by T. M. Meek
Glade and Alex waited for Dr. Staff to return, Dr. Alan Richardson, another ER doctor who had treated both Alex and Glade for abusive injuries before, walked by and noticed them waiting in an exam room. He saw Glade's bruised face and Alex's stiffness and occasional wincing expressions of pain. He decided to stop in for a moment and talk with them.
"And the Opalstone kids are back," he said in sympathy. "It was your brother again, right? Did he do this to you two?" Both Glade and Alex nodded reluctantly. "What's the name of your brother who did this to you again?" he asked them.
"Dex," both Glade and Alex replied tired but in near unison.
"Where's your mom?" Dr. Richardson asked them. But before either Glade or Alex could answer, Dr. Staff had returned and quickly interrupted them.
"Don't worry, Alan. I've got this one," Dr. Staff calmly said.
"What happened? Where's their mother?" Dr. Richardson inquired with great concern.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss any of that right now and if you don't mind, I really need to tend to my patients right now," Dr. Staff responded politely.
Dr. Richardson stepped out of the exam room and gave Dr. Staff a look to come talk to him in private. As the two stepped over just a few feet outside of the exam room doorway, Dr. Richardson began talking to Dr. Staff in more subdued tones. "With all due respect, Dr. Staff, how many times have you seen these kids as patients in the ER before?"
"Today is the first time for me but I'm confident I can still get them the care they need," Dr. Staff replied respectfully.
Dr. Richardson was more agitated now. "Well I've seen both of them on multiple occasions here before. I have personally treated Glade three times before over the past four months and I've also treated Alex twice over the last three months. So, okay. Fine. You treat them today. But if you treat them today, what happens afterward? Are you just going to return them back to live with that bully of a brother of theirs? They practically have no parents at home most of the day every day seven days a week and this is clearly evidenced by the inadequate protection they have. How many more times will they have to come to this ER before someone finally does the right thing and gets these kids out of that house?"
Dr. Staff let out a deep sigh as he watched the nurse arrive with a wheelchair for Alex. Dr. Richardson continued.
"I'm not saying that Dr. Opalstone isn't a good doctor. He's an excellent doctor and no one really questions that. Hell, he's received more awards for his contributions to the medical industry and local community than most of us even knew was possible and I respect him for that. But I feel it's also clear that his excellence as a doctor is coming at a very high price that his children can no longer afford to pay.
"It's clear that his dedication is to this hospital and his patients more than it is to his own family. And don't try and give me that line that ‘being a great doctor requires sacrifice’ because I think that every doctor who thinks he can't find a successful balance between being a great doctor while also being a great husband and father is full of crap! He's not the only highly experienced cardiologist in this country. And maybe it's time someone reminded him of that so he can steer his loyalties back towards his family a little more. If, and that's a very big ‘ if ’, it's not too late.”
The nurse had already helped Alex to get seated in the wheelchair and Glade was standing by. “Dr. Staff?" the nurse called as if to see if he was ready to go.
"Look. I want to help these kids. Where are you taking them? Radiology?" Dr. Richardson guessed. "I can take them up with the nurse and you can meet us up there after we're done."
Dr. Staff held his shoulders back and stood a little taller as he gave his firm but respectful reply. "Dr. Richardson, I appreciate your concern, but I feel it bears repeating: I am not at liberty to discuss anything regarding this case with anyone other than Dr. Johnson. If you have a problem with that, then you can take it up with her. Now, if you'll please excuse me, as you can see, I have patients that require my immediate attention."
And with that, Dr. Staff motioned for the nurse to lead the way to radiology. Both Glade and Dr. Staff followed as the nurse wheeled Alex away towards the elevators at the end of a long hall. Dr. Richardson stormed off.
On the way to the elevators, Dr. Staff fulfilled his duty to call Dr. Johnson with an update.
"This is Dr. Johnson," she said as she answered her phone.
"I'm on my way to x-ray now with Alex and Glade."
"Very good. Let me know as soon as you get the results."
"I will. And I think you should be aware that a potential confrontation with Dr. Alan Richardson may be in your near future," he added warily.
"Surprise, surprise," she said sarcastically. "You didn't say anything to him, right?" she double checked.
"One hundred percent confidential. I didn't tell him a thing," he assured.
"That's the way it's got to stay."
"Whatever you need," he said.
"Keep me posted."
