***Willow Pond***
Jennifer and Jonathan are sleeping. It's the middle of the night.
They are all tangled up in the sheets, their lovemaking earlier having worn them out. Jennifer hears the noise first, and it takes her a minute to figure out what the noise is.
She figures out it's the buzzer.
She nudges Jonathan.
"Jonathan….Jonathan…."
"Anything for you, babe".
"No, no. Not that….the gate. Someone is at the gate".
He punched the button and handed her the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Please help me…. I need a phone. I'm sorry to bother you, I just need a phone".
"Come on up".
Jennifer and Jonathan got up and put on their pajamas and Jennifer answered the door.
There was a young girl, about mid-20's who was standing on the other side. She was bruised and had scratches on her face, and she was crying. She was shivering too- her dress had been ripped and she had no shoes on.
"Come in, come in".
Jennifer shut the door behind her.
"I'm Jennifer". She gestured to Jonathan, who was standing on the landing of the stairs. "This is my husband. How can we help you?"
"I'm so sorry to bother you this late, but my boyfriend and I had a horrible argument, and he pulled over and forced me out of the car, and I walked to the first house I could see. Is it possible for me to use the phone to call a cab to come get me?"
"Sure. How about some coffee?"
"No thank you. I will take some water, though".
Jennifer ushered the girl into the kitchen, and sat her at the table. She got her the water.
Jonathan came in. Jennifer went to him.
"I think she needs some girl talk. We are fine. You can go back to bed, if you want".
She kissed him.
"I'll be right upstairs if you need me".
Jennifer nodded.
She returned to the girl at the table.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name".
"Sienna".
"What a pretty name".
"Thank you".
"Listen, you don't have to call a cab. We can drive you wherever you need to go. But, where would you go?"
"I'm not sure, really. Usually, when this happens, I just go back home to our house and he says he's sorry".
"I see".
Jennifer didn't want to tell her what to do, but she didn't have a good feeling about this.
"Why don't you call your boyfriend, and see if he will come get you? Maybe he's calmed down by now".
Sienna nodded. She went to the phone and dialed.
"Hey baby, it's me. I just wanted to…..No, that's not what I was going to…..Really, you think that? I can't believe you would think that?... What?...but I have nowhere to go. You have all of my things. This isn't right!..."
In tears, she hung up.
"Well, so much for that. He says he's locking the door and I am not allowed in. I don't know what to do…"
Jennifer could tell she was starting to cry again.
She put her arm around her and calmed her down.
"Ok, well, it's late. It's almost 2 a.m. You can stay here with us tonight, get a good night's sleep, and then in the morning, we will take you back to your place and hopefully you can get some of your things".
"Me, stay here? But you don't know me".
"Yes, I do. Your name is Sienna. And you know me, too-my name is Jennifer".
"You are too kind".
Jennifer showed Sienna up to the guestroom, and got her a nightgown and robe to wear.
"We are right across the hall if you need us. You are safe here, I promise".
"Thank you. Good night".
"Good night".
Jennifer went back to bed, and snuggled up into Jonathan's arms.
He sleepily pulled her close.
"Is she alright?"
"I think so. She's scared. I had her call her boyfriend and see if he would come get her and they fought again, so she's in the guest room. I'll take her somewhere tomorrow. Her name is Sienna, she's a really sweet girl".
"Good plan".
She looked back towards Jonathan.
"I love you, Jonathan Charles".
She kissed him and fell asleep.
***The next morning***
Jennifer got up when Jonathan did, and they had breakfast together. She saved a plate for Sienna.
Jonathan and Jennifer were sitting at the table discussing things.
"Darling, be careful. Call me after you drop her off".
"Nothing is going to happen, I will be fine".
"Jennifer, you have no idea what you are getting into".
He had a point.
Jennifer looked up and saw Sienna coming in.
"Hold that thought".
She blew him a kiss.
Sienna came and sat down at the table.
