Authors: Ruth Ann Hixson
"I certainly will, sugar. Why don't you just take a full shower and wash your hair, too? I'll change the bandage again if it gets wet."
Sherry agreed. "You must help me get clean sweats though. They're in the bins under the daybed."
They went up the stairs to the bathroom. "I don't have a shower curtain so I must direct the spray toward the wall to keep from getting water all over the bathroom."
"But you have some the other good things: grab bars and a hand-held shower head."
"Gram had them installed after Gramps had a stroke some years ago. She kept him at home until he died". Her eyes filled with tears. "If somebody would have told me how bad Gram was, I'd have come to stay with her and she wouldn't have had to go to that nursing home. Mom never even told me she died. I found out when I got the letter from her lawyer saying I inherited the house. I didn't know it but Gram had me put on the deed with rights of survivorship."
As Rose massaged the shampoo into Sherry's hair, she kept her talking. She knew the best thing Sherry could do was talk about all the pain and heartache she'd been keeping inside all those years. She wished she could wash it all down the drain with the bath water but she knew it would take time for the girl to get it all out. She decided to be there for Sherry as long as she needed her.
When Sherry was dried and dressed in pale lavender sweat pants and her old magenta sweat shirt, they went back downstairs. Sherry sat at the table while Rose combed out her long brown hair and tied it back with a pink ribbon. "You have pretty hair," the nurse said. "Is it naturally curly?"
"Naturally contrary," Sherry corrected. "It doesn't always do what I want it to."
Rose laughed heartily. "I hear you loud and clear. How would you like to have my curls? I have to use a hair straightener or keep it cropped short. I guess it's the contrariness of human nature to want something other than what you have. Have you eaten anything today?"
"Not much. I was eating ham and an egg for breakfast when Mom came over the radio. I lost my appetite in a hurry. I've spent most of the time since then crying. I can't even think rationally. I don't know what to do."
"What you're doing now. Talk about it to anyone who'll listen to you. Right now that's me. How about I fix you a little bit of supper? Some soup or something."
"Vegetable beef soup is one of my comfort foods. And potato chips. I've been nibbling on them all day. The soup's in the pantry. I'll get it. You need a flashlight to see."
"You just sit still. It's your time to be pampered a little. Sometimes it helps if we have someone to take care of us. This is your turn. Do you want coffee or tea?"
"Tea. I don't drink coffee this late or I can't sleep. I guess it doesn't matter. I slept this afternoon."
Rose heated the soup and poured cups of coffee for them. "I drink mine black. Working the shift I do, it helps keep me awake. I don't work tonight. When I go home I'll do the laundry and other housework." She set the hot soup before Sherry. "Crackers?"
"Yes. They're in the pantry."
Rose sat down with her coffee. "While you're eating you can tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Start with your mother taking you away from here. Where did you go?"
"Scranton. Mom must have had some money because she sent me to a private pre-school. She spanked me for crying because I'd never see Lisa again. After that I did my crying in private. Mostly in the bathroom because we only had a one-room apartment. Then she moved in with Randy. He used to watch me when Mom worked. One day he tried to touch me in a wrong way. I learned about Good Touch, Bad Touch in school. I told Mom. The next day was Saturday but she said she had to do the grocery shopping. I was seven then."
"He got me in a corner in the kitchen between the fridge and the wall. He took his pants down and exposed himself to me. I began screaming for help. All at once Mom was there with a gun pointed right at his head. She said, 'If you lay a hand on my daughter, I'll shoot you where you stand. Pull up your pants and put it away. Neither of us want to see it.' She told me to go out to the car. She carried out as much of our stuff as would fit in the trunk and back seat. Then we left. We ended up in Honesdale where she got a job in a sewing factory."
"That sounds like you had a traumatic experience." Rose glanced at her watch. "Go ahead and tell me more. How were things in Honesdale?"
"Better. Mom got a two room apartment. We didn't have much furniture but we went to a thrift store and got a double mattress so we didn't have to sleep on the floor. I went to public school then."
Sherry talked until she began to get sleepy. Rose urged her to take a pain pill and go to bed. "Do you think you'll be all right alone?"