"Will do." They both hung up just in time for Dr. Staff to get on the elevator with Alex, Glade and the nurse.
While on the elevator, Alex looked thoughtfully up at Dr. Staff and asked curiously, "What's your first name?"
He looked down at Alex and quietly chuckled before responding. "Nathan," he smiled.
"I just wondered since I've never seen you before. I'm used to seeing the other guy. Dr. Richardson," she said. She then took a moment to get up the courage to ask him, "He seemed sort of upset. Am I in trouble?"
"Heaven’s no, Alex. You're not in trouble," Dr. Staff replied sincerely.
"Then why was he so upset?"
Dr. Staff replied thoughtfully, "He just wants to make sure you two get the very best care. That's all. That's why Dr. Johnson asked me to make sure you get the very best."
Once the elevator arrived at their floor, they all get off of the elevator to head over to have Alex's shoulder and ankle x-rayed. Glade waited in the waiting room. After the x-rays were done, they all headed back to the same exam room Alex was in before. Dr. Staff called Dr. Johnson and gave her the good news about the x-ray results.
"Alex, your x-rays look good. No broken bones and your shoulder is only stuck part way so no surgery will be needed. Your left ankle has suffered a simple sprain so we'll get you some crutches to keep any weight off of it. But we do need to quickly get your shoulder adjusted and I promise that as soon as that gets done, your sandwiches will be here shortly afterwards. I'm also hoping your father will arrive soon, but we'll see," Dr. Staff said.
Glade stood as close to Alex as the doctor would allow. The nurse worked with the doctor to hold Alex and ensure her body was positioned correctly so they could quickly complete the fairly short but painful procedure of literally shoving Alex's shoulder back into its socket so her arm and shoulder would heal and function normally again.
Although they gave her some medicine to prevent her from feeling too much pain, Alex cried out loudly but briefly more from fear at the sudden shove that was used on her arm rather than from the discomfort she felt. Glade struggled to fight back tears as he looked at Alex to help her be brave. The relief to Alex's shoulder and arm was nearly instantaneous as she no longer felt as much pain.
With the nurse observing nearby, Dr. Staff took another close look at Alex's shoulder and felt it to make sure everything was in the right place. Glade seemed to notice a clear improvement in the way Alex's shoulder looked and especially how she seemed to finally be in a lot less pain.
After Dr. Staff had Alex move her arm gently in a variety of expected directions, she smiled as she realized she could move her arm just as she could before she was yanked. Other than a little tenderness with her shoulder, she felt almost no pain at all.
"Can we eat now?" Alex asked optimistically.
"Absolutely!" Dr. Staff cheerfully replied.
"Alex, what do you say?" Glade whispered to her openly.
"Oh yeah. Thank you for fixing my shoulder Dr
. Staff," she said with a humble smile.
"No problem. I'm happy to help."
Dr. Staff left to go report to Dr. Johnson and retrieve some sandwiches and drinks for Alex and Glade. While Dr. Staff was out, the nurse remained to wrap Alex's sprained ankle with first-aid wrap. The nurse then left to go get Alex some crutches.
“ Alex, I need to go to the bathroom. Do you need to go too?" Glade asked.
"No. I'm okay."
"Will you be alright by yourself until I get back?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. The bathroom isn't far. I'll be real fast."
Glade found a nearby men’s bathroom and finished quickly. On his way back to Alex's exam room, he saw Dr. Richardson storm into an office where both Dr. Staff and Dr. Johnson were talking privately. Glade noticed what appeared to be a heated argument ensuing and he decided to procrastinate returning to the exam room in favor of listening in on the heated debate. He made sure to stand close enough to hear the argument but far enough away to appear as someone who was simply waiting for a parent or loved one. He was quickly alarmed by what he overheard.
"Why am I the only one in this room who thinks that calling Child Protection Services is in the best interest of these children?" Dr. Richardson loudly asked in obvious frustration.
"Dr. Richardson, please calm down and let Dr. Staff and I handle it," Dr. Johnson said with calm authority. But Dr. Richardson wasn't having it.
