Candice nodded. “I guess that just about says it for me,” she said. “You realize this isn’t going to be simple, don’t you? I can see a number of problems and the one thing I’m sure of is that there will be more problems than what I can see.”

“I’m sure there will be,” Cody replied. “And I don’t know what they’re going to be, either. But think of how much worse it would be for her if she had to face them without someone’s help. Dad, what do you think?”

“I guess I’m with the both of you,” he sighed. “At least on a temporary basis. Something might come up that would keep us from wanting it to be permanent, but how long can permanent be? She’s got a year and a half until she graduates from high school, and then what?”

“Good question,” Candice said. “Cody, do you have any idea of what she plans to do once she gets out of high school?”

“No idea,” he said. “In fact, I doubt she’s even thought about it very seriously. I get the impression that the last few years she hasn’t thought farther ahead than getting through the next day.”

“I guess that wouldn’t be surprising,” John said. “I guess that one goes on the list of problems to be dealt with. There has to be an end strategy developed somehow.”

“We’ve got some time to work on that,” Candice said. “Let’s concern ourselves with the next few days first. Actually, I suppose the first problem is to just ask her if she’d like to stay with us. Cody, have you made any hints to her about your thinking on that?”

Apparently feeling a little better with the direction the discussion was taking, Cody opened his bottle of chocolate milk. “I’ve tried not to,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t know if you would go along with it, and I didn’t want to get her hopes up.”

“It seems like she’s gotten a little dependent on you,” John observed. “Like, she didn’t want you to leave her to come down here with us.”

“I know,” Cody said, “and I guess I understand it. I’m the only one of us she really knows. She’s in a strange place and a lot has happened to her in the last few days. I’d be surprised if she didn’t cling to me.”

“Yeah, I guess,” John agreed. “When you put it that way, I guess I can’t blame her, either. I think you’d better watch and make sure you don’t let it go too far. It could get way out of hand.”

“I can see how it could,” Cody said. “Right now, I don’t mind, but it could get to be a real pain in the butt. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, though. She’s had to watch out for herself, and mostly she’s done that by trying to not be noticed.”

“I’ve always thought you were pretty perceptive about people,” Candice observed. “I think that’s still true. You’re right in that she doesn’t know us, and you’re going to have to be the one to sort of be a go-between until she gets comfortable with us. That’s something we’re going to have to keep in mind.”

“There’s a lot we’re going to have to keep in mind,” John said. “This is a little different than picking up a stray kitten off the street.”

“Yeah, it is,” Candice agreed. “In fact, there’s a number of things we ought to work out before we get back with her.”

“Like what?” John asked.

“Like where she’s going to stay,” Cody pointed out. The Archer house had been built a century ago with four bedrooms upstairs, but sometime before John and Candice bought the place someone had added an upstairs bathroom. The space had mostly come out of one of the bedrooms, and what was left over was a very tiny bedroom, with only room for a three-quarter bed, a small dresser, and a tiny closet. “I don’t think we want to put her in the little bedroom. I’d say put her in Shay’s bedroom, but Shay will be home for a while soon, so I don’t think we’d better do that.”

“We could do it until Shay gets home,” Candice pointed out. “I agree that we probably ought to put her in his room till then, if for no more reason than there’s more room for her to get around. Maybe after she’s been there a few days we could move her into the little one.”

“I don’t mind moving into the little one, at least while Shay is home,” Cody said. “Maybe we ought to put her in my room right away. I can use Shay’s room until he gets home.”

“That’s a possibility,” Candice said. “If this is going to be for a while, maybe we ought to think about moving Shay into the little room for when he’s home. That’s something we need to talk about with him when he gets home. But let’s think about it and not make a decision tonight.”

“Fine with me,” Cody said. “But I’m willing to put myself out for her if I have to. Any discomfort for me is going to be nothing much compared to what she’s been through.”

“Let’s make sure we don’t pamper her too much,” John commented. “I mean, we’re going to have to take care of her until she gets better, there’s no question about that. But as she gets better, we’re going to have to make sure she can get along on her own two feet.”

