Chapter 22

"Jess has run away!" Sarah almost screamed at Sean over the phone. Then, she started sobbing. "I wouldn't have found out about it if the police hadn't come to our house and asked a bunch of questions. She's been gone three days!"

"Her mother never let your mother know?" he asked incredulously.

"Aunt Maureen won't talk to Mom any more since Mom and Grandma Naomi aren't talking. This family is so screwed up!"

"You've been seeing her at school all along, though, haven't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, but this is Tuesday and I didn't see her yesterday."

"How has she seemed?"

"Jealous. I mean, I know she's happy for me, but she's been so angry that she can't do any of the things I can, now. I never thought she'd do this, though."

"Look, I'm going to see if Julie will bring me right out there," he told her.

An hour later, Sean was on a couch in the downstairs family room, with Sarah curled up on his lap. "Did you call Troy?" he asked. He did not know what significance to attach to her shake of the head. Troy was her boyfriend, but...

"Sarah, I'm really worried about your cousin. I've never met her, but I'm afraid she's vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?"

"She's angry," Sean explained. "She feels that she's been cheated out of life, and she's probably so horny she can't stand it. Besides that, she's probably not very smart about guys."

"I know she's not as innocent as I was, but I see what you mean. We've got to find her!"

"Let's go back to as young as you can remember being with Jess. I want you to think about every place you have ever been with her.

An hour later, Sarah protested "But I don't even know if that woman is still alive! She was old back then - we were like ten."

"But it's the only lead of any kind we have been able to think of," he said firmly. "Let's go."

The woman in question was a widow of indeterminate age who lived in a small cottage on a parcel of land at the edge of a state park just outside the metro area. Her place was grandfathered when the state bought the surrounding property.

One summer, a kids' program from church had been held in the park. At Jess's instigation, the cousins had wandered off and found the cottage. The woman had been pulling weeds and the girls had helped for quite a while, receiving a cold drink as a reward. They managed to visit the woman three more times that week, but had never seen her since. "This is really a long shot, Sean," Sarah complained several times on the drive.

"But you said she sometimes fantasized about running away and hiding there. It's all we've got, but I think that's where she is," Sean insisted.

Compared to Sarah's previous total compliance with her mother's control, Jess probably did seem rebellious. On a global scale, though, she was not one to take great risks and would never have considered going to the streets. Even at ten years old, the kindly old woman's isolated home had made a huge impression on the already frustrated girl. When the anger and depression became too much for her as a high school senior, her mind focused on the one island of serenity that she could remember.

By the time they hunted uncertainly in the dark for a while and finally found the nearest place to park, Sarah was letting hope override her skepticism. She nearly pulled Sean along the path to the cottage.

The woman, Mildred, greeted Sean and Sarah warmly, but Jess just hung back and looked sullen. "I've tried to get her to call someone," Mildred told them. I don't have a phone, so I couldn't call the police. Besides, she really needed some time to think." All of this was said before the pair even stepped inside, and before the girls said anything to each other.

Sarah had learned a lot in her own traumatic few months. She approached Jess slowly and just stood with her arms open in invitation. It did not take long for Jess to accept the invitation, and then the tears started.

"I'll make some hot chocolate while you young folks talk," Mildred said as she moved to the kitchen area. The cousins huddled together on an aged couch and Sean sat on the other side of Jess, a foot or two away.

"It was nice while it lasted," Jess said resignedly. "It's been so nice. Mildred just talks to me and listens. She doesn't scold or criticize or lecture me. Are you Troy?"

"No, Jess, this is Sean. I told you about him," Sarah answered.

The way Jess's eyes widened, Sean had no doubt about what Sarah had told Jess. "Hello, Jess. It's nice to meet you. I wish it was for a happier reason."

"Not many happy reasons lately," Jess grumped. "Couldn't I stay one more night?"

Beating Sarah to respond, Sean said "Oh, we won't make you go back. We both know what it's like to need to escape. We've both been lucky and we're sorry that you still feel trapped."

"Then, why... ?"

"Sarah was worried sick about you," Sean jumped in again. "She was heart-broken that you didn't share with her how bad things were."

