Chapter 6

I woke up Saturday morning and stared at the ceiling. I was still thinking about Jenny. I had just gotten her back and it was starting to look like I was going to lose her again.

I got out of bed and took a shower before heading down for breakfast. I found Mom eating when I entered the kitchen.

"You're up early. I bet you can't wait to see Jenny."

"That's a mild understatement."

I sat down and started fixing a bowl of cereal. I finished eating and sat back thinking again.

"Mom, what time do we have to be there?"

"I have to be at work by 2. We have to be back with enough time for me to get to work."

"Then what time are we going?"

"I think 10 should be a good time."

I looked at the clock on the wall. It was only 7:30, so I still had a few hours. I went outside to sit on the lounge chair. It was turning out to be a beautiful day. Early July is always beautiful and warm.

At 9:30, Mom came out to let me know that we would be leaving soon. I went inside and got dressed finally. I didn't think Jenny would want to see me in my pajamas and I knew Mom wouldn't let me out of the house dressed that way.

We arrived and checked in at the desk. The girl immediately took us in back to the visitation room.

"Dr. Campbell will be right with you."

She turned and left.

I decided to sit down and wait. We were only waiting for 5 minutes when someone came in the room. Mom was in the way so I could not see but I knew immediately it was Jenny.

"Hi Mrs. Andrews."

I saw Jenny as she gave Mom a hug.

"How are you doing today Jenny?"

"Much better."

She walked over and sat down beside me. She lifted my arm over her head so that it was around her shoulders. I gave her a good squeeze and a little peck on the cheek.

"Now I'm perfect."

Jenny and I started talking and cuddling. I was just happy to be able to give her a good hug.

"Jenny, how are your wrists doing?"

"They still hurt. Now I wish I had never done that to myself. I have to work with a physical therapist to get the use of my hands back to full. When I am done with that, they really hurt."

"I wish I could do something to help. Unfortunately, all I can do is watch."

"Thanks."

I looked up and noticed that today we were alone. I also noticed that there was a mirror on the other side of the room that seemed to be placed a bit too well. I stared right at it and smiled.

"Did you notice that we are alone?"

Jenny stopped and looked around.

"No, I didn't. This is the first time that they have left me alone during a visit."

"Before you get too comfortable with that, we are still being watched."

"How do you know?"

"That mirror on the wall is a 2 way mirror. They can see us but we can't see them. If you look real close, you might see some movement."

"I guess that means we have to behave ourselves."

"For now. We may use that to an advantage later."

We just sat and cuddled for a while. I was just happy to be able to hold her. Jenny finally broke our silence.

"Mark, how do you really feel about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"You told me that you finally figured out how you felt. How is that?"

"Jenny, when I am with you, I am always happy. We could be in big trouble or just goofing off or even bored stiff. But I felt happy. When we were apart, nothing seemed to be fun. Even Christmas was, well rather a waste of time. I started to realize how I felt before the dance but after a few months of not seeing you, I knew that I needed to be with you."

"Why didn't you come around sooner?"

"You seemed happy with Ryan. I didn't want to cause you any grief with him."

"I wished you had. All he wanted was to paw me or separate me from my clothes."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"I'll be honest. I'm not fully sure how I feel about you. I know that I missed you and I enjoy being with you. I'm not sure if I'm ready to call you my 'boyfriend' yet. I'm not sure that I'm ready to call anybody that. After what happened with Ryan, I want to take that very slowly."

"I'll wait. As long as we are talking and being friends again, I can wait forever."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm very sure. We've been friends for ever, that should never change."

"Thanks Mark. You're very special."

"You've always been special to me too."

Jenny crawled up onto my lap like we had yesterday. She wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my chest. I could tell that she was crying. I just held her tightly. We stayed that way until Dr. Campbell and Mom reappeared.

Mom motioned to let me know that it was time to leave.

"Jenny, I have to get going."

She tightened her grip.

"No, don't go."

"Don't worry honey, I'll be back."

"I know. This just feels too good to stop."

Begrudgingly she got up. She turned to Mom and gave her a big hug. Dr. Campbell thanked Mom again and we left.

On the way home, I realized that Mom knew more than she was telling me.

"Mom, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Mom, I know that there is quite a bit more to this story. Why else would you and Dr. Campbell be leaving?"

"Mark, I can't tell you right now. Can you trust me on this?"

"I guess. Something is happening that I don't know about and it's frustrating..."

"I know. We have to let this one play itself out though."

I let the subject drop at that.

The rest of the weekend was just normal and quiet. Mom was working in the afternoons, so I had to deal with dinner. Erin and I had done quite well for dinner.

Monday was going along as normal. I had gotten up and completed my chores early. I was hoping for a letter from Jenny but none came. I figured that because we were able to visit, she didn't have the time nor need to write. After lunch it was time for my weekly appointment again. I was not fully paying attention to where we were going. I was shocked when I got out of the car.

"Why are we here Mom?"

"Dr. Campbell wants to meet here instead. I'm not sure why."

