Chapter 2

The steaks were huge, around a pound each. Sam finished hers and about a third of the one I had before she pushed back from the table. "What was that wonderful salad dressing?" she asked.

"Just something I whipped up. Actually, I've been trying to perfect the recipe for a long time. I think it's getting close."

"Close, hell. If it were any better, it would be illegal."

Sam had a way of making me laugh. After we had eaten, Sam moved her clothes from the washer to the dryer and came back in the living room. She had brushed her hair back and I wondered how I had ever thought she was a boy.

"How old are you, Sam?"

"I'm sixteen. I'll be seventeen in about a month. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking. You're a pretty well put together person for your age. You show a maturity I'm not used to seeing in a teenager."

"You grow up quick when you're living on the street. I know that sounds cliche, but it's true. I've seen things most people your age haven't seen."

"Sam, I've told you everything about me, but you haven't told me anything about yourself. Don't feel you have to tell me anything if it's too painful, but I really would like to know."

Sam was sitting on the sofa with her legs pulled up under her and my huge robe covering her completely. I was sitting in a recliner across from her. She let out a big sigh and seemed to shrink in on herself.

"My father was killed in an industrial accident when I was nine years old. When I was eleven, mom started dating this guy and within six months she married him. At first I thought he was great. He paid a lot of attention to me and even adopted me. They had been married almost a year when he started hitting mom. It was shortly after that when he started hitting me too."

"Hold on a minute," I said. I went into the kitchen and brought us both back a soda.

When I had set back down, Sam went on. "He had me so confused I didn't know what to do. One minute he'd be hugging me and rubbing my back and telling me what a good girl I was. The next minute he'd be slapping me and calling me a slut or worse. I tried to talk to mom about it, but she said he was under a lot of stress because he had lost his job."

I watched her as she tried to compose herself. "This went on for about six months, then he found a job and things seemed to get better again. When he started working again, he also started drinking more. At first it was just one or two drinks a night. Mom had always had liquor in the house, so I didn't think anything of it."

Sam took a sip of her soda and sat quietly for a minute, lost in her memories. "It was about then that we found out mom had cancer. They did surgery on her and removed a large portion of her small intestine. She went through a long period when they did radiation and chemotherapy on her, then the doctors said she was going to be fine."

There were tears rolling from her eyes, so I got her some tissues. "It was about six months later when they found another cancer. This time it was in her liver. They did surgery again and she went through the chemo and the radiation again. Before they had even finished the chemo they found another one in her pancreas. She hung in until I was fifteen, then the cancers caught up with her."

Sam wiped her eyes and sat up a little straighter. "During that time, Phil, my step-father, was drinking more and more. He ended up losing this job too and he became abusive again. Mom was having a hard time getting around by then and she spent a lot of time in the hospital. Phil didn't hit her, but he hit me a lot. At other times, especially when he was drunk, he'd try to feel me up any time he could. He'd rub my butt if I walked too close to him and if he'd catch me sitting down, he'd sneak up behind me and grab my breasts."

Sam paused again and I kept quiet, letting her go at her own pace. "After mom died, it got even worse. I tried to never be in the same room with him, but it didn't always work. He started calling me his 'sexy little piece' and that scared me even worse. The night before I left home, he was roaring drunk. I locked myself in my room and pushed a chair back under the doorknob. He started pounding on the door and then he started throwing his shoulder against it. I was scared to death, but we lived in an older house and the doors were solid. In his drunken state, he couldn't get in."

"Thank God for that," I said.

"He was yelling nasty things at me the whole time he was trying to break in. He was telling me all of the things he was going to do to me. I didn't sleep much at all that night and I was up early the next morning. I threw some clothes in my backpack, stole all of the money Phil had in his wallet, and got out of there while he was sleeping off his drunk."

"I've only known you for two days, but I've already developed a hell of a lot of respect for you. You should be proud of yourself."

"I guess in some ways I am proud of myself. I haven't begged and I haven't stolen anything other than from Phil and I figured he owed me that. I've managed to get a few little jobs, cleaning up around stores and the like. I've tried to keep clean, but it's hard to do and washing my hair is almost impossible."

"Sam, I don't know for sure when I'm going to leave on my camping trip and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I'm going to keep the apartment while I'm gone though. Would you like to house sit for me while I'm wandering around the country?"

"My God. You don't even know if I'm telling you the truth. I could steal you blind while you're gone."

"From what I've seen of you, I'd bet that you'd rather take a beating than to tell a lie or steal from a friend. I believe everything you've told me. You trusted me enough to come to my apartment. I should be able to trust you enough to let you stay in my apartment while I'm gone."

"Let me think about it, Ed. It would certainly be better than sleeping on the street."

