Christy: A Journey Tale (10 page)

“So what did you do to get away from
him?”

“That’s easy, I just waited for the weekend.
I had a plan. As long as he didn’t catch up to me after the fact,
things would be smooth sailing. Saturday nights were always big
nights for him and the boys. That’s when they would have the most
money around and the biggest party,” Christy said.

Comprehension began to dawn on Jennifer. “You
took the money?

“I sure did,” she said. “As soon as them boys
were all good and passed out, I stuffed a few clothes, a little
food, and all the cash I could find into a duffle, and I was out
the door.

“They would have killed you if they had found
you.”

“You’re right about that – and then some.
They would have killed me twice if they could.”

“How did you get away?”

“I picked up a pay phone down the block and
called the cops on them for insurance. While they were occupied I
just kept walking with my thumb out hoping to catch a ride. I
didn’t care where I was headed. I just wanted to get away. I didn’t
know it at the time, but where it would lead me was right to your
daddy.”

“Really, is that how you met him?” Jennifer
said with more than just a little disbelief.

“That’s right. I bet you never figured he had
a thing for hitch hikers.”

“No,” Jennifer said with an odd look. “He
never said anything about it. Are you telling me he picked up
people all the time?”

“Absolutely,” Christy said as if it was no
big deal.

“Then that would be why he never mentioned
it. I mean that’s, well, you know dangerous isn’t it?”

“Well, life’s all about taking chances.
There’s a little danger in everything. For your daddy it was just
his way of taking care of those in need. I even asked him that same
question one time: if he thought he was taking his life in his own
hands. Then again I don’t recall him ever giving me a straight
answer,” Christy said as her mind began to wander. Jack always
seemed to enjoy testing himself against the fates. It was strange,
but the idea made Christy bring up a mental image of snake
handlers. She imagined all those people trying to prove themselves
to each other and maybe even prove to God the power of their faith.
Maybe picking up all those hitch hikers was just his version of
snakehandling, just his way of proving himself. Then again maybe
Jack just did what he did because he thought it was the right thing
to do. “To be honest I don’t think he really ever knew why he did
it, but the truth of the matter is that when other people just
drove by he was the one that would stop to see if he could help.
That’s gotta say something about a person and I hope you realize
what it means.” Christy said as Jennifer nodded with a smile. She
paused briefly giving Jennifer a minute to take all in.

“All right, so there I was, thumbing my way
toward Nashville. Now that I’m more than twice as old as I was back
then, I can’t imagine what I must have looked like. Some runaway
kid, bruised as I was, standing out there in the dark trying to
catch a ride. I was so stupid, but more than that I think I was
lucky. Well, I mean I know I was lucky, but I’m thankful Jack was
the one that picked me up instead of some cop.”

“I was thinking that,” Jennifer said. “A cop
would be more likely to pick you up than someone stopping to give
you a ride.”

“You better believe it. A cop would have put
a damper on things real fast. I could have played the runaway bit
pretty good, but I sure would’ve had some trouble explaining away
the cash.”

“Yeah, I can see where that would have been a
problem.”

“Thankfully, it never came to that. I wasn’t
out there for too long before this big ole blue Caddy pulled over
just in front of me. I tell you I was so excited when it stopped, I
ran to the passenger window. I’ll never forget the first words he
said to me.