"I cannot thank you two enough for letting me stay here last night, I really appreciate it".
"We are glad to help you out, Sienna".
Jonathan stood up.
"Call me later, darling. I love you".
"I love you, too". Jennifer kissed him goodbye.
She took Sienna her plate, and sat with her.
"Sienna, suppose your boyfriend doesn't let you back in? Do you have any family, anywhere else you can go?"
Sienna shook her head.
"My family quit talking to me years ago, because of him."
"Do you guys have any kids together?"
She shook her head.
"I would love to be a mommy one day, but he says he wants his kids to have a smarter mommy than me, so he won't have one with me".
Jennifer's heart went out to her.
"You seem pretty smart to me. Has he always been this way with you?"
Sienna nodded. "It's been getting worse though. He says I need him, I can't survive without him. I stress him out too much, I nag him, he gets upset and instead of listening to him, I make him talk to me about it. But he doesn't see that I genuinely want to fix the situation, and resolve things. He thinks I am just picking a fight with him".
Jennifer reached across the table. She put her hand on top of Sienna's.
"Sienna, I know that you don't know me, and I know that you saw my husband being very sweet and loving to me, so this might not have much weight since I haven't lived through what you are describing. But listen to me anyways, ok? It's not your fault. It's never your fault. There is nothing that you could do that would ever warrant him hitting you or mistreating you in this manner. And I will be more than happy to help you get away from him, for good. You don't have to go back home, you can go to a shelter. Hell, you can call your mom and your family from our phone and tell them you are done with him, and start rebuilding that bridge. Going back to him isn't your only option".
She nodded.
"I think I would like to call my parents".
"Go right ahead. I will be in the living room, so you can have some privacy".
Jennifer patted her hand as she walked out of the room.
She sat down on the couch and called Jonathan on his car phone.
"Darling, I think she might be leaving him, and going somewhere else to start over. Do you have any jobs at Hart Industries? Like a secretary or something?"
"I will ask HR and see what we can find."
"Perfect. I'll keep you updated. Love you".
"Love you, be careful, call me afterwards. Did I say be careful?"
"Yes, you did. I'll be fine, I promise".
"Call me later, please?"
"You got it."
She blew him a kiss as she hung up the phone.
Sienna came into the living room a little while later.
"Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I guess. My mom and I talked. She isn't ready to let me move back in with her because I have done it so many times before, only to go back to Jeff. That's my boyfriend, Jeff Carlson. I understand that. I told her I had nowhere to go, and she told me that I would figure it out. She did say that she would loan me money for an apartment, but only after I have a job. And I have no skills, so I am not sure what kind of job I can get".
"Well, it just so happens that my husband owns Hart Industries. He is going to see if there are any jobs that you could get within his company.
"Thank you, that is very kind of him."
"I have a friend who is a doctor. I am going to call her and see if she knows of any temporary shelters where you can stay until you get on your feet".
"That would be great".
Jennifer picked up the phone and called Susan Kendall. Susan was more than happy to help her and gave her the names of several shelters and temporary homes that could help Sienna out.
Sienna went upstairs and showered and changed back into her ripped dress. She brought her sheets and robe and nightgown downstairs.
"Thank you so much for helping me out, I appreciate it".
Jennifer took the sheets and clothes from her.
"You're welcome. Now, we can't let you go around with those ripped clothes on. So, let's go find you something that you can wear till you get a job".
Jennifer took Sienna upstairs to the second guest room and opened the closet.
"All these clothes are clothes that I had when I married my husband. He likes to buy me expensive clothes, so I wear those more now, and haven't worn some of this stuff in years".
She pulled out several pairs of jeans, several sweaters and long sleeved shirts, some yoga pants, some pajama sets and nightgowns, and several pairs of shoes. Way back in the back of the closet, Jennifer found 3 complete business suits-jacket, blouse, and skirt, that she had never worn.
