Chapter 13

The next day the phone started ringing early with moms wanting to know when to pick up their daughters. I found out it's not enough to put out a flyer with that information on it and then repeat that information at the party. Some people just had to have verbal confirmation at seven in the morning.

Debbie's mom wasn't one of those who called early, nor did she arrive on time. It was nearly two in the afternoon when she deigned to make her appearance. She looked as if she had been through the wringer. If you had us all in a room together and asked someone to pick out the one who had the teenage slumber party the night before, Debbie's mom, Jennifer, would have been the unanimous selection.

I was going to ask her in advance about Debbie coming over after school one afternoon but didn't because I doubted that she would remember anyway.

After Debbie and her mom finally left, I suggested that we take a siesta. The girls had accomplished most of the clean.up earlier that morning. Natty questioned how Katy had ended up in my bed in the morning, suggesting that she should nap with me as Katy had already had her turn. I told them that I didn't care who napped with me, there probably wouldn't be any fun stuff anyway because the only thing I was going to pay attention to was the insides of my eyelids. They took that wrong and I ended up with three nearly naked girls in bed with me. It didn't stop me though because, since my military days, I can sleep under almost any conditions.

I woke up about five with the phone ringing. The girls were entangled across two.thirds of the bed and from the feminine odor still wafting through the air, must have just dozed off. As they weren't likely to hear a bomb go off, much less the phone, I decided to get up and answer it. It was Debbie wanting to speak with Suzie. I asked her if it was really important and explained that Suzie was taking a nap. The way she hesitated let me know something was up. Finally, she came right out and asked if she could spend the night again tonight. She said that a family emergency had come up and she needed a place to stay for the night. I asked to speak with her mom and she said her mom wasn't home right then. Something about her tone when she said that led me to quickly take down directions. I asked if she was packed for the evening and she let me know that she could leave as soon as I arrived.

I was almost out the door when I realized that there was no way I could bring Debbie here with girls in my bed. So I went back to my bedroom, managed to wake Suzie, and explain what had happened. Suzie was understandably concerned about her friend. She told me to go get Debbie and that she would wake up the other two and make sure the bedroom and house were presentable. I told her she would need to hurry as Debbie lived in a subdivision that was only about a mile away. I left as she was finding how hard it was to awaken Katy.

It was a short trip to Debbie's house. Debbie, with her backpack and sleeping bag, was standing in the driveway. She reminded me so much of a runaway that I decided that I wasn't comfortable just leaving without saying something to someone.

As soon as I stopped she opened the door of the Explorer and threw her backpack and sleeping bag in the back seat. She acted as if she was really anxious to leave quickly and again that troubled me. I started opening my door and she asked me where I was going. I told her I would feel better letting someone know we were leaving. She told me no one was home except for her older brother and his friend. The look she gave me when she said that led me to the conclusion that they were the two that she wanted to avoid. I moved to get out of the car to go to the door. She grabbed my arm and said, "Please, Mr... , can't we just go? My brother knows where I'm going."

I could tell she was lying by the way she spoke, but thought that she maybe had a good reason. I decided to trust her and hope things worked out once we got home. We drove quietly and slowly to my house. I was giving my girls time to get the house ready. I hoped that they had sense enough to air out the bedroom, even though Debbie was not likely to end up there. Debbie seemed more confident and relaxed as the distance from her home increased. Something was bothering this girl and I was curious to find out what. I wished that I had as much confidence in my ability to help Debbie as Suzie had.

Finally, we pulled up into the driveway and on into the garage. We entered the house through the laundry room. My girls were waiting for us in the kitchen, looking none the worse for wear. They looked completely wholesome in shorts and t.shirts, completely unlike the denizens of the bawdy tableau I had awoken to an hour ago. It always amazed me the uncomplaining changes we made for random visitors into our lives.

Suzie hugged Debbie close and they immediately started talking. I interrupted and told Suzie to take Debbie back to her bedroom so she could stow her bag. I saw Suzie's face darken as the whole meaning of that sunk in. I didn't feel sorry for her as she had obviously had plenty of sex this afternoon. Natty was quiet until they left the room and then she asked, "Jeff, why is Debbie back so soon? Does she have problems at home like we did or is it something else?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. She asked to spend the night because of family problems. So she has problems, but I don't know what they are. I'm hoping that she'll tell us and that there is something we can do to help her fix them. Contrary to what Suzie believes, there are certain problems that even I can't fix."

Katy joined in, "Still there's no way of knowing if we can help unless we know what the problem is. What did her mother say?"

"That's just it Katy. When I got there Debbie was waiting for me out in her driveway with her bags. She said her mother was gone and that the only people home were her brother and his friend. She said they knew where she was going and held me back from talking to them. I had a feeling that she wasn't exactly truthful with me about that but figured it was better to get her away from a place she didn't want to be and fix it later. Now that we are all here I think maybe we should try to find her mother and hopefully get some answers."

Natty looked at me with a look of exasperation and said, "So if you had met us at a party instead of shoplifting Wally World you would have asked momma about our problems? What do you think she would have said?"

Natty was right. In Wally World I had a position of power that let me break some of society's rules, whereas here I had no such luxury. Within certain boundaries, a parent's control over a child in our society is absolute. Unless there was abuse or some other illegal activity, her mother had the right to raise Debbie any way she saw fit. Furthermore, my interference with parental control, nobly intentioned as it might be, could land me in a heap of trouble. Interfering might also draw attention to our own situation, something that I hoped to avoid. Still, I had contacts in the area's law enforcement communities, and had built up a good rapport with them over the past few years. Hopefully, I could draw on some of that goodwill, if necessary, to help in the current situation.

I was about to try to explain all of this to Natty when Suzie and Debbie came back into the kitchen. Debbie smiled at me and said, "What no hot cocoa, Mr... ?"

I returned her smile.

"You've been here twice now, you can call me Jeff, and it's not late enough for hot cocoa. We haven't even been asleep yet. I bet you haven't eaten either. I think that it's Katy's night to cook tonight. How about we all get out of the kitchen and let her work her magic."