’You look like you could use some help.’ And
that right there is how it all started. He never asked me where I
was going. He just knew by looking at me that I needed to be some
place safe, and that’s exactly what he did for me,” Christy said
reliving that wonderful sense of comfort and security she felt in
his car. She never worried about him. Not once. He just had a look
that told her everything was going to be ok. It was a peace she had
rarely felt and would trade anything in the world to have again.
“Your daddy was a good man, Jennifer, and I hope you realize it. I
know I may not look like much now, but I doubt I would even be
alive if it wasn’t for him.” Christy had meant those words out of
respect and appreciation, but as she heard herself say them, she
began to wonder what he would think if he could see her now. She
had let him down, and it was too late for him to grant her any kind
of absolution. Then again, in some odd kind of way, she imagined
that maybe talking to his daughter might work out to be the same as
talking to the man himself? Her words that she wasn’t much to look
at rang in her ears. Her relapse back into the world that she had
left as a teenager weighed heavily upon her. Her memories and
experiences flooded through her consciousness. The events of her
late teens had thrown her whole world upside down. It was like her
brain just switched off or something. All the lessons he tried to
teach her and all the advice and wisdom she had so freely accepted
just flew right out the window. She felt so stupid, so very, very
stupid. What did it matter if she was alive if she chose not to
live a real and complete life? Nothing, since those years with
Jack, had anything mattered enough to her to take a stand. She
consistently took the path of least resistance, which always seemed
to lead her to a place she never really wanted to be. If you give
up your power to choose your own direction, then you give up all
claims to your own fate. Christy was furious with herself for
letting this go on for so long. She had done her dead level best to
throw away every decent thing Jack had ever done for her.

“Are you ok,” Jennifer asked as she looked at
Christy with concern.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about
something…Where was I? Oh yeah. That blacktop, long and winding. I
tucked that duffle under my legs, and we were off down that road;
the yellow lines were just snaking out in front of us for as far as
the eye could see. It all felt right somehow, like I was right
where I needed to be.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Jennifer asked,
curious to know every word.

“He did, but it was just the usual stuff at
first. I introduced myself and he did the same. After the
get-to-know-yous, I proceeded to spin a tale that I thought sounded
not only good but completely believable. I said something about my
daddy beating me and how I finally decided I couldn’t take it any
more. I was running away to live with my grandma, who was a
shut-in. I threw in all kinds of stuff about my real life to help
things along. You see, I found out from an early age that the best
lies are those with a little truth mixed in.”

“And what did he have to say about that?”
Jennifer asked with a smile. As a child she had never been able to
get anything past her father, and Christy laughed as she recognized
Jennifer’s knowing expression.

“I can tell you know exactly how far I got
with that yarn. Your daddy wasn’t bashful about calling me out on
it either. He even told me how goofy of a tale it was, and maybe I
should just start over with the truth or at least something closer
to it. I had been abused; that part was clear enough, but that
wasn’t the only reason I was out there in the dead of night, trying
to thumb a ride.”

“Did you come clean then?”

“I didn’t tell him everything if that’s what
you’re asking. What I did do was tell him a version close enough to
the truth that he couldn’t tell the difference,” Christy grinned as
she thought about the money and the fact that she had conveniently
left out that little detail. “After I got done with my story, we
just sat there some more and kept on driving. We talked a little
bit here and there, but mostly it looked like he was thinking. You
know the look I’m talking about, the one that says that he’s
thinking about how all the pieces are going to fit together. I
don’t know how he did it, but everything always seemed to work out
the way he wanted. As long as I was around him, I never had to
worry.” Christy dreamed about those times again and longed for
those days when it all came so easy. “After a few hours he pulled
into the parking lot of this Motel 8. When he parked the car, I
looked at him not knowing what was going through his mind.”

