applepie

There are very few people in this world that I love freely. I'm a social person, but I'm not always the most trusting. I used to be, but then I got a little older and grew out of that. It tends to happen that way when people whom you were friends with for years suddenly turn on you. It is just one of those small scars that I carry from high school, but I guess it was a good thing. To be called my friend is quite a special thing since I just don't have that many. Sure there are people with whom I talk, but I've only a few that I consider to be my friends. I love them all dearly for many different reasons, and it pains me to see them in trouble.

Out of my friends, there are two that really stand out. One is my current general manager. I've known her since I was only 15, and I've been calling her Mom for most of that time. Ours isn't much of a mother daughter relationship anymore, but it is something else. It is a complicated thing to explain since it isn't like being friends with someone my own age either. Regardless, we love one another, and I would do almost anything for her. I returned to Ohio a full month earlier than planned a couple years ago simply because she was having trouble in her marriage and she needed a friend to be there.

The other who stands out in my mind is only a year older than me. We'll just call her Mandy for the sake of this story. I've known her since high school, and we were always the best of friends. We always just know when the other needs us to be there or pick up the phone. When I miscarried a couple years ago, she called when I was hurting the most and helped pull me out of my grief. When her marriage began to fail and they decided to divorce, I was certain that she needed me, and I picked up the phone.

I've had an uneasy feeling about her for the last year or so. Things started to go really bad when she allowed her mother to take custody of her daughter. She's much like me, and her little girl is her reason for living when all else is falling apart. About the same time, she became involved with a man that I knew was nothing but trouble. I tried to convince her to not let her mom take her daughter and to stay away from the guy, but there is only so much you can do from 2500 miles away. I wasn't able to convince her, and she allowed her mom custody simply because her mom was so happy staying home with her grandbaby. It allowed her to return to the life of a stay at home parent rather than having to work. In short, I failed. I could not keep her from giving up her little girl and keep her from being involved with this man.

Now let's move to the present. Mandy came to visit me about two days ago. She's painfully thin and looks as if she is near starved. She's starting to work things back out, but the last year has taken its toll. She has a good job, and she has gotten a place to live. The only real blemish on life is that the guy I warned her about is living with her. If he was a good guy that treated her right it wouldn't be a big deal, but he beats her. She's threatened to call the cops, and all he did was beat her worse for saying such a thing. She wont take custody of her daughter back because it is an unsafe environment. She'll not endager her baby for anything, and that is what she would be doing.

I've spent my life helping my friends to resolve problems. Out of our circle, I'm the rock. I'm the one that everyone has turned to when things get out of hand. All I could do was hug her while she cried on my shoulder. There isn't much help I can offer. This guy is really crazy, and I'll not place my own family in the way of danger. I can offer her a place to stay for a bit once I have my house, but he can not find out where I live. Given that he has served time in prison for shooting up the house of an ex-girlfriend, I would be fearful if he ever found us. All I can really do is keep supporting Mandy, and I've already said I'll call the police if I find that he's beaten her. I've tried to get her to go file a report the next time, but I'm not sure she will. He's made her to fearful to go.

I'll add more soon, but I'm out of time

Take Care,
Meg