When my eyes flutter open this morning, I realize that for the first time in so very long that I've actually slept. Maybe it's because I felt safe and loved in my father's arms which are still encircling me. My dad slayed the nightmares if even for only one night. Closing my eyes, I want to revel in the feeling for a few moments longer before I have to get out of bed. I've disappointed my father many, many times in my twenty five years but he's never once ridiculed me or made me feel bad about myself. Both him and mom always took the time to explain how and why I let them down. They wanted me to learn from my mistakes and make the right decisions from that point on.
My mom died when I was twenty. It's hard to believe that five years have already passed. She had renal failure and died before they could find a compatible organ donor. All three of us, dad, myself and Stefan, we all had the tests to see if we could donate one of our kidneys. It cut to the core that none of us was a tissue match. A genuine smile forms on my lips when I feel him squeeze me even tighter. It's then that I know he's awake.
"Did you get some sleep?" he asks softly, now relaxing his arms. Reaching up, I clasp my hands around his arms.
"Dad, I.. I." Although I'm at a loss for words, I hang on because I don't want to let this feeling of being loved unconditionally to end.
"I'll do whatever you need me to do to make you feel better, Damon. I love you, son."
"I love you too, dad," I whisper, my eyes filling with moisture. Taking in a deep breath, I release my grasp on him and reach up the pinch the bridge of my nose.
"I'm scheduled to go to Happy Dale so I need to get up."
"I'll make you some breakfast while you get ready." Releasing me from his loving embrace, he sits up for a few seconds before standing. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I turn my body slightly so I can look at him. Lowering my eyes, I take his hand in mine so I can feel our connection again.
"I don't know how to thank you for last night."
"I'll always be here if you need me, Damon. You don't have to do this by yourself." Using his free hand, he clasps onto my chin, lifting it till our eyes meet. I stare at him for several moments before I nod. It's only then that he lets go so I can get ready for the day.
"Good Morning, Damon," Carol Lockwood greets me when I step into her office.
"Um. Good morning," I utter, looking around nervously. This woman kind of gives me the creeps although I don't know why. Maybe it the cougar-like aura she gives off whenever I'm nearby?
"I just came to see what assignment is for today?" Feeling my skin prickle, I step back just slightly, hoping she won't notice.
"Damon, I want you to spend the day with me."
"Um, okay but I guess I don't understand? How is spending the day with you going to fulfill my required community service?" I ask, skeptically. She raises her eyebrows at me flirtatiously so I drop my eyes. When I feel her fingers trail along my jaw line, I gasp, stepping out of her reach.
"Mrs. Lockwood, I'm not interested in whatever you're propositioning here. Not with you or anyone else for that matter," I huff indignantly.
Deviously smirking, she whispers, "If you want credit for the time you spend here you will."
"I won't be blackmailed, Mrs. Lockwood. If you have a legitimate reason for me to spend the day with you, I'm more than happy to do that but I'm not a piece of clay for you to bend and mold and use as you see fit. Either you drop this and we keep our relationship professional or I will talk to the right people at the courthouse." Not willing to bend to her demands and be used, I maintain my posture, crossing my arms over my chest. I know I've won the argument when she tightens her lips together before turning and walking away. Still stunned with her behavior, I am unable to move till my reverie is broken when I hear my name.
"Mr. Salvatore?" I turn to see April staring at me.
"Mrs. Lockwood said that if you know how to swim, you could spend the day in our gym teaching some of the younger kids that we have here."
"Yeah, I know how to swim. You have children here?"
"Yes. We're a giant conglomeration. This psychiatric hospital isn't the only thing we have on the grounds. We have a children's center. It's for children that no one wants to adopt because they have issues or aren't 'pretty', shall we say."
I shudder at the callous disregard with which she talks about some of these children. Barely able to contain my disgust for this this woman, I keep my mouth shut so I don't say anything that I live to regret.
"Please follow me," she directs, pulling the office door open, motioning for me to come.
"Children, this is Mr. Salvatore. He's going to help you with your swimming lessons today." Just then another girl joins us at the pool. She looks like she's about sixteen. Looking back at the door when I hear it squeak, I'm a bit surprised to see Mrs. Lockwood step into the pool area.
"Hi Aunt Carol." Carol gives her a tense hug as if she's doing it out of duty rather than emotion.
"Damon, this is my niece Jules. She's volunteering here to get some extra credits for school. She'll be assisting you today."
"It's nice to meet you Jules." I walk over to her and offer my hand to shake.
"You too," she gushes, teetering from one foot to the other.
