Intentions - SF9

by Meagher, Susan X

She hesitated a little, and Ryan stepped in and said, "It's really fine if you stay, Honey. We shouldn't be gone long."

  "Sure?" Jamie asked, a part of her wanting her father to spend a few moments alone with her partner in the hope that a positive shared experience could help to make up for some of the destructive episodes of the recent past.

  "Positive," Ryan said, kissing her on the cheek. "Get some work done while we're gone, okay?"

  Jamie walked them to the drive, where Jim said, "We'll take my car," as he walked to a full-sized sedan that he had obviously rented, since it wasn't sexy or fast.

  "Hurry back," Jamie said as the pair got into the car and took off.

  While they drove along, Jim turned to Ryan and asked, "Tell me more about this girl."

  Ryan launched into the same spiel she had given Mia, adding some of the more explicit details just to show Jim how lucky he was to have a child like Jamie. "How does she do in school?" he asked.

  "Well, that's a tough subject," she admitted. "She's very malleable, and the other kids can talk her into anything. She's been suspended three times in the year and a half I've known her. I'm about out of ideas for how to reach her. When we're together, you just couldn't ask for a sweeter kid. If she was given any love at home, she'd be fine. But she gets so angry at her mom that she does incredibly stupid things to get back at her, but of course it only hurts Jennie."

  "Why is her mother so antagonistic?" he finally asked.

  "Partly because Jennie is gay," Ryan informed him. "A couple of years ago her mom got religion, and since that time she's tried to force Jennie to follow her beliefs. That's hard to do with any twelve-year-old, but nearly impossible with one as headstrong as Jennie. I know that Jennie gets into a lot of situations that she wouldn't ordinarily be tempted by, but she willingly dives in just to prove that her mother doesn't control her. It's really dangerous, and it just worries me sick."

  "She's lucky to have you, Ryan," he said softly, staring straight ahead.

  "Thanks," she replied, "but I feel lucky to know her. She's such a bright, sweet kid, and I know she'll be fine…if she survives these tumultuous times."

  They reached the neighborhood just as things were starting to heat up. Every corner was filled with kids from ages 12 and up. Some were selling drugs; most were selling their young bodies. Jim looked physically ill as he stared at the young kids struggling to survive with the only tools they knew how to use. "I…I had no idea," he murmured as they passed each little group. Ryan directed him to the side street from which she had seen the police car emerge. About a block down the street, the same car that had picked her up was waiting to be called again.

  The passenger window rolled down as Jim pulled up. "Evening, officers," he said calmly. "We're just trying to find a young woman and take her to a group home. I trust we won't be disturbed?"

  The officer merely nodded and rolled his window back up. "Chatty fellow," Jim laughed as they pulled away.

  Ryan recognized one of the young women who had been hanging out with Jennie earlier in the evening. "Hey," she said, rolling the window down, "did Jennie come back?"

  "Yeah, she's down the street about a block. Are you gonna kick her ass?"

  Ryan laughed softly as she said, "No. I don't kick many asses. Did you get enough money for some food?"

  "No. And I've only blown one guy all night," she said disgustedly.

  "Here's forty," Ryan said, handing her the money that she had reclaimed from the police. "Why don't you call it a night?"

  "Hey, thanks," the girl said. "What do you want for this? I'll go down on you," she said conversationally. Looking past Ryan to the driver, she twitched her head at Jim and added, "Or him."

  "No, thanks," Ryan choked out, a deep flush traveling up her cheeks. "Just get some food."

  Jim gave her a wide-eyed look as they drove away, and Ryan just shrugged her shoulders. "Most people want something from them," she said. "They actually are very suspicious of people who don't want sex. It makes them think that you'll want something worse down the line."

  "What could be worse?" Jim mumbled, his hands tight on the steering wheel.

  They pulled up alongside the small group that Jennie stood with, Ryan opening the car door just as her young friend caught sight of her. She turned and took off again, running as fast as she could, but Ryan was in no mood for her nonsense tonight. She took off after her like a defensive end chasing down a streaking wide receiver and grabbed onto her XX-large T-shirt with enough force to slow her down, then snaked a long arm around Jennie's slim waist and lifted her off her feet, using her momentum to toss the young girl over her shoulder. "One word and I'll spank you in front of all your friends," she threatened as she marched back to the car. She opened the back door and checked the side of the door, flicking the switch she found there before tossing Jennie into the car and dashing around to the other side to get in next to her. "I activated the baby lock on that side, Jim," she informed him. "I don't want this little hellion to sneak out at a stoplight."