“Very true,” Candice said. “We’re going to have to make her part of the team, not just a pet, so to speak. Anyway, another issue. Cody, I don’t know if you know any more about it than we do, but are we going to be able to get into her house and get her clothes and stuff?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I got the impression that the drug task force is planning on going through the place pretty thoroughly, and I have no idea how long that’ll take. Maybe Charlie might be able to give us a reading on that, so about all we can do is ask. But about her clothes. I don’t know how to say it, but she doesn’t have any decent clothes that I know of. I mean, the stuff she wears to school is better than rags, but not by much.”

“That’s a shame,” Candice shook her head.

“It is,” Cody agreed. “I don’t know if she was just trying to be inconspicuous, or if she has a really bad self-image, although I could believe both.”

“That’s something we’re going to have to work on,” Candice observed. “I think we’re going to have to assume that we aren’t going to be able to use anything that she has now.”

“That includes taking her home,” Cody pointed out. “As far as I know, they brought her here wrapped up in a blanket. The clothes she had on last night were pretty well ripped off her. She was all but naked when I wrapped her up in that couch throw.”

“She’s not going to be wearing anything but pajamas the first few days,” Candice said. “We’ve got a couple days, at least, so I ought to be able to pick up something for her to wear home. I doubt that she’ll be going back to school before Christmas break, so we’ve got some time to work on school clothes. “

“And besides, it gives you an opportunity to go shopping,” John smirked.

“Yeah, but for a girl,” Candice smirked back. “I don’t get to do that very much. But you mentioned that she wasn’t doing very well in school.”

“She hasn’t been doing well this fall, and I think all of us can guess why. Up till this year, she’d been a better student.”

“Then that’s something else we’ll have to work on,” Candice nodded, “But there’s not much we can do about it until Monday. At least you’ve got a few weeks left till semester finals, so we’ll have to help her with it. That means you’re probably going to have to do some tutoring during Christmas break.”

“No problem,” Cody said. “I didn’t have much planned anyway, except maybe sleeping in a little. This ought to make the break a little more interesting.”

Both John and Candice thought the beef and noodles weren’t too bad, considering the options. The three of them finished up their dinner quickly, then headed back to Janice’s room. “Hi, we’re back,” Cody said as he walked into the room.

“Thank goodness,” Janice said. “I was starting to wonder.”

“I said I was coming back, and I came back,” Cody told her. “I keep my word.”

“Cody, thank you,” she said softly. “I don’t know what I would do without you right now.”

“You’d tough it out,” he smiled. “But with that said, do you need anything?”

“The nurse was in a few minutes ago and helped me go to the bathroom,” she replied. “She said they’re going to be around with my dinner pretty soon, so I guess that’s something I don’t have to worry about.”

“I’m sorry we took so long,” Candice told her. “But we had something to talk over. We decided that we didn’t want you to worry about a place to stay or anything like that when they’re ready to let you out of here, so if you want you’re welcome to come stay with us.”

“Mrs. Archer,” she replied, eyes wide open, “do you really mean that?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” she replied. “I’ll have to say that we don’t know what’s going to happen with Protective Services and whether they’ll insist on placing you with a foster family. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we’re offering a place for you to stay and heal up, and some help in straightening things out for you.”

“I . . . I don’t . . . I can’t believe it! Are you sure, Mrs. Archer?”

“Yes, we’re sure, and why don’t you call me Candice?”

“I . . . I . . . I can’t believe it!” she stammered. “Cody . . . you really are my guardian angel, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m just plain old Cody,” he protested with a grin. “You think you want to take us up on it?”

“Oh, Cody,” she cried, the tears rolling now, “You’re so good to me! I don’t know why you think I’m worth it!”

“You’re my friend,” he said, trying to comfort her. “That makes you worth it.”

“Oh, thank you, Cody, thank you,” she sobbed. “Cody, I owe you so much, I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Cody smiled. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Let’s worry about getting you well again and get things put back together for you. It’s going to take work on your part, too. But things will be looking up for you. With any kind of luck life is going to be a lot different for you now.”

It took a while for Janice to settle down; it was more than a dream come true for her, for it was something that she had never been able to more than dream about. Her unexpected good fortune left her alternately beaming and teary, but they managed to work out some details and talk about a few of the things that had been discussed in the cafeteria earlier. Fortunately, her dinner arrived, and that along with a little time managed to make her a little less emotional. Candice was not at all impressed with the food that the hospital kitchen had for her, but she seemed thrilled with it.