"All I want to know is if you are going to allow those children to return to their home. It's clear that if they go back into that home tonight, back to that bully son of Dr. Opalstone's named 'Dexter,' that it's just a matter of time before we are treating either Alex or Glade again right here in this same emergency facility again. Need I remind you that hospital policy regarding the discovery of child abuse––even if it is child on child abuse––or if it's parental neglect, the policy is clear: Child Protection Services must be contacted and reported to immediately so that the children who are being victimized may be quickly removed from their abusive environment and placed into Foster Care where they can have a better chance of being matched up with a safer family to live with," Dr. Richardson said angrily.
Dr. Johnson countered as Dr. Staff continued to listen quietly. "Dr. Richardson, we are fully aware of hospital policy and I assure you, we will take the right action regarding the future safe keeping of these children. However, I still repeat that this is not your case, and it is not up to you to decide. We will make the decision we feel is best. Dr. Opalstone is on his way down now to meet with Dr. Staff and I..."
Glade had heard enough. All it took was for him to hear words like, “Child Protection Services” and “Foster Care” and “removed” to set his alarms off. He couldn't trust his own father with the decision as to what family was the safest one for Glade to be in–otherwise, why was Glade in the ER again? And with Alex too? Glade feared the chances of him having any real say in where he lived next was slim to none so he figured it was time to take matters into his own hands and make a run for it.
Not wanting to bring on any unwanted attention to himself, he simply slipped away, walking briskly back to Alex to say a quick goodbye. He found Alex happily munching on her chicken salad sandwich, still perched on top of the exam table.
"Look what the nurse brought for us," she smiled as she happily held up his and her sandwiches.
"Perfect timing," Glade said as he grabbed his sandwich. Alex could tell something was up with Glade.
"Alex, listen. I don't have much time to explain but on my way back here to the exam room, I saw Dr. Richardson and he was arguing with Dr. Staff and Dr. Johnson in an office down the hall. I wanted to know why Dr. Richardson was so upset so I went down and listened in without them knowing."
Alex stopped munching and with a mouth partially full of food, asked, "Well, what did they say?"
Glade sighed, "Alex, Dr. Richardson wants to call Foster Care. He wants to turn in Dad and have us removed from our home tonight. That means we wouldn't be able to go home possibly ever again. Even though we wouldn't ever see Dex again, we also would never see Mom or Dad again. Kids get abused in Foster Care all the time by the adults there and the adults get away with it alot. It's bad news, Alex. I won't go. You're a girl so..."
Glade stopped himself from saying just what kinds of abuse against girls was so common so he simply added, "it would probably be worse for you. Maybe you and I would be placed with some family to live with who we don't even know. A family we've never met. We'd go to different schools, we'd lose our friends and whatever family we'd have to live with might make us become part of some religion we might not feel good about. We won't have much choice in things anymore." Alex was suddenly no longer hungry.
"What do we do?" she asked fearfully.
"Alex. I cannot take a chance on going to Foster Care. I just can't. I can't handle it," he said, trying not to sound too panicked. "I don't want you to go to Foster Care either. Now I heard somewhere once, I think from a teacher at school, that sometimes you can request to go with a next of kin. Tell Dad that you want to live with Aunt Jackie."
Alex inhaled sharply in fear and said, "I can't go live with Aunt Jackie! She's the one that makes the lousy macaroni-and-cheese!"
Glade's once serious demeanor broke as he chuckled at Alex's innocent childlike concern over a past food nightmare that had been a family joke among young cousins. A memory that Glade had forgotten until now. But he knew Alex was truly concerned about Aunt Jackie's cooking. “ Sorry. I meant to say Aunt Meredith," he smiled.
"Oh, I love Aunt Meredith! You remember Uncle Samuel was the one who helped us make my playhouse window. I would love to live with them!" she said excitedly. "Maybe both of us could live with them. Do you want to live with Aunt Meredith and Uncle Samuel too?" she asked Glade with high hopes. He looked somber as he quickly checked to make sure their dad wasn't coming yet.
"Look. Alex. I have to leave," he said trying to break the news about his real intents.
"What do you mean? Like for an hour or so?"
He now looked at Alex with loving concern as his eyes began to fill with tears.
"Alex, I have to go someplace. I don't know when I'll be back." Alex's eyes also began to fill with tears as she started to understand what Glade was saying. Glade was running away. Just as he said he would once before after a bad fight with Dex.
“There's the chance Dad can keep us out of Foster Care and keep us home with him and Mom. But for me, it's too late. I slashed all of Dex's drums. Remember when I told you in the car?" Alex nodded in remembrance. "I can't take a chance on Dad keeping me home," Glade lamented.
