr. Marcus.
Linda laughed easily at Lucy's joke, and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm going to miss you around here."
Lucy wasn't sure how to respond to that... she couldn't think of any reason she would need to come back, it hadn't occurred to her she'd be saying goodbye to two friends, today.
"Wow.... that... really sucks," Lucy said, as she realized the truth of it. But then it occurred to her, "But I will be in contact with Chief Hawkins, who is going to keep tabs on Mary for me. And he likes you, so maybe we'll see each other sometimes."
Linda began to respond, "Yes, maybe...." but then she processed the rest of what Lucy had said. "He what, now?"
Lucy smiled at her.
++++
Mary was quiet as they drove away from the hospital where she'd lived for most of the last year. He didn't interject in her solitude, she was looking at the scenery out the window, and he abided. As they approached the airport he brought her up to speed on what was going to happen, as this was her first flight. She listened as he told her how they would park, and it would be so far from the terminal that they would get on a train to get there. And then they'd check their bags, and go through a security line.... which Hawkins privately hoped to bypass, which is why he was traveling in uniform. He didn't want anyone frisking Mary. Then he said they'd get on the plane and it was a 3 hour flight to Waco, where they'd rent a car and go on a long drive through the desert. "You aren't going to believe how different it is, out there. There are even cactuses."
Mary just looked at him, silently. She was beginning to feel comforted by his voice, but didn't realize it... and she didn't realize how much she was counting on him, today. This was beginning to feel like a lot.
"Got all that?" he asked kindly.
She nodded, and gave him a small, worried smile, and looked at all the other cars driving with them toward the airport.
He said to the back of her head, "If you need... help with anything, or if there's something you don't understand, tell me. We'll get through it."
She took a deep breath.
They parked in the long-term lot and he put the ticket on his dashboard, and he carried his bag and hers to the small monorail station. After a few minutes it pulled up, and he was grateful they had an empty carriage to themselves. He saw that her eyes were wide as she sat on a plastic seat, the train moving back along the same track from whence it had come, looking at the scenery of the airport go by. It was only about 4 minutes when the train went inside the terminal to let them off, and there things got a little crazy.
There were a lot of people bustling by, some to get on the train, some heading to the ticket counter, some going who knows where. He and Mary were suddenly in a crowd, and he instinctively put his hand on her shoulder to steer her to a quiet corner near a potted palm tree. He dropped their bags and knelt, looking into her face... and yes, she was near panic, eyes wide and looking everywhere, and he could hear light sobs coming from her lips. With his voice of command... but softly... so softly... he said, "MARY, look at me..." and suddenly her rolling eyes snapped onto his. "This is going to be ok," he said to her, with deadly sincerity. "I will protect you. Nothing... no one... here is going to hurt you." He stopped... she seemed to be responding, her eyes locked onto his, her breathing slowing down. Again softly, so softly, "This is a lot, I know. There are a lot of people here, but they are just trying to get through their day, too. Nobody is going to bother you while you are here with me," and he stuck out his chest a little, unconsciously trying to make herself look strong for her... a protector... but she already saw him that way. She was calming down.
"I'm... ok." She said softly. "I just didn't expect that."
Suddenly he realized his hands were still on her shoulders, and he removed them, quickly.
She smiled, softly. "It's ok. For you it's ok."
He couldn't help it, he smiled at her, and his vision got slightly blurry. How could anyone ever have hurt these amazing girls, he thought to himself.
He got them through luggage check and got their boarding passes, and at the security line he took her to the side, and asked to speak to the supervisor. An overweight man with a sewn-on badge came up and asked, "How can I help you, officer?"
Hawkins took a deep breath, and turned on his authority. "I and this girl are going through the alternate line. You can wand her and put her through the metal detector, but she will not be frisked, searched, examined, or touched in any way."
The TSA supervisor was taken aback, no one ever dared to speak to him this way, not on his turf, especially not one of the local cops who thought they were such hot shit because they got to carry guns. He was a fed, and nobody ever spoke to him that way. But.... the way this tall one was staring him down... maybe it would be easier to just let his disrespect slide....
"Well..." he sputtered. Hawkins held his gaze, would not release him. Finally he managed to pull his eyes away, looking at Mary. "Well, yeah, fine. She can go through special screening."
"No physical contact," Hawkins reiterated with a chilling threat in his tone.
