Wishing Pearl (13 page)

Olivia turned in the direction Justin indicated, and her jaw dropped.

A
man looking like he’d jumped right off the set of a wilderness movie burst into the room in designer jeans and Western boots. His emerald-green flannel shirt showed off his rugged mountain tan and gleaming white teeth.

Olivia gasped as he rushed toward them with his arm outstretched.

“I’m Ben Bradley. It’s so good to meet you.” He pumped Olivia’s hand then turned to Mom. “Mrs. Whitford, a pleasure.” He shook Mom’s hand. “I trust you’ve been given the grand tour of our humble estate?” He gave a movie-star grin and smoothed his salt-and-pepper waves.

What was the deal with this guy? Olivia had expected a stodgy old man who shuffled up and down the hallways in bedroom slippers carrying a big ring of keys, not a book-cover-worthy lumberjack.

“We haven’t gone upstairs yet, but they’ve pretty much seen everything down here, Dad.” Justin smiled and backed away with a tiny bow. “Ladies, I haven’t been home since early this morning, and I have chores and homework to finish. You’re in good hands now. So, if you don’t mind, I’ll see you at dinner.”

Dinner? Oh great. It would be hours before they’d get away from here. Maybe that was when Mom planned to sneak away and leave her behind. She’d promised she wouldn’t, but Olivia refused to let her guard down. Did Justin know something she didn’t? Olivia had tried to read his eyes, but, except for the twinkle, they were blank.

She’d kill for a cigarette. “Um, Mr. Bradley?”

He shook his head. “No, no. Please call me Ben.”

“Okay. Ben? Is there a place I can go have a smoke?”

Mom gasped. “Olivia!” Her cheeks reddened, and she turned to Ben. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her.”

Book-cover Ben smiled. “Sorry. No smoking on the grounds.” He glanced at his watch. “Okay, it’s four fifteen. We’ll finish up the tour and then have dinner when the girls get back.”

“Where are they now?” Off to work the mines for the day? Olivia pictured the seven dwarfs coming home with pickaxes over their shoulders.
Heigh-ho, heigh-ho! It’s home from work I go
.

“They’re horseback riding. They enjoy long rides on the mountain several times a week. There are stables and ten horses on the grounds—twelve if you count the two new foals born this past spring.” Ben steered her into the dining room. “Here. I’ll show you. Look right over there, through those trees. See that clearing? That building houses the stables, and just beyond that is a pasture.”

Olivia gazed out on yet another picturesque scene. Several inches of powder blanketed the ground, and bales of hay had already been put out for when the horses returned hungry from their ride.

Mom squealed. “You love horses, Olivia!”

“Um, thanks for the reminder.” Olivia turned away from the window—they might mistake her attention for interest. Which it most certainly was
not
.

“What’s that building beyond the horse pasture?” Mom reached an arm past Olivia’s face to point to a smaller stone structure of similar architecture as the main house. Almost like those replica playhouses that sat in people’s backyards.

“That was an infirmary—a mini hospital actually. We aren’t using it for anything right now, but we have lots of potential ministry ideas for the future—all in God’s timing though.”

“You could use it as the dungeon.”
Oops. Probably shouldn’t have said that
.

Ben turned away, ignoring Olivia’s comment.

Mom glared at Olivia as soon as his back was turned. “What are some of your ideas?” She spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Ben gazed out the window. “I’d love to see it as a place for girls to start out their time with us. A place for deeper treatment—more individualized—until they’re ready for the less intense environment here at the main house. It would be better equipped to deal with depression, suicidal tendencies, things like that. Or, alternatively, it could become a home for unwed teen mothers. It’s up to God though.”

“You have wonderful ideas, Ben.” Mom turned away from the window. “Not to change the subject, but I was wondering: how do mealtimes actually work?”

“Take dinner, for example. The girls are required to be here at five thirty sharp to eat. If they’re on kitchen duty, it’s four thirty. We pray over our food, and then they go through the line.” He gestured at a cafeteria setup. “The meal is healthy and well balanced, including a dessert.”

Oh boy
. That sounded simply delightful. Gag. Olivia rolled her eyes.

