Waif

By blackrandl1958

This one kinda long, and a mature romance. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, read on. If not, this would be a good time to hit the back button. Mes commentaires sont une zone sans connards. Ne vous embêtez pas. Je vais juste te supprimer. Harddaysknight is my mentor and gives me critical review. Thanks to my readers and editors, Stev2244, Cagivagurl, Hooked1957, SBrooks103x and Hale1. Love you all. Randi.

I was tired. Bone weary and numb. It wasn't physical. Well, it was, but not from work or exercise. I had done both that day, but I was strong and fit, and those were part of my daily routine. This was a mental and emotional exhaustion.

My earlier conversation with Anna was the cause of my exhaustion. It was the same conversation, played over and over, with no change, no resolution and I could tell we were going to have it again. I wouldn't run, but I found it incredibly wearying.

How many ways can you tell someone "I no longer give a fuck?" I had cared, at one time, but my fucks to give had long since been depleted.

"Rogers," she had said in opening. "You know I'm in therapy."

"Yes, you've told me 10 times," I said.

"I'm making progress. My therapist says we made a breakthrough."

"I'm sure you have," I said. "Shouldn't you be having this conversation with Eric?"

She got a hurt look on her face. "No, I don't. How many times have I told you I haven't spoken to him since... that week?"

"I have no idea," I said. "I don't keep track. I know you've mentioned it."

"Well, I haven't spoken to him," she asserted.

"Too bad you couldn't keep from... no. It doesn't matter, Anna. You went to visit your sister for a week. You hooked up with your old boyfriend and banged him for a week. I caught you. I moved out and started the divorce. It will be final in 45 days. It's time to move on, Anna."

"No, it's not," she insisted. "I've apologized over and over. I did a really stupid and selfish thing. It will never happen again. If you would just come to the therapist with me..."

"I won't," I told her. "I wish you all the best, Anna. I don't want to see you suffering, but I'm done. I was done the first time you slept with him. Done, Anna. I won't have this conversation again. Please, just leave me alone." Fuck, it had been six months, and I was tired.

I got up and left. At some point, you lose the ability to be angry, hurt, sad, and the only thing left is what was in your character before you plunged into the nightmare. The numbness and weariness are there, but you'll move on and recover.

I went to work, packed up some things I needed and drove out to the river. This was my place. Anna had what was our home in town, and I had the place on the river. I turned off the highway and stopped for ice at the convenience store on the corner. I noticed someone sitting there against the wall when I walked in, but I paid no attention. It was one of those stores with lots of prepared food on those roller things, and I realized I was hungry. I looked it over. It would be awful, filled with all sorts of unhealthy shit, and delicious. I chuckled to myself. I would get exactly what you would expect from convenience store food.

When I came back out into the sweltering heat, I was going to hurry to the air conditioning of my truck. I noticed two police cars, and three cops were standing in front of the person sitting on the sidewalk.

The local cops had a bad habit around there of harassing the unhoused. I had read an article about them bulldozing a community of tents someone had donated to unhoused people a few miles up the river, and shit like that always pissed me off. Like those people didn't have enough to deal with; cops rousting them was stupid and unnecessary. I stopped and looked at the sitting person. It was a girl, she looked like a waif, probably late teens.

"Hey," I called to her. "You ready?"

The cops looked over at me. "You know her?" one asked.

"Of course," I said. "She's my neighbor. She came with me and was waiting out here."

I saw her shoot me a look and I noticed huge brown eyes, so dark they looked black in the shade of the awning.

I held out my hand to her, and although the cops eyed me suspiciously, they said nothing as the girl rose to her feet and took my hand, grabbing her backpack.

I held her door while she climbed in the truck, walked around and got in. She was hot, sweating, and I started it and got the air conditioning blasting. "Hey, my name's Rogers. I don't think they're leaving." I nodded at the cops. "I'll drop you anywhere you want to go. They'll probably hassle you if we don't drive away."

She nodded. "Okay."

Her voice was low and a little husky, very musical and I thought she would sound great singing jazz.

I pulled away and stopped at the highway. "Where to?" I asked.

She hesitated a minute, then said, "You know where Hayden Park is?"

"Yeah, is that where you want to go?"

She nodded, and I pulled out. The aroma of the food I had was filling the truck and I saw her sniff and her tummy rumbled. She looked at me apologetically. I could tell she needed it much worse than I did, so I passed her the sack.