"Since Arlene isn't talking to Grandma Naomi any more, my mom has just been a witch," Jess revealed. "I guess she's afraid I'll be able to escape like Sarah. What would she do if she lost her puppet?" The last was said in a snarl.

"I've got an idea, Jess," Sean said. "I know some women who are awfully smart. Let me ask them what rights you have, if you're required to go back home, or not. Are you eighteen yet?"

"Three weeks. Happy birthday to me!" There was no joy in her words. "To live away from home takes money, though. I don't even get an allowance, you know. A job? Oh, there's way too much danger in that. I might get to talk to a boy some time."

Ignoring the angry, sullen tone, Sean told Jess "We'll leave you here until we can think of a way to help you. I think you should at least call your parents. Just tell them that you are in a safe, comfortable place. You don't have to say any more. Oh, tell them they can call off the police. I assume you have your phone."

Sarah took up the cause with Jess while Sean called Julie. "Julie, we've found Jess. I don't think you really want to know where she is, do you? That's what I thought. Will you see what you can find out about what rights she has to stay away from home? Great. Here, talk to Sarah."

While Sarah chatted with her grandmother, Sean walked around the little cottage, finding a number of things that needed repair. "Young man," Mildred started to say. "That made him flinch a little because of all the times his mother had addressed him that way. This was not his mother, though. This was a kind-hearted lady who treasured her privacy. "This place is not worth putting any work into. I can't sell it. When I'm gone, it belongs to the state. Part of the park."

"But what about the next twenty years that you'll still be living here?" he asked with a smile.

"Girls, girls! You watch out for this silver tongued devil, you hear?" Mildred called across the room.

With all of the parents notified, Sean and Sarah stayed as long as they dared. By the time they left, Jess had hope that she might actually get free. Sean kept his eyes open and made a mental list of the most needed repairs. He left all the cash he had with a reluctant Mildred to cover groceries for Jess.

As she drove them back to her house, where Julie would meet them to pick up Sean, Sarah asked him "Do you want me there, or would you rather do it alone?"

"Huh?"

"When you have a 'show-and-tell' session with Jess."

"A what? Oh ... you think that's what she needs?"

"Of course it is. Look how much it helped me."

"Is she as ... as... , uh, I mean..."

"As clueless as me, you mean?" she giggled. "I'd say she's heard more, but as far as 'hands-on' experience..."

He let out a groan.

"Oh, give it up, Massey," she chided him. "Don't pretend another cute girl playing with your cock is such a big sacrifice."

"How do you know she will want to?"

"Even as down as she was, she couldn't stop drooling when she looked at you," she teased.

"I'll let you decide what's the best way," he yielded. "Uh, Troy won't be happy if you participate."

She let out a long sigh. "The problem with Troy is that he's ready to look for a wife, but I've barely started having fun. It's a problem of expectations."

"So, what is your official status with him?"

"I've told him he is just one of the guys I'm dating. He doesn't need to know that there haven't been any others, yet."

"I could change that, as long as you drive."

"Just pick the day," she said eagerly, then sobered up. "If you have any time for dating, make it Jess. It will be her first."

"I'll never turn down a chance to play dolls," Claire said enthusiastically. The Gang was discussing whether they should take Jess on as another project. Julie had called them together hurriedly after Sean's call. "I had a ball with Sarah."

"Well, she's more, uh, beaten down than Sarah. Also, she's built a lot differently. She definitely did not develop slowly, and probably because of stress and depression, she's a little overweight.

"Do you think it's wise for Dan to take Jess in, considering everything else that has gone on at their house," Carole asked.

"I had a chance to call Rebecca on the way over," Nancy answered. "She agrees that it would be another way for Arlene to feel like she was making amends in some way. Also, seeing the two girls act more and more like normal, happy teens together would help to soften the guilt we know Arlene is feeling."

"So, her recommendation is..."

"You know she wouldn't come right out and say it that quickly," Nancy cautioned. "I had to beg her to say that much."

"Well, if it was shooting from the hip for her, I say we go with it. Her instincts have been flawless so far," Carole said firmly and the others agreed.