Sherry gave her an impish smile. "No. I'll still be half left. I'll be okay."
"I'm giving you my cell phone number. If at any time for whatever reason you find yourself slipping back into the pits, call me and we'll talk. How old are you Sherry?"
"I'll be nineteen tomorrow."
Rose's face lit up with a big smile. "I'll pick you up around eleven and we'll go out to lunch and go shopping at your favorite store."
"The thrift store. They always have great bargains."
"I'll see you then, deary. Have a good night. I hope you sleep well."
"Thanks for looking in on me."
"Sugar, you have to talk about all those things you've kept bottled up all those years. See you in the morning."
****
"Come on, Dad, Sherry may be in trouble. A car just backed out of her driveway. When I called her she sounded like she was crying."
"Leave Sherry alone," Frank stood up and walked across the kitchen to take the keys to his truck from his son."
"I'll just take my truck," Mark asserted.
Frank showed him a clenched fist. "If you weren't my son I'd pop you one in the chops. Leave her alone. Didn't you do enough harm this afternoon?"
"What did I do?"
"You pushed her over the edge. Alison drove her to the edge and you pushed her over. Chad told me what he found when he walked in."
"You said she'd need me to pick up the pieces when she crashed," Mark argued.
"She's not ready to pick up the pieces yet. She needs to sort them out first."
Mark drew a deep breath. "I love her. I want to help her."
"Then stay away for now. Give her time to heal."
"Do you love her or love the way she makes you feel?" Jan asked. "If you truly love her, you'll do what's best for her not what's right for you. I'm sure Rose wouldn't have left her alone if she wasn't okay."
"Rose?"
"Dale. Big woman, brown skin, curly hair."
"I know who she is. How do you know that's who was there?"
"Chad was in my office when he took her call. She's a caring, compassionate woman with a heart as big as Texas and a smile to match. She agreed to come even when it meant giving up a chance to go with her family for pizza. Her car was in Sherry's driveway when I came home from work. It's nearly nine thirty. She must have been with Sherry more than four hours."
She pointed a finger at her husband. "You. Go take a shower. Make it a cold one to cool your temper." She pointed to Mark. "You. Sit down here and we'll talk about it."
Frank leaned down to kiss her. "I love you." He headed upstairs. In a couple minutes he was back. "Your cell was ringing when I got upstairs so I answered it," he informed Mark. "It was the school superintendent. There will be a press conference tomorrow afternoon at four o'clock. It will be him and a representative of the state police. They would like you to be there."
"They going to throw me to the media vultures?"
"I got the impression they're going to announce that the cops have completed their investigation and that you will be back in the classroom on Monday. I guess you'll have to go to find out."
"While we're all here. Tomorrow is Sherry's birthday." Jan looked at Mark. "Are you going to give her something or shall I add your name to the gift Dad and I are giving her?"
"I'll be in town tomorrow so I'll just pick up something. I suppose I should wear a tie and my FFA jacket. I better go to bed but I probably won't sleep."
****
"Happy birthday, Sherry!" Frank was grinning from ear to ear when she opened the door for him. He carried a box topped with a package wrapped in pink paper with fairies on it. The way he carried the box made Sherry believe it was quite heavy.
She stepped back holding the door open for him. She had left the kitchen door open. He set the box on the counter and turned around. "Why are you all dolled up?"
She wore a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with her black skirt with the pink roses. "Rose is taking me out to lunch and then we're going shopping. She said I need to get out of the house instead of spending so much time alone."
"She's right. How are you doing?"
"I feel better this morning than I have in a long time but I still have a long way to go." She didn't elaborate on the details. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Please tell Mark I can't see him right now. After yesterday..." She looked away as she choked up.
"He really loves you," Frank said softly. "He's sorry for what he did yesterday."
"If you came here to plead Mark's case just leave. I can't deal with that now."
"I came here to deliver a box of home canned food and the wrapped present. And to let you know if you need me for anything, just call. You have my cell number." He motioned toward the window. "There's Rose now."