"Where will you go? When will I see you again?" Alex asked tearfully.
"I'm not sure yet. I have an idea, but I don't think I should tell anyone right now." Alex tried hard not to cry but couldn't help it. Glade gave her a hug and tried to keep an eye out for any signs that his dad might be coming down the hall. He wanted to be gone before his dad arrived.
"Alex, I really need to go. I'll either text you, or call you or I'll e-mail you. I'll do at least one of those things before 9 p.m. tonight. Okay? Please try and understand, but I really have to go. I'll even text Dad later to confess what I did to Dex's drums so they know it wasn't you who did it. Okay?"
"I love you Glade!" Alex cried, clinging to Glade.
Glade hugged Alex tight. "I love you too, Alex. You're the coolest little sister anyone could ever hope for." As he started to walk away, Alex got an idea that gave her hope.
“Glade!” she said excitedly.
“Yeah?” He stopped and turned around, listening and facing Alex as he stood near the doorway.
“I’m going to get rich. I’ll earn my own money and buy a house. One both you and I can live in and Dex will never be able to live with us. When I do that, will you come back and live with me?” she asked with a clear determination to succeed hoping Glade would agree.
Chuckling a bit in some surpris
e at her determination to keep them from ever having to be apart he smiled, “You get rich and give me the address and I’ll be there! You bet!” Alex smiled in relief that he would come back.
Sandwich in hand, Glade waved goodbye, and smiled tearfully as he blew her a kiss. He then quickly slipped away just in time for their father not to notice as Dr. Opalstone was leaving Dr. Johnson's office. Francis was walking with Dr. Johnson and Dr. Staff and they were on their way to Alex's exam room.
Glade bolted out one of the back door exits of the ER and speedily ran back to the family car. Opening the trunk, he took a quick bite of his sandwich and munched away while rewrapping it to finish later. He then put his sandwich in his backpack., put on one of his favorite baseball caps and then slung his backpack on to wear. He put on his sunglasses as a fast disguise as well as to cover his black eye better so he wouldn't appear as easy prey to be mugged, bullied or worse.
Grabbing his music player, he put in his earphones and let some music play. He then discreetly dropped the car keys onto the floor of the car trunk as he removed his duffel bag. He closed the trunk and looked to make sure all of the car doors remained locked. He figured that with the car keys in the trunk and out of sight that no one would think they could easily steal the car. His dad had a spare key to the car so it would be easy for him to retrieve the car keys from the trunk and maybe Dex would glory in driving it home.
In the same text he would send his dad to confess to thrashing Dex's drums, he would let his dad know that the keys were in the trunk of the car and where it was parked. The idea to borrow the family car to run away in wasn't much of a temptation to Glade since he didn't want to run the risk of getting pulled over by the police and get in trouble for driving without a license and be forced to go back home.
He saw an empty taxi about to leave from the hospital so he quickly waved his arm to hail the cab down for a ride. The taxi stopped and Glade tossed his duffel bag and backpack into the backseat. He then climbed in and the taxi drove away.
Alex's heart ached. She had no idea how long it would take her to earn the money needed to buy her own home but she would find a way. She knew she would need to earn at least $300,000 and to earn it in an honorable way. She began to think of some ideas. Alex's thoughts were interrupted as she took her last bite of sandwich and heard her dad talking to someone as several footsteps quickly approached Alex's exam room.
"Alex! Honey, I'm so sorry!" her dad said as he rushed over to her and gave her a gentle hug and kiss. Part of his feelings were sincere but part of it was also for show since his medical colleagues were essentially witnesses to his abusive home environment and he knew expressing great compassion and concern over Alex needed to also be witnessed by his colleagues so they could feel it was right to cover for him. It worked…at least for now.
As Alex wiped away more tears, all she could think about was how much she missed Glade already. She remembered how he threatened to run away after a previous fight with Dex, but up until now, they were only words. Now that Glade was actually gone she felt a deep emptiness and her heart ached.
She thought of all of the things she would miss about their friendship. She would miss staying up late and playing board games with him by the Christmas tree lights at Christmas time. She would miss the fun summers in the backyard listening to their favorite music, swimming in the pool and all of the fun water fights since he so often played kindly and tried not to catch her off guard too much.