"Spla... yeah. Of course not. We're not psychos, here. No touching. Got it. But you can't board with a gun, I don't care who you are, officer."
"It's Chief. And I am not carrying today. Your people are free to give me the standard pat-down, if you wish," but he stood tall and rigid, as if he were daring the TSA supervisor to take him up on it.
Mary was kind of bemused by whatever was happening. She didn't understand anything that they were talking about, but she saw the fat man thought he was in charge when obviously her Police Man was, and the fat man didn't know what to do about it. She was glad the Police Man was hers.
Finally the TSA supervisor just waved her toward the unoccupied line to the side, and he was about to tell Hawkins to stand aside for the pat-down, but he brushed by first, staying with Mary, not letting her out of his sight. "Yeah, well..." the fat man spluttered, "Yeah, move along, both of you," as if it was his intention all along.
They both went through some sort of windy vacuum chamber, but no alarms went off, and suddenly they were through, in the terminal.
He looked down at the young girl, when they were away. "You ok?"
She just looked up at him, and she smiled, softly, and he didn't think he'd ever seen her smile at him, before. He did his best to keep himself together as they walked to their gate.
There was nothing about this experience that didn't amaze Mary... walking down the ramp to the airplane, Hawkins putting their bags in cupboards up over their seats, the scenery out the window she sat next to. Hawkins had the foresight to buy 3 seats, together... he knew they were too small for normal people, these days, and he didn't want to be forced to be touching Mary.
Mary wouldn't have minded so much, not him, not any more, but she never thought twice about it. This was her first airplane, and having an empty seat between them didn't seem strange to her at all.
The lights amazed her, the flight attendants amazed her, and she nearly quietly lost her mind in wonder as they accelerated down the runway and left the Earth. Hawkins just watched her, experiencing her wonder through her. He felt as excited as she looked. When they were a few hundred feet off the ground and the plane banked to turn, he heard Mary gasp, and she turned to him with the widest smile he'd ever seen on her face, her excited expression seemed to say, Do you see? He couldn't help but laugh with her as she turned back to the window.
Soon they were above the clouds and a flight attendant announced they would be beginning beverage service, and Mary got to choose between several flavors of soda... more than she knew existed. She asked his advice and Hawkins recommended 7-Up.... enough sugar to be pleasing, but not any caffeine. She wasn't used to that and this wasn't the proper venue for it, he thought with a chuckle. It turned out that Mary very much liked 7-Up... for the rest of her life and into her old age, drinking it would remind her of this plane trip, and her Police Man.
But today she was still a young woman, barely done being a little girl, just on this side of a trusting panic, and her adrenaline finally crashed and it would have taken more than a little sugar and caffeine to keep her awake. Hawkins was amused to find her suddenly sound asleep. He took a deep breath, just looking at her, and put his own head back and closed his eyes. He had been on full alertness himself for the last few hours, for her, to keep her safe, and even he could use a few minutes of downtime.
He dozed lightly but was still roused by the tone and the announcement that they were about to prepare for landing. He nudged Mary lightly... and then again.... until she woke up, eyes wide, momentarily confused, then remembering where she was. "Are we there?" she asked, instantly awake.
He smiled, "Almost, honey. We're about to land."
"Oh!" Mary said, looking back out the window. There weren't any clouds now and it seemed like she was looking at.... brown... off to forever.
He watched her again, as the ground appeared.... details emerging... going by so fast, dispelling the illusion that they were hardly moving at all... he saw her hands grip the rests, and knuckles turn white, but when she turned her head he could still see her smiling.
She is such a brave girl.
The plane touched down and she squealed, softly... the brakes applied and they were pushed forward against their seatbelts, and the roar of the engines filled their ears.
The plane finally slowed to taxiing speed, and they sat back in their seats. "So what do you think?" he asked her.
Mary screwed her face up as if to think, and then said ebulliently, "I REALLY like airplane trips," and smiled.
He smiled back.
The rest of their airport experience was uneventful, compared to the flight. Mary was better acclimatized to the crowds now, so she stood next to her Police Man as they waited for their luggage on the carousel, and she was amazed by that, as well, all those bags going round and round.
He rented a car at the same rental company as last time and was amused that it was the same 4x4 he had rented before. He threw their bags in the back, held the door open for her, told her to buckle up, and began the long drive west toward Amarosa Country.
