Chapter 22

GUY

It had been six weeks since Ginny checked in to Rejuve. With his daily workouts at Lindsey’s, two or three visits a week with Ginny, and preparation for the class that he, Walt, and Cilla would be giving at Jenny’s, Guy had spent little time thinking about his status at work. He had worked hard and was fully caught up on his responsibilities, but he had not thought about his future with the company, called Technotics.

In the space of a single ninety minute meeting that turned contentious, his status with the company changed abruptly. The man that had passed Guy to become his boss had always been someone with whom Guy had a decent relationship. Thus, he was totally caught off guard when Damon, his boss, announced that one of Guy’s products was being proposed to an auto maker. Guy was expected to make the technical presentation,

Guy’s position was as a Director of Product Management. He was responsible for the overall success of several lines of switches, relays, servos, and actuators. His degrees in electrical and industrial engineering fit nicely.

The sticky part of Product Management is bridging between Sales and manufacturing. This was a perfect example. The product was simply not suited to automotive applications, at least not without serious upgrading. Guy immediately laid out the reasons why it was inappropriate and what would be required to make it minimally qualified.

“I don’t see why you should waste time even presenting it,” Guy told the sales people present. “It could never pass their endurance testing.”

“But we have been looking for an entry into the automotive market for a long time,” Damon pointed out. “This is our first real chance.”

“It is only a chance to get scratched from future consideration,” Guy warned “When it fails their tests, it will be a long time before they will listen to us again, and word gets around. What do you think happens to suppliers whose products end up responsible for a recall?”

“You’re being overly dramatic,” Damon complained.

“Look, Damon, why do you think the Japanese took over so much of the market so quickly? Part of it was because after twenty years and a quarter million miles, the original power locks, power windows, turn signals, cruise controls, etc. still worked. It took U.S. makers years to figure out that was important, but everyone is there, now. Our product just is not built for that kind of application.”

“But we have already scheduled the presentation,” the Account Manager from Sales,” pointed out. “We need a management person for credibility.”

“If you want to meet with them to agree on specs for a new product, I will be glad to help. But I cannot in good conscience even talk about selling them what we have,” Guy said firmly. With everyone grumpy, the meeting broke up.

Although he was irritated, Guy had plenty to do, and was busy when Damon called him to his office later in the afternoon. Saying he was sorry it had come to this, Damon laid a paper in front of Guy. It was a notice of termination. It specified that Guy would receive the normal severance and retain his accumulated pension rights only if he agreed in writing never to mention the product that was to be proposed to the automaker, it’s specifications, or its suitability for that use.

Stunned for a moment, Guy quickly realized that something strange was afoot. “Damon, I will read the revised copy of this when I see Madelyn’s (VP of Humnan Resources) signature on it. Director’s can’t be terminated without signoff from her and our Exec VP, so I need to see Stan’s signature, too. Until then, this is just somebody’s dumb idea. My advice to you would be to forget this, and I will never mention it. I think you are about to get into something that can only hurt you.”

“But ... but...!” Damon stammered, but Guy was already out the door, taking the paper with him.

‘Now where did I get the nerve to do that?’ Guy wondered as he returned to his office. ‘The Tee, of course! Was Carolyn ever right!’ At the door to his office, he instead headed to the parking garage to hide the letter in his car. By the time he got there, his worry had deepened, so he drove to a nearby post office and mailed the page to Cilla with a short, scribbled note.

When he returned to his office, he found Security there, unloading his desk under the watchful eye of the Executive VP of Sales, who was not even in Guy’s reporting line.

“Mr. Marshall, I’m afraid I can’t let you in this office. You have been terminated,” the security man said. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I have not been terminated,” Guy assured him. “Please call HR and they will tell you they know nothing about this. Madelyn Turner has to sign my termination, along with Stan Spencer. None of that has happened.”

