Leigh,
My best friend through grade school was a girl named Vicki. From the time her family had moved into the area, and started going to school where we attended, she was my best friend. She was the youngest of three children. She had an older brother, he was the oldest child, then she had a sister just about a year older than her. Vicki and I were in the same grade, her sister was a year ahead, just like my sister. I spent countless nights at Vicki's house, and she had spent equally as many at my house. Her family went to the same church as we did. Her mom sang in the choir. My dad would see her dad around town. Sometimes at the local pub. My dad was a big guy, about 6'1" about 220 lbs, Vicki's dad on the other hand was a much smaller man. I would guess him to have been about 5'10 maybe, about 180lbs. When we went to the public school in 7th grade, the friendship with Vicki had weakened. We were very different at that point. I did not understand how my best friend had changed so much, and her sister also. Her family had come upon hard times, with her dad losing his job, and then the family losing their house. That started at trend of them moving from one rental to another. It all seemed very odd. In that time her sister had become very rebellious, mixed up with an older, wilder crowd. Vicki seemed to be following in that same path. I was not like that at all. I was very innocent. Vicki became more and more mixed up with drugs, and guys. I think Vicki was having sex long before I even knew what "having sex" was. Her sister ran off and got married at age 15. I think when we were in 9th grade Vicki got pregnant. She carried her baby to term and gave it up for adoption. As I said, I was very different than what Vicki had become. Yet there was this bond that I felt, due to the many years of friendship she and I had in elementary school. One of the moves her family made, during 9th grade, was to a house, not to far from where my family lived. It was easily within walking distance, a short cut through this back yard and that back yard, and it was only maybe a 5 minute walk to her house. Years prior, it would have been great for her to have lived so close, but at that point it did not matter much to me. We were still friendly towards each other, but we were not really friends.
One summer afternoon between 9th and 10th grade, I stopped at Vicki's house. I thought since she lived so close, I would be polite and drop in and say hello to the family. I knocked at the door and ask if Vicki was home. Her dad had answered the door. He told me that she was not home, but he expected her back shortly. He invited me in. I had no reason to be uncomfortable with that, as I said, I had spent many many nights at their house. The truth was, I had only stopped by to visit, almost out of a sense of duty, and history, at least I had stopped by, and Vicki could not say, that I never came by to visit. I declined the invitation to come in and wait. I went about the rest of my day innocently enough.
Later that day, another friend of Vicki's stopped by to see her. Laurie was a bit on the wild side, much like Vicki. Vicki's dad invited Laurie in to wait. Laurie like myself had no real reason to turn down the invitation, after all "vicki would be home in a few minutes" Laurie's life was forever changed on that day. Vicki's father raped Laurie. <I get chills when I think about this>.
It was a few days later that we heard that Mr. Vicki'sdad had been arrested. It just seemed so unlikely, what could possibly be the crime. It was the fact that he had raped a "neighbor girl" in his home. He was tried and convicted of rape. He was sent to prison. This was a horrible thing it would seem for Laurie and Vicki's family. But I believe for Vicki's family there was freedom in their father finally being brought up on charges and sent away. It seems he had been sexually assaulting his daughters for years.
Sadly, it all finally made sense as to what and why my childhood best friend had changed so drastically. I wonder where she is, and how she is today. When I think of her high school years, and how much she had "changed" and what she had become, I wonder if she has ever come to grips with her fathers abuse.
I do know this much. On the day he raped Laurie, it could have been me. I had been invited into that home, about 2 hours earlier. With the same line being told to me "Vicki will be home in a few minutes, why don't you come in??"
I had no real reason to decline, I'd say it was divine intervention. |
