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I’m sitting next to Marabel with the other two puppies. They squirm away from me and follow Dale and the other puppy onto the grass.
“Are you hungry, Donny?” Miss Ruby asks.
“Yeah. A little.”
Marabel gave us water. She said we shouldn’t eat quite yet because our tummies have been empty for so long that eating might make us sick.
No way will eating make me sick. I don’t think there’s enough food in the whole world to make me full again.
“Do you think we could give him something to eat?” Miss Ruby asks Marabel.
“Just a little. I’ll get him something.” Marabel walks back into the big house.
“Do you remember your last name?” Miss Ruby asks me. “Or your mommy’s or daddy’s names?”
“We don’t have a daddy. Just Mommy. Our daddy died when I was a baby.”
“I grew up without a daddy too.” Miss Ruby smiles. “Do you remember your mommy’s name?”
“Her name is Cheri. She has blond hair too. Our last name is Robertson. We live in Colorado.”
“Really? That’s where I live too.”
“I like the mountains. We could see them outside our back window. They look purple.” I squirm in my chair. “My bum hurts.”
Miss Ruby looks sad then. Sad and mad at the same time. Her eyes even get a little glassy, as if she’s going to cry. Did someone hurt her too?
“I know you took a shower, but have you had a bath?” she asks me. “That might help a little.”
I close my eyes against the pictures in my mind. Against the hurt. I can still feel it. Everything they did. I don’t even understand it all, but I know it hurt more than anything. “No, not yet. The bad men did things to us.”
“I know. But you’re safe now. And you will heal. I promise.” She touches my hair.
I don’t flinch at the touch. Already I trust her.
And if I can have a bath…
“Dale protected me a lot,” I say. “They hurt him worse. He stopped crying after a while.”
She tries to smile. “He’s a good big brother, isn’t he?”
“He’s the best. He’s my hero.”
Marabel brings out some apples. They’re cut into slices and spread with peanut butter, and they’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Even better than Mommy’s macaroni and cheese. She brings me a little bit of milk too, but then she says I have to go back to water.
I don’t mind. I love water. I’ve been so thirsty for so long.
“Come with me.” Miss Ruby stands and holds out her hand.
I look into the grass where Dale sits with all the dogs. Should I take the lady’s hand? I want to ask Dale, but I also don’t want to.
I want to take her hand. I want a grown-up to be nice to me. I like people being nice to me, even though I’m going to do what Dale told me to do.
So I put my little hand in hers, and she leads me through the house to a bedroom that has its own bathroom. And a big tub. She runs the water into the tub and puts something in the water that smells nice.
“Mommy used to give me bubble baths,” I say.
“Your mommy is going to be so happy to know you’re okay. You and Dale both.” She turns off the water. “You’re a big boy. You probably don’t need my help to take a bath.”