"I will certainly relay that comment," Nancy said. "She values our opinions and she is grateful for the chance to try some unconventional things."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Claire asked seriously. "One of Jess's problems has to be that she literally has nothing. I'm willing to do it myself, but I think it would be good to set up a fund for her. We would let her know about it, and it would be a way for her to start learning about managing money. For now, it would just be enough for a decent wardrobe, the other things a high school senior should have, and some spending money."

"Great idea, Claire," Phyllis said quickly. "I'm in."

"Just make up a budget," Carole seconded. "I'll chip in, too." Nancy and Julie quickly agreed. "Do we need to reimburse Dan?"

"I think he would be offended at the suggestion," Julie said. "Sarah's car and wardrobe were about all he could handle.

"One other thing," Julie Added. "Sean called me again and told me about this Mildred woman where Jess hid out. She lives a pretty meager existence, but it sounds like she has a big heart. I, for one, would like to see what would make her life a little better. Sean is already planning to do a bunch of little repairs that the place needs rather badly.

"Sean also had an idea about contacting State Parks. It might be to their advantage to help keep the place in repair. It could be sort of a historical attraction when she is gone."

"Well, legally, Jess does not have a problem," Nancy went on. "Since Rebecca has such a good relationship with Dr. Waxman and Transformations, she found out about Lindsey's place. There are kids there much younger than Jess. They just left, and their parents even get billed for part of their support."

"Too bad Jess couldn't go there."

"Too old to start now," Nancy replied. "Lindsey's only keeps kids through graduation. Besides, if she can live with Sarah, I think that will be the best thing for her."

"And if she can play with Sean's cock... ," Claire added with a giggle.

"And Dan is really all right with this?" Carole probed.

"Danny is determined to make up for as much of what he considers past neglect as he possibly can," Julie assured them. "He believes it would be good for Sarah to have a sister, so he is all for it."

"Has he talked to Arlene about it? You know, it's still really early in their new relationship," Nancy observed. "It hasn't even been a week."

"Arlene is excited, to say the least. It appears that Rebecca was right on again. Making amends is high on Arlene's priority list."

In retrospect, it was probably too much to lay on poor Jess all at once. Being brought by Sarah to Arlene's house had her very much on edge. Even Sarah's assurances that Arlene had changed could not suppress the old responses.

Having not seen her aunt in months, Jess froze in astonishment at her first sight of Arlene. As part of her new wardrobe, Arlene wore snug jeans that were as low-cut as her generous hips would allow. The tails of her man-styled shirt were tied up under her obviously bra-less breasts, exposing her surprisingly flat tummy. It simply could not be the same aunt who for Jess's whole life had collaborated with her mother in oppressing the cousins.

That was just the beginning of the surprises. She was shown to her own bedroom, which had a full entertainment setup and a computer with unrestricted Net access.

Upon returning to the family room with Sarah, Arlene told her "We need to get to the mall before it closes. "We'll just get you some essential clothes and toiletries for right now. A friend of Sarah's grandma Julie will take you on a serious clothes shopping trip this weekend. She's the one who outfitted Sarah."

"But I don't have any money for shopping," Jess protested.

"Yes, you do, Jess," Dan spoke up. "A fund has been set up for you. We'll talk about how you should manage that money, maybe tomorrow."

In a multi-day fog, Jess tried to catch up with her missed schoolwork and absorb all of the changes in her life.

Mildred had not had so many visitors in her memory as she saw that Saturday. First the young man arrived. A woman drove him out with a trailer of tools and material behind her SUV. It was the boy who had come to find the runaway girl. He started immediately tightening doors and shutters, then he got out a caulking gun and went around to all of the windows.

Not long after that, the two girls and a woman arrived in paint clothes and started right in on the outside of the house. The were joined a little later by five other young people that she assumed must be sisters and brothers or cousins. She could not know that the Gang had organized some of their grandchildren into a weekend work crew.

At noon, a caterer's van arrived just before four more women. They had just finished eating when a truck delivered a new bed, a couch, a recliner, a microwave, and a TV. The capper was when a satellite TV service came in and got her all set up. The prepaid phone was hardly noticed in all of the commotion.