"Come with me, Damon. I'll get you some swim trunks," Carol adds, motioning for me to follow her. After she hands me a pair and a few towels, she shows me to a dressing room so I can change. Once I'm changed, I suck in a breath. Here goes nothing, I think to myself as I walk back out to the pool area.
"I'm Damon. Can you tell me your names?" I ask, pointing to each child. Once introductions are done, I ask them to call me Damon.
"Why don't you all sit down at the on the pool's edge and stick your feet in." Using my arms, I motion for them to come closer. Fortunately it feels like a heated pool so I get in and do a couple of laps to get warmed up. When I'm done, I go back to the shallow end and begin my lesson.
"So. Is this your first lesson?"
"No sir," the little girl named Natalie says, shaking her head from side to side.
"Natalie right? What have you learned?"
"We haven't really learned anything. The other guy made us watch while he swam in the water. He didn't even let us get in," a boy named Nate answers.
"How are you supposed to learn if you don't get in the water?" I ask, a frown on my face.
"That's not what I'm going to do. Everyone in the water." Using my outstretched arms, again I motion with for them to join me in the water. As luck would have it, I did teach swimming lessons at the 'YMCA' when I was in high school. Once they're all in, I begin.
"I want you to put your heads in the water and blow bubbles while turning your head from side to side. This is called 'rotary breathing." I explain before lowering myself in the water, demonstrating what I want them to do.
"That's right," I praise them. "You've got it." After giving a little Down Syndrome girl a high five, I smile at her and ask, "What's your name again?"
"Anna," she answers shyly.
"Come here Anna," I take her hand and pull her close to me. "Now we're going to play 'red light, green light'. Whenever I say green light, kick as hard as you can. When I say red light, you'll stop." After showing them what I mean, we start the exercise.
"Green light." They're all kicking the legs in the water as I walk around to praise each child. "Red light." After we do this for a several minutes, I let them take a short break. If they're not used to being in the water at all, it may be tiring for some of them.
"Jules, can you grab those kick boards over there? It looks like there's enough for everyone to use one." When everyone has one, I show them how to float on their stomachs and then their backs. Jules is good with these kids too and very patient.
"Now I want you do lay on tummies on the kick board and both kick and do the 'rotary breathing'. Jules, can you demonstrate?"
"Sure," Jules answers with a smile before turning her attention back to the kids. She gets on a little bigger kick board and show them how it's done. While she's doing that, I turn to Anna to help her get on her kickboard. Soon they're all kicking and splashing.
"You're all doing great for your first lesson. Since you've got this mastered, let's try something different." Looking around the pool area, I happen to notice what looks like some pool toys. Raising myself out of the water, I walk over to see if it's anything we can use. Seeing several bean bags, I pick them up and toss them into the shallower water before getting back in.
"I want you to hold your breath, go under water and fetch the bean bags." Unable to keep from smiling at their enthusiasm, it dawns on me how good it feels inside to help these kids. Once they get bored with getting the bean bags, we toss them out of the pool.
"Hey Jules, help me pass out these noodles". The noodle is a long tubular-shaped flotation device. After the two of us give one to each child, I show them how to wrap it around their fronts and under their arms and use it to float while kicking.
"Do you need some help Anna?"
When she nods shyly, I can't help but smile. I help her wrap it around her front correctly and to raise her legs and kick. I raise my arms to wipe the water off of my face from all their kicking. By chance, I happen to notice the clock, it's nearly noon. I usually spend my time here in four hour increments. I have so thoroughly enjoyed my time with these kids.
"Damon?" Jules asks, looking at me curiously.
"I'm sorry, I was just daydreaming a little, thinking about someone that I used to know. Let's do something fun for the last minutes we have left. Jules and I will stay in the water just in case any of you get into trouble. I won't tolerate anyone drow...ni ng...," I utter, dropping my head and closing my eyes for a minute.
"Are you okay?" little Anna asks.
"I'm fine Anna. Thank you for asking. Do you want to jump into the water? I'll be right here, I promise that I won't let anything happen to you." She nods then gets out of the pool. Standing back, I raise my arms towards her so she knows that she'll be safe if she jumps to me.
"You can do it, Anna." I encourage her, still holding my arms out. And when she jumps in, she's literally glowing with happiness when I catch her. I can't help but give her a hug.
"I'm proud of you, Anna." Her smile is as wide as the Grand Canyon which warms me on the inside.
"Great job, Anna," Jules gushes, praising her too.
"It's time to get out of the water now," someone says, interrupting our fun.
"Do we have to?" Nate asks.