"You can have these to wear to work or to a job interview. And here are some dress pants that would go with those blouses as well." She found her some work appropriate tops, and a couple pairs of flats. She and Sienna just so happened to be the same size.
Jennifer went to the other closet and found an old suitcase of Jonathan's that was slightly ripped and that he didn't use anymore. She got that out, and they packed up the clothes into that, and then took it downstairs.
"Now, let's go find you a place to stay."
Sienna nodded.
Jennifer drove her to her house, and Sienna went to try and get some of her things.
Jeff wasn't there, but the doors were locked and he had taken all of the keys.
Jennifer asked her if they had a back door, and she said yes.
Jennifer had Sienna take her to the back door.
"I can get you in here, if you can tell me that you know what you are getting. We need to be in and out".
"Yes, ma'am. I want my laptop and charger, my phone and charger, and my clothes and a box with my sentimental items".
"Sounds good".
Jennifer took out a credit card and popped the lock on the back door. Sienna ran in, and started grabbing stuff.
She grabbed everything she had mentioned to Jennifer, as well as her medicine and her fire safe, that had some hidden cash in it. She also grabbed her toiletries. At the last minute, she grabbed a canister from the freezer that also had some cash in it.
They locked the door behind them, and headed to Hart Industries.
***Hart Industries***
Jennifer and Sienna pulled up to Hart Industries and parked.
Jennifer helped Sienna get some of her stuff together, and then they went inside and she took Sienna to Jonathan's private suite upstairs, next to his office. It had a full bath, and was private, so that she would be able to change clothes and shower if she wanted.
Jennifer told her to come to Jonathan's office when she was done.
Jennifer walked in Jonathan's office and found him sitting at his desk.
"Hi darling".
"Hi. How is Sienna?"
"She's fine. I cleaned out one of my closets and gave her lots of clothes, and then we went to her house. He had locked her out. So, I popped the lock, and she went inside and grabbed her things, and then we came here. She's in your suite changing clothes. I called Susan, and she gave me the name of several shelters and domestic violence homes that will help her."
"Does she have any family?"
"Yes. I let her call her parents. She told me that her parents had disowned her because she was with him. However, they did talk to her this morning. She can't move back in with him, but talking is a good start."
"Well, I think I have a job for her. It's at a gallery I am buying. She can start next week, and she will be a receptionist first, and then we will assess her skills and she can maybe move up to something else".
"That's wonderful! And I was thinking maybe we could hire her to help me plan the fundraiser this year".
"Good idea, darling".
He pulled her onto his lap, and kissed her.
"What was that for?"
"That's the kiss you get for being Mrs. Hart. Have to be Mrs. Hart to get it".
"Oh, I see".
He kissed her again.
"And what was that one for?"
"That was for being so helpful and kind and caring".
"Oh. Well thank you".
He kissed her again.
"And that one?"
"That's because today is Tuesday. And you are wearing red. And your name is Jennifer, which rhymes with Bennifer".
"You are so silly".
She kissed him a few more times, and then Sienna came in.
"Thank you so much for letting me change. I feel so much better".
"You look so cute, Sienna".
Jonathan spoke up. "I own several businesses and we have an art gallery that is opening in a few weeks. I am willing to give you a job in the gallery. You will be a receptionist at first, but you could move to other positions, depending on your skills".
"Yes, I would love that! I appreciate it so much!"
He pushed a stack of papers towards her. He attached a note on top that said 'hired-art gallery'.
"If you take those elevators to the 24th floor, that is HR. Take these papers, and talk to HR and they will have you fill out some paperwork, and then when you are done, you can meet Jennifer back up here".
"Thank you so much. You are so kind".
She turned to Jennifer.
"Do I look alright?"
"You look beautiful, sweet girl".
Sienna left and headed to HR.
Jennifer turned to Jonathan.
"Thank you for helping her, darling".
"You're welcome. Hopefully what we are doing will nudge her to help herself."