Turning to the EVP of Sales, Guy told him “I’ll make the same offer I did to Damon. Take him with you and leave and never mention this, and neither will I. Do we have a deal?”

“You can’t just order me like that!” the EVP sputtered.

“No order. An offered deal.”

“Where did you go just now?”

Deciding it was the perfect time for a lie, Guy responded “I just ran that letter to my lawyer’s office.” He would, in fact, do just that as soon as he got it from Cilla.

The man glared at Guy, then his shoulders slumped until he saw with alarm that the security man was on the phone and telling HR what was happening. Using some of what he had been taught at Lindsey’s, Guy had him in a hold that kept him from interrupting the phone call.

“They know nothing about a termination,” Security said. “I think I’d better take you over there.” His hold quickly replaced Guy’s. “I’m really sorry I didn’t check that first, Mr. Marshall. I should have been more suspicious, but I’m not that up on the org chart. My bad.”

CAMMIE & JESS

After everyone anticipated that the Marshalls might have to take in Jess, it was Cammie that showed up with two suitcases at 3am one morning. When Guy opened the door, she told him “I have four more boxes of stuff behind the neighbors’ fence. Can we go and pick it up now in case it rains?”

When they got back to the house, Cammie could not wait to shed her clothes. “I’m sorry, Guy. I should have been able to stick it out. I just got too used to people looking at me as a woman instead of as some street person.

“I managed to get a few pieces of decent clothes and kept them in my locker at school. I would change when I got there, then change back before I came here. I guess one of the church girls got jealous or something. She complained to her mother that I was wearing more normal clothes and wondered why she couldn’t. It got back to my mother and BOOM! We had a major league fight.

“I’m afraid I yelled back like I have always avoided. Every time she said something was sinful, I kept demanding chapter and verse. When she could come up with one, I demanded to know who decided it meant whatever I was wearing. Of course, drama queen that she is, she ended up wailing in grief over her wayward daughter. Of course, I ended up grounded for life. So, here I am. Can I stay?”

“You don’t even have to ask,” Guy assured her.

Meanwhile, Jess was displaying unexpected athletic talent. She had concentrated and practiced hard on everything the Lindsey’s guys were teaching. Only two more times after the classes started was her mother or brother able to land a blow or a kick.

Just avoiding the blows and kicks did not solve the problem, however. In three cases, the attacker became enraged, and she had to avoid more attempts. In each case, she was able to flee to her room.

Knowing the seriousness of Jess’s problem, the guys got into deflecting techniques as soon as possible. After the training started, her mother landed one more kick. Her next try missed, but she was able to keep her balance.

The next attempted kick came in an open area where her mother had nothing to catch herself on. By now, Jess could sense an attack as if her mother had announced it. This time, she caught her mother’s leg in the air with her own foot and pushed it up and away from herself. She immediately turned and went to her room.

Only later did she learn that her mother landed badly on her wrist and sprained it. When her father came to berate her about it, she faced him down. “You know damn well what happened. She tried to kick me. I deflected it. Being the klutz she is, she fell badly. Her fault, not mine. Agreed!”

She stared him in the face like she never had before. When he looked away, she knew she had won. “You’d better tell her the next time she tries she will wear a handprint on her face at work for a week. And if my brother tries to hit me one more time, you’ll be taking him to emergency for removal of a crushed testicle. I’ll be doing the gene pool a favor.”

Her father Rod actually stepped backwards at the vehemence of her words. Now realizing that she could back them up, he hurried away to try to reduce the threat level in the house. Having rarely stood up to his wife successfully, he was not hopeful of success.

“Oh, by the way, Rod,” Jess called after him, “I have documented pictures of the last five bruises those two gave me. I’m sure Child Protective Services will find them interesting if either your wife or your son wants to make a fuss if I hurt them.”

It turned out Rod did not have to say anything to his wife. She was the quintessential bully. The slightest resistance, especially when it caused pain reduced her further abuse of her daughter to strictly verbal.