I figured that I would get to see Jenny. That's all I needed to know or care about.

I was right. Jenny and I got a longer visit today. We talked about what was going on and how her therapy was going. We even had a chance to play some board games as well. I was elated. This was much better than the normal sessions. Dr. Campbell and Mom stayed in the room for this and even took time to talk to Jenny and me.

When it was time to go, Dr. Campbell wanted us to come back at 10 on Wednesday as well. I knew something was up by the way they talked. Jenny seemed to know as well. She squeezed my hand tighter when he asked. I was going to get to see Jenny more, so I really didn't care too much.

Tuesday couldn't go fast enough for me. I just wanted it to end. I got my chores done early. I took Erin with me to the beach. I figured we both could use some time away from everything. The water felt great. Both of us needed a little time to cool off. We returned home and helped each other with dinner.

I was surprised when Erin made the comment "I like the new Mark better.""What are you talking about, 'The new Mark?'"

"Since you found Jenny, you don't fight with me anymore. You actually seem happy to have me around. You didn't even yell at Jan or me for picking you."

"I have been pretty happy lately."

"Yes and I like it that way. Don't stop."

"I'll try."

We cleaned up our mess and went back outside to enjoy what was left of the day. I was anxious for tomorrow, which only seemed to make the day go slower.

We arrived at the hospital about 10 minutes early. We were led to a different room. This room had a large table in the center. There were also 2 sofas as well. I noticed that there was also the standard 2-way mirror as well.

I chose to sit on one of the sofas as we waited. Mom sat in a chair at the table. I knew that she was aware of what was going on. For a change, she seemed a bit nervous.

Jenny was brought in a few minutes later. As she had the last few visits, she was in my arms in only a moment. When Jenny's mom and Dr. Campbell came in, I realized that something was going on. Jenny was still holding my hand and started to squeeze it tightly.

When Mrs. Parks saw us holding hands, she came over to Jenny and started yelling.

"So, is this the boy that knocked you up?"

Something told me to move slightly. I was on Jenny's left. I pulled her behind me slightly and stepped just a bit in front of her. It happened so fast that nobody saw Mrs. Parks' hand coming as it landed on my shoulder. If I hadn't moved as I did, I would have landed on Jenny's face.

I answered her question, "I wish I were Mrs. Parks."

Within a moment, the attendants had grabbed onto her and dragged her away. While they were doing that, she started to yell at me.

"If you want that tramp so bad, you can have her!"

I glanced at Mom quick to see her reaction. I saw a strange look on her face. I didn't take time to try to translate it.

"I'd love to. You deal with the paperwork and I will."

The attendants were still holding her back. She was still trying to get to me. Mrs. Parks is not that big, but she seemed determined today. It was then that Dr. Campbell spoke to one of the attendants.

"Please take Mr. Andrews and Miss Parks to the other room for a while."

Jenny was shaking all over as we were led down the hall to the room we had been visiting in. Once inside, I found a place on the sofa and Jenny was on my lap again crying into my chest.

"It'll be ok Jenny. I won't let her hurt you anymore. She's not in here."

Jenny was sobbing. I just held her close and let her. She needed to get this out of her system. I think I need to as well.

We sat there in each other's arms for quite a while before someone came to get us. All I remember is our cuddle before Mom was trying to wake us up.

"Mark, Jenny, wake up. Come on you two. It's time to wake up."

"Hi Mom. How long have we been sleeping?"

"Well, we've been here for 3 hours and you two have been in here most of that time. Mark, we have to get going. I still have to be to work at 2."

Jenny and I got up finally, hugged each other and said our goodbyes. I didn't want to leave her.

Mom didn't have much time to talk when we got home. She had just enough time to get home, change and go to work. Erin came home from the Everson's house to see if I was home finally. We kept ourselves busy until dinner.

After dinner, we found something on TV to watch and went to bed.

I awoke the next morning to the smell of cooking sausage. The aroma was making me hungry. I quickly got out of bed and headed downstairs. Mom was cooking breakfast when I arrived in the kitchen.

"Morning Mom."

"Good Morning Mark. How are you today?"

"I would have been happier if I didn't have to leave Jenny there."

"I know. By the way, you impressed a few people yesterday."

"Huh?"

"The way you handled yourself with Lynn."

I must have given Mom a dirty look.

"Sorry, Jenny's mom."

"Why is that?"

"When she took that swing at Jenny, you stepped in front and took the blow. You never once attempted to threaten her. You kept yourself between Lynn and Jenny."

I just smiled at her. I would have taken a bullet for Jenny at that moment.

"Child protective services had been brought in. They witnessed what happened. They were not very happy with Lynn and how she behaved."

"I'm not surprised. So what's going to happen with Jenny?"

"I should know later tonight. I'll let you know when I know something."

"Thanks Mom."

I got going on my chores after that. I was afraid that Jenny was going to be taken somewhere that I would not be able to see her. I didn't want that. I started my normal Thursday ritual of mowing the lawn and working around the yard.

