Silt, Denver Cereal Volume 8 (42 page)

The employees cheered.

“
Let’s get to work,” Jacob
said.

Chapter Two Hundred and
Forty-Eight
Scared Kids

Monday evening—7:13 p.m.

“
Mom?” Noelle
whispered.

Sandy got up from her chair and sat on
Noelle’s bed.

“
Mom?” Noelle whispered
again.

“
I’m here,” Sandy
said.

Noelle’s head rolled over to look at
Sandy.

“
The boys?” Noelle
croaked.

“
They went home,” Sandy
said. “Charlie and Aden are at the police station. Alex’s husband,
John, you remember him? He’s very handsome?”

Noelle nodded.

“
He took Teddy and Nash
home to their house,” Sandy said. “Sissy and Tink were here with
Wanda for a while. Auntie Heather took them home for the night.
Sissy said she would be here first, first, first thing.”

Noelle smiled.

“
She wanted to stay with
you, but we can only have one person,” Sandy said. “We thought
you’d want me here.”

“
Where’s Rachel?” Noelle
sat up in a panic. “Did you forget her? Leave her?”

“
Rachel is with Auntie
Jill for the night,” Sandy said. “Jill picked her up from school
when she got Katy. She and Katy are having a trial run of what it’s
like to have a baby. Rachel is their practice baby.”

“
Rachel is a really good
baby,” Noelle gave a sincere nod. “I bet those boys won’t be as
good of babies.”

“
I’m sure you’re right.”
Sandy smiled. “But we’ll be there to help.”

Sandy patted Noelle’s shoulder and the girl
lay down again. Noelle stared at the ceiling for a while.

“
Mom?” Noelle
whispered.

“
I’m here,” Sandy
said.

“
I was so scared,” Noelle
whispered. She scooted around so her head was on Sandy’s lap.
“So . . .”

Noelle began to sob. Throughout this entire
ordeal, Noelle had laughed, told big stories, and even bragged to
her brothers. The doctors had marveled at how well she’d come
through the terrible ordeal.

But Sandy knew her daughter. When the boys
were gone, and the excitement wore off, her terror would return.
Sandy stroked Noelle’s back and hair and let her cry.

Through the tears, Noelle told her story. It
wasn’t a big story of “whupping up on those jerks” like she’d told
her brothers. It wasn’t even the horror-filled story she’d told the
police. Noelle told a smaller story, of a little girl who went to
the park and was all alone when a lot of scary boys attacked
her.

Noelle hiccupped and sobbed her way through
her story, and Sandy held on to her. Sandy had never felt so
inadequate and ineffective in her entire life. She had no idea if
she was healing or helping or even kind. She just listened and
loved. It was all she could think to do.

When Noelle’s story was over, the little
girl fell silent. Sandy kept stroking her back.

“
I think she’s asleep,”
the nurse said. “Let me help.”

Together, they set Noelle back against her
pillows. The nurse fussed over Noelle’s covers and checked her IV
lines. Sandy stayed next to Noelle on the bed.

“
You can get in the bed
with her,” the nurse said. “That’s what I’d do.”

“
You would?”
Sandy

“
Of course,” the nurse
said. “I’ll help.”

The nurse moved Noelle over a bit.

“
Just lie down with her,”
the nurse said. “It’ll help.”

Sandy lay down in the bed next to Noelle.
She opened her eyes for a moment and closed them again.

“
After such a big ordeal,
you can’t give a child enough snuggling,” the nurse said.
“Especially such a brave child as Noelle.”

When the nurse left the room, Sandy lay on
her side next to Noelle and stared at the wall. Sandy knew exactly
how horrified Noelle had been. Images of her own terrifying
experiences flashed across the cheery hospital wallpaper. Sandy
wouldn’t wish that horror on anyone, especially not Noelle. She bit
her lip to keep from crying.

“
Mom?” Noelle
whispered.

“
I’m here,” Sandy
said.

