An Accidental Family Ch. 02

We didn't bother knocking since the front door was open and, frankly, who would have heard us over the music and chaos? We could see our girls' uncle passed out on the sofa in the living room and Dale was in the kitchen. We found Lisa and her sisters locked in their room upstairs.

Lisa looked angry and her sisters looked scared, but that seemed to be their almost constant condition while living in this house. We collected a few of their things and left as quickly as we could. I saw Dale's beady and bloodshot eyes following us as we left. He didn't say anything, but he watched us from the window as we pulled away.

Our girls quickly cheered up when we got back to Jen's apartment, and they were even more excited when my mom showed up with a shopping bag full of crafts and silly New Year's Eve costumes. They squealed with glee when Ted arrived with Sue, and Lucy wouldn't leave Ted's lap for most of the evening telling him everything that she had done since they last met. This included a ten-minute story about Stumpy the Squirrel, a particularly chunky and vivacious rodent who lived in their backyard who had lost his tail (hence the name). Ted listened enthralled as Lucy talked away while his arms encircled her safely in his lap.

After dinner, the teenagers escaped to my apartment to game or watch movies while the adults stayed in Jen's place with the younger girls. I stopped by once to see how the teenagers were getting on and was surprised to see Lisa snuggled up against Sneaky on the sofa while Cindy sat on the floor next to Jason. The look on Sneaky's face was priceless, a mixture of fear, excitement, and awe. I imagine he looked a bit like I did when I was with Jen.

On my way back to Jen's, my mom met me on the landing between the apartments and took me aside to have a word.

"Jeremy Thomas (my mom was still the only person in the world to call me by my given names), I think it's time for you to have this," she said as she handed me a small and very old-looking jewelry box. The box held a delicate engagement ring with an antique loop of red gold and a circle of small emeralds surrounding a diamond. I thought it looked beautiful.

"Mom, I can't take your ring. Dad gave it to you."

"He gave it to me, but it was his mother's ring before that and his grandmother's before her. It was made in Poland before your father's family immigrated to the U.S., and it has an inscription on the inside: "Nierozerwalna milosc" which means "unbroken love." Family legend says that the ring will remain unbroken as long as your hearts stay faithful to each other."

"Thank you, Mom. It's beautiful. But it's also way too soon. Jen and I have only been on one date. I don't think we are at the ring stage just yet," I said with a laugh.

Mom gave me an uncharacteristically serious look as she closed the box in my hand, "you put this ring away some place safe for when the time is right." She continued before breaking into her more typical smile, "but keep it close by, just in case. That girl loves you, Son, and you never know when you might find yourself down on one knee in front of her."

As the younger girls got drowsy, it was time to wind the evening down. We let the teens decide for themselves how late they wanted to stay up, although I told them that I would be driving Sneaky and Cindy home after the ball dropped at midnight. Given the out-of-control party at their uncle's house, there was no way that we were letting our girls go back to their house that evening, so Lisa, Lucy, and Bel bunked in Jen's apartment like at Christmas, while Jason stayed with me. This time he insisted on staying on the sofa while I slept in my room.

The next day, we didn't bring our girls back to their uncle's house until mid-afternoon but there were still bodies of passed-out revelers strewn around when we did, and the house was in shambles. Lisa set her sisters up with some library books to read while she started cleaning up. Once again, her uncle was apologetic to the girls and promised to do better. There was no sign of Dale which was a blessing for all concerned.

When I returned home, Jen and I talked about what we could do to find a better home for our girls. Later that week, we had coffee with Cindy's mother, who had a senior position with the county, to ask about our options. Cindy's family were very influential, and not much happened in our town without their knowledge or blessing.

Even though we had only been together for a short while, both Jen and I agreed that the best thing for our girls would be to come and live with us. Or, more precisely, with Jen. There were obvious complications with this plan—not the least of which being the newness of our relationship and the fact that we didn't live together or even really have a place for them to stay. One of the things I loved the most about Jen, though, was her commitment to doing what was necessary to protect and nurture the ones that she loved. And boy did she love our girls.