Sherry grabbed her purse from the table and made sure she had her keys. Frank locked the doors behind them as they went out. He walked with her to Rose's dark blue SUV and held the door for her. Before he closed the door he leaned down and said, "Have a good time, ladies."
****
"I had fun." Sherry lifted two bags of clothes off the back seat of Rose's SUV. "We found some really great bargains." Instead of going to the thrift store, Rose took her to a church rummage sale where she got her finds of the day--a short white coat of simulated leather and a vintage shower curtain with flamingoes.
"Don't you go lifting any of these heavier bags," Rose ordered from the other side of the car as she lifted out bags of pans and dishes. She had given Sherry a thirty dollar limit and Sherry had spent twenty-seven dollars. The girl truly had an eye for bargains.
Sherry carried her bags to the daybed in the dining room while Rose set hers on the kitchen counter and went back out to get the little corner stand and a Asian style light with a rice paper shade.
"You don't have much furniture, do you?" Rose asked as Sherry dug out the shower curtain. "Would you be offended if I offer you a very worn recliner?"
"I'll take anything that's free." Sherry searched for the shower curtain hangers they'd stopped at the dollar store for. "I'm going to put this up right now."
"I'll do that, Shorty," Rose said. "You aren't supposed to reach up, remember?"
"Oh, I was going to stand on the side of the tub."
"Not while I'm here."
Sherry headed for the stairs. "Isn't that cool?" she asked when the curtain hung from the rod.
"What's cool around here," Rose said, "is the air. Don't you have heat?"
"I've been putting off getting the oil tank filled. It will nearly wipe out my checking account. I need to get back to work."
"Not until the doctor says so," Rose ordered. "You should apply to LIHEAP for assistance."
"What's LIHEAP?"
"It's an energy assistance program that helps pay the cost of heat. You sign up at the county assistance office. It should be in your phone book--blue pages." Rose led the way downstairs. "Is there anything else you need help with before I leave?"
"Change my bandage."
"I'll take care of that in short order." When the bandage was changed Rose asked again if she needed anything else.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you for a wonderful day. It's been a long time since I had that much fun." She gave Rose a hug. It felt good to know that someone cared about her.
Chapter 15
Sherry was sorting through the clothes from the rummage sale when the door buzzer rang. When she hurried across the kitchen to answer the door she saw that it was Mark. It wasn't enough that she couldn't get him out of her mind, now she had him on her doorstep. As she opened the door, he opened the storm door.
He held out a milk glass compote full of pink rosebuds. "A peace offering. Will you forgive me for the way I behaved yesterday?"
She accepted the small bouquet because she didn't know what else to do. "Th-thanks." She held them up to smell them, partially hiding her face. She knew she was blushing.
"May I come in?" He asked.
"No!" She placed her foot behind the door so he couldn't push it open.
"Don't you trust me?"
She didn't answer but neither could she meet his gaze. She was sure her heart was beating loud enough for him to hear.
He handed her a WalMart bag. "Happy birthday."
She accepted the bag and immediately hung it on the inside doorknob. She wanted her hand free in case she had to close the door in a hurry.
"May I kiss you?"
She nodded. He leaned in to touch his lips to hers for a tender kiss. It was all she could do to keep from kissing him back. Her resistance was evaporating so she stepped back, shut the door in his face and locked it. She ran into the kitchen, slamming the door, locking it and bolting it. She stood leaning against the door until she heard his truck start. Then she eased along to peek out the window as he backed out the driveway.
Her hands were shaking when she set the bowl of roses on the table. She looked in the bag and brought out the scarf. "It's beautiful!" But she expected no less from Mark. He knew how to please a woman and he knew her favorite color was pink. Next to come out of the bag was the pack of candy kisses. She smiled. "How sweet!"
Last was the card. She got a paring knife from the drawer to slit the envelope. She read: Happy birthday, darling. My dearest Sherry, I am filled with regret for the way I behaved yesterday. I know I was wrong. I humbly beg your forgiveness. I just wanted you believe that I didn't molest you. I understand Chad succeeded where I failed. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I shall always love you. Sincerely, Mark B.