Homecoming

She remembered when her mother arrived in the hospital, it was later the very same day Dr. Henry had given her the bear. Anna’s mother looked very much like she remembered, though maybe a little heavier in her face. There were tears in her happy eyes when she entered the room. “Oh my sweet little baby,” she cried, crossing the space between them and wrapping her arms fiercely about her daughter.

“Mommy,” replied Anna, her own cheeks wet with unrestrained emotion as her mother held her close.

“Little angel, Mommy is going to take you home, baby,” promised Darlene, running her hand over the side of Anna’s hair and kissing the little girl’s face.

There was a tall slender man standing at the door of the hospital room, light jacket, blue jeans. Darlene Smith, now Darlene Crandall tracked the movement of her daughter’s eyes.

Smiling, she said, “That’s Jeremiah, Jerry,” she introduced, wide smile on her face, looking back to Anna.

He smiled, “Hi Anna,” he said, removing his right hand from his pocket and waving at the girl.

Anna frowned, unsettled. She wrapped her arms tighter around her mother.

“It’s okay baby,” she said, “Jerry is mommy’s new husband and we’re going to take you home where it’s safe,” she soothed, words soft.

Jerry took a couple of steps into the room, slipping his hands back into his pockets.

Anna made a noise and buried her face against her mother.

Jerry’s face darkened. Darlene shook her head, “She’s been through an awful lot, she’s going to need some time,” she said.

His features softened, “I know,” he assured, nodding his head.

Going home was strange for Anna, not just because the house she returned to was different than one she left and her mother was with a new man now, but she was also introduced to three step-siblings. Oldest of the three was Caleb, a year older than her. Immediately she got the strong sense he didn’t like her and he made no effort to disguise his hostility toward her, the origin of which she didn’t understand. Next was Rachel, a year younger than Anna, and she was friendly and welcomed Anna readily, like they were actual sisters. Lastly was Elijah, three years Anna’s junior and while he too was initially receptive to her joining the now blended family, he dwelt in Caleb’s shadow, hungry for his brother’s approval.

Almost from the get go, Caleb was ruthless in his efforts to torment her, systematically targeting her for his cruel teasing. She tried her best to appease him but he was uncompromising. Her bond with Rachel strengthened and the younger girl proved to be an enormous support as Anna transitioned back into a normal way of life. Despite being younger, she would often interpose herself between Caleb and Anna when he was being particularly vicious.

Unfortunately her relationship with Elijah deteriorated as a result of Caleb’s influence over the younger boy as Elijah aged.

She was never able to quite reconcile her troublesome feelings toward Jerry, something in him just didn’t seem right to her. Most of the time he was kind and pleasant, other times she felt extremely uncomfortable with how he looked at her. He had tried to encourage her to call him Dad, but she refused, calling him instead by his given name. This seemed to antagonize him and he seldom intervened between her and Caleb.

Anna was spared the ordeal of having to participate in any legal proceeding or sensationalized public trial as her father willingly accepted a plea bargain arrangement with the presiding District Attorney. Pleading no contest to thirteen separate charges, Adam Smith was sentenced to an indefinite period in a mental health care facility to receive treatment. He would be eligible for biannual reviews for re-entry into society pending psychological and psychiatric clearance. One of the specific stipulated conditions of the plea agreement was he was not allowed to make any effort to try and contact Anna.

Counseling services were made available and for the first year after Anna’s return, her mother was dutiful ensuring she attended regularly. When the reports indicated Anna was functioning well within normal parameters, the sessions were deemed no longer necessary and discontinued.

Dr. Shepherd referred a competent surgeon in Anna’s area to undertake the task of grafting over her heinous scars, but for some reason, even when using Anna’s own cells to produce the graft, they never took. After three failed attempts and mounting medical costs, Jerry and Darlene decided Anna had suffered enough.

High school was traumatic for her, surrounded by so many other children, most of whom knew of her dark secret because of Caleb, who had ensued anyone who would listen was told. Rather than simply sharing the story, he of course embellished it to the point of absurdity resulting in Anna being treated as some kind of oddity.

The guidance counsellor suggested she might enjoy participating in an after school support group to help her cope with the rigors of her unusual situation.

That’s where she met Veronica. The blonde girl, like Anna was a freshman and immediately the two bonded. Like Anna, Veronica had suffered a traumatic event in her life, having been molested by her uncle, her mother’s brother for several years. And like Anna, the distorted rumor erroneously suggested it was Veronica herself who invited the illicit contact.

The following year, Valen Danse joined their group, a year older, he was once one of the beautiful people inhabiting the privileges of the popular crowd. His status changed when his father publicly identified himself as transgendered and undertook the process of transitioning from male to female. This unexpected revelation precipitated Valen’s fall from grace, many students unsympathetic or ignorant ostracizing and shunning him. Caleb was extremely vocal, often when seeing Anna and Valen together, calling her ‘Daddy’s girl’ and taunting Valen with ‘Your daddy is a girl.”

 Valen wanted to fight Caleb and on several occasions the two almost came to blows though nothing ever escalated to that point.