"Yes, you do. It's lunch time. Before you go to the dining room, you'll need to clean up this damn mess and change your clothes," he sneers at the kids.
"There's no need for you to be so rude to them. I'll gladly clean up the mess. Go on kids, you can change and go eat. I hope we can do this again," I add, hoping it's true.
After showering the chlorine off of me in the pool room, I get dressed again so I can check out for the day. When I get to the main room, I can't but look around, hoping to see Elena. I casually make my way towards the window to see if I can see her outside when I don't see her inside. Deciding what the heck, I push open the patio doors and go outside. The gardens here are beautiful. As I walk through, I see all colors of irises, tulips, pansies, among other things. I've always been partial to wildflowers because they were my mom favorites. I scan the horizon again but there's no Elena in sight so I go back inside and walk to the office so I can check out.
Just before I get to Carol's office, I smile widely when I see Elena walking in through the front door, her eyes down, glancing at a letter. I chuckle because this is how we met, neither of us paying attention to where we were going.
"Hi there," I greet her when she raises her eyes.
"Hi Damon," she says, smiling brightly. As good a mood as I am, a result from helping the children, it brightens even more now that I see her again.
"How's the job hunting?"
"I've put in some applications. I have to find something or I won't be able to afford a place to live. I just want to begin my life outside of this place," she says wistfully, lost in thought for a moment.
"Do you have access to a computer?"
"Yes, why?"
"May I?" I ask, pointing at an empty envelope in her hand. Although she looks perplexed she hands it to me. I write the URL of my company's website on it and my phone number.
"This is the website I use for my business. You can go online and fill out an application," I explain, handing it back to her. Her face brightens immediately making me feel good inside.
"Thank you so much," she squeals, taking my hand, giving it a squeeze.
"Elena, I'm sure you have things you need to do," Mrs. Lockwood says rudely, interrupting us. I can't help but notice the disgruntled look she gives Elena when she looks at her.
"Um, you're probably right," Elena replies, suddenly appearing anxious. "Goodbye Mr. Salvatore," she says, turning her back to Carol Lockwood. She gives me a look that I can't quite identify before she walks off down the corridor.
"What was that about?" I ask, a little upset that she put an end to my moment with Elena.
"None of your concern. It looks like it's time for you to leave. I'll be sure to sign you out. Goodbye Damon," she says, brushing me off. Taken aback, I watch as she doesn't hold back, swaying her hips as she walks down the same corridor that Elena just went down. It strikes me as odd. Knowing there really isn't anything I can do, I take a breath and walk out of the facility.
After leaving Happy Dale, I go back to my office to catch up on a little work. However, it didn't take much to distract me. I can't seem to shake the look that Carol Lockwood gave Elena when she saw me talking to her. I don't know where this feeling is coming from but everything in me is screaming that something untoward could be going on at that place.
It's huge, having areas for unwed mothers as well as unwanted children. The main area of the place is for people who are mentally ill. The place is built like a fortress really. There is six foot privacy fence all around the huge perimeter. The buildings and grounds encompass quite a wide swath of land. I click open another tab and go to a search engine and type in the name Happy Dale. Most of what I find is newspaper articles about the place and awards that Mrs. Lockwood has received during her tenure as director of the place. After clicking through several pages and finding nothing but glowing articles, I happen upon one that piques my interest.
The article headline is 'Accusations of Shady Activities Haunt Happy Dale'. I roll my tongue around in my mouth for a little bit just taking in that headline. It's dated from four years ago. When I click on the story, it's been purged. Damn, I think to myself, throwing my pencil against the wall. It does list the writer as one 'Andie Starr'.. On a hunch, I google her name only to find out that she's working for television station in Oklahoma City now. Tightening my lips together, I grab a piece of paper and write down all the information. Ric does have a detective on retainer at his law firm. Maybe I can convince Ric to look into this for me. Finding nothing more, I turn off my computer.
When I walk by Stefan's office, I see he's got his nose in something at his desk.
"Stefan?"
"Damon, are you already leaving for the day?"
"Yeah."
After glancing at his wrist watch, he chuckles a bit. "I guess it is that time. Wait up, I'll drop you off so you don't have to take the bus."
"Sure. Have you thought any more about staying on here with me or are you dead set on finding something else?" He picks up the can of soda on his desk top, tipping it to drink what's left. When he sets it down, he looks at me before dropping his gaze. I can see that he's tired.
"I would like you to stay, Stefan. You're good at what you do but I do want you to be happy with your career. If you hate it here as much as you claim, then I think you should look for something different. All I ask is that you stay long enough to train someone to effectively take your place," I explain, scrubbing my palm over my face.