Cindy's mom listened sympathetically and then, in the kindest way possible, crushed our dreams. She explained that even if our girls were taken away from their uncle, there was no way that they would be allowed to live with us. The state prioritized three things when placing children in need: a stable family, in a safe home, with adequate resources to care for the children. Right now, between Jen and I, we met none of those conditions. We were in a very new relationship, had three bedrooms total between our two apartments and Jen was buried under a mass of credit card debt.

Cindy's mom went on to explain that If no one was willing to take our girls, then maybe the state would bend on one or two of the conditions. There were lots of families willing to take in young girls, however, so the state would likely be quite strict in applying the rules in our case. The bottom line was that if our girls were taken from their uncle, the younger girls would almost certainly be placed with a willing family while Lisa would end up in a group home until she turned 18.

Over the next week, Jen and I talked for hours trying to come up with a plan, but it seemed like there was just no way for us to meet all three of the state's requirements. We could create a more stable family by getting married, which had complications of its own. But if we did, Jen's terrible credit score would get combined with mine meaning that we wouldn't be able to get a mortgage on a house or even get approved to rent a larger apartment. Maybe I could secure a larger apartment on my own, but the State would never place our girls with me by myself.

Cindy's mom said that she would do what she could to help and, if it came down to it, she would pull some strings on our behalf but, she said, the very best she could do would be to get us temporary guardianship of our girls and only in a real emergency.

Valentine's Day

By the middle of February things were beginning to look up. We still had not resolved the situation with our girls, but their home life was at least stable, with responsible adults visiting them once or twice a day. My relationship with Jen was also progressing well, although it was difficult to find time for ourselves. Every hour we spent together seemed to deepen our connection and build bonds of trust to replace the poison that was left behind by her ex-husband. We still hadn't slept together, but Jen was becoming more affectionate and passionate by the day, and I had hopes that we would soon take the next step together.

I admit that I had very mixed feelings about Valentine's Day. When I was a kid, my dad and mom always went all out. Dad would bring home flowers and a handwritten poem for my mom, while Mom would dress up in her Sunday best and have a special dinner waiting for him. I would get pizza in the kitchen and then watch shows in the living room while they had a romantic meal together, just the two of them.

The two years I was with Sue in high school, I went all out for Valentine's as well, but I hadn't had a reason to really celebrate the day since I ended things with her over a decade ago. After my father died, I made sure to send my mom flowers on Valentine's Day, but other than that, the day passed me by without much fanfare.

That year was going to be different. I was with Jen, and I was going to do my darndest to make sure that our first Valentine's Day together was memorable. As it turns out, it was unforgettable, but not for the reasons we had imagined.

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The day started much as I had anticipated. I had made plans for us to go for a nice dinner followed by a romantic drive in the Shelby. If all went well, I hoped that we would return to my apartment for a night cap. This time, I would make sure to lock the door so that we would not have any unexpected visitors.

The kids had plans to order in pizza and watch some rom-coms and were meeting at Jen's later that evening. I wasn't sure, but it seemed that Lisa and Sneaky had become a bit of an item. As for Jason and Cindy, I had no clue. I loved Jason to death, but that kid was a little thick when it came to girls. Lisa was going to bring her little sisters with her, and they were all going to spend the night at Jen's.

I spent much of the afternoon making sure that both the Shelby and I were as presentable as possible. I wore the same outfit I did on our first date; my khakis and the nice blue shirt Jen had given me for Christmas, although it was now in need of a good ironing. To be honest, the Shelby looked a lot better than I did, but Jen assured me that she loved me despite my rumpled exterior.

I was leaving my apartment, just after five, to pick Jen up for our date when Jason ran into the hall. His eyes were wild, and he looked panicked which was very uncharacteristic for him. He said to me in a choked voice, "JT, it's Lisa. I was on the phone with her and then I heard Lucy scream. It sounded bad, JT, really bad. Lisa's not answering her phone now and I don't know what's happening."

A spike of fear and adrenaline shot through me.