Jess’s brother Nate took after his mother. He was too slight of build, though, to intimidate anyone close to being his peer. That left his sister as his only ‘safe’ target. He was almost two years older than Jess, but only a year ahead in school.

It was two days later after Jess returned from the Marshalls’ that Nate felt the need to bully her. Afterwords, she could not recall what triggered it. Whatever the reason, he was yelling at her and made a grab for her arm.

She knocked his hand away and that enraged him. She almost escaped his next grab, but he caught her top and it ripped as she spun away. Now she was the one enraged. He was motionless for just a second, but that was long enough for her to grab a finger and start bending it backwards. She kept up the pressure as he went screaming to his knees.

“You have touched me for the last time, you worm. Do you hear me!? If you try again, I will break something. Believe me. I can do it. Just give me an excuse.”

She kept the pressure on and Nate kept screaming. That brought both parents. “That goes for you, too PATTY!” It was the first time she had used her mother’s given name. “I am done being your kicking dummy and his punching bag. One more try and I will put you in the hospital before I put you in jail. I’ve got the proof of all your abuse.”

She had to yell at the top of her voice to be heard over Nate’s screaming. She finally let go of his finger. When he settled down to a whimper she told her mother “Better clean up that pee spot he just made before it stains permanently.”

A little later, she sought out her father. “Rod, I can move out and the county can force you to pay support for me. Check it out with your lawyer if you don’t believe me. I know you can’t afford that. If you had that kind of money, I’m sure you would have divorced her by now.

“I want you to do three things that won’t cost you much. The first two are easy. I want keys to the house and I want a strong door with a key lock on my bedroom. The third will be harder. I want you to make sure I can come and go as I please with no interference and no grief. I will make my own breakfast and lunch, but don’t plan on me eating any dinners here. Do we have a deal?”

Rod could only nod. He was conflicted between relief that the tension in the home might be removed and the fear that he might have to enforce Jess’s right to come and go unhindered.

CAMMIE

Jess’s situation had resolved in the four days following Cammie’s moving in at the Marshalls’. Cammie’s parents obviously knew where she was, but perhaps stunned by the triggering altercation, they did nothing about her departure.

That all changed when Cammie’s mother, Esther, somehow found out that Ginny was at Rejuve. She and Cammie’s father, Ed, came storming up to the house and began pounding on the door.

When he determined who was at the door, Guy was momentarily tempted to just open the door nude. He quickly realized that would not help Cammie’s situation, so he called out a pre-arranged signal word. From the first day, they had expected some kind of response, thus the signal.

Guy had done one other thing for Cammie’s benefit. He had sat down with the Tee’s management and made certain that she could not be forced to return home. Since she was not yet sixteen, she could be forced home, but only after a court order was obtained. That required a hearing that included Child Protective Services.

In one of those nonsensical liberal decisions, CPS would take a strong stand against what they considered religious abuse in Christian families while refusing to get involved in the often barbaric practices of some Muslim families. Thus, it was not a certainty that the family could obtain the court order. Since Cammie was within a month of sixteen, her position was even stronger.

Once he had donned the clothes at hand for the purpose and heard the ready signal from all the teens, Guy opened the door and just stood aside for the Nelsons to enter.

Esther was too worked up to sit down. “Where is Cammie? We’re taking her out of here!”

“No, you’re not,” Guy countered. “If you try, she will call CPS and claim abuse. That will require an investigation and a court hearing before you could force her home. By the time the hearing is scheduled, she will be sixteen and you cannot force her home.” Handing Ed a folder, he told them “This explains the applicable laws and procedures. It had all been tested and verified for the residents of Lindsey’s.”

“Lindsey’s! Lindsey’s!” Esther screamed. “Nothing about that ungodly place applies to us! Where is she?”

“Esther, the law applies to everyone. I am very sorry that she felt she had to leave. We think she is a wonderful young woman and she is welcome here. Without a court order served by a police officer, she stays.”