“All right,” Candice said after a while, as the end of posted visiting hours drew near. “I think we’d better be heading for Spearfish Lake. Janice, I’m planning on being back here in the morning since I want to talk to your doctor and see how long it might be before you’re released. There’s some things at home that will have to be done before we’re ready for you, and I need to have some idea of how long it’s going to take.”

“Look, Candice,” Janice said hesitantly. “I realize that you’re trying to help me out, but you don’t need to do anything special for me.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Candice told her. “If we’re going to have you staying with us I don’t plan on going halfway. Right now, I want you to concentrate on getting better. One of those things is improving how you think about yourself. I’ve heard you put yourself down several times tonight, and you need to quit thinking like that. You are somebody and you’re worth something. Don’t let yourself think anything different.”

“All right,” she said. “I know it’s going to be hard, but I’ll try. But can I ask you if Cody can stay here with me? I don’t feel anywhere near as scared when he’s here with me.” She turned and smiled at him. “He is my guardian angel, after all.”

“I keep telling you, I’m no angel,” Cody protested. “I think you’ll learn that soon enough.”

“He’s telling you the truth,” Candice grinned. “But about staying here, I don’t know. I don’t know about the hospital policy on people staying with you, but if it’s allowed, I don’t have any problem with him staying here. It’d have to be up to him.”

“I don’t mind,” Cody said. “I mean, it would have to involve sleeping in that chair, but I’ve done worse.”

“Your call,” Candice shrugged. “Let me go out and ask if he can stay.”

As Candice expected, John came outside with her. “I didn’t want to say anything in there,” he said. “But are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No, I’m not sure,” Candice told him. “But I think we need to get her out of here as soon as possible so that she won’t worry quite as much about what comes next. If she’s worried about being alone, or not seeing him again, it could interfere with her getting better. It can’t hurt for one night, anyway.”

“I’m not sure I like it,” he said. “She’s already getting pretty dependent on his support.”

“I agree, it would simplify things if they say no,” she replied.

The same nurse was on duty at the nurse’s station as had been there earlier. “Janice says that she’s frightened to be alone,” Candice began. “What’s the policy on someone staying with her?”

“Are you family members?” the nurse asked.

“Well, no,” Candice replied honestly. “But we’re about as close to family as she has any more.”

“I’m afraid it wouldn’t be allowed,” the nurse said. “But we’re not that picky about visiting hours if no major procedures are scheduled, and she doesn’t have any. Are there any family members likely to come by?”

“No,” Candice replied. “They’re all dead. She’s pretty much alone in the world.”

“I see,” the nurse nodded. “Well, if someone were to stay later than visiting hours, and then be too tired to stay awake, it wouldn’t be safe for them to drive home, would it? In situations like that, we’ve been known to look the other way.”

“We’d appreciate it,” Candice said. “Can I leave you a number to call us if anything goes wrong?”

It took a couple minutes to work things out, and then they headed back to the room. “They don’t allow it,” Candice announced. “But they can let us get away with it for tonight. I don’t know how it’ll work tomorrow. Again, Cody, it’s your call.”

“I said I’d stay and I will.”

“Then I think we’d better get going,” Candice said. “Try not to keep each other up all night. Janice, you especially need some sleep, so I think you’d better try to get it.”

“Thanks, Candice,” Janice said. “I think I’ll sleep better knowing that Cody is here to watch over me.”

It was after dark before John and Candice were on the road back to Spearfish Lake. Both were silent until they were back where the four lanes of the city street narrowed to the two lanes of the country road, each mentally going over the implications of the last couple hours.

“No doubt about it,” John spoke up finally. “Our lives just got more complicated. I think you were right when you said that the only thing you were sure about was that there are going to be problems beyond what we see.”

“Well, you’re right about that,” Candice agreed. “But it’s going to be like running the race. You deal with the problems you know about first, and then deal with the rest as they come up. Something we think might be a problem in the future might turn out to not be anything major when you get to it.”

“That’s because you’re a dogsled racer at heart,” John replied, half teasingly. “You have to take them as they come. I tend to think more like an accountant, trying to look ahead to what could be a problem and try to fix it before it becomes one. There’s not much that can happen out on the Iditarod Trail that’s worse than what the IRS can throw at you.”