“Alex, are you in any pain? Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m okay,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to go to Foster Care. I’m afraid to live with strangers. Glade ran away so no one could make him go to Foster Care.”
“Do you have any idea as to where Glade might have gone? Any ideas?” Francis asked with great worry.
“I don’t know,” Alex said honestly. This reply made his heart sink. “But Glade promised to text us sometime tonight.” A glimmer of hope returned in his eyes when she mentioned how Glade might text them.. Dr. Johnson and Dr. Staff were there as Alex and her dad talked.
“I know he’ll keep his promise. He’ll text me or call. I’m worried if he has any money on him. He’ll need enough to at least survive on. I may not know how much everything costs in life, but I know people have to earn a lot of money to be able to afford things like safe shelter and food and stuff. The chances are slim to none of Glade being able to earn enough at his age, with integrity and little education––especially while potentially becoming permanently homeless since now he’s a runaway. There's not much chance he’ll survive long. Dad, you’ve got to find him.” She said trying not to cry too much in front of the other doctors.
“I know. I know. I’m worried too,” he said as he ran his fingers nervously through his hair trying to figure out how quickly he could track down his youngest son. “We need to talk about where you’re going to go tonight and where Glade will go to once I find him,” he said as he thought deeply.
Alex knew that runaways make themselves so vulnerable to stranger danger as they get approached by someone who seems friendly and offers the runaway money, but sooner or later their nice side disappears and they lie to trap the runaway and make the runaway do something that scares the vulnerable but now trapped runaway to death. “But the stranger who became my friend started out so nice and helpful…” the runaway would think in shock as they realize what this so-called “friendly” stranger's real intents were all along.
If the stranger can get the person (and sometimes persons) they want to victimize out of the view of others who may possibly protect the potential victim, then the dangerous stranger wins, and the victim loses as he or she becomes a terrible captive of the stranger’s evil designs.
Dr. Johnson and Dr. Staff left Alex and Francis alone for a few minutes to talk privately about ideas to keep Alex safe and also out of Foster Care since Dr. Richardson was pushing for immediate intervention and removal of both she and Glade from their dad's home and care (or lack thereof).
“If I have to leave, can I go stay with Aunt Meredith?”
“I’ll call her and ask. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. They’re great family,” he said a bit embarrassed they were even having the conversation since it wasn’t anyone else’s responsibility to care for his family – it was his responsibility and his alone and his current failures to do so cut him deeply. “I’ll call Samuel and Meredith to see if you can live with them for awhile. But it might be too much for them to have two kids suddenly under their stewardship at the same time. Any ideas or where Glade would want to go?”
“Definitely not back home as long as Dex is there,” Alex said firmly.
“I know. I know.” He was now red in the face with embarrassment that she might think he would actually consider such an irrational option.
“Could you call Uncle Lee? Maybe he could take Glade in since they get along so well,” Alex thoughtfully suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea,” he said still focused on his thoughts. With a heavy sigh he looked Alex right in the eyes. “I’m so sorry. Please understand that I did actually try on two different prior occasions to have Dex stay with other relatives but no one was willing to risk having Dex live in their home so long as he couldn't control his temper. I don’t like the idea of losing my two youngest children by having you two stay with relatives instead of Dex leaving. But now, with Dr. Richardson's understandable threats to report my neglect at home, and I guess your mom’s neglect, in light of the terrible events that occurred today which brought you guys to the ER… I’m forced to do something about these problems today, once and for all, or risk losing you guys forever. Understand?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Alex shrugged.
Because Glade did the majority of the cooking at home, she understood better why she would need to live somewhere with a trustworthy adult family member who would be responsible enough to cook for Alex and actually share it also.
Dex rarely cooked and r
arely left enough to share with others when someone else cooked. Usually he would hurry into the kitchen after Glade would prepare dinner and serve up an oversized amount that hardly left any for Glade or Alex. You wouldn't think that people in a wealthy American family might actually have fist fights over who didn't get to eat what, but this is exactly what happened in the Opalstone home on more than one occasion with mostly absent parents. Alex imagined such a mealtime “survival of the fittest” mentality would never occur in Aunt Meredith's and Uncle Samuel's home, and she was right.