“What if the girls get hungry before bed? Speaking of bed, what time is lights-out?” Mom stepped in front of Olivia and shot her another dirty look.

Ben gestured for them to follow him back into the hallway as he spoke. “There’s a snack time every night at seven thirty. The girls can choose to have whatever we provide that day, like popcorn, ice cream, or cookies and milk. Or they can have something out of their own cabinet.” Ben laughed. “We have one Ding Dong addict right now—she can’t go to sleep without one.” He winked. “During the week, lights-out is at nine o’clock. Weekends at ten thirty.”

“Seriously?” Olivia hadn’t gone to bed at nine o’clock since fourth grade. And did he say cookies and milk? He had to be joking.

“Have you seen the game room?” Ben gestured for them to follow. His long strides were difficult to match, but they scurried along after him, two to every one of his.

At the end of the long hallway stood a plain, narrow door. Ben inserted a key and pushed it open and then stood aside to let them enter first.

Olivia walked into yet another world—this one a teenager’s heaven. The room, complete with skylights and bright fluorescent lighting, held more than a dozen beanbag chairs, some stereo equipment, two exercise bikes, three treadmills, a video game system, and a Ping-Pong table. In one corner she noticed a bookcase full of board games next to a card table. The best part lined the opposite end of the room. A screen hung on one wall with theater seating in front of it, and a projector was positioned directly overhead. Nearby stood an old-fashioned popcorn maker. Okay, so more went on than just work here. But still.

Ben followed her gaze. “It’s pretty neat, huh?”

“To say the least.” Olivia nodded. “Although my private bedroom has most of this stuff.”

Mom ground her heel into the top of Olivia’s foot and glared at her while stepping closer to Ben.

“Ow, Mom.” Olivia shook her foot. “That hurt.”

“A donation from one church funded this whole room. They saw a need and met it—in a big way.” He ran his hands along the back of one of the leather chairs. “In fact, several members came out here to do all the work. True servants, let me tell you.”

“I believe I may have met one of those folks.” Mom brightened. “Mark Stapleton, an old friend of mine, told me about this place and that he’d done work here. Do you know him?”

“Do I know him? Mark Stapleton has been a huge blessing to us. He covers us in prayer and offers consistent financial support as well as physical help whenever he can. He had a big part in the construction of this room.”

Mom smiled. “That’s wonderful.” She turned in a full circle, taking it all in. “How often do the girls use it?”

“They’re in here some of each day, depending on what’s going on. We monitor their time on electronics like video games, but we allow plenty of time for everything in moderation.”

“How do you control things like that?” Olivia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Ben.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. We just limit the number of hours this room is open. Everyone gets to choose what they want to do while they’re in here.” Ben smiled. “Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Once a month there’s a free day where the girls can do whatever they want to for twenty-four hours. No bedtime, no food restrictions, no game-room limits. It’s all up for grabs. Everyone has a blast on free day.”

Once a month? Hah! That was how Olivia lived her life every single day. “Interesting.”

“We want to teach the girls about balance. There’s a time for everything—including recreation.”

“That makes perfect sense, Ben.” Mom gazed into his eyes.

Was she actually flirting with him?
Gross
.

Ben flipped off the lights and pulled the door closed then tested the lock.

“But why is it kept locked?”
Like Fort Knox around here
.

“Well, Olivia, we try to keep things pretty scheduled. We believe that the best way to keep teens out of trouble is to keep them busy.” He nodded at Mom and then turned back to Olivia. “If we left that door open all the time, girls would spend hours and hours a day in there. But that kind of activity is done only after it’s earned—schoolwork, chores, fresh air … that all comes first.”

“That’s how it should be, Ben.” Mom sighed. “I wish I’d instilled priorities like that back when I had the chance. Instead, I made Olivia’s private bedroom very much like that game room back there.”

“Yeah, that’s a mistake many parents make. But it’s never too late to set things right.”

Mom didn’t look convinced. “Not sure I have the energy to do that unless something else changes first.” She jerked her thumb at Olivia.

“Sometimes those types of adjustments need to happen simultaneously. One of the aspects of Diamond Estates that we haven’t talked about yet is that we require a counseling connection with the family.” Ben turned the corner down another long hallway.

