Chapter 6 #2
I wait as she finishes her scone and then washes it down with a big swig of her latte.
“So we were hanging out having a good time. It was the same as any other weekend with any other new people. We had a couple beers, laughed a lot, especially at their friend who had passed out in the damp leaves next to the log, and although my friend and I didn’t do it, the two boys smoked a joint.
When I say it was a very typical night in the town we lived in, I mean it.
I think you could have found dozens of us spread throughout the woods that night doing the same exact thing. ”
My parents were stricter than I imagine hers were, so even at eighteen, I spent very little time with boys. My mother always worried that I’d get pregnant before I married, so she made it her life’s work to keep me as pure as possible.
I’ve always thought I missed out on so many fun times, but now as Kelsey tells me her story, I wonder if my mother had done me the biggest favor. I don’t resent her for how closely she watched me back then. Not anymore.
Kelsey looks around the café and then returns her attention to me as a man walks by us before choosing a table on the other side of the room.
“So we were having fun, and my friend wanted to be alone with the boy she liked. I don’t remember his name, but it doesn’t matter.
He turned out to be an okay guy. I wish I could say the one I was talking to was. ”
Now I definitely see she’s sadder than when she began telling me her story, so I say, “If you don’t want to continue, that’s okay. This sounds like a story that comes with a lot of emotion.”
“It does, but I think you should hear it. It might give you some perspective on what you’re dealing with.”
The girl at the counter yells out an order, and one of the women who walked in a few minutes ago grabs two coffees and a hot ham and cheese sandwich to take back to the table she’s sharing with her friend near the window.
The scent of the ham drifts over toward where we’re sitting, and I consider telling Kelsey I’m going to order one, but I don’t want to interrupt her story.
“We walked a little further into the woods and got cozy on a couple rocks. Like most boys his age, he was interested in going as far as he could, but I kept him to just kissing. He didn’t have an issue with that, which was nice.
I knew my friend and the boy she was with weren’t too far away, and it was all good.
We kissed for a little while and then went to find them. ”
Kelsey stops, and I swear I see her eyes get teary. I don’t want to pressure her to continue if she’s upset, but now I’m dying to know what happened.
“Are you okay?” I ask just as I know I should, even if I’m hoping she says yes and keep talking.
Nodding, she says, “It’s hard sometimes, but I think this is important.”
“Okay. Take your time. I have hours since my girls are having a sleepover at one of their friend’s houses.”
She doesn’t speak for what feels like forever, but it’s probably just a few minutes. Feeling awkward, I focus on the last piece of my scone and my latte, which is no longer iced and tastes more like watered down coffee.
When she speaks again, she looks like a different person. More serious. Almost angry.
“Sorry, this always turns hard for me when I get to the part that’s more important than the rest of the night.”
I want to tell her I’m sorry because she’s clearly upset by what she wants to tell me. If I wasn’t so interested in hearing it, I’d tell her to feel free to stop, but I have a feeling the rest of the story is going to be important.
Clearing her throat, she says, “We were just kids. All we wanted to do was have a little fun. I thought the guy I was with was okay. We weren’t going to spend the rest of our lives together, but what’s one night in the woods hanging out and drinking? If only it had been just that.”
She stops and then says, “I don’t mean to drag things out.
I’ve never been very good at telling this story, but I have the sense you need to hear it.
So here’s the rest. He didn’t rape me or anything terrible like that.
He didn’t even try much. No, the problem was he had a terrible temper, and when an old busybody man walking through the woods saw us, he told us we needed to leave the area.
He wasn’t bothering us really. He was just an old man.
But that night, he opened his mouth to the wrong person. ”
I’m practically leaning over the table to hear her as she speaks. I can’t be sure, but I have the sense what happened next to her that night explains those horrible scars.
“He went nuts. He chased that poor old man down and beat the hell out of him. I don’t know why. I’d never seen anyone drink and get high act like that before. Then after he attacked him, he turned on me. I know you’ve noticed the scars on my face. Those are from him. So is the one on my abdomen.”
Kelsey lifts her blue shirt up just high enough for me to see a raised scar on her pale skin. “Nice, huh? Thanks to him, I can never have children.”
My mouth drops open, and I shake my head at how horrible that must have been for her. “I’m so sorry, Kelsey. He paid for what he did to you and that man, didn’t he?”
Sniffling her tears away, she answers, “No. He’s never even been questioned.”
Horrified at the injustice I’m hearing about, I ask, “Why? How could the authorities let him get away with it?”
She draws her eyebrows in toward her nose and frowns.
“He beat me so savagely that night that I ended up in a coma for over a week. By the time I came out of it, I couldn’t say for sure what happened.
It was only when I went home and my friend felt I could handle the truth that she told me.
By that time, all I wanted to do was forget what he did.
I didn’t want to risk him coming after me again. ”
I reach across the table and rest my hand on hers. “I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that, and he deserves to pay for what he did.”
“Thank you, Jamie. I wanted to tell you that story because I think it can help you see things about your own life a little more clearly.”
Hanging my head, I say, “I feel so stupid right now. You and other people have real issues, and here I am complaining because my oh-so-perfect life isn’t as perfect as I dreamed it would be. Thank you for helping me get some perspective.”
“Just remember this, Jamie. No matter what happens, you can go on. I did. It’s hard. Some days I didn’t want to get out of bed. I did, though, and every day things get a little easier for me.”
I really have been silly. Sure, I wish Connor would do more things with me and the girls. And yes, I wish our life had more happiness and less stress.
But the big picture is so much better than many people’s, and for that, I am thankful.