“Such as?”

“The big one that comes to mind that’ll have to be dealt with quickly is the guardianship issue. This isn’t just picking a stray kitten up off of the street. To begin with, she’s going to have to make a decision about what to do with her father’s and brother’s bodies. Then there’s the house and the contents to be disposed of somehow. Then there’s the hospital bill. There are several other things that will have to be done, and she can’t do them herself, partly because she’s not an adult, and partly because she won’t be up to it for a while. That means she has to have a legal guardian, and I don’t know enough about how Family and Children’s Services operates to know how to work the system. So that means that I’m going to call Matt as soon as we get home.”

“Isn’t it a little late to call him on a Friday evening?”

“I’ve called him outside of office hours before, and he’s called me,” John shrugged. “Family and Children’s Services probably won’t be up to doing anything until she’s out of the hospital, or maybe Monday. I think we need to be a step ahead of them, though.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she agreed. “I never even thought about that. It’s going to take both of us, John.”

“No, it’s going to take all three of us. For that matter, all four of us. And, while we’re on the issue of Matt, there’s still the Cody situation that has to be settled, and while Charlie and Matt seem to think it’s no big deal, I’ve learned that there’s nothing that’s settled until it’s on paper. That could easily cause problems with Family and Children’s Services, too. On top of that, I’m still a little concerned about the drug business.”

“I don’t see how that could be a problem.”

“It could be a problem because Cody relieved the drug task force of their two main suspects, so they’re going to be looking for someone else’s scalp to hang on the wall. Janice and Cody would be ideal for them to implicate, for example.”

“Do you really think that could be a problem?”

“Who knows?” John said in the darkness. “You hear stories about those guys. For right now, we, and that means the four of us, don’t talk to them without Matt being present. And we don’t let them in the house or search a car without a warrant.”

“That’s pretty paranoid,” she said.

“Who was it that said that even paranoids have enemies?” John replied rhetorically. “Like I said, I’ve heard stories, and some of them indicate that those guys run a little loose with the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. We’re not dealing with Charlie Wexler or Steve Stoneslinger here, and I’d feel better if we were. So something else to talk to Matt about, and tonight.”

“All right, you win,” she said a little grumpily. “I’ll admit, I was thinking about more practical things, like getting her some clothes, straightening things out with the school, her health, and things like that.”

“They’ve got her in the hospital. Isn’t that all that you need to worry about her health?’

“No, not at all,” she said. “My guess is that they’re only going to be concerned with her injuries. What if she has STDs, for example? I imagine they’d test for them, but will they treat her? Especially if their business office thinks that she’s likely to be a charity case? And you’re right on the guardianship issue, we can’t even legally get a look at her medical records to see if they even tested her. I think we’ll want to run her past Shovelhead just as soon as we can. She could easily have other issues. She’s going to need counseling. But the STDs are a real concern, considering what she’s been through.”

“Is it going to be that big an issue?”

“I’d like to think not,” she sighed. “But you saw how she was looking at Cody.”

“You think that could happen?”

“Not tonight, maybe not soon,” Candice said in a worried tone. “But you’d better believe I could see it happening. So we better get on top of that one as soon as we can, especially considering that at their age babies are a sexually transmitted disease, too. She doesn’t look like much right now, but that’s now. Cody was right about her self-image, and that’s something we have to work on from the beginning.”

“Yeah, now that I think about it, I can see how she could be an attractive girl,” John replied. “In fact, she puts me in mind of you a little, and you don’t get much more attractive than that.”

Candice let out a laugh. “Do I hear someone talking about a rerun of last night, especially since we won’t have kids in the house?”

“Especially since we won’t have kids in the house,” John smiled. “Think of it being practice for us being empty nesters.”

“Yeah, that’s not that far off, either,” Candice replied thoughtfully. “We’re going to have to think about urging her to get some positive vision for her life, and how we’re going to be able to help provide it. Jesus, three kids in college at once. The prospect of two was bad enough, but three?”

“Well, she probably won’t be without some assets that could help provide a college education if that’s what she decides to do,” John pointed out. “I don’t know about the house but it has to be worth something. At least we’re going to have some time to work on it.”

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.