"Wow," he blurts out, taking in this moment.
"What?"
"My big brother actually wants me to be happy! Where's the calendar, I need to write this down," he teases. "But in all seriousness, Damon. I do like my hours here. You give me a day off when I ask. I don't know if any other job would afford me that? However, I still would like to see what's out there. And if I do decide to leave, I will stay long enough to properly train my replacement." Getting out of his chair, he grabs his briefcase and walks to the door.
"You coming?" Shaking my head, I get up and follow him out of the door.
"I'm home dad," I yell when I step inside my house. Stefan was in a hurry to get home so decided not to come into the house with me to say hi to dad. When he doesn't reply, I follow the luscious aroma which leads me into the kitchen.
"Damon, have a seat." When I do, he walks over to the refrigerator to hand me a bottle of peach flavored water.
"This isn't bad. Did you buy it?"
"I did. You didn't have much for groceries in your house so I bought a few things." He looks at me for a moment before turning back to the stove to stir whatever he's cooking.
"Let me reimburse you." I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet.
"Absolutely not." His voice is adamant and I know from experience not to argue when he uses that tone of voice however, I don't always heed the warning.
"But dad, you shouldn't have to buy me groceries."
"It's not like I'm not going to be eating too. Put your money away, I don't want it. Why don't you go wash up. Supper should be ready by the time you get done." Sighing in defeat, I get up and go upstairs. Since I already took a shower today, I slip on a pair of pajama bottoms and tee shirt then go back downstairs. By the time I get back to the kitchen, dad is putting the food on the table.
"Have a seat." He takes a moment to wash his hands before joining me at the table.
"This is good. I haven't had your homemade spaghetti sauce in a long time. Thanks for making it for me."
"You're welcome. Now, why don't you tell me about your day." I lift up my head and look into his eyes, a big smile playing on my face.
"Given that smile, I'd venture to guess that you had a pretty good day. That's something I haven't seen in awhile. It's a good look on you, son."
"I did have a really good day. Happy Dale is a huge, huge facility. They have several buildings spread out over a few acres of land. One building is for pregnant girls. Apparently there are still families that want to hide their daughters away when they get pregnant out of wedlock? It's sad you know," I mention, looking off into space for a moment.
"Damon?"
"Sorry. They also have a building for younger children with emotional problems as well as children that no one wants to adopt. I taught a swimming lesson today." I pause for a minute, just twirling my fork in my spaghetti. When I hear a slight gasp, I look up, noticing the look on my dad's face.
"How did that go?" he asks, reaching over to squeeze my forearm comfortingly.
"Um..., I had a moment when I told them that I wouldn't tolerate anyone drowning but other than that, it was okay. The kids were so excited. Apparently their instructor before me just had them watch him swim. He never let the kids in the water at all. I think he still works there because a gruff guy came in when the lesson was over and was actually rude to them. It rankled me in all honesty."
"That doesn't sound right," dad says, putting a bite of food in his mouth.
After taking another bite of my own, I set my fork down to take a drink of water. "They all seemed like great kids, dad. But there was one little girl, Anna is her name. I think she has Down's Syndrome judging by her appearance but she was the sweetest little girl. She was so excited. When we were done with the lesson, I let them jump in and out of the water. She was so scared then so I promised her that I'd catch her. She trusted me and was so happy. You should have seen her face. It was electric if that makes any sense."
"She obviously made you smile so I think I love that little tyke already. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks dad." I give him a smile then pick up my fork and finish eating. Once we're done, I help dad clean up the dishes and put things away. After telling him goodnight, I go to my room, crawl in bed and turn on the TV for awhile. When I find my eyes drifting closed, I turn the TV and the bedside light off before burying myself in the covers and closing my eyes, still smiling about that little girl and hoping I can see both Elena and Anna again and soon.
Thank you Eva. I appreciate you so much. Thanks to all of you for your follows and favorites and specially big thank you to those who do take those extra few moments to write a few words.
Title: 'Two Divided by Love' by The Grassroots. (very oldies)
I updated 'The Unforgiven' on Thursday. 'Rainy Days and Mondays' updated on Friday. Please give those a look.
Eva and I are hard at work on the two stories. I can't wait to get them done to share them with you all.
Please do remember to review. They're really what stimulates the muse.
As always stay safe. This time of year, driving is hazardous when the weather is bad. As a South Dakota girl, I know how to drive on icy roads but a lot of people are foolish and don't take heed. Please do stay safe. Have a wonderful day and a fabulous week ahead.