Ed had been reading the documents in the folder. He slapped the folder against his leg and said “He’s right, Esther. We can’t just take her.”

“But ... but ... his wife ... nude ... devil’s sanctuary ... ohhhh!” Esther moaned, genuinely distraught.

The next move had been prepared for very carefully. Cammie had met with Alysia and with Lindsey. They had helped her form arguments and responses. What Cammie should wear was hammered out in detail. As much as possible, the whole encounter was scripted out.

“Would you like to speak with Cammie?” Guy asked. Not waiting for a response, he warned “Just remember; if you use force to take her home, you will be in a lot of trouble. In addition, you will probably never get to see your grandchildren.” Again not waiting for a response, he left the room to send Cammie down. Cammie was in what used to be Pen’s room while he now had a nicely finished space in the walkout level.

Cammie wore some loose shorts that came to about mid-thigh. For a top, she wore a buttoned, short-sleeve blouse that was loose without looking oversized. She had quickly put on her bra, but hoped her mother would not notice her lack of panties. She was barefoot.

Her outfit did not meet Esther’s standards for around home attire, and Cammie knew it. It had actually taken some time to talk her out of walking in nude. It was only Guy’s plea to keep that part of their home life secret that changed her mind.

Alysia and Lindsey had worked hard to take the edge off of Cammie’s combative attitude and Guy had reminded her to try to avoid open conflict. As she entered the family room where her parents waited, she was composed and wore a neutral expression.

Esther’s gasp at the first sight of her daughter was the first clue to how the conversation would go. Cammie was able to remember what had been rehearsed for that type of reaction.

For the next half hour debate raged over what was appropriate for dress, music, recreation, and a number of other subjects. In every instance, Cammie challenged the biblical support for her parents’ interpretation of what was proper and what was not. She continually made the point that biased men took scripture, added their own interpretations, and tried to force people to live by them.

Except for the big blow up that drove her from the house, Cammie had never before openly challenged the litany of rules she lived under.

When Ed pointed out that they were repeating some topics for the third or fourth time, conversation hit a lag. Cammie took that opportunity to deliver what she considered the killing blow.

“Let me tell you what life is like here,” she started, with a catch in her voice. “Everyone thinks I am a worthwhile person. They think I can accomplish things. They sincerely compliment me on how I look or how I do something. They congratulate me when I do something well. They let me decide what clothes I feel comfortable and confident in.”

Esther started to interrupt, but Cammie firmly told her that she was not finished. “Let me tell you what life is like at your house. You think I am a terrible, sinful person, always about to do something wrong. You expect me to sin at any moment, so you watch me like a hawk, ready to punish me when I break one of your long list of rules. There is no time to notice if I do something right. Complimenting me if you happen to notice something good would be ridiculous.

“At your house, any affectionate contact is considered sinful. Here, I get hugs. The first time Guy gave me a little hug, I cried for half an hour. The only emotion allowed at your house is fear of sin. Here, I can express joy, I can be mischievous, I can just be myself.”

“I’m afraid you are not understanding any of this. Just let me make it very clear. I will never willingly go back there to live. If you somehow force me, when I finally escape, you will never see me again.” With that, she quickly left the room.

Guy came into the room immediately after Cammie left. “Cammie has agreed to visit with you here if you call ahead. I am telling you that only you are welcome. If you try to bring your pastor or elder or anyone, all visiting rights end.” With that, he pointedly walked to the front door and held it open.

He watched to make sure their car pulled away, then closed and locked the door. He quickly removed the golf shirt he had put on and hung it in the closet. He had just stepped out of his loafers and taken off the ‘emergency’ slacks he had put on without underwear when a naked Cammie tore into the room and leaped up on him. Her arms were around his neck, her legs around his waist, she was kissing him clumsily but energetically, and she completely trusted him to hold onto her.