Chapter 17

My stay at Mercy Hospital was short and sweet. Jeanette spent parts of each day sitting on my bed and visiting as she recovered from her gunshot wound. She showed me her stomach one evening when we were discussing the attacks out in the desert. “There isn’t much to see, but the surgeon says that the bullet went right through me without hitting any of my organs.

“He said that it happens that way from time to time, and I should consider myself the winner of the lottery for being one of the lucky few.”

The wound was small enough going in, but much larger where it exited. The scabs were healing nicely and she said that she’d be home already; except that she is a county employee and they are not about to take a chance on her not being absolutely, one-hundred percent healed before they will allow the hospital to release her. “The County Manager says that I will be off work for at least forty-five days after I get home, before the risk managers will let me come back to work.

“You and I will need to come up with a plan to keep me from going bonkers with that much time on my hands.” We laughed about her impatience, but I was very sorry to know that someone tried to kill her because of me. I apologized often, but she brushed it off each time.

Without the stress of work, Jeanette was almost a different person. She giggled, laughed, poked fun, told ribald jokes, giggled at her own dirty stories and tried to keep me from thinking too much and becoming depressed. We bonded over those few days, and on the day that I was released, she was too. Sienna drove Jeanette home and took me to her house. It seemed like Sondra, Jeanette, and Sienna were in agreement that I would live with Sienna primarily, while all three would share the responsibility of most other things in my life.

“You three do realize that I have no other life, right? I’ve never been anywhere, or done anything.” That got us all talking out rounding out my life experience before I grew up to become a hermit, or social outcast. Once they all stopped giggling at my lack of life experience, I threw them all for a loop.

“Since you are off work for the next many weeks, do you think we would have a good case to sue the late Attorney General’s estate? He had you shot and raped me for years, besides hiring killers and trying to kill me, himself.” That brought on a long silence while we gave Jeanette time to consider how and what and how much.

Once she had time to think it through she turned into a dynamo, running off to her hospital room and using her laptop and phone to get things in motion. Sienna stuck with me while Jeanette did her lawyer thing. Sondra went to help Jeanette do the lawyer thing and we didn’t see either one of them again for hours.

We were both released the next morning. Sienna drove us both home, dropping Jeanette at hers first, then taking me to lunch. Jeanette had a couple of very high powered lawyers coming to her house to discuss partnering with her on the legal actions against the office of the State Attorney General, as well as the late, former Attorney General. “I called a couple of my former Law School professors and they set this up. It looks like a slam dunk as far as our legal position.

“Cross your fingers and let’s see if we both get rich.” Her smile was contagious and I hugged her gently, to avoid hurting her gunshot wound.

Sienna and I spent hours at a family style restaurant in town. I had some money that I scooped up from Hazel’s ‘secret’ stash when we were there and insisted on buying. Sienna fought me on it, claiming that the county was paying her to house me, but I refused to give in. When the waitress came to take our order I handed her two twenty dollar bills, and said, “Whatever you do, do not take money from this very young girl. She didn’t even dry it properly before taking in down off the clothes line, when she made it this morning...”

We all laughed, but I got to pay for lunch.

For the first time in this body I was free to try and carve out a life. Now that Calen Arthur was dead, along with Hazel and the Derrons, there was no one trying to kill me, which meant it was time to focus on healing, getting my tiny body into some kind of shape, and figuring out where to go from here.

Before Sienna got us back to her house, I asked her to take me to the bank so I could get them to issue me a debit card drawn on Hazel’s accounts, which Jeanette handled having changed into my name with new account numbers.

The woman at the bank took one look at me and started to cry.

“Oh, you poor child...” she was beside herself with sorrow. “I read about what that evil witch did to you. If anyone deserved an ugly fate, it was that woman...” She stopped when she realized that she’d just called down the wrath of Satan on Ross’ mother, but I disabused of that notion.