“A counseling connection?”

“Yes, Mrs. Whitford.” Ben turned back to Mom. “That helps us assure that the girls don’t just come here and exist separately from their families. We require a joint counseling session by conference call once a week and a private call with either parent at least once a week. We feel that it’s necessary to prepare the home environment to be ready to accept a changed girl and to support those changes so they last.”

Mom grinned. “That sounds like a wonderful thing, and it makes perfect sense.”

“Yeah. Before we started this aspect of the program, girls just returned home and often went right back to their old lifestyles because no one was prepared.”

Or, better idea, Olivia could run away with Jordyn and never look back. They could move into the city and get an apartment or something. Could she convince Jordyn to go with her?

They followed Ben past the public bathroom.

“I’m going to take a detour in here, if that’s okay.” Olivia tipped her head toward the door.

“Sure. You can meet us in my office when you’re finished. Just follow this hallway and take the second door on the right.”

Olivia pushed through the swinging door and hurried into a stall then quickly shut and locked the door. She lowered the lid and sat down on the toilet. A moment alone. Finally. She dropped her head into her hands and fought back tears. What was she doing here? How had her life become such a mess? No doubt Mom and Ben were talking about her right now. How troubled and hopeless she was.

Oh, Daddy. Why? Why did you leave me?

Where were her smokes? She fumbled in the pockets of her hoodie and pulled out the little box. She put one to her lips and lit it like a starving person at her first meal in a week. She inhaled the heady smoke and held it in her lungs.

The bathroom door squeaked and banged into the wall as someone flung it open.

Olivia gasped but didn’t let any smoke escape. She lifted her feet and wrapped her arms around her knees so they wouldn’t slip down again and sat perfectly still. Hopefully no one would find her hiding out in a stall like a scared little girl. Smoking.

Feet slapped on the tile in angry stomps across the room. The intruder flipped the faucet on full blast and let the water stream into the sink.

Masked by the noise of the water, Olivia slowly let the smoke stream from her body. Hopefully the air fresheners would mask the smell and the person would leave quickly. She flicked the cigarette into the toilet just as the water turned off.

Ssssp
. The cigarette fizzled out as it sank.

Peeking through a slit, Olivia saw a blond ponytail bobbing as a narrow set of shoulders shook with unmistakable sobs. Oh no. Should Olivia go to the girl? She didn’t know her, and whatever her problem was, it was none of Olivia’s business, but how much worse would it be if she got caught hiding—

Whoosh!

The sensor triggered the autoflush when she shifted positions. Oh no! She lowered her feet. Maybe the crying girl would think Olivia was just using the restroom and not realize she’d been hiding in there.
Just act natural
. Olivia clicked the latch and let the door swing open.

No such luck.

A set of icy blue eyes glared at her. The tears were gone, but the redness gave away her pain. “Who are you, and why were you hiding? And what’s that smell?”

“I wasn’t hiding.”

“Yes, you were. I checked for feet.” She turned back to the sink. “But whatever.”

“Is everything okay?” Olivia took a step toward the tiny powerhouse. Maybe someone had hurt her. Could it be Ben?

“Look. You’d be real smart to mind your own business … whoever you are. And if I were you, I’d go back to where you came from before you get caught smoking in here.” She flung her ponytail over her shoulder and stormed out of the bathroom.

Olivia took a deep breath and waited a moment before leaving the restroom in case the girl was out there. Peering down the hallway, confident she was alone, Olivia hurried to Ben’s office and slid into the seat beside her mom in front of a large desk and several mismatched bookcases.

Controlling her breathing so they wouldn’t ask questions, Olivia shielded her eyes from the bright sun coming through the window.

Ben adjusted the window blinds to avert the bright afternoon sun. “Is that better?”

“Oh, it’s just fine. Thank you.” Mom blushed. “No need to worry about us.”

Ugh. Quit gushing, Mom
.

Ben pulled a folder from the file cabinet behind him. He swiveled and placed his forearms on his desk in one swift motion.

Olivia snapped her gum and crossed her arms, waiting for Mom to drop the bomb that she had no intention of bringing Olivia home with her.