We all sat down at the table, and I introduced everyone to Julie. Julie still seemed to be in a daze, and for the most part I couldn't blame her. I mean, I did kind of force her to eat her dinner with us. Julie seemed to be afraid of Atticus presence, and he seemed well aware of this.
"Young lady, you don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you, I promise…" Atticus said, trying to make Julie feel welcome. Julie seemed to listen, as she started looking not as tense, and she began to eat.
"Now," Atticus began. "Jem told me your name is Julie, is that right?"
She nodded.
"Can you tell us where you came from?"
Julie seemed to hesitate, so I answered for her. "San Francisco, California."
"That's near the west coast." Dill stated.
"I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but don't you think you should all introduce yourselves, before you start asking me questions?" Julie asked, with a rough tone.
"Where are my manners? My name is Atticus Finch, I'm Jem's father, and a lawyer." Atticus said.
"My name is Jean Louise, but I go by Scout most of the time." Scout said.
"I'm Dill Harris, and to make a long story short, my folks neglected me, and they are now bringing me up." Dill said.
"He's also my sister's boyfriend." I added. Dill and Scout started staring daggers at me, and I stated: "Well it's the truth, and she was going to find out eventually."
Julie just started giggling, she seemed to be warming up to us rather quickly.
"My name is Samuel Tailor. I'm a lawyer who works with Atticus, and I'm also Dill's guardian." Sam said.
"You already know Calpurnia, she is kind of like a second mother to us." I admitted.
"Don't worry, I won't say anything." Julie said, knowing what people would say if I said this to anyone else.
As if on cue, Calpurnia came in the kitchen and grabbed the nearest kitchen. "I see you liked my food." Calpurnia stated. I looked down at her plate, and I saw that it was cleared of any food.
"How long has the plate been empty?" I asked.
"Just finished it." Julie answered. I sighed in relief; I didn't want her to get sick by eating too fast. We all soon finished our meals, and she was well prepared for our questions.
"What happened to your hand?" Scout asked, curious.
"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to, Scout…" Julie answered.
"Just testin' you." Scout admitted.
"And did I pass?" Julie asked, smirking.
"You're good." Scout answered, leaning back.
Dill was the next one to ask a question: "Where are your folks?"
"They passed away when I was 10." Julie answered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any tragic memories." Dill responded, with guilt.
"My daddy raised me to always be strong, and to take on the world, so I try not to let it bother me too much, but I do still miss them." Julie admitted, softly.
I was beginning to feel sorry for her; Julie was definitely a strong and independent girl, but she couldn't hide that she was longing for a friend. She reminded me a little of Mayella, but only a little.
"Why are you so far from home, Miss Julie?" Atticus asked.
"I… I just needed to get out of that place." Julie answered, quickly.
"Do you have anything with you, Julie?" Sam asked, gently.
"Just this bag of clothes, and a few books." Julie answered.
"How did you get them?" I asked.
"I stole them, not like I had much choice."
Sam and Atticus just looked at each other, and they both chose to agree with her. "It's a bad to steal, but it's like you said, "You didn't have much choice." Atticus said, adjusting his glasses.
"I overheard you guys talk in the living room," Julie said, standing up. "So, you all are going to have me stay with this Maudie?"
"That's right." I answered. "You need a place to stay, Julie, and Miss Maudie was the first person who came to mind."
"That's awfully kind, but do you think she'll take someone like me?" Julie asked.
"Of course."
"And what makes you so sure?"
Scout got up, and answered the question: "Miss Maudie has always been there for us when we needed her, she will be willing to help a stranger get back on their feet."
"I am on my feet!" Julie protested.
"Sorry… My point is that, she won't give a damn what people say to her, she will do what she feels like, and ignore everyone's opinions." Scout said, showing her respect to Miss Maudie.
Out of all the adults in this town, Miss Maudie was one of the few who we actually had respect for; she knew Atticus since he was a boy, and she always gave us advice when we truly needed it.
"Alright," Julie grabbed her bags, and she went to the door. "Jem, can you escort me to her house?"
"Sure, just let me get the other first aid kit." I grabbed the first aid kit, and I started towards Miss Maudie's house.
"You'll really like her, Julie, I just know you will." I stated, as we walked.
Julie stopped dead in her tracks, and I asked what was eating her.
"Why are you doing this for me, Jem? We've just met, and yet you feel that you must help me for some reason... Why is that?"
I thought about this carefully, why did I want to help her? I couldn't figure it out myself; I just saw that she needed help, and I rushed to her aid without any second thoughts. "Because I couldn't turn my back on you."
Julie sighed, and made an offhand comment: "You are such a gentleman, but I guess that what makes you interesting."
I smirked, and we continued walking to Maudie's house; it wasn't that far of a walk. I knocked on the door, and Emily was the one who answered the door.
"Good evening, Emily."
"Good evening, Jem… Is this the person Sam was talking about?" Emily asked.
"Yes ma'am."
"Young lady, what did you do to your hand?! Come on inside, and I'll take a look at it!" Emily grabbed Julie's wrist, and practically dragged her inside; she sat her down, and Emily took a look at her hand.
"I'm going to assume that Jem patched you up… It's not the best, but it got the job done…" Emily admitted.
"I injured it from trying to break a window." Julie admitted.
"Say no more, I can piece the rest by myself, just give me your hand"
Julie listened, and Emily reapplied the bandage, and did a much better job than I could.
I noticed that Miss Maudie wasn't inside, and I was wondering where she was.
"Emily, where's Miss Maudie?" I asked.
"She's probably in her room getting dressed." Emily answered. "Speak of the devil."
Miss Maudie entered the room, and took a look at Julie. "So you're the one who needs a place to stay." Miss Maudie said, giving her a good look.
"You don't mind, do you? Because if you do, then I'll be on my way." Julie was about to get up, but Miss Maudie made sure that she didn't leave.
"Now, don't you worry, baby… You can stay here as long as you please." Miss Maudie said, gently.
Julie was surprised to see how kind she was, and immediately sat back down.
"Now, we'll have you go to school tomorrow, I hope you don't mind wearing a dress." Maudie stated.
"I don't really care for them, can I wear a blouse and jeans instead?" Julie asked.
"You can wear a blouse and skirt, but not jeans."
"Damn it." Julie whispered.
"Don't worry, Scout's hates wearing dresses as well." I whispered.
"It's not that I don't hate them, it's just that you can't do anything in them, take this from a person who had tried." Julie responded.
"I guess, I'll see you tomorrow." I said, about to leave.
"Jem," I turned around, and I noticed that she was having trouble finding the words to say. "See you tomorrow…"
I smiled and waved goodbye, and I started towards home. I had one hell of day, and it was just going to get more interesting from here on.