It had been 2 months since Isa's death, I had been able to open my own practice using the money Isa had left me in his will. I had also gotten a new apartment, it wasn't the same living in our old one without him. So I found a small two bedroom apartment, started my own practice, and life was slowly becoming easier, not much, but a bit. I was eating my lunch at the office Tuesday, when my secretary, Arlene, came in. Remember, the sex addict? She had cleaned up her act, and was surprisingly supportive after Isa's death. She had divorced her husband, and was living a quiet life, she no longer required me as a therapist, but she stayed as a friend. After I started my own practice, I hired her as a secretary to say thank you.
"There is a little girl on the phone Lea, she refuses to tell me anything and insists on talking to you." I set my sandwich down and wiped my hands on a napkin.
"I'll take it." I said picking up the phone as Arlene walked out. "Hello?" I asked.
"Mr. Lucas? Is this you?" asked the girl. I recognized her voice, it was Namine, the little girl who saw her father's murder. I hadn't seen her for at least a month, shortly after Isa died, her mother had stopped making appointments for the girl, Namine seemed cheery, so I assumed everything was alright.
"Namine? Is that you?"
"Yes, it is. I need help." Namine said, her voice quivering.
"What is it? Don't be afraid Namine, you can tell me."
"My mother left me, about a month ago, she said that I was bad for her. Because I had seen her kill my father… I never told you because I was frightened by what she might do. But after she stopped making my appointments with you, she… she took me for a ride, and left me in a bad part of town, I haven't seen her since." When she finished talking, I called Arlene in to listen. I put the phone on speaker.
"Namine, where are you? Tell me, I'm coming to get you."
"I don't know where exactly…" She said her voice quaking as if she were about to cry.
"You must be at a payphone, describe your surroundings to me and stay where you are." As she described where she was I gathered my things. Near the end of her description, the line went dead. "Damn." I muttered. "Time ran out. You wouldn't happen to know where she was describing do you?" I asked turning to Arlene.
"I do actually, come on I'll give you directions." She walked out of the office and began gathering her things, "You're lucky your only patient this afternoon called to reschedule." She said wrapping her coat around her and grabbing her purse. I close my office door and we walked out to my car.
"So how do you know this girl?" She asked as we got into my car.
"She was one of my patients a while back, she had seen her father being murdered. She's a sweet girl and doesn't deserve what her mother's done to her." I drove off the lot and Arlene directed me towards a less populated part of town. I slowed down as we looked for the things Namine had described. Graffiti covered most of what looked like abandoned buildings, and there were homeless huddles on corners. I felt a sense of fear for Namine. To have been living here for a little over a month? I was relieved she had survived.
"There!" Arlene pointed to my left, I looked and saw a small girl huddled by a payphone. I parked the car and made sure to lock it as Arlene and I ran over to her.
"Namine." I said softly as I knelt down to her. Her pale blond hair was filthy and stuck to her face, she wore a tattered white dress that did little to shield her from the chilling October air, and little blue sandals. She looked up at me, and her little blue eyes were shining, she had tears in her eyes.
"You found me." She said smiling. I nodded as I checked her over to make sure she wasn't hurt. "Who's that?" She asked looking at Arlene.
"This is my friend, Arlene. She helped me find you. She's a very nice lady, no need to be afraid of her." I picked Namine up and walked back to my car. Arlene opened the back door for me and I put her in the seat, making sure to buckle her. "I'm going to take you home with me ok?" Namine nodded and Arlene and I got into the car. Namine's head drooped as I drove and she began to snore quietly.
"We should take her to a hospital." Arlene whispered looking at Namine's sleeping frame looking quite worried.
"No, I don't want to get involved in anything dealing with the law. I don't think it's exactly legal for me to take her, even if her mom abandoned her." I whisper back.
"Why not? They can put her in a nice home."
