Page 17 of Stay With Me
Joe looks at Ann and me before calmly walking up to her and squatting down to get on her level. “Take a breath, sweet girl. You’re allowed to eat whenever you want, with or without me. Sometimes, I’m late, and I would never want you to go hungry just to wait for me. I can also make my own sandwich.”
“We won’t get in trouble?” she asks him, her voice trembling, looking back at Ann and me.
“No, I promise, no one will get in trouble. Now sit back down and finish eating, and maybe after I’m done, we can go check on the baby goats that were born a few days ago while your sister here goes and packs up a few things. How does that sound?” Joe asks her.
Jess turns and looks at me, and I give her an encouraging nod.
She looks back at him and says, “I would like that very much. Thank you.”
“No problem. Now, eat up. Can’t have you hungry while working with the animals in this heat.”
As Joe walks by, he places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes, and a tear falls from my eye onto my cheek.
Ann clears her throat and asks Jess, “Are you excited about school?”
Which causes me to pause mid-bite.
I haven’t talked to her much about school since we have to meet with them to come up with a plan for her before we can do anything.
Jess’s eyes go wide, and she turns to me. “School is bad, no? Isn’t that how they train the military for war?”
We didn’t have any formal schooling in The Family. They let us believe that the government uses school to train us for war so we can go off to die. They had more of a life skills approach versus any actual schooling.
I shake my head. “School is used to learn things like how to read and do math.”
“Did you go to school when you left The Family?”
I grimace when I admit, “No, when I left, I was more worried about where I would sleep and how to make money than I was about school. I would like to one day, though.”
Silence falls between us as we continue to eat.
After a few minutes, Joe changes the subject, and we finish eating lunch. Ann lets us know she’ll clean up while I go pack, and Joe takes Jess down to the barn to see the animals.
As I get up to leave, Ann pulls me into a hug.
“I knew you had it hard, but I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad your sister found her way to you. Everything will work out, and the whole town will help you.”
Unable to speak, I cling to her, letting the tears fall that I’ve held back the past two days.
After a few minutes, she pulls back and wipes my tears with her thumbs. “Now, off you go. That young man of yours will be here soon after our guests check in, and you won’t have time to pack.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say with a smile. “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”
“Nonsense. We love you like you were our own. Now off with you.”
When I get back to my cabin, I shoot the girls a text in our group chat.
Me: I have no idea what I’m doing. Ann brought up school, and Jess and I were caught off guard
Am: Isn’t school out? Has she had schooling? What did Melissa say?
Pam: I’ll find out from one of the nurses here what immunizations are needed and get you set up with a pediatrician.
Me: Ugh, I didn’t even think about a doctor, but I’m sure Melissa said something about that as well. Again, I don’t know what I’m doing.
Abs: Give yourself some grace. This all just happened, and you’re allowed to not know. We’ve got your back and will figure it out.
I smile because I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends. Not that I have much to compare friendship to, but I know in my soul that these are my people. When I told them Jess showed up, they were supportive and ready to jump in where needed.
