The Liberation of Kate Shaw Ch. 07
Keywords: Kate, Ch., Liberation, The, Shaw, of, 07,
Prev 1 2 3 4
I looked around, and felt the strangeness of this new place, and nearly broke down in tears as I sat on the bed. It was all so nice, and Fiona was sweet, but how long could this go on, and was this all really as it seemed? It all began to try to come back to me again. Fiona didn't know me, so how could I expect to stay here? I knew I couldn't, but where would I go? What had I done again? What had my mother and father done to make me this lost?
Despite my wish not to cry, some tears stole down my cheek, and I felt my shoulders slumping in despair. I couldn't keep crying. Fiona said supper would be ready soon. My need to go to the bathroom wakened me out of my sorrowing, and I forced myself up. Though I felt uncomfortable, I began taking my clothes off. As I was pulling my pants down, I felt suddenly stark naked, and wondered what I would wear. I was so worried I quickly opened my suitcase and frantically rummaged until I had top, bottom, bra and panties. Why I worried so much about it puzzled me. I had felt as if I knew I had no clothes left.
Seeing the fresh clothes satisfied my foolishness, and I stripped off my bra and panties, then wondered what I should do with them. I left them on in a neat pile on the floor, thinking to put them into my bag later, then used the bathroom.
The shower may have been strange to me, but the hot water wasn't. No, it wasn't cold outside, but the air was cool inside, and the heat from the shower relaxed me. For a moment, I let myself forget my troubles. I vigorously shampooed my hair, and then put the conditioner on, and rinsed it. We didn't always have conditioner at home, and Brenda didn't either, which made it feel all the better.
As best I could, I tried to enjoy the shower, and feeling my body clean again. When I washed my breasts, I thought of those men at the bus station, and did feel my body shiver wildly in fear for a moment. What might have happened if Fiona hadn't come along? Then I had a sense of my father's hands, or was it just one of them, working their way up my top to them. I drove that thought away as I shivered lightly in disbelief. Someday my luck had to change for the better. Could that day be now?
Who was Fiona? What did she want? Worrying about that, I quickly sensed her quietly smiling at me, and my worries left me, and my fears disappeared. Still, I wondered who she was. Shutting my mind to it all, my only defense against it, it seemed, I hurried to finish, then dressed.
"Hey, you look fresh now. Feel better?"
"Yes," I said shyly, "thank you."
"Maybe I should have given you the hair dryer. Sorry about that. Can you suffer to eat like that?" she asked, the soft, confident smile on her lips.
"Yes," I said, then looked at the food.
God, it looked delicious. I loved Chinese food, and especially egg foo young, which was there on a platter, along with a lot of other food.
"I like to make a lot since it keeps, and I love it anyway," Fiona confessed.
"It looks great," I said, my mouth salivating, my worries temporarily disappearing.
"Good. Hope you find the taste great too. Go ahead and serve yourself. I have iced tea, or a cola."
"Iced tea is fine," I said, my hands reaching for the egg foo young already.
"Do you like that?" she asked, seeing me going for it.
"Uh-huh! I love it. Thank you," I said, smiling a real smile for the first time. Funny how I caught that the smile was real, natural.
"Mmm! This is delicious," I said, working hard to keep from shoveling it in my mouth. I hadn't eaten too well today.
"I'm glad you like it. Take your time. There's always tomorrow with all of this," Fiona said in what must be her characteristic soft voice.
I forced myself to slow down, and was glad I did. Fiona seemed to really like it too, eating a nice healthy portion herself.
When we were finished, she got up, and opened a cake holder.
"Fresh cherry nut cake. Would you like some?"
It was my favorite cake, the few times I ate it. It looked so scrumptious, I just nodded my head vigorously, a timid smile on my face.
"It's a bad habit, eating this deliciously sweet stuff, but we do have to pamper ourselves on occasion, don't we?" Fiona asked, making me feel even more at ease.
"I guess so," I said childishly.
It was fresh, moist, and perfect with a glass of milk.
"Oh, God, it's so good," I said without thinking, my taste buds talking for me.
Fiona's smile was huge now, and warm and inviting as could be.
"Okay, now you have to work for your supper," Fiona said when we'd finished eating. "Since you don't know where everything goes, I'll have to make you wash the dishes today. Maybe I'll do them tomorrow, okay?"
How could I say no? What I listened to was Fiona saying that maybe she'd do them tomorrow. Was that to say she wouldn't run me off after tonight? My heart raced with expectation, my mind tried to slow it down in disbelief that I might have a place tomorrow night too. That was a big relief.
