Chapter 20

Before we were out of town, Sally turned to me and said, "if Mom's in jail, do you think we could go by the house and pick up some of our belongin's?"

"Well, it's probably a crime scene, but we could stop by the sheriff's office and ask. Since he knows about the circumstances, he might let us."

I turned off the street we were on and headed back to the sheriff's office. I told the girls to wait in the vehicle, just in case their mom was in the office.

I walked in and asked to see Dale and the deputy at the desk told me to wait and he'd ask the sheriff. I didn't see anyone that looked like they were being arrested, but there were some people there that didn't seem like they belonged there.

Dale came out and I explained the situation to him and he said he would go over with us and allow them to take the things that were theirs. I followed him out and he told me to follow him over and we'd get this done real quick.

When we got there, the yellow "crime scene, do not cross" tape was across both entrances. He got a report pad from his car and removed the tape from the door and opened it for us. It was a shabby, two-

story house that needed cleaning in the worst way. Beer cans, liquor bottles and dirty ashtrays littered the place.

Sally and Bridget walked upstairs, with us following them. They got to their room and began to take what clothes they wanted. They gathered their supply of birth control pills from the bathroom, along with some cologne and perfume they had there. They didn't have a suitcase, so we put things in several pillowcases after Dale made a note of what was being removed. They pretty well filled two pillowcases each and then went downstairs. They gathered some other stuff, explaining that all of it was a gift from their father and belonged to them. Dale made notations as they selected each item.

Once they had everything they wanted, Dale sat down at the table and filled out a report form and had the girls sign it, stating they had removed the items and it had belonged to them. Once that was done, we took everything out to the Hummer and I thanked Dale for all of his help. The girls thanked him too and he wished us good luck on our new lives.

It was a pretty quiet trip home. The girls were lost in their own thoughts and I didn't want to intrude on those. Once home, we stashed what they had brought with them in the old house, so it would look like that is where they were living. They had pictures of their dad and other items that made each bedroom look like a teenaged girl's room. Posters hung on the walls and we made it look like it was very lived in.

We walked back to my house and sat down to have a talk.

"How are you young ladies feelin'?"

"Well," Sally started, "like our life has changed a lot. We are both really happy about gettin' to move in with you, but it's sorta sad too."

"Ya," Bridget continued, "we both wanted this, but I guess we didn't want it to be this way."

"I can understand how ya'all feel. It's really hard to see something happen to someone that is close to you, regardless of what that person has done to you in the past. But you really need to look at the whole thing in a different light. Suppose ya'all had been there and been held down and raped by an infected drug addict? Would you want to trade your life for you mom's freedom?"

"No," Sally said, "but I just wish there was another way around this. I would hate to see her spend the rest of her life in prison."

"Hon, I don't think that is gonna happen. First of all, she's a user, not a supplier. Probably the most she'll get is 6 months for possession of a controlled substance. But, it's enough to get ya'all out of her custody. Secondly, it will help Family Services to make a decision about ya'all's future. I was very serious about ya'all goin' to college. I think ya'all can have a great future and, hopefully, live normal lives."

"I guess you're right," Sally said, "but it still makes us sad."

"I know, but that will pass. What we really need to do is to have you call your dad and tell him what has happened so he can be expecting a call from Family Services. We sure want to keep our stories straight."

"Ok, we can do that," Bridget said.

They both gave me a big kiss and a "thank you" for everything that had happened so far. Then Sally dug her dad's number out and dialed.

"Hi Daddy, it's me, Sally."

"Ya, Bridget is here too. She's gonna get on the other phone."

I gave Bridget the cordless and she said "hi" too.

"Ya, Daddy, we're all right. We've been over to see the Sheriff and Family Services. They are supposed to call you to let you know what happened. Mom got arrested today with a bunch of her doper friends."

"I don't know Daddy, they didn't tell us what the charges are."

"Ya, Family Services gave Ron temporary custody of us. We had to get a physical from a doctor over there so they were sure we weren't havin' sex with him. And the head of Family Services came over here and inspected the place we're gonna live. They approved of everything, so far. We have to get back into school real soon. But first, we need to buy some clothes to go back."

"Ya, Bridget had to get a physical too. We don't know which school we're gonna go to yet. We've got a choice of several and Family Services said they'd help us get settled in the one we choose."