“I’m not like that, girl, “Jack said, “so get
that thought out of your head right now. I’m going to lay things
out for you and feel free to stop me if what I say isn’t the
truth,” he said to her and then started ticking his talking points
off on his fingers. “Number one, your fifteen years old and where
you belong is school, and not on the side of the road or wherever
you came from. You’re pregnant, and right now that means you have
to start taking care of yourself and start taking responsibility
for your actions. I know that concept might be a little new to you,
but I can help you with that as long as you’re willing to help
yourself. You at least have to be a little scared right now whether
you admit it or not. I know I would be if I were in your shoes.
That’s just one more reason why you should start making good
decisions now because the more good ones you make, the more they
lead to even better opportunities in the future. I want to help
you, and that’s probably going to involve doing some things that
you’re not comfortable with, but doesn’t mean that they’re not good
for you. Speaking of that, I know you have your reasons for
leaving, but eventually you have to go back home, and make things
right with your folks. I’m sure your mother misses you like crazy,
and it’s not right just to leave her hanging. I’m not trying to lay
a guilt trip on you or nothing, but every day you’re gone and your
mother doesn’t know where you are, is like another slap to the
face. Emotional abuse can be just as painful. I would like to sugar
coat it for you, but that’s the plain and simple truth of it.” He
paused for a moment to let her think about it. She was defensive
with her arms crossed, but he could tell it was making sense to
her.

“The next thing is that you have to let the
law do its job. I can tell you don’t trust cops, but that’s no
reason to let your stepfather run rough-shod over your mother. I
know you’re thinking right now that involving the police is going
to make matters worse. Something has to give, Christy, and you have
to ask yourself, are things going to get better or worse if you do
nothing? At the very least, you’d be standing up to him. Your mom
may not want to leave him, but you have to convince her to go to a
women’s shelter, at least for a few days. Let her see what life can
be like without him.”

“She ain’t gonna go for that.”

“Then what will she go for?”

“I don’t know, but she ain’t gonna go for
that.” Christy said like it was the stupidest thing she had ever
heard. She had puffed herself up all defensive and closed off. He
wondered if anything more he could say would make any difference at
all.

“I tell you what:” he said, “why don’t you
just take a break and think about what will work? I’ve got business
in town tomorrow. So, this is what I’m thinking. I’m going to pay
for two nights for you in your own room.” He reached into his
wallet and pulled out a $50 and handed it to her as he spoke.
“Here’s even a little money for food. Now you have a choice to
make, and that choice is going to say a lot about you, Christy. I’m
going to step into that motel and get those rooms. If you’re here
when I get back, then you’ve decided to enjoy a clean bed, hot
water, and maybe even a little TV for two nights. After that two
days is up, I’ll be in that lobby, drinking coffee until 9:00 AM.
If you decide you want to take the next step, you meet me there and
I’ll take you back home. Then we can see about what needs to happen
next. You’ve got a lot to think about. It may even be so much that
you don’t even know where to start. Here’s my suggestion: start by
thinking about what you want your life to be like a year from now
and then see if you can’t work things backwards from that. Think
about what needs to be done to make those things happen. You’re a
smart girl, Christy, and it’s about time you start doing something
smart with your life,” he said. A moment later he was out of the
truck and headed into the motel.

“You know that old saying, ‘You can lead a
horse to water, but you can’t make ‘em drink?’ Well, that’s exactly
how I felt. I was the horse, and he had me staring right there at a
big ole’ creek. Then again, I figure that was exactly the way he
wanted me to feel. Sure, I thought he was bein’ a little preachy,
but that didn’t change the fact that he was right about me. You
know how he was, I mean that way of his of being able to look at
you and know exactly what makes you tick, what you’re scared of and
everything else that goes with it. Like I said before, I never
could lie to him completely, but that’s another thing too. He
wouldn’t let me lie to myself either, and that was something I had
done for so long I couldn’t hardly tell the difference between it
and the truth.” Christy said and then turned to look out the
window. Her thoughts were reflective and distant. “You know, I
don’t recall even turning on the TV the whole time I was in that
motel room. I sure did use the heck out of the hot water though. I
can still remember how good it felt. I must have stayed in there
for hour’s just letting the water flow over me. Everything seemed
so much clearer and simple in the steam of that shower. My whole
world just seemed to stand still as life took a time out. I slept
in and ordered pizza. It was just me, my thoughts, and them four
walls, and it was heaven or at least as close as I had ever been.
There was no pressure and no stress. I would lie awake on the bed
and just play everything out in my mind the way I wanted things to
be.”