“Thank you for being so kind. It was a terrible thing and I am so ... so ... grateful that it is behind me, now. You are so nice. Thank you for your kindness. This is my foster mother, Sienna Tenley. She is a nurse at Mercy Hospital and is just as kind as you. She will be signing on my accounts from now on. Can you help her with signature cards?” Something had to give, or she would have been crying all over the counter and making a spectacle out of me. Giving her the task of getting Sienna access to my accounts got her moving, shut up about Ross’ abuse, and help get me off the hook.

The bank manager was not about to be outdone, and came over to introduce himself and see what she could do help us, not to mention find out what gossip was available. “Hi. I’m Ross Thompson. This is my foster mother, Sienna Tenley. Can you help me get a debit card drawn on my checking account?” That fast she was also off my back and doing something other than gossiping about me.

As she started the car after receiving my debit card, Sienna gave me a very hard look. “Ross, how did you know about debit cards? I know you’ve never attended single day of school.”

I looked really sad for a minute, and then answered. “The television was always on and always very loud upstairs and down, at Hazel’s house.

“Why else do you think that the neighbors never heard me screaming during those times when I wasn’t gagged?” Sienna looked chastened by my reply, just as I hoped.

She thought that over for a long time, and then said, “It’s a good thing that that bitch is dead, or I’d sneak into that prison and make her that way.” That sounded remarkably like the last word on that subject.

Armed with a brand new debit card and basically dressed like a homeless person, Sienna and I went shopping. I was weak, but not helpless and the exercise was good for me. We bought all the things a young man needs. Ross’ style and look got an immediate and noticeable upgrade, with everything from boxer briefs, to dress shoes. We even stopped so I could get a haircut. I was still touchy about having the bank manager joke with Sienna, asking if my hair was styled using a weed whacker.

Since we were out, I talked her into driving us to a pizza joint and we feasted on all sorts of delightful things. The bill we ran up was almost seventy dollars, but it was the first splurge for me, and I needed a changeup.

Sienna had the guest bedroom made up and waiting for me. If I was awake long enough to fall into bed, I don’t remember it. The day was long and my body was weak. The last thing I remember was Sienna telling me that she was going to work at seven A.M. and I was to be good and stay near the house if I went for the long walk I promised myself that I’d take to begin to build up some endurance.

Waking up for the first time on my own, with nobody trying to kill me, and no hospital staff poking and prodding me was a relief. After a shower and breakfast, I dressed in sports clothes and set out walking. The neighborhood was easy to solve. I wouldn’t be getting lost and finding Sienna’s house would be a snap, so I concentrated on walking twenty minutes in one direction, and then turned around and headed back. That was as far as I was able to walk, and maybe a bit too far, because I needed another shower and a long rest before I was good for anything.

After making myself some lunch, using ingredients we picked up while shopping the day before, I set out to map out a plan for the next few years. I had to either con my way through the public school system, or wait for the lawsuits to settle and enroll at an expensive private school, and then buy a diploma. There would be nothing as useful as money to help overcome educational barriers.

As far as I could tell, Calen Arthur had plenty of that. Once Jeanette got her hooks into his fortunes, money would not be the number one challenge on my to-do list. In the meantime I needed to sell Hazel’s torture house and get what money was under my control making money.

To make money I needed information.

“So ... How was your first day out of the hospital, on your own, and without injuries to tend to?” Sienna was chatty, happy, and just a bit whimsical as we shared a tray table in her living room, watching TV and eating dinner. She seemed so happy that I wondered if she had a new man in her life. If so, then I was incredibly happy for her.

We talked for several hours after giving up on the idiot box. “My boyfriends all tend to be either on the rebound, self-absorbed jerks, or separated, divorced, or still married, but lying about it.

For some reason it was important that Sienna tell me all about her past loves. “I was totally, head over heels in love with this one guy. We dated for two years and I had no idea he was happily married and seeing me in the evenings because his wife worked late. He’d probably still be lying to me if I hadn’t seen them together at the movies one night, both proudly wearing their wedding rings...” She sighed as the bad memories all came back to life. It was a good time to let her be, so she could exercise the demon of her history poor love choices.

We talked until after midnight, and probably would have talked all night if she hadn’t yawned, and snuggled against me, resting her head against my chest, and pulling my arm around her for warmth and comfort. It felt so good to be close to a woman again.