She wouldn't take it. "I don't have any money." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"I didn't ask," I said. "Look at me. Do I look like I'm about to starve?"

She glanced over and gave me a shy smile. "No."

"You eat it," I said. "It was an impulse buy for me. I didn't need it, and to be honest, here, I shouldn't have bought it."

I got that little smile again. She took the sack. "Okay. Thank you." I could hardly hear her. Another of those impulse things took over and I swung into the Target parking lot. "Can we talk a little while you eat?" I asked.

She looked scared. "Please, Mr. Rogers, I... I... should just go."

I laughed. "Rogers is my first name. I'm really not going to do anything bad to you, I promise. I'm totally harmless. You can ask my daughter. Would you like for me to call her?"

She looked confused. "I..."

"Here." I punched the Snapchat call for Talley. She answered, and I held my phone so my new friend could see. A little blonde pixie appeared on the screen. "Hey, Dad. Whacha doin?" she asked.

"I have a guest," I told her. "This is... I'm sorry, I don't know your name," I said to my rider.

"It's Maia," she said.

"I met Maia at the Quick Mart and some cops were hassling her," I said. "She's getting ready to eat some food we got, but she's a little nervous with me. What do you think we should do?"

"Where are you?" Talley asked.

"We're about seven miles from the river house," I told her. "We're sitting in the Target parking lot."

"I'll get Gram to bring me over there," she said. "We'll be there when you get there. Bring her home."

"Okay, baby, see you there," I ended the conversation.

"Mr.... Rogers..." she started. I burst out laughing, and she looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"Sorry, that's just hilarious," I said, wiping my eyes. "Mr. Rogers..." I had to laugh some more. She just continued to stare.

"Umm... Mr. Rogers? You know, like the TV guy? Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood."

She just looked blank. "Okay, I can see you don't know who that is. I'll explain on the way, okay? We're meeting my daughter, Talley, at our house. You'll be safe, okay?"

She nodded hesitantly, and I saw her eyes drop to the sack of food. I pulled back out on the highway. "You dig in, and I'll tell you the saga of Mr. Rogers."

She was obviously starving, because she devoured the taquitos, the chicken crunch rolls and the enchiladas like a wolf. I gave her the bottle of strawberry/banana Naked Juice I'd bought, and she took a drink, smiling shyly at me.

"Okay," I began. "When I was a kid, there was this show on TV called Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. It had this really bland dude who did educational TV for kids. You with me?"

She nodded. "Well, the dude was like 100 years old and it was like watching every grandfather you've ever imagined on TV. The idea of you calling me Mr. Rogers just seemed really funny to me. Understand? I mean, I'm older than you, obviously, but I'm not exactly old enough to be anyone's grandfather, you know?"

She nodded again, chewing until her mouth was empty. "Yes, I get it."

You don't talk much, do you, Maia?"

She shook her head. "I guess not."

"Maia, do you mind me asking how old you are?" I asked.

"No, I don't mind," she said. She was obviously hesitant. I waited, but she never said anything.

"Okay, how old are you?" I asked.

That got me a little smile. "I'm 17," she said. "I'll be 18 next month."

"Jesus, honey, you're a minor," I said. "Do your parents or guardians, or whatever know where you are?"

She looked at me with stricken eyes. "I don't have any..." Those huge eyes, now golden in the sunlight, started to fill up with tears.

"Hey, it's okay," I said. "We'll just talk about something else until we get home, okay?"

She nodded and sniffed a little. "I need a tissue," she said.

I fished around in the back and found a box. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose before digging back into her food.

"You like music?" I asked.

She nodded. "What kind?" I asked.

"Umm... I guess all kinds," she said. "I don't like country music."

"Smart girl," I said. "I don't either." I unlocked my phone and handed it to her. "Pull up YouTube or Spotify and play something you like."

"I don't know how," she said.

"Oh... Well, hold it up here," I said. She held it up and I told Siri to play Saint Motel.

That filled the awkward silence, I saw her knee bounce a little to the music and we soon pulled up at the house. Maia looked at the house, trepidation obviously her foremost thought. You could see it on her face.

Mom and Talley were sitting in Mom's car, and Talley jumped out and came running. She opened Maia's door and started pulling her out.

"Baby, let Maia get her food," I cautioned.

"Oh, okay, I'll help," Talley said.