She tried to ignore the empty feeling in her heart as she took another bite of her mostly finished sandwich. She then thought to offer a silent prayer to God in her heart that somehow she would be able to live in Aunt Meredith's home since Glade would no longer be home to try and protect Alex from Dex if her dad changed his mind and tried to keep her home alone with Dex and their often sleeping mom. She also prayed that God would somehow get Glade a safe place to live too.
Once Alex and her dad felt they had some good possible solutions for where Alex and Glade could live, her dad was about to leave the room to go talk with Dr. Johnson and to call his wife’s sister, Meredith, until Alex asked her dad if she could quickly talk to him about something else that bothered her.
"What else is on your mind?" he asked sincerely.
Alex sighed. She knew it might be awhile before she could talk to her dad or hang out with him again and she knew she had something she needed to confess in case this was her last chance to come clean with something she felt guilty about. "I have to tell you something but I'm afraid that you'll get upset. I did something I shouldn't have done."
"I'll try not to get too upset," he said gently.
"I've been stealing money out of the drawer in your bedroom for years. I've been using most of it to feed the poor kids at school during lunchtime. Sometimes I would tell you the money was for a science project or a school fee, but that wasn't always true. Sometimes I used my own allowance money but not always. Maybe only a third of the money ever went to my lunch or a real class project. But most of the time, it was to feed other kids who I'm pretty sure will never afford to pay us back. I never intended to collect on any of the money paid out. I'm sorry I stole your money, Dad. I'm sorry I've lied so much about it the few times you've asked," Alex said trying to fight back tears.
Her dad folded his arms across his chest and looked intently at his little Robin Hood of a daughter. “Are you trying to be like Robin Hood?”
"Of course, not. Robin Hood only stole back what was stolen already. You didn't steal anything from the kids so I'm
not a Robin Hood," Alex said.
"Good reminder," he said having forgotten how often people misunderstand the way the story of Robin Hood actually went. But Robin Hood or not, he didn’t like the idea of Alex associating with poor kids since he knew that some kids might just use her for her money and still other kids or their older siblings might try and harm her to steal from her. But he also had come from a poor family and had diligently pursued a medical degree to claw his way out of a life of penury. The concept of poverty was something he never wanted his own children to have to face. In some ways, it was an ironic form of hypocrisy that he wanted her to avoid associating with poorer classmates.
They had argued over her tendency to reach out to poor kids before, but he had no idea just exactly how she was reaching out to them. This was the first time he learned she was using money to help them. Although he wanted to chew her out for not using more wisdom as she made herself a target for theft by bullies at school, he felt now was not the time for such a debate. So he determined he would try and be gentle as he expressed his concerns. "When did you begin taking money from me to feed the other children at your school?"
"I started in the third grade. That's when I first learned there might be abused or neglected kids at school. They were pretty easy to spot after awhile. They often didn't have a lunch or what they would bring wasn't enough."
"Do you realize that if I were someone else, such as if you had stolen from someone else, such as one of your friends’ parents or money from the school, that you could be found guilty under law and sent to juvenile prison?" he asked sternly.
Alex had never really thought about it before. So she answered most honestly. "I do now."
“Have you ever been threatened by a bully at school to give up your money?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I didn’t want to get beat up, so I gave it to him.”
“How often did that happen?”
“A few times,” Alex replied thoughtfully. Those were the days she had to turn others away since she couldn’t help them. Francis could see she was thinking about it and had some regrets. Although he agreed it was a noble effort to help those less fortunate, he hoped she had learned her lesson to use more wisdom in the future. He then continued.
"Have you ever stolen from any of your friends’ parents when you visited at their house or have you ever taken money from the school or money or property from anyone else at any time other than from me?"
"No! Never," came her honest reply.
"Okay. Then you only have me to confess to and me to deal with. But you should also confess to the Lord by praying for forgiveness.
“ Okay," she sniffled.
"Do you have any idea just how much money you've stolen from me over the years?"
"I don't know. I didn't start keeping track until sometime in the fourth grade when I came up with a system for equal distribution of help. Maybe twelve thousand dollars. I don't know."
Dr. Opalstone gasped as he nearly fell over when he heard the potential amount. "Alex!" he whispered in subdued shock. Alex looked up at her dad and was speechless since she hadn't realized just how much it could be until they actually talked about it. "How are you going to pay that back? That's what you're supposed to do when you repent, if you're sincere, you try and fix what you did wrong."
Alex looked down in shame as she replied, "I guess you can take it from my savings."