"No Daddy," Bridget said, "I'm gonna be a sophomore and Bridget is gonna be a junior this year."

"That's right Daddy," Sally said, "it's because my birthday was after the cutoff to go to school, so I am older than most of the people. But Bridget's birthday was before the cutoff date, so she's younger than most in her class."

"Daddy, we told Family Services that you and Ron were army buddies, so when they call, you need to tell them the same thing."

"Ya, he's here Daddy, hold on."

She handed the phone to me.

"Howdy Sarge, this is Ron."

"So you got things squared away with the county?"

"Ya, they took a long time and a lot of questions, but we got things goin' our way. They wanted the girls to have a physical and the honcho wanted to see things over here, so they could make sure everything was on the up and up. I've just got temporary custody, but it's a start. Your ex got busted, along with a bunch of her

friends, at her place. Evidently, they were havin' a party when the sheriff went over there. I think she just got busted for possession, but I'm not sure. I don't think she was dealin'."

"I don't think she had the money or the brains to deal. But, at least, she is out of the picture for a bit, anyway. Listen, where all did you serve, so we can get our stories straight?"

"Well, I was in 'Nam for 4 tours, then Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan and Iraq in Desert Storm. Plus, I served as an instructor at Bragg."

"Ok, well we can say we met at Bragg and then again in Panama. I've been both places. After the invasion in Panama, I worked the radar site there for a bit. I also took my jump trainin' at Bragg."

"That'll work. We can say you were one of my students at jump school. Then we can say we crossed paths again in Panama."

"Ok, I'll remember that. I was at Bragg in '78."

"Ok, we'll call it that, because I was too."

"Ok, well then I guess we've got that settled. I need your phone number so I can get in touch with the girls."

I gave him the phone number and we chatted a bit more about the girls and then I gave the phone back to Sally.

"Yes Daddy."

"Oh we will, Daddy. If we're gonna get into college, we will need the good grades."

"Yes, Daddy," Bridget said, "I'll study hard too. I was thinkin' I could become an artist. Sally wants to be a teacher, but I don't wanna deal with all them students."

They finally said their good-byes and hung up. I suggested we got out for dinner and they agreed that it would be a good idea. We drove into Forsyth and went to The Mug. They ate like they were starved and I got some curious looks from the regulars there that knew me. After they finished their meal, the waitress asked them if they wanted dessert and they both said "yes." I was beginning to wonder what I had gotten myself into and how I was going to afford to feed this walking horde of locusts disguised in beautiful bodies.

On the way back home, we chatted and I asked them about school.

Sally started with, "well, I have been thinkin'. I would kinda like to just continue at our old school."

Bridget chimed in with, "ya, we know everyone there and we wouldn't need to make new friends."

"Well, there's one thing ya'all haven't thought of," I said. "Sooner or later, your mom is gonna get out of jail and she'll probably come lookin' for you. Do you really want her to find you?"

"I never thought about that," Sally said. "She's probably gonna be really pissed about all of this."

"Couldn't, like, the sheriff get an order stoppin' her from seein' us," Bridget asked.

"Hon, that's called a restrainin' order and they are rarely effective, but it's the only tool the courts have. Even if it was successful in stoppin' her, what about all her friends that got busted with her? They're probably gonna be just a pissed, if not more, than your mom."

"So, what are you sayin'? Should we go to another school?" Bridget asked.

"Well, I think ya'all should give it some serious consideration and think about everything involved before ya'all make up your mind."

They were kind of quiet the rest of the way home. When we got to the house, I turned off the alarm and rearmed everything. The light on the answering machine was blinking and I pressed the button to listen to it. It was the girls' father and he said Family Services had called him and then he told us what he had told them. It was basically what we had discussed on the phone and everything seemed to be ok.

The girls came back from the bathroom and sat beside me on the couch. I put my arms around them and they snuggled up to me.

"I was thinkin'. I'll probably regret this, but how about takin' a trip into Springfield tomorrow to shop for some clothes for ya'all?"

I was answered with squeals of "YES," and then I got kisses from both of them.

"We've never been shopping in Springfield," Sally said. "We've got the money from work and we can buy a bunch of clothes."

"Ya, and we can model them for you right there," Bridget put in.

By now they had moved from my side and were perched, one each of my legs, with their arms around me. We made plans for tomorrow and I am sure they had no idea how much clothes would actually cost.