Chapter 1

It was a Friday night early in October and it was cold and raining. Ed was following a car at a distance down the lonely stretch of state highway Route 9. He saw the brake lights come on momentarily and then saw the car ahead of him speed up. When he reached the place where the brake lights came on he saw two people, one large and one small one, huddled by the side of the road. He slowed down as he approached and stopped a few feet before them so his lights would illuminate the two.

"Can I help you? You look like you are either lost or in trouble."

The woman, an adult spoke, "Would you give us a ride into town? Something happened to the steering on my car and it went off the road back behind you a ways." The woman was trembling and he could see a child shivering beside her.

"Get in. The car is warm and you can tell me where you want to go." Ed leaned over and pushed the passenger door open as the woman grasped the kid's hand and came around the car.

The woman was having trouble getting into the front seat and winced when the kid climbed onto her lap. "Thank you for stopping. Three cars went by and nobody stopped. I guess they didn't want to get involved."

Ed turned the interior light on and he could see a bruise on the woman's cheek. "Did you get hurt? Do you want to go to the emergency room? That bump looks pretty bad. How about the police? Do you want to report the accident?"

"No, I'll be all right. No police please. We are just cold and wet. I'm worried about my daughter Cindy. I'm afraid she is coming down with something and being wet and cold is going to make her worse. We will be okay just as soon as we can find some place to get dry."

"You don't have any luggage. Is your home in town?"

"No I don't live here. I was hoping there was a Crisis Center or maybe some church group would take us in."

Ed paused before he asked, "I guess you might be running away from something or someone." The woman seemed to be evaluating how much she wanted to divulge, so he said, "Look lady, I sense you are in real trouble. My name is Ed Bowen. I've lived around here forever. My home is about three miles up ahead. Town is about four miles farther on. If you want to stop with me temporarily, I have plenty of room. You can at least get warm and I can take you into town after that. Would that be okay?"

"Just to get warm would be wonderful. Thank you Ed. My name is Penelope. People call me Penny. I promise Cindy and I won't be any bother."

Ed started the car and turned off the overhead light. His thoughts turned inward as he drove. What had he got himself into? These two strays he had picked up at least took his mind off the memory of his dead wife for a time. He wondered what this woman would look like when he could see her in the light. Well he would know soon enough.

When Ed reached his driveway he said, "I live about a half mile up here and in the morning you can look out and see the town from the south window. The trees have just come into full color this week. It is beautiful now and even more beautiful in the winter with snow on the ground. You'll love it."

Penny thought to herself that Ed seemed to be a person she could trust. Anyone who talked about beautiful scenery that way had to have a good heart. Some different from the man she had just left. Why hadn't she left him sooner? She supposed that once you are in love with someone, it was hard to believe it had all gone wrong.

Ed pulled into the yard. Penny could see from the momentary glimpses that the headlights showed, there were numerous flower beds that had been fixed for their winter hibernation. Ed jumped out and opened the front door to the house and flicked some floodlights on. He came out and picked Cindy up into his arms and carried her inside to a couch.

He stepped to one wall and twisted the thermostat to a higher setting. He then came out and held the car door for Penny. She hadn't moved and seemed to be having trouble gathering her strength just to make it into the house. Ed took her arm and helped her in and across the room to a leather recliner. Penny murmured, "Thank you."

Ed went into the kitchen which was on the other side of the dining room, leaving Penny and Cindy basking in the heat that was fast penetrating their bodies. Cindy was coughing almost continuously now. Fifteen minutes later he was back with instant coffee for Penny and hot chocolate for Cindy.

Cindy took a few sips of her beverage, but appeared too sick to finish it. Ed felt of her forehead and said to Penny, "I'm going to get her some help." He went to the phone, punching in a number without looking it up.

"George, I know it's late and I hate to ask you, but would you grab your bag and come out? What I have here is at the very least a bad cold and maybe something more serious." Ed listened as the doctor said he would be there as soon as possible.

Penny wondered how this man could have a doctor at his beck and call. She never heard of a doctor making house calls in recent times.

"Penny, why don't you take a hot shower? You're cold and wet too. I'll get a warm blanket and hold Cindy until the doctor gets here. The shower is through the bedroom there. You will find plenty of women's clothes in the left hand closet and whatever under things you need are in the left hand bureau. The lady who used to wear them doesn't need them now, so she won't mind you using them.