Mary was again amazed by the scenery as they drove through the city, and she was amazed by the scenery as they left the city... and like Hawkins, was unprepared for the lack of green. There was a green leafy tree here and there next to this creek or that pond, but there was just so much brown. She didn't think she'd seen so much brown in her life. Brown grass, brown dirt, brown... everything. It made her thirsty just looking at it.
They stopped twice so Mary could use the restroom, and he bought water and got gas at a service station. When they were about an hour out he called the sheriff and let them know their ETA, and the sheriff said that was just fine, Junior and Martha were there waiting, and they would all be ready for her. Hawkins thought he heard something off in his tone.
Mary was a little nervous.
++++++
When the sheriff answered the phone call from Chief Hawkins, he put on his "everything is fine" voice, but they'd just spoken to Dr. Linda Marcus on the phone, and they were not fine.
Junior and Martha had gotten to town two hours ahead of when Mary was expected, they wanted to talk with Tom a bit, make some arrangements, and Junior wanted to call the doctor who'd been taking care of Mary. He told the sheriff, "I know they say she's fine now, Tom. But you know how these things are. If she's broke, I've got to know how broke, or I can't help her fix it right."
Tom understood completely. He dialed up the hospital in Florida and Linda took the call. "Dr Marcus, is this Tom?"
The sheriff pushed the button on the phone, and her voice was audible to the three of them, in his office, Junior and Martha sitting nearby. "Yes it is, Doc. I have you on speaker phone, Junior and Martha are here."
Her voice coming through loud and clear, "Hello Junior, Martha. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Larry Hawkins had nothing but good things to say about you. You're getting a very special young woman, today."
"Pleased to meet you too," junior said to the machine. "But that's what I wanted to talk about. Now..." and he sat back, collecting his thoughts. "Chief Hawkins told me about her background, and why she is coming to us. And we're going to do everything we can for her. But for the most part, we're flying blind, here. There's lots of reasons a horse might go lame, if you treat it for an torn ligament when it has a shoe nail in too deep, you'll just end up making it worse. Does that make any sense at all?"
In her office, Linda was quietly bemused... Larry had said these people were deeply Texan, with a little bit of awe. "It does make sense. What is it..." and she took a deep breath. "Do you want it all, from the beginning?"
"If it please you, maam," he said.
"I say this to you in confidentiality, as you are her guardians, now. I agree with your assessment, you need to know the facts. I am on speaker phone, is there anyone in earshot that you don't wish to hear this?"
"Just me and the missus, and the ol' Sheriff Tom. He's a good fella." and Junior winked at him, Tom just brushing his hand as if he were shooing a fly.
Linda leaned back, and she didn't need to pull Mary's file to remember any specifics. Some of the specifics of Mary's life had given her nightmares.
Linda spoke for almost 20 minutes, the people in that small office in Texas quiet, and not interrupting. Martha was visibly shocked by some of what the doctor had said. They'd known about the sexual abuse, but not the extent of it. Not the mental and physical damage of it, how Mary may never be able to have children. How it had gone on almost continuously for years. How she hadn't spoken for nearly half a year, her night terrors, her inability to be touched by almost anyone. The malnourishment, how when she was found chained up in her uncle's attic she was 6 inches too short and 30 pounds too light for average girls her age. The complete lack of human affection for almost her entire life, and how that may affect every relationship she has for the rest of it.
Martha didn't think she'd ever seen her husband so tense, so still, in all their marriage, just listening quietly.
"But that isn't where her story ends," Linda said, silently wiping a tear from her eye. I'm so glad they can't see me. "The other girls in this child slavery ring.... they were close. They had... have.. genuine affection for each other. It was one of those girls, named Lucy.... I don't think Mary would have come back the way she has, if not for that girl. Lucy brought Mary the one thing I, in a professional capacity... could never do.... she loved her. I have never seen a purer expression of love in children their age, I would never have thought it possible if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. These girls were good for each other, and it may have been that bond that kept all of them from being destroyed by their experiences. If they were all a little older I wouldn't have recommended separating them, I know any of them would want to take Mary in, but then their parents and guardians might have thought differently about it. But they all have their own lives, now, their own families, and Mary needs someone who is just hers."
Then she was silent.
Junior, hands folded on his chest, took a deep breath. Even Tom saw how there seemed to be a storm in his normally serene eyes. "If I had known..." he said softly, and it was the sound of distant thunder.
"If you would have known.... if anyone had known... we would have stopped it. All we can do now is help them pick up the pieces," Linda said.