"Think about it all you want. If you decide to stay, we'll get you set up for a program that'll let you study for your GED on the Internet. That way, when you turn eighteen, you can take the GED."

"Why are you doing this, Ed?"

"Until we talked last night, I was considering suicide. I figure I owe you my life."

"I really didn't do anything. Anyway, I heard the dryer go off. Would you take me back to the park?"

"I will if that's what you want. I have a spare bedroom though. It has a lock on the door and there is a nice chair in the room to put under the knob. The doors are solid wood."

Sam laughed. "Okay, you talked me into it. The thought of sleeping in a bed is more than I can pass up. I don't think I'll need the lock or the chair though."

"I don't think so either, but I do want you to feel safe."

"I do, Ed."

We talked a little more that evening, but for the most part, we just enjoyed each other's company.

I was on my third cup of coffee when Sam came wandering into the kitchen. She was still wearing my oversized robe and her blondish hair was tousled. She looked more like a twelve year old than a sixteen year old.

"Good morning, Sunshine," I said. "Would you like some coffee."

"Good morning. Coffee sounds nice."

I poured her a cup while she found a seat across from me at the breakfast bar. For someone who had just awakened, she seemed very alert.

"So, how did you like sleeping in a real bed last night?" I asked.

"It was wonderful, Ed. Being clean is wonderful. Eating steak was wonderful."

I had to smile, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Have you given any more thought as to where you want to go on your camping trip?"

"A little. Your comment about the Oregon Trail got me to thinking. I was originally thinking about driving from place to place and camping as I went. Now, I'm thinking more of a walking tour. Many of the people who traveled the Oregon Trail walked the whole way. I started thinking about trying to follow the trail from Independence, MO to the Willamette Valley in Oregon, then I thought, why not walk all the way across the US."

"Wow. Think of all of the things you could see. Are you thinking of camping every night then?"

"I'll probably stay in a motel at least once a week to do laundry and the like. If I'm in a town at lunch or dinner time I'll probably eat in a restaurant. Otherwise, I'll probably cook for myself. I have a friend who is a backpacker and he'll clue me in on what to take."

"Damn, I wish I could go with you. That's an adventure you'd remember your whole life."

"Well, Sam, it would be nice to have company, but we wouldn't get through two states before someone questioned my traveling with a young girl, then I'd be arrested and you'd be sent back to your adopted father."

Sam looked thoughtful for a few minutes then asked, "What if I was a boy and you had papers saying you are my uncle and my legal guardian?"

"That would work, but you aren't a boy and I don't have papers saying I'm your guardian."

"You thought I was a boy and I know where we could get the papers."

I thought about that for a few minutes then said, "You'd also need a birth certificate and something saying you were being home schooled."

"I know where I could get them. It'd probably cost around a hundred dollars for all of that."

"That's not a problem. I was just thinking. If I just rented a storage building for my furniture, I could save more than enough to pay for the trip. Could you pull off being a boy for six months or so?"

"Definitely. We could say I was thirteen or so. That would explain my higher pitched voice."

"God, Sam. It is tempting. I really enjoy your company. I can see how there'd be lots of problems though. For one thing, we'd probably have to share a tent. Also, it's probably going to be hard to find a 'little girl's room' or a 'little boy's room' while we would be traveling. There'd be a distinct lack of privacy."

"Didn't you say all of the taboos are just bullshit? The lack of privacy wouldn't bother me."

"Do you really mean that? I'd probably see you naked and you'd probably see me naked."

Sam stood up and opened her robe. She wasn't wearing anything under it. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her breasts were probably a B cup with large nipples and dark areolas. Her skin was flawless and her dark blond pubic hair was a delight to behold. She shrugged the robe off and turned her back to me, showing me her wonderful butt.

She did a complete turn, then picked the robe up and put it back on. "Do you think I'd be bothered by a little nudity?" she asked.

"No, I don't think it would bother you. It might bother me more than I'd like to admit though. I know I'm a lot older than you, Sam, but I'm still a functional male. You are absolutely beautiful. Every time I see your gorgeous body, I'm probably going to get an erection. Is that going to offend you?"

"It would probably offend me if you didn't," Sam giggled.

"This is an amazing young lady," I thought. "If I give you the money, can you get all of the proper papers?" I asked.

"Yep. They'll have the proper seals and everything. What name should I get them in and how old should they say I am?"

"How about using Samuel Hill and saying you're fourteen?"

"You've got to be kidding, Sam Hill?"

Okay, so I cracked up. "It has a ring to it," I said.

We were giggling like a couple of kids as we thought about the name. We worked out the details about what to have on the paperwork. I gave her my full name and Social Security number, my date of birth, and anything else I thought she would need.