"Tell your mom to call 911, and send the police and an ambulance to Lisa's," I yelled to Jason as I took the stairs four at a time and sprinted to the Shelby. Despite my sense of urgency, I needed to think. We lived more than 20 minutes away from Lisa's uncle's house, but I knew that Ted and Sue lived much closer. I called Ted as I slammed the Shelby into reverse and gunned it out onto the highway. I saw in the mirror that Jen and Jason had both run outside onto the landing and were watching as I sped off.

Ted picked up after a couple of rings, "JT, I love you like a brother, but it's not the best time to be ..."

"Ted," I cut him off, "our girls are in trouble, it sounds serious."

He must have replied but, if he did, I couldn't hear it as I redlined the Shelby, and its growl grew to a roar. Less than 10 seconds later, that roar became a full-throated scream which didn't let up until I was in front of Lisa's uncle's house less than nine minutes later. I knew that scream would carry over half the town and I hoped that Lisa could hear it and know that I was coming.

That was the first time that the Shelby saved our girls.

My dad was an amazing driver. When he was younger, he raced both on and off track and he won far more than he lost. Even as he got older, there wasn't a car built that he couldn't handle like a seasoned pro. I, on the other hand, was not the most skilled driver even in the most ideal circumstances. In high school, my friends bought me one of those 'If you don't like my driving, stay off the sidewalks' bumper stickers. They meant it as a joke, but really, it was fair warning.

It is immensely hard to drive a car like the Shelby at top speeds even on a racetrack, let alone down the backroads of rural Georgia. It lacked many of the safety features that are standard in modern cars making it much more reliant on the driver's skill to maintain control. But I was out of my mind with worry and wasn't going to let anything short of the laws of physics hold me back from reaching our girls. I took risks during that drive that, with the benefit of hindsight, were not entirely sane. I should never have made it there in one piece, but I felt Dad's presence as I drove. He was with me, and the Shelby traveled fast and stayed true.

It was a close thing, far too close, but he carried me to our girls in time.

It certainly helped that I didn't have to worry about the police as I drove. If I had picked up a couple of cruisers along the way, it would have been a good thing. I would happily have dealt with a massive speeding ticket, or even a suspended license, to keep our girls safe. I only learned later that all available units had been dispatched to a multi-car accident on the highway thirty minutes before Jen's 911 call. So, for better or worse, the police didn't arrive at Lisa's uncle's house until much later.

Despite the shorter distance they needed to travel, thanks to the Shelby and my dad, I arrived at the house just before Ted and Sue. I jumped the curb and skidded to a stop in the front yard before sprinting to the front door, only to find that it was locked. I could hear muffled yells and thumps coming from inside, so I threw my entire weight at the door. It didn't budge. I tried again, but still it held. I stepped back and was preparing to smash the front window to get inside when Ted ran by me and smashed into the door.

Offensive linemen are, as a rule, incredibly strong. You have to be in order to stop equally mountainous defensive players from wreaking havoc on your quarterback. Ted's strength, however, was legendary even amongst offensive linemen. We used to joke that gravity worked differently for him than for the rest of us. The bar in our high school gym would bend almost to the point of failure while Ted worked through his sets, sagging under an almost comical number of plates.

Ted hadn't trained in a half-decade, and he hadn't played football in longer than that, but when he hit that door, it ceased to exist. Hinges, lock, and the door itself were instantly reduced to their constituent elements in an explosion of raw physical power.

Ted looked incongruous as he came to a stop in the front landing. He must have been partway through his preparations for a Valentine's date with Sue when I called, as he was wearing dress pants with a white undershirt, and not much else. He had left home so fast that he had put on mismatched shoes without any socks. But he was there, and I had never been so glad to see him.

The inside of the house was a nightmare made real. The entryway was covered in bloody footprints leading upstairs, and when I glanced into the living room all I could see was blood—so much blood. Lisa's uncle lay face down in the middle of the floor, clearly the source of most of it. I said a quick prayer that none of the blood was from our girls.

"JT!" I heard a panicked scream from upstairs.