Sandy gave Noelle a soft hug. Noelle turned
her head to look at Sandy. For a moment, the girl just looked at
her. Sandy felt the child’s gaze travel over her forehead, her
nose, and her lips. Noelle gave a little nod and settled back on
her pillow.

“
Love you, Noelle,” Sandy
said.

“
Mom?” Noelle
whispered.

“
I’m here,” Sandy
said.

Noelle nodded. Sandy’s words echoed in her
own ears.

“
I’m here.”

She’d said it over and over again tonight
because it was all she could think to say. Noelle was calling for
her mother; Sandy was here, right here. Sandy wasn’t there in the
horror-filled past. She was right here with a little girl who loved
her.

Noelle had miraculously escaped the horror
and violence that had almost killed Tink.

Sandy had also miraculously escaped the
horror and violence that had been her life to, by some miracle,
wind up right here. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Sandy began to
cry.

“
It’s okay, Mom,” Noelle
said. “I’m right here.”

“
I’m glad,” Sandy
said.

Noelle grinned and fell into a sound
sleep.

Sandy knew it wasn’t over for Noelle. There
would be hearings and eventually a trial. Noelle would have to
repeat her story over and over and over again. Long after her
physical wounds had healed, she would continue to deal with the
mental ones. She’d probably have nightmares and need to see her
therapist again.

But when all was said and done, Noelle was
here.

Sandy was here.

That was all that really mattered.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening—8:25 p.m.

“
Hey,” Frankie said, when
he entered Wanda’s hospital room.

He wore an orange jumpsuit and his hands
were handcuffed in front of him. A uniformed police officer stood
by his side. Wanda’s mom, Edith, looked at Frankie and then at
Wanda before getting up out of her chair.

“
Why don’t I wait outside
for a minute?” Wanda’s mother asked. “Officer? Would you like to
join me?”

The uniformed officer looked at Wanda’s mom
and at Frankie. He unlocked one of Frankie’s hands and locked the
handcuff to the rail on Wanda’s bed.

“
Don’t go anywhere,” the
officer said.

“
I won’t,” Frankie
said.

“
This is a special favor,”
the officer said. “Screw this up and you’re back in with the
pack.”

“
Yes, officer,” Frankie
said.

“
All right then,” the
officer said. He followed Wanda’s mom out of the room.

“
What’s going on?” Wanda
asked.

“
I have to go to Gilliam
tonight,” Frankie said. “Juvie. I’m ‘sposed to go to the Children’s
Home, you know, ‘cuz of the stuff with my step-dad. But I can’t go
there ‘til there’s a bed.”

“
Why?” Wanda
asked.

“
It’s part of my
sentence,” Frankie said. “I went to court and stuff last week. This
is a pretty good deal. I got it mostly ‘cuz of my
brother.”

“
You turned in all those
videos,” Wanda said.

“
How’d you know that?”
Frankie asked.

“
Your mom came by,” Wanda
said. “She said you gave those big Homeland Security guys enough
evidence to figure out what’s going on from top to bottom. She said
she’s really proud of you. I am too.”

Frankie furrowed his eyebrows and
scowled.

“
Listen, I wanted to tell
you,” Frankie glanced at Wanda and looked down, “if you’re doing
all of this because of me, you don’t have to. I already told my
mom.”

“
What did you tell her?”
Wanda asked.

“
That I’m gay,” Frankie
blushed. “And that you and I . . . when we were in
junior high, and . . . Well, she’s okay with
it.”

“
Are you sure you’re gay?”
Wanda voice rose with anxiety.

“
Well, there’s that stuff
with my step-dad,” Frankie said. “And you. And I could
never . . . I mean the guys made fun of me because
I . . .”

“
Just because you’re not a
rapist doesn’t mean you’re gay,” Wanda said.

“
What about you?” Frankie
asked.

“
I’m a girl,” Wanda said.
“I told you over and over again. I knew I was a girl when I was
three or four. I told my mom but she and dad thought I’d grow out
of it. Then . . .”

“
Is that why you starved
yourself?” Frankie asked. “I always thought it was ‘cuz you didn’t
want to be gay.”