  Jim turned around to get a look at his passenger, and Ryan could tell that he was astounded by what he saw. Jennie was a very sweet, very young-looking fourteen-year-old. She had an angelic round face, with pink cheeks and dancing blue eyes; with her nearly bald head, when she smiled she looked like one of the adorable babies from the baby food ads. The eyebrow and ear piercings ruined the innocent look, however, appearing so incongruous on the sweet face that it did take some time to get used to her appearance. "Jim Evans, this is Jennie Willis," Ryan said.

  "Good to meet you, Jennie," he said. "Where to, Ryan?"

  "Our house," she said decisively.

  Jennie looked up at her warily. "Why your house? Are you gonna beat me?"

  "Jennie," she said softly as she placed her hand on her leg, "I've known you for 18 months. Have I ever given you reason to think I would hit you?"

  "Well, no," she said slowly. "But I never got you arrested before, either."

  "Good point," Ryan agreed. "But I'm not the type of person who hits. I just want to talk to you and then call your mom."

  They proceeded to the house, and Ryan showed her in as Jamie ran to the door to see what had happened. "God, Ryan, I was afraid you got arrested again! What took so long?"

  "My friend didn't want to be found. And when I did see her, she ran away. So it took me a few minutes to run her down and carry her back," she said with a grimace.

  Jamie looked over at the blushing youngster and slipped an arm around her shoulders to escort her inside. Leaning over, she whispered, "Don't worry about it, Jen, sometimes she picks me up and carries me, too."

  That got a small laugh out of Jennie and served to relieve some of the tension in the room. Jamie took her into the kitchen to get her a snack, while Ryan got on the phone and woke Jennie's none-too-happy mother.

  "Hi, Mrs. Willis, it's Ryan O'Flaherty."

  "Oh great," she groused, making Ryan roll her eyes. "I assume Jennie has convinced you to come to her rescue again?"

  "Well, I wouldn't characterize it like that, but she is at my house."

  "Aren't you the lucky one," she mumbled. "If you have any sense, you'll give her a good beating and throw her out. That child needs to learn that her actions have consequences. She wanted to stay out all night Tuesday night. Let her see what it's like on the streets. She'll change her tune."

  "So you'd rather I let her go sleep on the street?"

  "She'll be fine," she said curtly. "She's just got to learn."

  "I can't do that, Mrs. Willis," Ryan explained. "I'll bring her home, but I won't throw her out."

  "She's not welcome here, Ryan. I will not let her return here until she shows that she's matured."

  "Let her stay here overnight at least, Mrs. Willis," Ryan begged. "I can't bear to take her to the Youth Authority. God knows where they'll put her at this time of night."

  "You can't coddle her, Ryan," she insisted. "She'll run roughshod over you."

  "Mrs. Willis, if I take
her to the Youth Authority, I'll have to tell them that you threw her out," Ryan said, playing her trump card. "Do you want to have your parental rights revoked? I don't have to remind you that her social worker wouldn't hesitate to petition the court to do that."

  There was a pause as the older woman considered whether or not Ryan was bluffing. Deciding not to take the risk, she snapped, "Fine. Keep her as long as you like. But don't say I didn't warn you."

  Jamie had hustled Jennie back out of the room as soon as it was evident that her mom was giving Ryan a hard time, but Jim stayed in the living room with his mouth gaping open. "How could anyone care so little for their child?" he cried as he sank down onto a chair.

  "She told me to toss her out on the street so she learns her lesson," Ryan reported, shaking her head slowly.

  "That's unconscionable!"

  "I agree, and I wish she didn't have to go back, but tossing a rebellious, gay kid into the foster care system is no picnic either. She does pretty well in the group home," Ryan informed him. "It's a good atmosphere for her. Lots of structure-she has little jobs to do around the house, really firm curfew. The problem is that the court doesn't often approve permanent placements with a home like that."