"No, I don't want her going to an adoption agency or foster home, I want to keep her." I said. Arlene stayed silent, but I knew she wanted to argue. She knew just as well as I did that I shouldn't keep her, but that wasn't going to stop me. "I have a doctor friend who I can come over and look her over, and if she needs treatment, I'm sure I can pay him off."
Arlene nodded. "I'll stay with you then, until everything is ok. I'll help you." I was grateful for that, really I was. I couldn't do this on my own, I knew it and so did she.
"Thank you." The rest of the drive was silent and we got to my apartment around 4. Arlene carried Namine inside and I carried our things. "Put her in my bed for now." I told Arlene as I set our stuff on the coffee table. My apartment wasn't anything special, it had a small living room with a couch, a comfy chair and a T.V. a small island that I used as a table to eat, separated the open kitchen from the living area. Down the hall was a room that I used as a home office, and a bathroom. Upstairs was my room. Arlene took Namine, and I called Dr. Ienzo. He and I had also maintained a close relationship after Isa's death.
"Hello." Ienzo answered.
"Hey, I need a favor." I said as I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and went up to Namine.
"What is it?" Ienzo asked. I explained the situation to him as Arlene woke Namine to give her the water, Namine took it eagerly.
"Not too fast sweetie or you'll give yourself a stomach ache." Arlene warned and Namine slowed down a bit.
"Lea, you shouldn't be keeping that little girl." Ienzo warned as I went downstairs again to make Namine some Ramen Noodles.
"I know, but please, will you come and make sure she's alright?" I asked boiling some water.
"Of course, I'll be there in an hour." He hung up. Arlene came down followed by Namine.
"She asked if she could take a bath." Arlene explained.
"Of course you can Namine, but you should eat something first." I check to see if the noodles were tender. "After you eat, Arlene can help you take a bath." I said taking the pan off the burner and putting the noodles in a bowl set them to cool off.
"Yes, I can do that." Arlene said taking off her blazer, leaving her in her red blouse and knee length skirt. "Do you have anything for her to wear?"
I shook my head. "I thought as much. I have some clothes I bought for my niece back at my place. I can run and get them while she eats."
"Yeah thank you. Take my car, and later I'll take you back to get yours." I said handing her my keys. She took them and walked toward the door.
"I'll be back soon." She said walking out the door. I locked it behind her and went back to Namine. The noodles had cooled enough, so I gave them to her along with a fork.
"Here you go, be careful not to burn your tongue, and eat slowly or else you'll get a tummy ache." She nodded and began to eat.
"Do you want some crackers?" I ask her. She shook her head. "Alright then, did you finish the water I gave you?" She nodded, so I went to the fridge and pulled out another.
"Thank you." She said quietly as I gave it to her.
"You're welcome. Do you hurt anywhere Namine? Any cuts or bruises?" I asked looking at her closely.
"No, my head hurts a little, and I'm a bit cold, but I'm fine." She said, the quiver gone from her voice.
"That's good." I said as I went to turn the heater on for her. "You're head probably just hurts from not eating. When is the last time you ate?"
She scooped a big bite full of noodles into her mouth and said, "A few days ago, one of the other homeless shared an apple with me." She swallowed and continued as I sat by her. "That's how I've been living, at least one of the homeless would share with me once in a few days. I'm very happy they did."
"That was very courteous of them." I say.
"What does cour-te-ous mean?" She asked breaking the word into syllables.
"It means kind, polite." I respond. She hummed and finished her food. I took the bowl and set it in the dish washer along with the pan. Namine sipped at her water as I went upstairs to change into a pair of sweats and t-shirt. I came back down to find Arlene sitting at the counter with Namine. She had also changed, into a pair of sweats and a loose fitting cut-off. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
"I brought her those clothes, it isn't much, just a night gown and some underwear. It should fit her, my niece is about her size." Arlene said gesturing to a bag sitting on the couch.
"Miss Arlene's gunna help me take a bath!" Namine said excitedly.
