Sleeping in My Jeans

by Connie King Leonard

  I type See you Sunday and climb into Ruby.

  Mom drives us across Eugene, over the I-5 freeway to Springfield and our new home. It is a plain two-story box of a house with a black, pitched roof, tan siding, and white trim. It’s no bigger than the others on the street, but to my little family, it’s a palace of the grandest proportions. We walk up to the front door, and Mom reaches out to press the doorbell. The roof of the small front porch keeps off the drizzle of a cold winter rain.

  A woman in tight jeans and a crisp white shirt answers the door. “Rita Rollins?” The woman extends her arm to usher us in. “Come in. Come in.” She is a lot taller than Mom, but not much older.

  We step inside. The front door leads to a large living room that is furnished in well-worn hand-me-downs. The tan couch sags, and the two green chairs don’t match each other or anything else in the room. One lampshade sits at an odd angle; the other one has a small rip in the side. The end tables are stained and chipped, but it is the most beautiful living room I have ever seen.

  The woman holds out her hand. “I’m Allie, the resident assistant here.” Mom shakes her hand and introduces us to this stranger who will share our lives for the next few months. Allie throws her arm toward the back of the house. “Let me show you around.”

  We follow Allie through a kitchen, where she explains how the residents take turns cooking communal dinners and cleaning up afterwards. She points to a small cupboard we can use for our own food. Meg giggles, puts her hand to the side of her mouth, and whispers, “For our bread and peanut butter.”

  Upstairs, Allie shows us to the bathroom we will share, with its tub, shower, and toilet. The entire house has a lived-in quality, but at the same time it is spotlessly clean. Last—and best of all—she finishes our tour at a bedroom near the end of the hall.

  Allie hands a set of keys to Mom. “The big one is for the front and back door, and the smaller one is for this room.” She smiles. “Move in and get settled. If you have any questions, my room is off the downstairs hall, first door on the right.”

  Mom unlocks the door. We step into our room and look around in wonder, running our hands over the blue flowered quilts on the bunk beds and along the scratched tops of two mismatched dressers. We gaze out the window at bare limbs on a big maple tree and open the little closet that waits for the few clothes, toys, and shoes that we own.

  “It’s beautiful,” whispers Mom. “Just beautiful.”

  Meg twirls around in a circle. “And after we get my dollhouse and Mattie’s books from Darren, it will look just like home.”

  Mom and I lean into a hug and gather Meg in with us. Tears run down my face, but this time they are not from fear or worry. This time, my tears are pure joy.

  Author’s Note

  Sleeping in My Jeans is a work of fiction, yet the story of Rita, Mattie, and Meg is all too real. State statistics for the 2016–2017 school year tell us that 22,541 students in Oregon did not have a safe place to call home. Not all of these students are on the street or in a car like Mattie and her family, but even though they may have a roof over their heads, they live in a state of constant turmoil.

  Another social issue that appears in this novel is human trafficking. I-5 is known as the West Coast Track and considered a major network for sex trafficking from Canada to Mexico. It is a serious problem that needs attention and legislation.

  Resources:

  “Record Number of Homeless Students” by Molly Harbarger for the Oregonian/Oregon Live, November 17, 2017

  “Oregon’s Homeless Student Population Rises Third Year in a Row” by Chris Lehman for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), November 22, 2016

  “On Track: Sexual Exploitation Along the I-5 Corridor” by Dylan Wells for The Gate, January 9, 2017

  A portion of the sales of Sleeping in My Jeans will be donated to:

  St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (Youth House for homeless teen girls and other affordable housing projects)

  www.svdp.us

  P.O. Box 24608

  Eugene, Oregon 97402

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to Mackenzie Deater and Monique Vieu, my project managers at Ooligan. Your hard work, expertise, and dedication to detail are much admired and greatly appreciated. And to Lisa Hein, my editing manager. You took Sleeping from a good story in a rough package to a place of beauty.

  Thanks to Ooligan Press for believing in Sleeping and doing the hard work to make it happen, starting with Maeko Bradshaw, Vi La Bianca, Alison Cantrell, and the amazing team listed on the last page. I am forever grateful for your time, energy, and talent.

  Thanks to Karen Myers, John Reed, and Terri Gassman for your excellent advice, and John and Maria Rudy for that last edit.

  Thanks to the Eugene Police Department and the Eugene City Library for answering so many questions.

  Thanks to family and friends for believing in me, encouraging me to keep writing, and for reading all those early drafts.

  A special thanks to Kristen, Robby, Ben, Matt, Kevin, Rhiannon, Jess, Colin, Carter, Cadence, Carys, Julian, and Caleb. Family is the central theme of this novel, and you continue to prove it is the core of my life.

  And most of all, thanks to Bob, for loving me.

  About the Author

  Connie King Leonard is a writer of books for children and teens. She holds degrees in education from Minot State University and the University of Oregon, and she has taught both elementary and middle school. Her years teaching provided the inspiration for this novel; in 2017, an estimated 22,541 students in the Oregon school system found themselves houseless for some part of the year, and every year the number is rising. Sleeping in My Jeans works to give these children a voice and a story. Connie is a member of SCBWI as well as Willamette Writers, and in 2008, she won the Kay Snow award for children’s writing with Too Much Glue, Gertie. Connie lives in Milwaukie, Oregon, with her husband Bob.

  Ooligan Press

  Ooligan Press is a student-run publishing house rooted in the rich literary culture of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 2001 as part of Portland State University’s Department of English, Ooligan is dedicated to the art and craft of publishing. Students pursuing master’s degrees in book publishing staff the press in an apprenticeship program under the guidance of a core faculty of publishing professionals.

  Project Managers:

  Mackenzie Deater

  Monique Vieu

  Project Team:

  Stephanie Anderson

  Terence Brierly

  Jessica DeBolt

  Grace Evans

  Katie Fairchild

  Jasmine Gower

  Des Hewson

  Kelly Hogan

  Stephen Hyde

  Hilary Louth

  Kristen Ludwigsen

  Scott MacDonald

  Alexis McIvor

  Laura Nutter

  Riley Pittenger

  Victoria Reilly

  Emily Stromberg

  Maki Takase

  Monique Vieu

  Lynette Wolf

  Michelle Zhang

  Acquisitions:

  Maeko Bradshaw

  Vi La Bianca

  Alison Cantrell

  Alyssa Schaffer

  Desiree Wilson

  Editorial:

  Lisa Hein

  Hilary Louth

  Stephanie Anderson

  Mackenzie Deater

  Jessica DeBolt

  Alison Cantrell

  Katie Fairchild

  Brittney Finato

  Michele Ford

  Jasmine Gower

  Elise Hitchings

  Kelly Hogan

  Kristen Ludwigsen

  Karissa Mathae

  Amylia Ryan

  Thomas Spölhof

&nb
sp; Joanna Szabo

  Monique Vieu

  Design:

  Andrea McDonald

  Bridget Carrick

  Jenny Kimura

  Digital:

  Stephanie Argy

  Kate Barnes

  Marketing:

  Morgan Nicholson

  Social Media:

  Katie Fairchild