Quilly is at it again! Handing out old words and challenging us to use them creatively! Well, everyone wanted Adam to be part of the problem, so here it is!
Adam sat at the lunch table and stared at the sandwich Mrs. Carmody had packed for him. As usual, the peanut butter was so spiscious that he knew it would dwarf the taste of the jelly. He decided to pitch it and go get something from the vending machine. Pulling money out of his pocket that he had liberated from the teacher’s purse, he realized that he could suffarcinate on carbs and sugar. He eagerly searched the choices behind the glass only to find that nothing looked the least bit appealing. Some do-gooders had gotten to this machine and required them to offer healthy stuff. Adam’s tristifical response to this final insult caused heads to turn as he flung himself down on the floor howling. When Adam felt adult hands pulling him to his feet, he snapped. He wrenched himself free, took off running down the hall, went out the front door, and disappeared through the back yards across from the school.
Alice stared with dismay at the piles of paper on her desk. She had only been gone a week from the office, but there was at least three weeks worth of work piled there. Petitions, pleas, motions, and decrees were staring at her, challenging her to get past her pigritude and enter into a state of productivity. Guiltily, she realized that if she didn’t do so, other people whose income depended on her generating income would also be adversely affected. She sighed and started working through the first pile.
Four billable hours later, Alice stretched and realized she was hungry. A search in the office refrigerator revealed only a maleolent container of dubious origin. Making a face she quickly dropped it into the trash bin and grabbed a chewy bar from the basket on the counter. On her way back to her office, she stopped to chat with her legal assistant, Kat. This sparkly young lady, freshly graduated from college, had been Alice’s first legal client. Alice remembered that serving as Kat’s guardian ad litem had been a thrill and a challenge. Fortunately, the willful young Kat had turned into a determined young Kat on a very different path.
“So Kat,” began Alice. “If you’re a 9 year old boy and you don’t know who to trust, what do you do?” She had filled Kat in on the details of Adam’s case earlier just in case the Bar Ethics committee came looking for Alice at the behest of Adam’s father. The young lady’s smile faded, and she began slowly. “Well . . . you may not want to hear this Alice, but I think the boy is a danger to himself and others. With what he’s been through, it would be completely normal for him to be abnormal, if you know what I mean. Kids who are abused often hide within themselves. What’s left for outsiders to deal with is often a mask – and kids are smart. They know which mask to use with each adult they encounter. You said he took to Luke like a house afire, but took all afternoon to trust you. He could be engaging in a kind of xenization within the world he finds himself, but adapting quickly. That kind of adaptation is highly unstable.” She paused, “I should know. I did it myself.”
“But you never hurt anyone,” Alice countered. “No…but do you remember that I cut all the stuffed animals in the house to ribbons when I was placed with that one family?”Kat asked. “Yes, and boy did it take some fast talking with the judge for me to keep you out of the looney bin!” Alice agreed. “Well, the father in that family reminded me of my abuser. I just had a feeling about it and was terrified. That was the only way I had figured out to get out of the situation. Now think about Adam. He was in the woods with his mom, who he feels a need to save, and here comes Luke who wants to save him by taking him away from his mom. He didn’t have any scissors or stuffed animals. He had to stop Luke in whatever way he could.”
The girl paused, then continued. “Alice, I think he could be a danger to the Carmody family. There may be some part of what his dad is saying that is true – Adam is sick and needs some help. Even if he's the one who has created the situation, he may be right about its effect in Adam. And, one thing you have taught me Alice is that just because you don't like Trent Tradoch doesn't mean he is the one who abused Adam.”
“Thanks, Kat,” Alice replied. “I needed your perspective. I think I need to make some phone calls."
"Alice, one more thing?" inquired Kat. Alice nodded for her to go ahead. "Is Luke still on the "Do Not Accept Calls" List?" Alice laughed and said, "I guess not. We have a lot to talk about." Kat's sunny smile broke back out, "then do you want to know that he has called seven time this morning? And the last time he said he'd be coming over with lunch at 11:30?"
Kat thought she heard Alice humming as she went back to her office.
“Peter, do you think she minds me driving?” He replied, “ Harriet, you are the only woman in my life besides Mrs. Merdle.” The car purred.
/kw
Alice and her dad crept up to the campsite where Adam had called from. They didn’t know what the boy’s words had meant. Alice hoped against hope that Adam was innocent in all this but she was beginning to wonder.