Mom got out at a more leisurely pace and we went inside. "Make yourself at home," I told Maia. "Do you need anything?"

"Umm... could I use your restroom?" she asked.

Talley dragged her off to the downstairs common bath and waited outside the door while I put the bag of ice in the fridge.

"Rogers, who is that girl?" Mom asked. "She's young. You're going to get in trouble."

"We'll see," I said. "Let's talk to her. Get her story, then we'll see what can be done."

She came out after a bit and I seated her at the breakfast bar. Mom sat on one side of her and Talley on the other, while I made me a sandwich. "You want one?" I asked her.

She nodded and I gave her that one and made myself another. "Here's the deal," I told Mom and Talley. "I stopped at Quick Mart for a bag of ice. I saw Maia here sitting on the sidewalk outside. You know how hot it is. She was in the shade. I grabbed some junk food and when I came out, the cops were there. I could tell they were going to run her off, so I pretended like I knew her. I gave her the food and I was just talking to her, but I could tell she was afraid of me, so I thought if she knew I had you, Talley, she wouldn't be so scared."

I turned to Maia. "Are you feeling better now that my mother and Talley are here? This is Kristen, my mother, by the way."

Mom, in her typical blunt way, put her arm over Maia's shoulders and asked, "Are you living on the street, sweetheart?"

Maia nodded.

"How did that happen?" Mom asked.

Maia was visibly shaking. "I... I can't... please, I'm thankful for the food, but I..."

Talley stood and pressed herself against Maia, her little arms around Mia's slender body and hugged her. "I know it's scary," she said, "but Dad is really nice and Gram loves everyone. You can talk to us, and it'll be okay, I promise."

Tears began rolling down Maia's dusky cheeks. "My mom... died," she finally choked out. "I don't know my dad. I never did. I don't have any grandparents. Mom's parents live in Mexico. After Mom died, some people came and they made me... made me go to this group home. They said they'd put me in foster care. I hated that place. The people were mean and hated me. They hated all the kids, and I... I had Mom's ATM card. There was like $400 in there. I got my stuff and hid my backpack in the bushes. We were outside one day and I got it and just walked away."

"Oh, my God, honey," Mom said. "I am so sorry. How long ago was that?"

"Two months," Maia said. "I ran out of money for food this week. I'm afraid to go to the shelters. They'll make me go back."

"Where have you been staying?" I asked.

"In the park," she said, "but the police come and make you leave if they find you. I'm afraid someone is going to hurt me, too, or rape me. One guy tried. I have a knife and I threatened him."

Mom was shocked, I could tell. Talley just hugged Maia tighter. "We won't let anyone hurt you," she said. "We won't, right, Dad?"

I shook off my paralysis. "No, of course not," I said. "Mom?"

She also made an effort to pull herself together. "We need to talk to your sister," she told me. "She's in Sacramento. Maia is coming to stay with me until Sarah gets home."

My sister was an attorney, and I thought if anyone would know about shit like this, it was her. I knew she'd gotten involved with being an advocate for the unhoused before. Maybe she'd have some idea.

Talley didn't like that idea. "No, Gram, she needs to stay with me and Dad. You have too many nosy neighbors, and Grandpa blabs everything to everyone."

Mom chuckled. "Yes, he does, baby, and I wasn't thinking about the neighbors." Mom and Dad lived in one of those big retirement communities, and they certainly did have a bunch of neighbors with way too much time on their hands.

"I... don't... are you sure?" Maia looked up at me.

"Positive," I told her. "Talley and I have bedrooms down here. There are three upstairs, and they have their own bathrooms so you can have all the privacy you need. Is there anything we can do for you right now?"

"Can I use your laundry?" she asked. "I... I don't have a lot of clothes, but they're all dirty since I... ran out of money for the laundromat."

"Of course," I said. "I'll show you how to use the washer and dryer."

"Honey, I have to go," Mom gave Maia a hug. "My husband will be wondering where I am. He's also going to wonder where you are, lovebug, since you were supposed to be spending the weekend with us," she told Talley.

Talley looked torn. She loved her grandparents, and Dad had promised to take her riding on Sunday.

Maia was watching and caught that. "Talley, if you want to go with your grandmother, it's okay," she said. "I feel safe with your dad now. I was just..."

Talley stood on tiptoe to kiss Maia's cheek. "Grandpa is taking me horseback riding tomorrow," she said. "I promise Dad will take care of you, and I'll come back after we go riding, okay?"