I smiled, "Yes she is, I'll go run the water." I said walking into the bathroom. "If you're hungry Arlene, there are some T.V. dinners in the freezer, feel free to eat one later, or anything else you find in the cupboard." I called to her from the bathroom.
"Thanks." She replied. Once the bath was filled, I went to tell Arlene and Namine.
Namine enthusiastically ran towards the bathroom, with Arlene in tow. "Could you bring in that Wal-Mart sack please? It's got the clothes, and I brought some of my soaps so she wouldn't smell like Axe." I nodded and went to grab the bag. I looked at the time, it was nearly 5, Ienzo should be here soon.
I went into the bathroom to give Arlene the bag and then went upstairs to tidy up my room. The girls can sleep here tonight, and I'll take the couch. I heard Namine giggling as I cleaned. I straightened out my bed sheets and went back downstairs. Arlene had Namine dressed and was sitting on the couch towel drying her hair. "You two can sleep in my room tonight, I'll sleep on the couch." I tell them as I sit in the chair and turn the T.V. to the Science channel. How It's Made was on and Namine seemed fascinate as she watched how they made colored pencils. Arlene was brushing her pale hair when there was a knock at the door. "That would be Ienzo, he's a friend of mine too Namine, you shouldn't be scared of him alright? I asked him to come and take a look at you to make sure you aren't hurt. You'll need to cooperate with him okay?" I tell her as I go to the door. She nodded and I open the door letting Ienzo in.
"Hello." He said walking in. "You must be Namine, yes?" he asked smiling at her.
"Yes, nice to meet you 'enzo." She said smiling back at him.
"Well, how very polite you are Miss Namine." Ienzo replied taking off his coat. I took it and hung it on the rack on back of the door. Arlene swept Namine's wet hair into a ponytail, and stood from the couch.
"I'm Arlene, a friend of Lea's and also his secretary." She said extending her hand.
Ienzo took it, also smiling at her. "It's nice to meet you. Now then, Namine, do you mind if I check your temperature?" Namine shook her head as Ienzo sat next to her and took out his thermometer. He tucked it under her tongue and pulled it out after it beeped. "100 even, a fever, but not a bad one. Some children's Tylenol should bring it down." I nodded and he went about checking her pulse and arms and things like that. When he was finished, he stood and said, "She's very lucky, like I said she only as a slight fever, and nothing is broken or out of place. Besides being malnourished, she's healthy. Feed her at least 3 small portions a day, don't feed her too much to start with, or it could make her even sicker. If you need anything else, you can call me."
"Thank you very much Ienzo." I say giving him his coat.
"Of course, and Lea?"
"Yea?"
"Be careful." I nodded and closed the door behind him.
"Well then," I say, "You hungry Arlene?" She nodded. "Then how about I order some take out? China House alright?"
"Definitely." She said. "Would you like some rice Namine?" Namine nodded happily.
"Alrighty then, I'll order."
Twenty minutes later, we were huddled on the couch eating Chinese food and watching How It's Made. Namine seemed fascinated by the show, so we watched it for another 3 hours, Namine fell asleep leaning against me, and I was feeling drowsy myself. I yawned. "I'll take her upstairs." I said scooping the little girl in my arms and walking to my room. I tucked her into bed and went to my dresser, where I kept spare sheets, I grabbed a blanket and pillow I kept in the closet and headed downstairs. Arlene was throwing the take out boxes away and I began to lay the sheets on the couch. "Thank you for being here Arlene. I really appreciate it. I have to admit, when you were my patient, you…repelled me, but now, after cleaning yourself up, I really know that I can count on you. Especially after you helped me through Isa's death…"
"Of course, you can always count on me, now hush and go to sleep. I'll go into the office tomorrow and reschedule all appointments for a week from now. You could use a week off anyways." She said turning off the T.V. "You're doing the right thing helping this little girl, you know that right?" I nodded and she walked upstairs turning the light off as she went.