Chapter 6

One of the first projects that Theresa asked John to work on —when she finally let him get back to work— was the swimming pool. John wanted to work on the woodworking for the kitchen, but he postponed it long enough to explain to Theresa what needed to be done. She jumped in with both feet and was soon fitting pipes and drilling mounts.

John stopped by often enough to keep her out of trouble, but pretty much let her do it for herself. He worked on the filter unit himself. He didn’t want to treat the water as he intended it to be an emergency water source. Instead he filtered it through charcoal filters and then passed it through a strong ultra violet light to kill any bacteria.

Theresa smiled from ear to ear when the pool showed signs of warming up. John didn’t bother to tell her about the instant jump in humidity inside the Silo, nor about his efforts to deal with it. He had to totally redirect the airflow pattern for the whole silo to get rid of it, while still maintaining fresh air and heat to the rest of the place.

Finally he got back to the kitchen project. Theresa dealt another blow to progress when she stopped by to model one of the outfits John had selected from Victoria’s Secret. He took her on the floor of the kitchen, amid sawdust and wood chips. She didn’t seem to notice. She had all the symptoms of really being in love for the first time. He met her with breakfast in bed for her sixteenth birthday. He produced a bunch of trinkets she hadn’t seemed to notice him buying on their buying spree. She kept him in bed the whole day.

The first chink in their happiness came when Theresa made a

call to her girlfriend Cindy.

She came back shaken and mopey.

“Okay, what’s wrong.”

“Uh, John. Can I hire an assistant?” she said absently. “What? Am I working you too hard?” John asked, chuckling. “No silly. It’s my friend Cindy. She really needs to get out of there. I thought that maybe I could hire her and pay her out of my salary.”

“You want to bring her here?”

“Uh-huh. She doesn’t really have any place else to go either.”

John was quiet for a moment before he answered: “Theresa, this isn’t a home for wayward girls you know. I could get into serious trouble just for having you here.”

“I know, but I’m just so worried about her.”

“She doesn’t have any relatives who would take her in?”

“No, not really. Not that wouldn’t be worse.”

“What’s the problem with her folks?”

“They’re abusing her!”

“Sexually?”

“Sexually, physically, mentally. And they’re her real folks. At least with me it was mostly my stepfather.” John

said: “Well, let me think about it, Okay?”

“... Please!”

“I told you, I’d think about it.”

John did think about it. For two whole days. He could see that Theresa wasn’t going to like it too much if he told her no. He wasn’t likely to like it if he said yes. Finally he gave her an answer.

“If you let me finish the kitchen, then the two of us can work on a room for her ... and you can’t let her know exactly where this place is till she gets here.”

“I still don’t exactly know myself.”

“Fine, she will meet us in a different city and take a long twisting ride all the way back here.”

“What for?”

“Because I said so. But mostly because I’m not about to leave my future in the hands of a sixteen-year old girl I never met. She’s going to have to run away to get here. We can send her money to do it, but she’ll have to run away nonetheless. It’s against the law for me to harbor a run away.”

“But you harbor me!”

“Not the point. I know you, now! It was a total fluke that you’re here at all. If she comes it will be deliberate. Not the same thing at all.”

“But...”

“Those are my terms, take them or leave them.”

“Okay ... I guess. When can she come.”

“Not for at least a month.”

“A MONTH! But...”

“That’s life! I didn’t create her situation. I’m going out of my way to solve it for her.”

“She didn’t create her situation either.”

“I don’t have the emotional energy or resources to be responsible for everybody in a bad situation. Do you accept the terms?”

“I guess I have to.” Theresa glared at him and stomped away.

That night she was cold to his advances.

“This is bullshit!” John told her, “I’m not the bad guy here. I’ve gone out of my way to make things right for you. Now you’re asking me to do the same for another. I’m going to do it. But I don’t like it. I’m not a charity organization.”

“I told you I’d pay her.”

“To do what? What’s she skilled at?”

“To help me!”

“Fine. I told you I’d let her come. Either stop mopping or forget the whole thing.”

It took a few days for Theresa to come around. She found him working in the kitchen.

“I’m sorry.” she said.