It being a Saturday, other parts of the park were quite busy and all of the activity at Mildred's was noticed. The upshot was that a TV station found out and did a human interest spot on that evening's news.

Maureen, Jess's mother, saw her daughter briefly on the news show, and just the five or six seconds she was visible, it was hard to believe it was the same girl. The way she was dressed and the animated way she was interacting with some of the boys left the poor mother in shock. Even more of a shock was seeing her sister Arlene working with Sarah and Jess.

Jess had spoken with her mother on the phone quite regularly, but had not seen her parents in person since running away. Since she was staying at Arlene's, and Maureen would have nothing to do with her sister, there was little chance of a reunion.

For all of her often sharp tongue and the rebellious demeanor she had always tried to maintain, Jess was completely tongue-tied around Sean when he came to the house to visit the girls. He rode with Julie and she was going to drop them at the mall for dinner and a movie. It had been decided that the first time or two should be in a group with Sarah.

Actually, the three of them went out four times before Sean asked Jess to a dance at his school. She could hardly even answer, and flew into a panic afterwards about what to wear and how terrible her dancing was.

Rather than have one of the women chauffeur, as each of them had offered to do, Sean spent a ridiculous amount to hire a limo. It was by no means a formal dance, but the Gang decided that a dress and heels for Jess and comparable attire for Sean would make the best impression.

Make an impression it did. It was the closest thing to a Cinderella experience that Jess ever had. She very nearly fainted from the rather chaste goodnight kiss, and she could not stop babbling to Sarah for hours afterwards.

Unlike Sarah, however, Jess was just not ready for the type of exploration that had helped Sarah so much. The Gang talked about it several times. "I'm sure the difference is that Danny took the lead and exposed himself to Sarah before her time with Sean. She has said that to me several times."

"Well, that will never happen with Jess's dad," Nancy proclaimed. "Has he even come to see her?"

"I guess he is too afraid of Maureen," Julie said sadly. "Besides, the shape he's in would not make a good introduction to the male body for the poor girl."

"Would Dan do it?" Claire asked Julie.

"Oh. Wow. You know, he'll do most anything Sarah asks him to. The problem is Arlene. Even with all of the progress, I don't think she's ready to know about that," Julie responded.

"I'm not so sure," Phyllis countered. "It's my guess that Arlene has figured out just about everything that went on. At least she goes out a lot more, now, so Dan does not have to test her reaction just yet."

That very day Julie and Sarah met at a fast food place halfway between their homes. "The women think Jess needs the same kind of preparation you had before she can do anything with Sean."

"But her dad..."

"With YOUR dad," Julie interrupted.

"Oh! I don't think he wants that kind of, uh, relationship with Jess," Sarah protested.

"I'm sure he doesn't, but he will do it if you ask him," Julie declared.

The relationship between Sarah and Dan had blossomed, but that was still a major thing to ask him. She did not waste any time, though, pulling him into his study after dinner despite Jess and Arlene being aware of where they had gone.

With the door closed, Sarah just spit it out. "Daddy, you need to show yourself naked for Jess. She's, uh, stalled. I would never have been able to learn the things I did from Sean without your help. Do it for her, Daddy. Please."

"Your mother may not be ready for that," he said matter-of-factly, thrilling Sarah that he was not really objecting.

"Sunday morning, Dad. Jess has refused to go any more and you don't go often. This Sunday, OK? Take your run, shower and jerk off, then..."

"Sarah!"

"Oh, Daddy, we're beyond that by now. As I was saying, I'll set it up. I'll get her talking about why she's still so shy around Sean. When I hear you in the shower, I'll get this bright idea and run down and fetch you."

"Will you stay around or leave her alone with me?"

"We'll have to play that by ear."

Pulling her onto his lap and hugging her closely, Dan told her "Baby, I'm just so proud and so amazed at how fast you have changed."

"Proud enough to show your dick again, huh?" she teased.

"I like Jess. If the Gang thinks this will help, I can handle it. You know, it will actually be easier than with you."

On Sunday morning, Sarah and Jess were sitting at the kitchen table and Sarah was pressuring Jess to take advantage of Sean. "Don't you want to see him? Don't you want to learn what it's all about?"