"Thanks for dealing me square, doc," Junior finally said, his voice still more subdued than it had been before the phone call. "You have my word on it that Mary will never want for anything for the rest of her life, as long as I'm drawing breath."
"Both of us," Martha interjected.
"I am relieved to hear you say that, sir," Linda said, and meant it. "As I said, Chief Hawkins could not stop speaking well of his visit with you, and he doesn't strike me as a man to give praise, easily."
"Yeah he seemed ok, for a fella from out east," Junior said with a grin that Linda could hear from a thousand miles away.
"We're not all bad," Linda said, with her own smile. "So was there anything else? According to the schedule they should be there in about an hour."
Junior started to answer, "No I think that about..." but Martha interjected.
"If you please," the woman said. "What are Mary's measurements? We don't get to town but 2 or 3 times a month, and I have a little time now I can buy her some basics to wear, out at the ranch, until she gets settled, proper."
For that Linda did need to open Mary's file, to her final physical yesterday before she left the hospital. "It looks like she is four feet six inches tall, and 80 pounds. As I mentioned, she is still small for 14... but in the time she has been here with us, she grew 4 inches and gained 15 pounds. Keep feeding her and hopefully she'll catch up."
"I'll certainly do that," Martha said, with a small smile.
Junior looked at his wife, "You done, honey?"
She smiled and nodded to him.
He turned back to the phone, "Thanks again, doc. If you need to get a hold of me or Mary for some reason, call this number back, and the sheriff can reach me on the radio. I'll do the same."
"It was very nice speaking with you and your wife," Linda answered. "If gives me a great deal of relief knowing she is going to a good home."
Junior looked at the phone for a moment. "I can tell in your voice you care about the girl, more maybe than you should. That speaks well for your character. Maybe you easterners aren't all bad."
They shared a small laugh, said their goodbyes, and hung up.
Junior sat back down and the three of them reflected on what they'd just learned about Mary's past. After a couple minutes of silence the phone rang again, and it was Hawkins, letting them know they were on time and they'd be there in about an hour.
++++
Mary knew their trip was almost over when she saw the dusty old gas station, and then another building, and then another, after so many miles of nothing. The county seat was a very small town and it didn't take them long at all to reach the courthouse building once they were in the town, proper.
Hawkins pulled them in to a diagonal parking space on the street in the front of the building and killed the engine. He looked at Mary. "Ready?"
She looked up at him, her eyes worried. "They're good?"
His heart was breaking for her. "They might be the best people I've ever met," he said to her. He hoped he hadn't been fooled.
Mary swallowed, just looking into his face. "Ready," and she opened her door to get out.
Hawkins grabbed her bag from the back and caught up to her, in front of the truck. He led her to the door around the side that was for the sheriff's office, and walked in.
The deputy at the front desk got up and smiled and shook his hand. "Welcome back," she said to him in her Texas drawl. "And this must be the little lady. Welcome, we're glad to have you."
Hawkins was very impressed that even the deputy knew to not offer to shake, respecting Mary's space.
"Thank you," Mary said simply, softly.
"Y'all can head back, they're waiting," the deputy said, opening the small gate in the fence that blocked off the rest of the room.
Hawkins smiled to her and nodded, put his hand lightly on her shoulder, and led Mary back. The room was glassed in, he saw them seeing him, and they all stood before Hawkins and Mary got to the door. He held the door and they walked in, Mary in the lead, looking very nervous. Hawkins had been worried about this moment for days, so he did what he'd been practicing. "Martha, Junior, Sheriff Tom... I'd like to introduce you to Mary."
Hawkins saw Martha was immediately in love with her, and the sheriff was, like him, keeping a barometer on the tone of the room... their eyes met, and they nodded to each other. The look on Junior's face was inscrutable, though. Hawkins prided himself on being able to predict what other people were going to think before they could think it, but with Junior he felt blind, he just looked at Mary.
Mary was looking around the room, too. Her eyes briefly lit on the sheriff, and then went to Martha, where they lingered a little longer. But when she saw Junior, her eyes got wide and Hawkins immediately knew there was a problem. Hawkins hadn't realized there was a strong facial similarity between Junior and his half brother, Crazy Ed Donners.
Junior was a half a foot taller and 75 pounds leaner, but Junior had recently seen pictures... he knew there was a strong resemblance.