Peering through the foliage, an awful sight greeted them. Luke was sprawled face down on the ground with a huge wound at the back of his skull. From where they were, Alice and Sam could not discern whether Luke was breathing. There was no sign of Adam.
Before Sam could stop her, Alice rushed into the clearing. She kneeled down beside Luke and checked for breath. It was shallow but steady. She checked his pulse and was reassured that he was indeed, stable. The wound was messy but apparently his hard headedness had other benefits than just driving her crazy. Alice arose and looked around.
From behind a fat pine tree, Adam stepped out. He was covered with blood. “Adam, are you okay?” Alice asked. The boy nodded an affirmative. Looking off to his left he said to someone else, “it’s okay. It’s Alice. We can trust her.” A woman emerged from the woods to stand beside Adam. “Alice, I’m sorry but Luke tried to tie her up. I had to hurt him to stop him from hurting my mother.” Adam’s voice was trembling.
Alice spoke to the woman. “I’m trying to help your son. This isn’t the way to go about it.”
The woman replied in a flat voice, “there’s no hope. His father will get him back because he has all the money. He always wins.” She sat down suddenly and buried her head in her arms. Adam dropped down and put his arms around her.
Alice approached them cautiously but steadily. She sat down across from the pair. “Adam, you have to help me here. You’re the key to getting your mother some help and keeping you safe. You’re old enough now to say what has happened and who has done it. I made arrangements for you to go someplace safe, and I’m sure your mother can come with you.” Alice wondered where she had been all this time, but now was not the time to ask.
The woman shook her head “no” and appeared to shrink within herself. “I’m not going back. If I do, it will hurt Adam.” She turned to her son, “Adam, you need to go with this lady and make a new life for yourself. If your dad can get to me, he will control you. I will never be far away, and if you really need to see me, I’ll arrange it. But I have to stay away from you in order to protect you.”
To Alice she said, “in the safe deposit box at Merchant’s Trust, Number 237, is a medical file. It shows all of the abuses Adam has suffered at the hands of his father over the years. Adam knows where the key is hidden.”
Alice asked, “why haven’t you come forward before? Why can’t you come forward now? We have laws that protect women and children from abuse!”
The woman shook her head. She turned to Adam and with a tenellous gesture, smoothed the hair on the back of his head. “I have to go Adam. She needs to call for some help for that man.” And with that statement, she began walking back into the woods.
Three days later Alice was in a courtroom as a witness. She listened as Adam’s father, Trent Tradoch, talked about the boy’s mental instability. “He wanders nubivagantly, occasionally talking to himself, and occasionally causing himself injury. That’s all those injuries are – nothing more. As for this story about his mother, it’s all a fairy tale. She has never been interested in him. My son is seriously ill, and no one but me knows how to deal with him.” The man sounded as if his heart was breaking, but Alice didn’t know what to think.
The District Attorney asked for more time for the court to assess Adam and the judge granted it. In the meantime, Adam was to stay in protective custody with Ben Carmody’s family.
That evening, back at the farm, Alice and Luke sat on the front step watching the sun set and talking about Adam. The bandage on Luke's head was a reminder to Alice that this was more than just an interesting story. It was real and had happened in her life. “The trouble is, I don’t know what to believe,” Alice said. Luke agreed, “yeah, until the rock hit my head I thought he was just a young kid needing help. Now I wonder whether there’s something more going on with him. Alice, why didn’t the DA introduce those medical records we found in the safety deposit box?”
She shook her head, “I don’t know. For some reason he thinks they’re not utible in court. There’s more to this than either one of us can fathom.”
Luke smiled at her, “well, at least it got us talking again, and you don’t seem very mad at me anymore.”
Alice smiled back, “Luke, I’m going to have a hard time trusting you after what you’ve put me through, but seeing you lying on the ground like that, and thinking you were dead…” her voice trailed off.
Luke whispered, “you wanted to come and give me mouth to mouth, right?”
Alice snorted, “no, more like CPR so I could pound on your chest and call it medical attention!”
12. What lesson do you have to keep re-learning? Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. I can memorize it, I can quote it, but can I do it for more than 2 minutes at a time? Sheesh. I'm a slow learner.
ROAD OFC NOKTRNL
2 TYPE A (ON A REALLY BIG SUV)
EYE OD (ON A CONVERTIBLE SAAB)
ZYULATR
PRYVTR (ON A BIG LINCOLN TOWN CAR)
FORTUN8 AKWA DOG
BKFLOW (A PLUMBING TRUCK)
Feel free to post your guesses! I don't think I'll ever run out of vanity plates here in the D.C. area!
