Chapter 3

On Friday I took Sarah to the local Wal-Mart that was about twenty-five miles from my house. I bought Sarah what I thought was a complete wardrobe for a thirteen year old girl. Sarah had her own ideas and we shopped from the young woman's section. I got plenty of stares from the older women in the store and Sarah got a few stares a couple of times when she walked out of the dressing room to get another change of clothes to try on. I noticed several teenaged boys closely examining women's clothes from spots that had a good view of the changing room.

When we were done, Sarah had two shopping carts almost full of clothes including underwear. Sarah gave me a fit about bras. She couldn't understand why women had to wear them. You should have been there. I'll bet that it was hilarious watching a thirty something bachelor explaining to a thirteen year old girl why she needed to wear a bra.

As soon as we got home Sarah insisted on changing into some of her new clothes. I explained to her why we had to wash the clothes before she could wear them but I agreed to let her wear one outfit before they were washed; actually I didn't have any choice. I would have had a war on my hands if I hadn't. Sarah opted for a pair of jeans and a sleeveless blouse. I noticed that she didn't put on the bra.

Sarah asked where I wanted her to wash her new clothes and was amazed that I had a machine to do the washing. She told me that she had wondered where I kept the wash tubs.

While the washer was running I took the time to sit Sarah down and explain to her why she had to see the doctor. She protested when I told her that I didn't know a thing about teenaged girls and that I needed help in that area. She slyly told me that she would tell me whatever I wanted to know.

I took the time to tell her my rules for the house; this included no running around the house without clothes on. When I told her that I would try to find some relative of hers to take care of her, her face fell. I think that she assumed that she was going to live with me forever. For the rest of the day her attitude was a bit frosty and she went to bed that night without even saying good night.

On Saturday morning we started for my cousin's office. Sarah had started to talk to me again but she was still a bit reserved. She mainly just looked out of the window and watched as the traffic and the number of people grew. When we got in the city she made a comment about how the people didn't have room to move.

When I got to the door of Bess' office I tried the door and found it open so I walked in. Bess had apparently heard me and came out and greeted me. She eyed Sarah up and then cast a weird look in my direction. I could see that Bess wasn't pleased that her cousin was living with a teenaged girl. Bess took Sarah back into her examining rooms and I sat in the waiting room trying to read the outdated magazines.

After two hours I was beginning to get panicky. I began to have all kinds of crazy thoughts; had Bess called the cops and were they ready to bust through the door and haul me off to jail? Was I going to spend the rest of my life in jail? Had Sarah told Bess that I had raped her like her brother had? A thousand other bad thoughts came into my head and I was sweating while I waited.

Finally Bess and Sarah walked out into the waiting room. Bess took several minutes writing things in a file. She finally turned to me and then looked at Sarah. She asked Sarah to wait in the waiting room and took me back to one of the examining rooms.

Bess waited until I sat down, "You're right; Sarah was raped by her brother. She says that was the only time she ever had intercourse and I believe her. She said that her brother is on the row?"

I nodded, "Death row; he killed some shopkeeper."

Bess shook her head, "That poor girl has had it rough. She told me that her father has some kind of terminal disease and that he's going to die soon. Do you know what it is?"

I shook my head, "All of this was dumped on me on Thursday. Aaron, her father, had done some work for me when I was building the house. I guess that he figured that I owed him a favor. I'm going to try and find his house as soon as I leave here and find out if he has any relatives that will take care of Sarah. She has an uncle but he wants Sarah for sexual purposes. He wants Sarah for his sons."

Bess shook her head, "If people only knew how common incest was."

Bess wrote some more in the file, "Sarah told me that when she has her period that it almost incapacitates her with cramps and water retention. I'm putting her on birth control pills to regulate her periods. That should give her some relief. I'll also give her a prescription for a medicine that will relieve her cramps and water retention. I talked to her about how to take care of herself as a woman. She should have a woman in her life to coach her on what her natural body functions are. Does her school have a school nurse?"