The Little Girl and The Man

Chapter Eight

Months later, it is morning again with the same morning routine: get up, get the little girl up, get dressed, make sure she is dressed, etcetera. It was not that Sarah dreaded her time working and taking-care of the little girl. She really loved taking care of her. The part that she did not love was how everyday seemed to get slower and slower and that each day getting slower, the longer it takes for the girl to find out about her new life. It was not fair to the girl that she was abused and she is glad that the girl is out of that toxic environment but she knows that this life is not fair to her, too. The longer the trail process is, the more trials the little girl will have to endure, the closer that she will get to Sarah and the life that they are living, and the even more dramatic the ending will be. The ending will be the worst, probably seeing her father for the last time in a long time, finding a new home, a new family, a whole new life. It is sometimes nice to get a change in your life but it is unfair that this girl at so young has been and is going to go through more life-changing events that some do in a lifetime. It was unfair. She knows from her work that life is never fair, but the revelation never seems to sting less. Like a bee sting, the sting is always a scary and unexpected jolt, whether you have been stung for the first time or for the hundredth time.

Sarah got an unexpected jolt when the phone started ringing and buzzing in the middle of her thoughts.

"Hello?" she answered. "Oh yes... I see... Okay... I will get there as soon as I can. Yeah, bye." She turned to find the little girl just to spot her standing right next to her. "Oh! You scared me. Little ghosty girl!" The girl giggled. "Listen Hun, okay? There is a bit of the problem with the trial and the paperwork that follows and I got to be stuck at meetings so I am not going to be here when you get home. Okay?"

The girl nodded.

"Now listen to me very closely: you got the house key so please let yourself in but do not open the door to strangers, okay? I know that you are a very smart girl but I have never left you home alone before and I am sure your dad did but I do not know what he told you. I will call you at 3:30 to make sure you got home alright and also to let you know if I am coming home or if someone else is going to watch you until I get home. I am so sorry about this little munchkin. I really hate doing this. I do not think it is smart at all leaving a girl your age- never mind. I just do not have the time to call your neighbors so someone else is going to have to do that for me and I have no idea who that will be... I am sorry, I am rambling. Let me get you some breakfast and make sure you get on the bus then we will both be on our way, okay?"

The girl too overwhelmed to ask any questions just nodded her head. She never saw Sarah like this. She knew that it must be urgent if she was acting this crazy. The little girl had cereal and scurried onto the bus and went on her way to school.

What the hell? Just because of a few errors on some paperwork, we ALL have to go in? This is bullshit! Sarah thought while driving rather aggressively to the courthouse. This man is guilty black and white. Why bother over a few papers saying that if he is not found guilty? Why couldn't they have called me yesterday so I could find someone for her? If something happens to her, it will be my head, not theirs. What a load of crap. Only a few more months away before this trial is done and NOW we have complications. This is SO unprofessional.

"Hey, watch it!" She screamed at a car that almost cut her off. Then after a few moments that she was the one driving like an idiot and tried to calm herself down.

Hopefully we can get this all done today and before three so I can be home before her. Who knows? Maybe it will be just a quick fix? Although she was thinking optimistically, she did not feel it. Something did not seem right. She ran a checklist through her head to make sure that she did everything. Locked the house, turned off the lights, got the girl on the bus... Nothing. She figured it was just paranoia.