"Yes, that's okay," Maia said. "Thank you."

We walked them out to the car, and sent them on their way. I sighed and turned to Maia. "Let's do some laundry," I said.

We went back inside, she got her backpack and I led her to the utility room. She began pulling things out of her bag and I got the jug full of little laundry soap packets. I watched, and Maia seemed embarrassed with me watching, so I turned and got some clothes of Talley's out of the dryer and folded them while she put hers in.

She had two pairs of jeans, other than the ones she had on, three shirts, two sets of panties and bras and some socks. They were all dirty, and I could smell them six feet away. They hadn't been nice when they were new, and that had obviously been a while back. I felt horrible for her.

I threw in two of the soap things, just to compensate, and we started the washer. I gave her the tour. My house was one of those modern industrial types: open to the ceiling above, concrete floors, and there was a flight of stairs leading to the second floor. The back wall facing the river was all glass, and I could see Maia taking it all in.

We checked out the three bedrooms upstairs and she picked the one the farthest from the stairs, over my bedroom on the first floor. I showed her everything in the bathroom.

"I really wanna take a shower as soon as my clothes get done so I have some clean ones," she said.

I eyed her slender frame. She was about the same size as Anna, I figured, except thinner. Much thinner, I thought.

"I have an idea," I said. "I still have some of my soon to be ex-wife's clothes here. You're thinner, but they should fit okay. If you want, you could wear some of her shorts with a drawstring and one of her t-shirts. That way you could take a shower, put on some clean clothes and maybe take a little nap if you wanted. I have some chores to do, and then we can cook dinner. Does that sound good?"

"Oh, yes, it does," she said. "I don't like being dirty, Rogers, I just..."

I patted her arm. "I know, sweetheart. Let's go see what we can scrounge up."

I took her down to my bedroom and we dug around in a couple of chests and found something she was happy with, and I went outside while she went up to shower.

Talley and I had been out on the jet-skis the day before and they were still in the water. I moved them up in their places and got in the boat. I had some lines set and I hadn't run them that day. I caught two nice catfish and pulled in the other lines. I filleted the catfish, cleaned everything up and went up to the house.

I couldn't hear any sound, and I figured Maia might have taken my advice and had herself a nap. That was good. I figured it would be tough sleeping outside in some hidey-hole in 90-degree weather, worried about someone finding you. She was probably exhausted. I nearly cried when I thought about it. The air conditioning would be a real treat, too.

I peeled potatoes, chopped onions, made a batter for the catfish, hush-puppy batter, made some tartar sauce, took four ears of corn out of the refrigerator, put the potatoes and onions on to fry and got my fish in the oil.

Things were really beginning to smell good and I was dipping up the last of the fish and hush-puppies out of the deep fryer when I heard the door open upstairs.

I looked up when I saw Maia coming down the stairs, and I was a little shocked. This was a different girl than the one I met at Quick Mart. She still looked a little waifish because she was so skinny, but she was clean, for one thing, and having her hair clean made an amazing difference. It stood up and out everywhere, glossy ringlets and curls bursting forth into a wild cascade down to about the middle of her back. There was a little strand of curls or two nearly covering her left eye, and I realized she was a very beautiful girl. Her dusky skin glowed with fresh youth and her long brown legs extended about a mile downward from those shorts. She was barefoot, and just about the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

She caught my eyes on her and hesitated, giving me a shy smile, her very white teeth flashing.

"All clean and napped?" I asked.

She nodded, all those curls swirling. "Yes, thank you. I love the bed, and it's so cool in my room! What are you cooking? It smells sooo good."

"Come and see," I said, beckoning to her.

She came down the rest of the stairs to stand beside me. "Plates are over there in that cupboard," I said, pointing. "Glasses are two doors to the right, and the silverware is here." I pulled out the drawer.

She got us plates, glasses and silverware. "What will we drink?" she asked.

"What do you like?"

"Whiskey," she said and shot me a mischievous grin.

I laughed. "Right. And Mom would kill me tomorrow when you told her I let you drink whiskey."

"Water is fine," she said. "I can't always... can't always get good water."

"There are bottles in the fridge," I said. "There's Dr. Pepper, that's what I want, Talley drinks orange soda, so there is some of that, I think we have sweet tea, milk and a few kinds of juice. Go look and get what you want. Ice is in the door."