"What savings?" he asked in disbelief.
"I've saved up most of my allowance. You can take it out of that."
"I've never helped you open up a bank account. Did your mother help you open an account?"
"No."
"So then where exactly are you putting your savings?"
"There's three thousand dollars hidden up in the attic of the garage, twenty-five hundred dollars in the trunk of the old Chevy you keep saying you'll fix but never have, another five thousand is stashed under Mom’s rose bushes in the backyard and two thousand is hidden in the can of cracked wheat cereal up on the top shelf in the food pantry." Dr. Opalstone stood dumbfounded. "Well what did you expect? None of us likes cracked wheat. We tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen. You and Mom don't even eat it," Alex said as if she thought he had no right to be surprised over the unused container of cracked wheat cereal.
"Oh, yeah. And another three thousand is hidden inside the mattress of yours and Mom’s bed," she suddenly remembered.
Her dad couldn't believe what he was hearing. He then thought Alex was pulling a fast one on him and taking him for a fool since he had no idea Alex had a secret tendency to stash money away for the future. He didn't stash money around the house. His money was always either in the bank, in his wallet or in his top bedroom dresser drawer.
He began to laugh and shake his finger at Alex. "Oh, no you don't. You can't fool me."
"If I'm lying to you now, then why do you have a box up in the garage attic that's marked 'extra toilet paper' but what's really inside is..."
Dr. Opalstone quickly interrupted her. "Okay. Okay. I believe you." He knew exactly what was inside that box and although he wasn't hiding anything of a truly criminal nature, he hid the box out of sight and thought it would never be found. But leave it to an ambitious thirteen-year-old who sought to protect her life savings to be the one who would stumble acr
oss a few of her dad's own secrets. "Let's hope that neither Dex nor Glade have stumbled across any of your little stashes of cash since you might not have much left," he said warily.
"Oh, no. It's all there," she assured him. "I count it every week."
"Well, let's pull that money out and get it into a bank where it's safe and you're less likely to hurt yourself trying to get it," he said as he suddenly had frightful visions of her falling from the attic and hurting herself in the garage as the attic floor was only partially finished. More allegations of abuse would ensue if that ever happened. "Do you honestly think it's only twelve thousand that you owe me?"
"Yeah. That sounds about right.”
“Because you do need to fix your mistakes and paying me back is the right way to do it," he said. He then thought deeply for a few moments and asked, "How much of your own allowance do you think you gave away?"
"Maybe only two thousand. I know. I should have used more of my own money," she said shamefully.
"So if twelve thousand of it was my money, then that's what you owe me."
"Yep," she sighed.
"Then it will have to come out of your savings."
"Okay."
"Just out of curiosity, why didn't you hide any money in your own room?" he asked her.
"I tried. But Dex kept stealing it from me."
"How do you know it was Dex and not Glade?"
"Because I know Glade and Glade would never do that to me. Besides, on three different occasions I saw Dex sneak into my room while I was napping. I let him think I was asleep, and I saw him take my money. Two other times I walked in on him in my room trashing it as he looked for my money. He would just beat me up if I didn't tell him where I moved my money so I told him he stole it all––which was partly true because once he took the last of my money from my room, I stopped hiding it there. Ten different places in my room and Dex kept finding them."
He then sighed and gave her a hug and said, "Thank you for being honest about the money you took from me. I love you––even when you do bad things. I just don't want you to ever think it's okay to do bad things because it's not. If we choose to do something bad, we can't choose the consequences. But I do love you. I'll always love you."
"I love you too," she replied.
He then looked at her for a few moments and said, "Because I'm the one you owe money to, I'm also the one that gets to set the terms of your punishment and how you repay the debt. I say you only have to pay me back three thousand, and I'm only going easy on you because you used that money for a good cause and because I know you need to save as much money as you can to be prepared in life before you move out on your own when you're an adult." He also cut her some slack because he felt guilty for her suffering at Dex’s hands again when he knew he should’ve been more protective of her as a father. But he wasn’t ready to admit that more directly.
"Really? Thanks Dad!" Alex said gratefully.
"Just realize that my mercy is rarely how life works when you're an adult. If I were a bank or a judge in a court of law, and if you weren't my daughter, you'd probably have to pay all of the twelve thousand plus more money for penalties and fees and you'd still probably also be sent to live in prison. I'm going easy on you. But in real life, outside of our home with other people, that's not the way things usually work. Punishment is usually far, far worse."