Mary was taking small steps back, tears forming in her eyes. "No.... no.... not him...." until she backed up against Hawkins.
"Mary, sweetheart, what is it?" Chief asked, but he could see she was quickly heading for something bad, spiraling.
Junior stepped forward, and as the scared girl flinched back and seemed almost ready to climb up Hawkins to get away from him. The tough Texan knelt in front of her. This took everyone aback, including Mary. Junior knelt on his knees before her, his hands on his thighs. "Little lady," he said to her, with his eyes downcast. "I had a feeling you might notice the resemblance. My name is Junior, or Uncle Junior, or whatever you want to call me. The one you are afraid of is gone, and he aint never, ever coming back. You're never going to see him again, he can't ever hurt you."
Mary was still, listening to him.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there in time to help you from him, but if you'll let me I'll do everything I can to fix what he broke." Finally he looked up into her face, let her see his eyes. "I am not him," he said slowly. "Take a good look at me," and Junior put his hands on his thighs, silently kneeling before her.
And Mary looked. She had been seeing... him.... his face, the one from her nightmares, but now she looked closer. This man had darker skin, he'd been in the sun a lot. And he was not fat. And this one smelled.... she didn't know she was smelling water and horses and a little sweat and hard work and desert grass and life. She just knew he didn't smell sour under too much cologne, like.... him. And his eyes... she thought... without thinking she almost reached out to him to touch his defenseless face, but at the last moment she remembered herself and pulled her hands back quickly. Junior never stopped looking at her face, letting her see.
And she did. This man was nothing like... him. She knew this man could never hurt her. Mary took a deep breath and she shuddered as she let it out, as if shaking off the fear that had almost taken her. "I'm...." she said softly, "I'm sorry I was scared of you. I know you aren't him now."
Junior smiled at her, softly. "Thank you for letting us take you in, Mary. I think we really needed someone like you out here," he said to her.
Junior took his feet and stepped behind his wife. He knew he'd needed to wake her up a little just then, but he also knew not to crowd her. "This here is my wife, Martha," Junior said, from behind her. "She's usually purty sweet but don't ever track mud in the house or you'll find out different." The others in the room chuckled at that, hoping it would break the tension, they all looked at Mary.
Mary looked up at Chief Hawkins and gave him a small, sweet smile.
She just said goodbye to me, he thought, and he watched Mary walk away. Don't cry in front of the Texans, he told himself.
Mary stood before Martha. "Hi. I'm Mary. I promise I won't track mud in the house," and they all laughed.
Martha sat with Mary at the sheriff's desk and the ladies began to talk, Hawkins had a feeling this was going to be just fine. He couldn't hear every word but he heard the woman asking questions, about her trip, what she liked to eat, everything and nothing, the most important things in the world, and the little girl was answering as well as she could. He smiled when he heard Mary answer that she liked 7-Up a lot.
Junior and the sheriff met him in the corner. "So I guess this went ok?" Tom asked.
Hawkins didn't realize he was looking for a reason to stall until he couldn't think of one. "Yes... she did great today. We almost had a moment in the airport with all the people, but she pulled herself out of it. And you..." he turned to Junior. "I don't even know how I am going to describe that when I report back to Dr. Marcus."
Junior just gave him a half smile, and looked away. "Well," and he paused. "Sometimes when a person has been through what she's been through, you just have to stop telling them how to feel and roll over and show your belly and let them decide how they feel on their own. Put yourself at their mercy... I figgered that would be new to her. I knew I favored my brother..." and he looked like he wanted to spit, at that word. "I thought something like that might happen. But it's fine. She doesn't know it yet but I can see how tough she is, it's plain as day."
Junior stepped close, and put his hand on Hawkins's shoulder. Quietly he said, "I know you're thinking you want to drive out with us to the ranch. I know you're thinking you just want to see her settled in. You're a good man. You're welcome back any other time, and I mean any other time. But why don't you let us take it from here, today, Chief. You done real good by her. Let us take her, take care of her. She'll be fine."
Hawkins looked him in the eye, and nodded. He took Junior's hand, and squeezed. "You did real good," Junior said to him one more time, softly. Hawkins knew that meant a lot coming from a man like Junior.
He walked over to the desk with Mary and Martha, and knelt down to the young girl, and began saying goodbye to her with a lie. "Mary, I have to go, that plane will leave without me." He wanted to say more, but he knew he was just barely holding himself together. "Do you think you're going to be ok, here?"