Ted reacted faster than I could, and he was sprinting for the stairs before I even started to move. With my prolonged adrenaline high and the demands of the drive, my body was beginning to crash, but I tried to shake it off as I ran after him.

Dale was at the end of the narrow second floor hallway, slamming into the door to the girls' bedroom. He had done significant damage, and the door was barely hanging on its hinges. Lisa had pushed an old dresser in front of the door, and it was the only thing preventing it from collapsing inwards.

Dale was covered in blood and was holding a switchblade. He turned to look at us as we came down the hall and it was clear that he was not in his right mind. We would find out later that he was high on an almost lethal dose of methamphetamines, crack cocaine, and God knows what else. His pupils were fully dilated, and he was shaking and sweating. When he saw us, he held up his hands in a conciliatory fashion.

"Look, this is all just a mistake. Those bitches took my drugs, and I just want them back. No harm, no foul."

As he spoke, he edged closer to Ted who was still in the lead. When he got within about four feet of him, he lunged. Moving far quicker than a big man has any right, Ted leaned to the side letting Dale pass before palming his face and smashing his head and upper body through the plaster and lathe wall beside him. Dale's body gave an involuntary twitch before he dropped to the ground unconscious.

Looking into to the girls' room, I could see Lisa's back jammed against the chest of drawers blocking the door. She was shaking and sobbing and wouldn't respond, even when I gently told her she was safe. Lucy and Bel were huddled together in the corner, and I could see that Lucy was covered in blood.

"Ted, we need to get in there, Lucy might be badly hurt."

Ted gently but firmly pushed on the door. Lisa slowly slid back into the room, and I rushed over to the younger girls. As soon as Lucy saw Ted, she ran to him with a wordless cry and threw herself into his arms. I picked up Bel and asked if she was alright, but she didn't respond and had a glassy look in her eyes that had me worried. Ted checked Lucy over and, thankfully, it seemed that none of the blood was hers.

We made our way outside with Lisa and her sisters and waited for the police. Jen arrived before they did, and our girls ran to her. She held them close as they began to cry hysterically. Lucy tried to apologize over and over, saying that she hadn't stolen anything. Jen reassured her that it was okay. That none of this was her fault.

Finally, the police and paramedics arrived. Dale was found unconscious upstairs where Ted had left him, and he was taken into custody. Lisa's uncle was still lying in a pool of his own blood. He had been stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen, severing his abdominal aorta, and had bled out long before we arrived at the house.

The girls were in shock. Lucy and Bel couldn't speak and just clung to Jen as they cried. Lisa managed to answer some questions for the police about what happened, but she spoke in a hushed monotone and wouldn't make eye contact with anyone. The police insisted on calling Child Protective Services, but a call from Cindy's mother convinced them to grant emergency guardianship of the girls to Jen, at least for the night.

By this point, Ted was doubled over vomiting by his car. He was a gentle soul and I doubted that he had ever hit anyone in anger before today. When his adrenaline spike started to fade, the day's actions came crashing down on him. Sue held him as he puked and wept. She stroked the back of his neck, gently whispering to him.

"You saved the girls, Bear. It's going to be alright. You're a hero, Bear. You're my hero. It's going to be alright. You saved the girls."

In what might have been the most surreal moment of that already surreal day, I noticed that at some point during his heroics Ted had split his pants, and he was showing flashes of his heart-covered Valentine's Day boxers. When I think back on that day, most of it is a blur, but I can vividly remember two things: those heart-covered boxers and our girls coming home with us for good.

We will never know exactly what happened that day prior to our arrival. We do know that our girls were late coming back from school. When they got to the house, Lisa stayed outside to talk with Jason on her phone, while the younger girls went ahead inside. At that point, it seems that Dale and our girls' uncle were passed out in the living room from a potent combination of drugs.

Valentine's Day is great for the sale of cards, candy, and flowers. It is also a boon for the sale of illegal drugs. Because it was Valentine's Day, the drugs they had taken had come in a small package decorated with a shiny red heart. This heart caught Lucy's eye as she walked by, leading her to investigate, while Bel continued upstairs.