Once I had completed that task, I saw Erin on the patio relaxing.

"Hey, you up for a trip to the beach?"

"You bet Mark. I'll get my suit on."

We spent a good portion of the afternoon at the beach. After working in the sun all morning, I needed a good swim.

Friday morning when I got up, the house was quiet. It was early and things hadn't started to get busy yet. I started to make breakfast. I was hoping that I was going to visit Jenny again today. I was in bed when Mom had gotten home so I never found out what was going on. I couldn't resist asking when she came into the kitchen.

"Morning Mom. What's going on with Jenny?"

"Can't I get some coffee before you start quizzing me?"

I reached over and poured her a cup.

"My, aren't you Mr. Prepared this morning." She took a moment to sip her coffee. I also put a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her as well.

Once we both had finished breakfast, I started with the questions again.

"So, what's the word on Jenny?"

"Well, she will not be going home with her mom any time soon. They are afraid that Lynn will go off on her and she will try to kill herself again."

"So where is she going?"

"That is what they are trying to work out. I'll know more later."

"I hope that it's not too far away."

"I know Mark. I don't know how much I can do."

I noticed that look on Mom's face that said I know more than I'm telling. I decided not to pursue it.

"Mom, tomorrow is Jenny's birthday. Can I walk over to Wal-Mart and get her something after breakfast? She needs to know that someone remembered."

"That sounds like a good idea. Don't be too long though, we're going to see her around 2." She dug in her purse and handed me a pair of twenties. "Use this to get her something. Pick up a cake mix and frosting while you're there. Maybe they will let us take a cake in for her."

"I hope so."

After I cleaned up the mess I made making breakfast, I took Erin over to the Wal-Mart with me. We walked around looking for over an hour before we settled on what to get her. I was glad I took Erin with, since she pointed it out to me.

After paying for it and the cake mix, we headed back home. We got home just in time for lunch.

"Mark, after lunch, we need to go to see Jenny."

"No problem Mom."

"I didn't think so."

I ate very quickly. I even did the dishes for Mom while she finished. I showed Mom what we got for Jenny. She thought that Jenny would love it.

"Mark. Why don't you take that upstairs and get it wrapped. We still have a bit of time before we have to go."

"Ok. Let me know when it's time to go."

I ran upstairs and found the wrapping paper in the hall closet. I then took it into my room to wrap her gift. I knew that she was going to be surprised. Twenty minutes later, I heard Mom calling that it was time to go.

We stopped at the Emerson's to drop Erin off. She spent most of her time there anyway. Mrs. Emerson told us that she didn't mind.

When we arrived, we where taken to a different room this time. Jenny was already sitting there waiting for us. When I walked in, she ran into my waiting arms.

"Oh Mark, I'm so happy to see you."

"What's going on?"

"I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?"

Mom jumped in at that point, "Mark, she will be staying with us for a while."

I wanted to jump for joy. I have Jenny a hug and kiss instead.

"Mom, how did this happen?"

"Well, after Wednesday's outburst, C.P.S. told her they would not allow her to return home. I made the offer of her staying with us. I told Jenny's mom that if she signed the custody papers, that I would help with C.P.S. They had to threaten to take Jan away as well before she gave in. They did insist on the restraining order though. That means that Jenny can't go near her old house."

We packed the few belonging that Jenny had at the hospital and left for home. Jenny was glad to be out of that place. I was happy for her as well.

When we got home, Mom promptly put me to work.

"Mark, you take Jenny's things upstairs to the guest room. We have to get the rest of her things from her house."

"But I thought she couldn't go near there?"

"Child Protection made certain in the order that Jenny could get her things. We will have a police escort for this. You stay here."

I lugged the 2 bags that Jenny had at the hospital upstairs to what was the guest room. I guess that it's Jenny's room now. I went outside and waited on the front porch for them to return.

When Jenny and Mom returned, I got put to work again taking the rest of Jenny's things upstairs. When we were done, it was already 5pm. We needed to get started on dinner. I was glad to help Mom tonight. Jenny was exhausted and just collapsed on the couch. With all that had been happening, I was not surprised.

After dinner, I took Jenny out back to the patio and we cuddled on the lounge chair. We watched the sunset together. We were out there for quite a while before Mom came to let us know that she was heading to bed. We decided a while later that we needed sleep as well.

"I don't want this to end. I'm afraid that it's only a dream."

"I know. At least when you wake up, you will be here and not at that hospital any longer."

"Thanks Mark."

She gave me a bigger hug and we walked upstairs holding hands. I left her at her room. I changed into some sweat pants, I like to sleep in sweats since they are quite loose fitting. I had just crawled into bed when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in."

I was surprised when Jenny came in. She was wearing a nightgown that almost went to her ankles.

"Mark, can I have a cuddle for a while?"

"Anytime you want Sweetheart."

She came over and crawled up next to me in bed. I put my arms around her and held her close to me. It felt good holding her this close. It must have only been 3 minutes when I noticed that she had fallen asleep. I must have drifted off very soon afterwards.