Mary looked up at Martha, who smiled at her, and across the room at Junior, who just nodded softly to her. She looked back at Hawkins. "Do you really have to go?"
That was the moment that broke his heart. "Yes sweetie. I have to go back to Florida, there are other people who need me there more than you need me here. You're going to be fine."
With no warning whatsoever Mary came out of her seat and suddenly she was hugging Hawkins fiercely. He put his arms around her and held her back. "Thank you," she said in his ear. "Thank you for helping us." She pulled back and looked at him, and there was so much more she wanted to say to him, but she couldn't find the words. "I couldn't have.... this...." and she was stuck. It was too big.
But he knew what she was trying to say. "You did all the hard work, we just helped you a little along the way. You wouldn't be here now if you weren't an incredibly strong and brave girl. And you're going to have a good life here. And I'll visit, I promise. I have to make sure you aren't picking on Junior too much."
She couldn't help it, a chortle escaped from her.
Without thinking he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, and with wide eyes she held her hand to the spot his lips had touched her skin. For the millionth time that day she was again amazed... because for the first time she could remember a man's lips had touched her skin, and it hadn't hurt.
He stood, and stretched. "Well, time to hit the old dusty trail..." and then with a bad imitation of a Texas drawl, "isn't that what y'all say here in Texas?"
They looked at him, and laughed. He shook hands all around, whispered to Junior and Martha, "You take care of that girl." He knew it was a stupid thing to say, but he had to say it, and they understood. He handed Mary his card and told her to call him any time she needed to, she said she would.
Junior was asking if she thought she was ready to go to, it was a long drive to the ranch, when Hawkins heard her say, "Oh wait, I almost forgot. Can I make a phone call first? I promised to call Lucy when I got in."
"Sure thing darlin," the sheriff said without hesitation, and he turned his office phone around on his desk so it was facing her. Mary fished the piece of paper out of her pocket that had Lucy's phone number on it, and then she looked at the phone. She waited a moment. "What... do I do? I've never made a phone call before."
They were all reminded of what that son of a bitch had done to her life.
++++
Hawkins actually had planned on driving out to the ranch, but he understood Junior's reasoning, and begrudgingly agreed. I was just the errand boy, I had no business caring for that girl. He knew that thought wasn't fair to himself or Junior, but he was upset at saying goodbye and he was still angry at what had been done to those girls right there under his nose. He knew he would never completely forgive himself for it. He couldn't help it, it was who he was.
Instead he checked himself into the same boarding house as before, across the street from the McDonald's. His flight home wasn't until tomorrow night so he had some time to kill, and he was actually pretty tired from a long day. He kicked off his shoes and changed into his civilian clothes, sat on the cushioned chair in his room, and looked out the window over this small Texas town. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, with no one to take care of.
On a whim he grabbed his phone and called up Dr. Marcus's cell phone. She had wanted constant updates.
She had just gotten home and had changed into comfortable sweatpants and was thinking about what to cook herself for dinner. She lived alone but she still enjoyed cooking, and was leaning toward a grilled chicken breast with some fettuccini and broccoli on the side when her phone rang. She answered with, "Larry, how is everything?"
He sighed into the phone, audibly. "She's gone, and I'm having kind of a hard time about it."
She could tell, she could hear it in his voice. "It's hard to not care about them, isn't it, even when we aren't supposed to."
"It really is," he said, and laughed in a desperate sort of way.
She settled down onto her couch and curled her legs up underneath her. "Tell me about your trip, everything after you left the hospital with her. Tell me everything."
He did, and it took a long time to get to the moment when he'd hugged her, and Linda was very surprised by that, but also happy. She was also astounded by what Junior had done, putting Mary at ease and earning her trust with a single gesture. "He would have made a brilliant therapist, I think," Linda had said. And they kept talking, after. In another hour or so they started learning they had more in common than just Mary and the other girls, they started to suspect they shared quite a bit of interest in each other. They talked long after they had to plug in their phones, and Linda suggested maybe when he got back she could cook him dinner some night. He thought that was a fine idea.
Copyright 2016: "Marissa Banks." Rights reserved. Not for reuse without express written consent of the author. All content is purely fictional; any similarities to actual persons or events is pure coincidence. Reader must be of legal age in the judicial area he/she resides. Reproductions of the fiction contained herein or linked from here may not be used in whole or in part without express permission from the author.