"Sure. Okay," I said, and tried to smile as big as she did.
It was forced, but I was so hopeful. Oh, God, I was so hopeful. I was like a little kid again. I guess it was natural for me to feel as I was, like a little kid. It was all too bizarre, the way things had been happening to me, and me taking this stupid trip to nowhere, and no one, but now here was this marvelous lady. The wondering hit me again. Who was she? How did I get so lucky? When would it all end for me? My smile grew nervous. Fiona must have noticed it.
"It's been tough on you, hasn't it?" she asked kindly.
"Yes," I said, my breath coming out in a loud whoosh.
I hadn't realized I was holding it in. My shoulders sagged again.
"Well, you're safe now, and we'll talk about it tomorrow, if that's okay, but please don't let yourself worry too much. Worry doesn't go good with egg foo young," she said, grinning now.
"Th-thank you," I whispered so quietly it surprised me.
My tears wanted to come, but maybe I'd had enough. That, or I was wanting to let myself feel as safe as Fiona said I was. I needed that. My stomach had been much too tight on the bus, and tighter when I thought, or tried to think, as well as the men who looked too much at me.
"Come on, let's sit a while, and try to relax," Fiona said when we finished the dishes.
We sat on the sofa, each of us at one end, but it wasn't too far apart for talking, though I felt like I wanted to curl up and hide from it all.
"Bobbie, I guess you've wondered about me a bit. You had to have, at least a bit. Maybe why did I bring you here?"
Eyes wide, I could only nod, not wanting to say anything that might piss her off, and find myself out on the street again. A fear that the real reason would be more than terrible tried to hit me, but I shut it out. If anything bad was coming, I knew I was trapped. This had all been such a stupid idea, but I still didn't know what else, if anything I could have done that might be better. At least now I'd had a good meal. I suddenly felt my stomach wanting to knot up.
"You looked like you needed help, and I was glad I was there to offer it. You have a place to sleep tonight, and tomorrow we can talk some more, maybe after supper, unless you have other thoughts. Until then, nothing is expected of you other than that you try to relax, to feel safe, and as comfortable as possible. Okay?"
I nodded again. Yes, it sounded okay to me. More than okay. What would come later, I'd have to see tomorrow, I guess. It seemed I was on a day to day basis in my life now. Fiona surely didn't have to do this for me, I realized, and I was glad to be off the streets.
"Yes, thank you," I whispered again somewhat lately.
"May I ask how old you are?" Fiona asked, her smile still soft.
"Nineteen," I said.
"I believe you. It's kind of hard to telling with you. You're lucky, you look younger than nineteen. I had to wonder if you were a runaway. As I said, we'll talk more tomorrow."
"No," I said, some tears seeping out without warning.
"Here," Fiona said, handing me some tissues. "You don't need to explain to me now, unless it'll make you feel better. I only want you to relax, and rest tonight. Okay?"
"Yes," I said between a few sniffles. "Can I talk about it tomorrow?" I almost begged.
"Certainly. I said you could, and you can. Now, would you like to go to bed? Maybe you'd like some real sleep, if you haven't had any lately."
Once more I nodded my head.
"Okay. I could use some sleep too. You know where the bathroom is, so feel free to use it if you need to. Do you have a toothbrush?"
It was something I forgot to pack. I shamefully shook my head. "No," I said, my voice like the little girl I didn't want to feel like.
"Well, I've got a spare. Let's get you taken care of, and let you sleep. Got sleeping clothes?"
"Uh-huh," I said, then, "I mean, yes."
After making sure I was okay, Fiona held out a hand. I looked into her eyes. They were the deepest brown I could remember, contrasting to my green eyes and dirty blonde hair. Fiona's hair was soft, silky, and a clean looking brown that laid on her shoulders. I felt so small, yet I was almost as tall as she was. It was her look, the way she looked at me, so softly, sweetly, and confidently. I was filled with a deep desire to trust her, and felt my face softening, my mind clearing away the harsh thoughts and feelings I'd had before. I reached my hand out to meet hers, and felt Fiona take it gently, her other reaching to touch my cheek tenderly.
Any soft touch would have felt tender to me at this time, but Fiona's touch was tender, and very sweet, and that beautiful smile made it all the more so.
"Be at peace, and sleep well, Bobbie. You'll be all right. You'll see," she said. "Leave the door open, or close it as will make you feel better. Good night."
Prev 1 2 3 4
Keywords: Kate, Ch., Liberation, The, Shaw, of, 07,