Chapter 11

After Tara used the bathroom and snuck back into bed, cuddling with me as she drifted back to sleep I got to think about my dream. Maybe the universe was locked in some kind of struggle with another entity, seeking to destroy its way to power. If so, then it was possible that I was caught in the middle, being used as some kind of counterweight to the wrongs the other side was committing.

The whole thing sounded like a cheap science fiction movie, but the facts were so out there I doubted how successful a movie could be with such an impossible pretext for a film. My life had been hijacked so many times, causing me to lose so many people I loved, that going along with whatever came next became my survival mechanism.

The dream stirred up a number of questions, but provided no answers. What was real was the life I currently lived and the women in my bed. Somewhere in the context of my current existence was a task waiting for me. When it revealed itself, then the universe would do what it always had done. I would be used once more somewhere else.

The entire day changed when Cary drove off in her new car to see some friends and brought back a lost little girl.

It was nearly suppertime when Cary’s Chevy came roaring up the driveway. I had been out walking in the grove checking on the trees when I heard the car swing in off the county road. There was no doubt that it was her, because I caught a glimpse of the car as it whipped by.

By the time I hustled in from the grove, Cary was out of the car, up on the porch and introducing what looked like a four, or five year old girl. “Michael this is Tina. I found her walking in the ditch where the culvert crosses the road. I was headed into town and though I passed an injured dog in the ditch, but it turned out to be a little girl. She says her mother’s boyfriend tossed her out of the car out on the road and drove away, telling her that he hoped that she starved to death.

“She looked so sad and lonely that instead of taking her to the police station, I brought her home for us to look after.” My first major concern was finding out if she had been injured, or molested. If she needed a doctor, we were heading for the hospital. If she had been sexually abused, someone was going to die a painful death.

That fast I had a mission.

“Well, hello Tina,” I said, with a big smile. “How are you today?”

She looked tearful. Her plight tugged at my heart and I picked her up, dirt and all, and held her on my lap while we chatted. “Tina, honey, does anything hurt? Were you injured when you fell out of the car?”

I wasn’t prepared for her answer. “My mother has a boyfriend. He is mean and likes to hit her. We were driving to Tampa and George got lost. Mom said he was looking for a shortcut. Mommy tried to show him where we were on the great big map, and it made him mad. He stopped the car and hit her until she fell asleep and then shoved me out the window.” She looked at me with those big brown eyes, and said, “I skinned my knee.” She showed me her knee and it didn’t look bad, but I could tell from her look that mommy always kissed her boo-boos and made them feel better.

Even though kissing he filthy knee was about as attractive as licking snake venom off the hood the car, I lifted her leg, kissed her injury and declared, “There! That should take of that.” Tina giggled to let me know she agreed.

No matter how I tried to get to the information, Tina did not know her last name, or address. She had no idea what state she was from and couldn’t tell us a thing about the boyfriend. All we had was that her name was Tina and she was four.

Tara had disappeared inside and came back with a big glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookies just as Tina decided that her scrape wasn’t going to prove fatal. While she drank like she was parched and devoured six cookies, I looked her over, carefully. She was small and very slim. Her brown eyes were clear and her face was sunburned, as it would be after spending several hours in the hot sun.

Her hair looked brown, but might have been off blonde. With the dust and dirt in it, she could have been brown, or even black. We’d have to clean her up to find out. Her hands showed signs of having had to work pretty hard for one so young. We’d be investigating all of that as the evening wore on.

Someone hadn’t been feeding this child for a day, or two. Taking the empty plate from her, I handed it back to Tara, and said, “My Darling, would you bring our guest some fruit and maybe some orange juice? If she was out in the sun all day she will need to be rehydrated.”

Then I turned to Tina. “Honey, my name is Michael and this is the rest of my family, Tara and Edwina. You’ve already met Cary. We are very happy you chose to come to our house this evening.” The hurt in her eyes was very real. Someone had hurt her more than once.

That made me quite mad.

She was dirty from head to toe. The sweat and caked on dirt indicated that she had been abandoned for more than a couple of hours, so I suggested Edwina help Cary get her into the bathtub while Tara called the Sheriff and inquired as to who we should speak to about an abandoned child. While they all got busy, I put together a more substantial meal, trying to make it appealing for a child her age.

It took some time for Tina to be properly bathed but when Edwina carried Tina back from the bath, she was looking much better. She was wearing some of Edwina’s old clothes that were stitched up to keep them from falling off. While she ate her ham and cheese sandwich and apple slices – ravenously, I might add – Cary drove off to buy some clothes in the appropriate sizes for our newest houseguest.

It was just a few minutes later that Tara came into the kitchen. “The dispatcher transferred me to the Juvenile Division. They claimed that I needed to talk to the Detectives instead, because the child was the victim of a crime, not the perpetrator of a crime. He transferred me to the Detective on duty. He asked if Tina was injured, or showed signs of sexual abuse. I told him that she was fine except for a skinned knee and that you treated it with a big kiss.