  "Why not?" Jim asked.

  "Well, for one thing, it's much more expensive than keeping a kid in a foster home. For another, it's hard to supervise one troubled kid, much less eight or ten. The older kids can sometimes prey on the younger ones; they really need to be watched constantly."

  "How old is she?" Jim asked.

  "She just turned 14," Ryan said, "but she's seen more in 14 years than I have in 24."

  "Has she a father?"

  "Yeah, and Jennie's crazy about him." Ryan rolled her eyes to show that she didn't agree with the child's opinion. "He's career Navy, remarried with a new baby. He pays child support-the Navy sees to that-but all he's good for is a few broken promises per year. Besides, he's on a ship for months at a time, and the stepmother has no interest in having a 14-year-old to take care of. I doubt she'd be better off with him-even if he'd have her."

  "No grandparents? Aunts? Uncles?" Jim asked, grasping at straws.

  "No one who wants to be involved. She's really on her own," she said softly, the pain she often felt when she thought of Jennie's situation grabbing her heart yet again.

  Jamie and Jennie came back into the living room, and Jennie gave Ryan a very cautious look. "Can I stay?"

  "Yeah, you can stay. I'll take you upstairs and get you settled," Ryan said. She placed an arm around her shoulders and guided her upstairs, asking, "Did you get a little snack?"

  "Yeah, Jamie fixed me up," she said as they walked up to the second floor.

  Jim sat in a depressed silence as the pair went upstairs. "I have such a hard time believing that sweet little girl is so horrible to live with!"

  "I don't think she is, Daddy. Her mother is trying to force her to be straight in every sense of the word. She won't let her hang out with other gay kids, she makes her dress very conservatively, she forces her to go to some conservative church where they try to pray her sexuality out of her. It's just a mess. It would be one thing to try to guide Jennie, but her mom just lays down these inflexible rules and then punishes her severely when she breaks one. And she invariably breaks one," she said with a smirk. "Usually a big one." As Ryan descended the stairs, Jamie asked, "What happened this time?"

  "She stayed out all night with one of her friends. Hard to imagine she thought she was going to get away with that one," she chuckled.

  "Nonetheless," Jim argued, "you don't throw your child out of the house because you don't approve of her behavior."

  "Obviously we agree with that opinion, Daddy," Jamie said, as the upstairs door opened and Jennie came out into the hall and looked over the railing. She was dressed in a pair of Jamie's flannel pajamas, the roomy red and black plaid outfit making her look even younger than her fourteen years. "I'm going to bed," she announced. "I just wanted to say goodnight."

  "Goodnight, Jennie," Jamie said as she ran up the stairs and kissed her cheek and gave her a hug. "Do you have everything that you need?"

  "Yeah, this is an awesome house, Jamie."

  "You're welcome any time," Jamie told her, giving her another squeeze. "But next time don't make Ryan spend the evening in jail first, okay?"

  "Okay, I won't," she said, an adorable little blush climbing up her cheeks.

  "Goodnight, Mr. Evans," she said politely. "It was good to meet you. And thank you for coming to get me. I would have been outside all night if you hadn't."

  "My pleasure," he said briskly, but Ryan caught just a glimmer of a catch in his voice. This has really affected him, she marveled.

  After Jennie went back upstairs, Jim got ready to leave. "You were a lifesaver tonight," Ryan acknowledged gratefully. "If I had gone back alone, they probably would have arrested me again."

  "They didn't look very fond of you," Jim admitted with a chuckle.

  Jamie slid her arm around her partner's waist and said, "But to know her is to love her."

  Jim wasn't ready to make that concession, but he shook Ryan's hand in a friendly manner and said, "I admire how much you've tried to help that child. You can tell it means a lot to her."

  "Thank you," Ryan said. "She means a lot to me too."

  "See you Friday," he said as he kissed Jamie goodbye.

  Ryan walked over to the love seat and flopped down with a groan as she said, "I thought I was tired at seven!"

  "Let's get to bed, jailbait," Jamie said, tugging her to her feet.

  "Jailbait is what they call a minor who sleeps with an adult, Babe," she informed her, chuckling a little at Jamie's faux pas.

