She nodded happily, and after I was outside, I heard her locking the door behind me.
That day was a little busier than the one before, but I still had plenty of time to think about what Jill had told me over breakfast. Once she'd understood the kinds of things I was after, she was able to give me plenty of information to work with. By the time I was ready to head home, I had a number of options that could help her have a better future than she would have otherwise.
When I got home, I no more than opened the door than I was greeted by a pleased-looking Jill. Telling me to go ahead and sit down, she disappeared into the kitchen; I'd barely taken a seat in the living room when she appeared with a beer for me. After handing it over, she took a seat at the other end of the couch and asked me how things had gone that day. It surprised me a little, but I just chalked it up to her finally getting comfortable and relaxing. Driving a cab isn't what you could call a real exciting job, so telling her about my day didn't take all that long. When I was done, I asked her if she was fixing supper, or if I was; she let me know that she'd already gotten everything ready and was just waiting for me to let her know I was hungry.
Lunch had been light, and fast, so let her know that she could start it any time. She immediately got up and headed for the kitchen again, returning a few moments later to ask what I wanted to drink with supper, saying it wouldn't be long. I told her that iced tea sounded pretty good, and she left again.
Sooner than I'd expected, Jill let me know that it was time to eat; when I saw what it was, I understood why: a basic simple meal of cheeseburgers and fries. As we ate, Jill told me a few more things that she'd remembered during the day; from the way she talked, I knew that she'd not only recognized the necessity of going back, but was starting to look forward to it.
After we finished eating, I was surprised to discover that she'd separated out a little bit of the hamburger and cooked it up for Demosthenes – earning herself a place on his Favorite People List.
I was allowed to help clean up, and dried the dishes after she'd washed them. Then it was back into the living room so that I could use the phone. Hopefully, I'd only have to call one of the families whose name she'd given me; but I think that both of us knew that was a bit much to expect.
I think both of us were surprised, however, when we essentially hit the lottery with the third call.
One of the family's three daughters was a good friend of Jill's; Jill had thought they might be willing to let her stay with them for a little while as a kind of 'transition period' between when she got back, and left for wherever she ultimately ended up. Instead, they'd been delighted and relieved to get my calclass="underline" they'd heard that Jill had left, and vaguely under what circumstances, and had been both worried about her and sympathetic to her plight. While not as 'devout' as Jill's parents, they were still religious, and were more than willing to take Jill in when she returned; even more to the point, they offered to let her stay with them – at least until she graduated high school.
It wasn't that Jill would be doing anything like checking into a hotel, however. They made it clear that they would expect certain things from her, and weren't above removing their support if Jill didn't comply. Jill indicated that she was agreeable to their conditions, and I left her and them on the phone for well over an hour to work out the details – not just of her actually staying with them, but the rest of it, too: getting her back into school, them taking legal guardianship of her, and so on. To give her some privacy, I told her that I'd be in the kitchen and that I didn't think I needed to talk to the family again. She nodded her understanding, and I left her to it.
I'd just gotten up to get myself some more tea when Jill came into the kitchen – and surprised the hell out of me by coming up to me and immediately wrapping her arms around me and giving me a fierce hug. Up to that point, I'd been careful about engaging in any physical contact with her, and she hadn't shown any interest in it, either.
Still, I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass, and readily returned it. When she finally released me, she stepped back and I could see tears in her eyes; I knew they were a byproduct of the happiness I could see on her face.
Taking my tea glass, she said "We're all done, now, so you can have your living room back. Go ahead, and I'll bring you some more."
She was just a minute or so behind me in getting seated on the couch, and after we'd each take a drink, told me "Thank you for leaving me to talk to them alone. After all you've done to help me, I really wouldn't have minded if you'd stayed – but it was a little easier for me with you gone."
I smiled and answered "I kinda figured it would be."
I heard her softly say "Yeah, I reckon you would" before starting to tell me what all was going on; something that lasted a little while. They were willing to pay for her bus ticket home, and they were going to see if they could get her clothes from her parents (if not, they would loan her some money to get a little bit of new stuff). They were also willing to assume legal guardianship for her, subject to her good behavior for 6 months; they were (reluctantly) agreeable to her continuing to have Todd as a boyfriend – but if there was ANY kind of repeat of what had provoked her parents or anything like it, that relationship was to be either terminated fully and completely, or she'd be asked to leave. She was to have the same limited dating hours as she'd had under her parents roof (which were appreciably more restrictive than their daughters'), and was expected to raise her gradepoint average a full quarter point at a minimum. She was to be completely on her own for 'pocket money': anything beyond food, clothing, and shelter, she was expected to earn it herself. There were a few other conditions and caveats, as well. Jill wasn't entirely pleased with all of them, but told me "They're doing me a kindness, taking me in like they are. Last couple of weeks – 'specially since I got to town here – I've realized that I'm not as grown up as I thought I was, and nowhere near ready to be out on my own. They're willing to help me, but they want to make sure they're not going to get stuck doin' it, either – and I can understand that. I know I'm going to be something of a burden on them, what with them already having three girls; but I'm dang sure it's gonna be as small a burden as I can manage."
She thought for a few seconds, and then said "Besides, I got something to prove, too. I know I'm gonna have to show everybody that I'm not like my folks have been sayin' I am, and that being gone like I have hasn't changed me" – and after a glance at me, added "At least, not in any way that isn't good."
She finished up by telling me "Some of the things they want and expect… well, I'm not real happy about. But they aren't asking anything unfair, and like I said, I understand their point, too. If they're willing to give me a chance, then I'm by-God gonna show them they were right to do it."
I told her that it sounded like everything had worked out a lot better than we'd hoped, and she said "Way, way better. Jim, if I hadn't had the luck of gettin' into YOUR cab with that fella, I'd be in a whole lot worse shape than I am now, never mind what I got to look forward to, now. I'm not gonna forget you, or what you've done for me."
A little embarrassed, I just waved a hand at her and answered "Don't worry about it. I'd have done what I could for any other girl like you. This time, it just worked out, is all."
"Maybe so. But I'm still not forgetting."
By that time, it was late enough that I could reasonably claim the need to go to be as a reason to bring an end to the conversation. Jill accepted it easily enough, and asked when I was going to work the next day. I just told her that I had the next couple of days off, and that seemed all she needed to hear. In return, I asked her if she had to be at the bus station any particular time. She told me that the family had said that they'd make arrangements for her to pick up the ticket any time she was ready. I smiled and said that it sounded like both of us got to sleep in; she just laughed.