"Wow," Alex said as she realized even more just how grateful she was that her dad was warning her about what usually happens when someone breaks the law. "Thanks again, Dad," she said humbly.
"You're welcome," he smiled. He then hugged her gently again.
After Alex and her dad finished their short talk, Dr. Johnson and Dr. Staff came in and discussed with them what Dr. Opalstone's plans were for Alex and Glade. Dr. Opalstone would call Meredith and Samuel Andrews and see if they would be available to come and get Alex from the hospital and take her to live with them beginning tonight. Alex would start going to a new school under her aunt and uncle's care until Dex was old enough to move out. After such time, Alex would return home to live with her dad and mom. At least that was the idea.
But that would also require Dr. Opalstone to make the time and effort needed to help his wife return to a fully active and healthy lifestyle so she could be the great wife and mother that she once was for their family. He would need to do this with Raylene in time for Alex and Glade to move back home. He was also hoping he would hear from Glade soon and that if Uncle Lee's family was available to let Glade live with them, that Glade would agree to do so and leave the dangers of living on the streets.
After only a few phone calls, Dr. Opalstone was able to reach Meredith and ask for this big favor. He offered to pay a set monthly amount in cash to her and Samuel for all of Alex's and Glade's needed expenses such as food, clothing, transportation, education and any other incidentals that might be needed. He offered four thousand a month and left it open to change if they found they needed more to properly care for Alex and Glade.
Meredith said she was open to taking Alex in but she wasn't sure if they could take Glade in as they had recently moved into a smaller two bedroom home as a means of reducing expenses. So Alex would be the easiest one for them to care for at this time and maybe if he wanted to pay them only two thousand dollars a month for her expenses, then she and Samuel would put any surplus into a savings account on a monthly basis after subtracting needed expenses for Alex's future use. But she said she would need to talk to her husband Samuel first, although she felt it wouldn't be a problem. However, she did offer to take Glade in temporarily for maybe a week or two if needed until Francis could find the right place for Glade.
She encouraged him to ask Glade, if he called, if he wanted to stay for a couple of weeks with her. If he didn't want to, he didn't have to but their door was open. She expressed her sympathies for what Francis and the kids were going through. Francis expressed his appreciation for her concern and willingness to help.
By the time Dr. Opalstone finished his conversation with Meredith, he felt emotionally drained. But within forty-five minutes he could let out a grateful sigh of relief as Meredith had called him back and told him she and Samuel would be happy to let Alex come live with them. She said she could be at the hospital within thirty minutes to pick Alex up.
When Meredith arrived at the hospital, Alex was excited to see her and Meredith was thrilled over her excitement. Alex told her about how much better her shoulder felt and that she got to pick one of her favorite colors for crutches: a deep red, like the color of a Christmas cranberry. Her crutches were a polished metal that felt smooth to the touch. She told Aunt Meredith about the free sandwich she got and how she prayed to God for her to be able to live with her and Uncle Samuel since Dr. Richardson was going to turn her dad in. Now that God had answered her prayers to help her live with Aunt Meredith, maybe He would answer her prayers to help Glade to also have a safe place to live. Alex was optimistic with her faith that heaven would help Glade too.
Alex's dad made arrangements to have Meredith bring Alex by their home the next day during a time that they could ensure Dex would not be home so Alex could get her clothing, pictures, books, pillows and any toys or other items Alex wanted to have at Aunt Meredith's. They even planned to get Alex's cash and put it into a bank after she paid back what she agreed she owed to her dad from the previous money she used to feed her classmates at school. But Dr. Opalstone would first take the time to go with Meredith and Alex to Alex's school, Green Forest Middle School, to arrange the transfer of school records to a new school as Alex would no longer be attending Green Forest.
So with that it was settled. Effective immediately, Alex would be removed from the home of Francis and Raylene Opalstone and she would begin living in the home of Samuel and Meredith Andrews, safely separated from Dex, but painfully separated from Glade and her parents. Alex didn't have to go into Foster Care and possibly live with strangers. She hoped Glade would call her soon so she could tell
him that he wouldn't have to live with strangers either if he would just call home.
"Call us Glade. Please call," Alex plead quietly as Meredith drove her to her new home.
Chapter 5: Home Sweet and Funny Home