Living Again
Chapter 5
"A…a…at…see I can't do it!" Molly said in frustration.
"You are doing it, you just don't think you can. Stop thinking. Now, what is this?" Mike asked, picking up an apple out of the bowl on the table.
"Simple, its an apple." Molly said. Mike nodded and then pointed at the word on the paper.
"So is this. It says apple. Now; you haven't learned p's, l's, e's or s's, but when you see this word, you can visualize this apple, right?" Mike asked. Molly looked down at the page for a minute.
"It's not spelled like it sounds. It should be a-p-p-e-l." Molly said. Mike was a bit taken back. "I know a few things, but not a lot." Molly told him.
"That is correct. Welcome to the English language." Mike remarked and Molly laughed.
"Alright…B…Tucker; come here?" Mike asked and Tucker ran for him and settled on his lap. "Now, you know Tucker is a boy. Here is the word." Mike said as he pointed at the word.
"B…bo…boy. B-O-Y." Molly said.
"Next is cat, but we don't have one." Tucker remarked.
"I thought of that and bought your sister a new stuffed animal." Mike answered. He stood up, carried Tucker to the couch, put him down and picked up the stuffed cat he had bought.
"I would have rather had a real one." Tucker told him.
"Maybe soon." Mike answered before turning back to Molly, who was still studying the page. He also grabbed a doll and a toy eel on his way through and settled next to her. "Alright, not wanting to overwhelm you, I am only going to E today. So, what does that word say?" Mike asked as he pointed at the word, cat.
"Ca—Cat." Molly said.
"Very good. Now, what is this?" Mike asked as he held up the rag doll that Ella could play with once she was older.
"Doll." Molly answered.
"Can you tell me what this word is?" Mike asked as he pointed at the word.
"D—do—d—doll." Molly said. She was recognizing a few letters, making Mike's job easier.
"Very good. Now…E…this is a toy eel." Mike said, pointing at the word.
"Do two e's make the same sound? E-el." Molly asked.
"You said it exactly right. E's are vowels and normally, they aren't put together like that, but they are for this. Another word…its harder, is elevator. El—eh—vator…so the letters sound different, buts the same." Mike said.
"That's where I always had trouble. The same letter sounding completely different." Molly said.
"Yeah, that's where it gets complicated. E's can have a soft sound or a hard sound. Lots of letters are like that, but we are not going to go through the entire alphabet tonight. No sense in overdoing." Mike remarked.
"I want to be able to fill out paperwork for Tucker's school. That was a goal. I can't now but maybe when its time?" Molly asked.
"You have plenty of time." Mike said.
"Do you think I can?" Molly asked.
"I have no doubt, but its not about what I think. Its about what you think." Mike told her.
"Trevor never let me even think about reading. One time; he caught me looking at a book that a neighbor had given Tucker. One of the worst beatings I've ever had…and other things." Molly remarked.
"Molly, did he rape you?" Mike asked gently. She gave him a confused look. "Do you know what rape means?" Mike asked.
"I've heard the word, but I don't know what it means." Molly said.
"It means; did he make you have sex when you didn't want to? If you said no?" Mike asked.
"Oh, that was every time and I learned to just not say no. It would make things worse. When I did things like looking at the book; he…used it like a punishment because of how scared I was…but at least he never hurt Tucker." Molly answered with a smile as she watched her young son play in the next room.
"You said he was a Marine?" Mike asked.
"Yeah." Molly answered.
"Molly, I am going to call a friend of mine to come talk to you. She is the commandant of the Marines and you'll like her. I think she needs to hear this, even though I know its hard for you to talk about." Mike said.
"Oh, its not hard. There's just nothing I can do about it. My biggest concern is how I'm going to keep Tucker and Ella away from him." Molly remarked.
"Don't worry about that." Mike answered. Ella began crying, so Molly jumped up to tend her, and Mike began planning his call to Anita Dufine.