"You can crawl into bed or you can come out when the doctor examines Cindy. The two of you will have to sleep together as I only have two bedrooms. My clothes are on the right, but I have other things in the spare bedroom where I've been sleeping."

Penny struggled out of the recliner after seeing Ed do what he said he would for Cindy. Penny went into the bedroom and marveled at the size of it. It was huge. This might be only a two-bedroom home but there was plenty of room. The shower was comparable in size.

Before she went into the shower, she opened the bureau and found some pajamas. When she went to the wardrobe she viewed the closet full of beautiful dresses and gowns. She found a robe that fit her perfectly. As she passed the night table on the right side of the bed, she paused to look at the woman that was enshrined in the portrait prominently sitting there. In the corner was the inscription, "To Ed, with all my love, Alice."

It was not long before the doctor entered the living room where Ed was holding Cindy. "What have you got there son, a little girl? Where did you find her?"

"She was out on Route 9 about three miles west of here. Her mother is taking a shower. I think the mother needs looking at too. She hasn't said, but maybe she got hurt when their car went off the road. Anyway, they were on the road so I picked them up. This is Cindy and the mother is Penelope, or Penny. I don't even know their last names."

"Ed, bring her into the bedroom and I'll see what I can find." Cindy had stopped shivering, but the fever was raging. Both Ed and George could hear the shower as Ed laid the child on the bed. "Go on Ed get out of here. I'll let you know what I find."

An hour later George came out of the room. "Ed, the woman has had a rough time. She has just escaped from an abusive relationship. I found some whip marks on Cindy that happened about six days ago and who by the way is twelve years old. The mother has a massive bruise on her thigh where she said she was kicked by the man she was living with. She has two and possibly three cracked ribs and of course the bruise on her head that you can see. She received those two days ago in a fight with the same person that gave Cindy the whipping. Penny is a widow and Cindy is an only child by her husband. Her husband was killed while in the service.

"I've given Penny something to sleep and Cindy has cough syrup. Cindy needs her medicine every four hours, so if you are awake, would you administer it? It is a bad cold, but her chest is clear. She just has to wear it out and being young, she should be okay in a couple of days. Would you keep them both here so I could see them both later tomorrow?

"I've left something stronger for Penny and if she starts coughing make sure she takes it. I've bound her ribs up tight, but if she coughs she is going to really know what pain is. Another fact, her name is Peters and when she heals up she is going to be as beautiful as Alice was. It startled me when I saw Penny in the robe that I had often seen Alice wearing. Outside of a different shade of hair color, they could have been sisters.

As George was going out the door he came back and said, "I asked and received permission to take pictures of the abuse both the mother and child show. I should turn them over to the authorities, but Penny asked me not to, unless her boyfriend causes her trouble, and then she said I could use them. I convinced her I did have to cover my butt by taking the pictures, so I guess we reached a reasonable agreement on this."

Ed didn't bother going to bed, he just dozed until it was time for Cindy's medicine. The first time he went in, tears came to his eyes when he could see the woman lying where his wife had lain the few years they were together. Her features were not that well defined by the dim glow from the night light, but this only enhanced the comparison.

Ed went through the bedroom in the morning to shower, first stopping to feel Cindy's brow. It felt to him the fever had disappeared. Glancing at Penny who had her face turned to cover the bruise, she did look remarkably like Alice. Not wanting to even think about this, Ed hurried into the shower. Coming out he found Cindy awake. "Are you feeling better Cindy?"

She whispered, "Yes I am. Would you tell me where the bathroom is, please?"

Ed pointed and quickly left the room, because he didn't know what the little girl had on. He knew her dress and under-clothes were drying in the laundry room as he had put them in the washer earlier. They were dry a few minutes later and he knocked softly on the door. He waited a minute and took the items and put them on the foot of the bed. Cindy gave him a big smile and a little wave from the depths of the blankets pulled up around her. Penny was still sleeping.

Mrs. Butler arrived just before eight. "Oh, good, you're home. I was hoping you would be." She looked at Ed, "Didn't you sleep last night? You look all tired out. I thought you had got over missing your wife."

"No, it wasn't that. I have a house guest and she is sick, or she was. I'll see if she is up so you can meet her."

Chapter 2 »