  "Nope. If you were in jail, I'd commit a crime just to get in there with you. You would definitely be jail bait!"

  As they snuggled in bed, Jamie softly said, "I guess we should be good chaperones and just go to sleep, huh?"

  "Yeah, we should. Besides, I've had enough exploration of my more intimate parts for one day," Ryan chuckled.

  "What?" she exclaimed indignantly, abruptly sitting up.

  "They booked me, Honey. Before they put you in a cell, they do a very thorough pat down."

  "Somebody had their hands on you?" she whispered fiercely.

  "Yep," she admitted. "It was not an experience I would like to revisit."

  "You poor thing! They manhandled you!"

  "It was a hell of a night," Ryan agreed, trying to stifle a yawn. "I guess monogamy isn't as restrictive as I thought, though," she chuckled. "I thought you'd be the last woman to touch me quite that intimately."

  "Well, you'd better not have gotten aroused by her," Jamie whispered as she climbed on top of Ryan and touched noses.

  "Honey, this woman was absolutely scary! If she had aroused me, I'd seek professional help!"

  "Boy it makes my blood boil to think of those people roughing you up," Jamie sighed, rolling off her partner. "It just frightens me how easy it is to abuse power."

  "Well, in their defense, it did look pretty incriminating. And since I'm so much in favor of cracking down on pedophiles, I guess I can't really complain."

  "I can complain plenty," Jamie said. "And if I ever see the woman who put her hands on you, I'll give her a pop!"

  "Honey, Mike Tyson would run from this woman. She looks like she eats nails for breakfast. She'd crush you like a grape."

  "I would go up against a hydra to defend you, Sweetness. She doesn't scare me!"

  "She'd scare you plenty if you saw her snapping a rubber glove onto those big mitts! I'm used to a more delicate touch," she teased, lifting Jamie's small hand and kissing each finger. "And just for the record, I'd be very happy if no other hands ever touched me again."

  As a concession to Jamie, Ryan managed to remain in bed until eight o'clock, when she padded downstairs to rustle up breakfast. She was on her second helping of oatmeal when Jennie's sleepy face peeked into the kitchen. "Hi," she yawned as she shuffled in and sat down
. "Got any more breakfast? I'm starved."

  "Sure. You name it and I can make it for you," Ryan offered. "Breakfast is my specialty."

  "Can you really cook?" Jennie asked in surprise.

  "Yeah, I cook pretty well. Why, does that surprise you?"

  "I don't know. You just seem like the type who would have people cooking for you."

  Ryan smirked at her assessment, thinking it a little too accurate for her comfort. "Well, Jamie does most of the cooking," she admitted honestly, "but I can handle myself just fine, thank you. Now what will it be?"

  "Can you make pancakes?" Jennie asked hopefully, not often meriting a hot breakfast at home.

  "Absolutely. What do you want in them?"

  "Uhh…syrup?" she asked, unsure of her choices.

  "Don't you want to spice them up? I like mine with bananas and blueberries or pecans or chocolate chips."

  "Really? You can do that?"

  "Yes, Jennie, I can do that. Now, make a decision," she ordered as she started to mix the ingredients together.

  "I'll have them the way you make them for yourself," she decided.

  "Okay. Bananas and blueberries coming right up." She mixed the ingredients together and put a little butter on the griddle. Waiting until the butter was hot, she took a paper towel and wiped the pan until the butter was invisible. "Trick of the trade," she said with a wiggling eyebrow. "Too much butter makes the first pancake turn out flat."

  "This is fun," Jennie said happily. "I wish I could live with you," she added wistfully.

  Ryan gave her a crooked grin as she said, "I'd like that too."

  Two minutes later the first pancake was ready, and Jennie dove into it like she hadn't eaten in days. "This is so totally fine," she said happily. "You really can cook!"

  "I don't lie to you, Jennie," Ryan responded seriously. "And I hope you don't lie to me." She removed the pan from the heat and sat down next to the young woman. "Tell me what happened on Tuesday night."

  "Umm, I went out with my friend Axel," she said simply.

  "Why did you stay out all night?"

  "His parents were gone, and we were just hangin' out. You know."