“
I wanted to control my
body,” Wanda said. “When you’re starving, you don’t go through
puberty. And . . .”

“
You almost died,” Frankie
said. “I don’t like that.”

“
If you’re gay, then we
can’t be together,” Wanda didn’t want to talk about her eating
disorder.

“
Why?” Frankie
shrugged.

“
Because I’m a girl,”
Wanda said.

“
But . . .”
Frankie shook his head. He leaned in. “Are you going
to . . . you know?”

“
Eventually,” Wanda said.
“I have to live like a girl for at least a year. But even my dad
thinks it makes sense that I’m a girl.”

“
Oh,” Frankie said. “Your
mom?”

“
She doesn’t like it,”
Wanda said. “She thinks she did something wrong. Or that I’m doing
this because I love you, but . . .”

“
You love me?” Frankie
blushed.

“
You know that,” Wanda
said.

“
Even after everything and
all of this?”

Wanda nodded.

“
You love me too?” Wanda
asked.

Frankie nodded and Wanda smiled.

“
It’s pretty weird to love
a girl like me,” Wanda said.

“
Don’t think there’s
anything I can do about it.” Frankie shrugged.

Wanda smiled.

“
Are you going to get
better?” Frankie asked.

“
Yeah,” Wanda said.
“You?”

“
I don’t know,” Frankie
said.

“
How ‘bout if we both
promise to get better?” Wanda asked. “I’ll do everything I can and
you do everything you can.”

“
Ok,” Frankie
said.

“
I don’t know if we’ll be
together forever, like some movie or something,” Wanda said. “But
at least if we get better together, that’s really good. That seems
like a really good way to love someone.”

“
So you’re saying you
won’t starve yourself anymore?” Frankie asked.

“
And you’ll work hard to
get better,” Wanda said.

“
For you,” Frankie
said.

“
They’ll tell you that you
have to do it for yourself,” Wanda said.

“
I am,” Frankie said. “If
I get better, and you get better, then we stand a chance
at . . . life.”

Wanda nodded.

“
I’m glad you’re okay,”
Frankie said.

“
I wouldn’t be if you
hadn’t help,” Wanda said.

Frankie smiled. The police officer came
in.

“
Kiss the girl good-bye,
dummy,” the officer said. “That’s why we’re here.”

Frankie leaned over and kissed Wanda’s lips.
She touched his face and he smiled. The officer re-handcuffed him
and they shuffled out the door. Wanda’s mom came back in.

“
So is this being a
girl . . . Is that about Frankie?” Wanda’s mom
asked.

“
No, Mom,” Wanda
said.

“
Just checking,” Wanda’s
mom said. “Because he’s pretty cute.”

“
He is.” Wanda
smiled.

“
So are you,” Wanda’s mom
said.

She leaned over and kissed Wanda’s
forehead.

“
I saw you and Dad
talking,” Wanda said. “Are you . . .?”

Wanda’s mother raised a stern eyebrow at her
and sat down in her chair. She started flipping pages in a
magazine.

“
Okay, the excitement’s
over,” the nurse said when she came into the room. “Time for you to
sleep. You have surgery for that leg tomorrow. You need
rest.”

The nurse fussed over Wanda and flipped off
the overhead lights. Wanda’s mom turned on a floor lamp, giving the
room a warm yellow glow. Wanda lay quiet for a while.

“
Dad’s been really great,”
Wanda said.

“
He has,” Wanda’s mom
said.

“
He’s pretty cute too,”
Wanda said.

“
Mm-hmm.” Wanda’s mom
pretended to read her magazine.

“
And he doesn’t have a new
family like you thought.”

Wanda’s mom scrunched up her face and said,
“You think . . .?”

Wanda nodded. Her mom smiled.

“
Maybe you could have
another kid,” Wanda said. “A real boy this time. He can have all
that stuff you bought for me.”

“
Don’t push it,” her mom
said in a strong voice, but she smiled. “Go to sleep.”

“
Okay,” Wanda
said.