Precious Children

PRECIOUS CHILDREN

My precious sister Janice always wanted a baby. This couple from Salt Lake felt like Janice would be a good fit in their family. There was no marriage that I can remember, but Janice went to live with Steven and Linda Thompson.  Steven and Linda had 10 children, heaven knows they needed help. Janice wasn't gone to long when Steven came out to the ranch to get a few things Janice had been asking for.  I thought it would be fun to go visit Janice and stay with Steven and Linda for a while.  They had children close to my age. I felt all grown up at the age of 11. I had never been away from home.  I packed my little hand me down bag, with a couple pairs of pants, my prettiest shirts, my best socks, and off I went.  Steven was a tall man with strong features, brown hair and freckly hairy arms. His car was an old green 65 Chevy station wagon. I sat up front in that big front seat. I kept as close to the passenger door as I could. The car seemed so big and roomie. I watched my home and family disappear from site. When I couldn't see home any more I tired to remember why I had wanted to come, Oh ya, Steven had children my age and I would get to see Janice again. It was hot and dusty on that dirt road. To dusty to have the windows down, to hot not to. We stopped in Pioche to get gas and He bought me my very own  Snickers candy bar. I got to eat it all by myself. I did the best I could telling Steven about Pioche and the things I new about it. The old court house that is 100 years old, where the elementary school is and the movie house. When we passed the Mormon church, I said theirs the LSD church, Steven had a good laugh about that, I didn't even know why he was laughing. The road to Salt Lake took forever. I had been savoring my snickers candy bar for what seemed like forever. We were somewhere between Pioche and Wendover,  driving along minding our own business, when a man in a white nova pulls up along side of us. He's yelling at us and shaking his fist at us. Steven starts yelling back at him.  I'm getting scared, this isn't looking good. Finally the man pulls ahead of us and I think thank heavens that's over, when Steven  says "Open the jockey box" I open the jockey box and inside I see a pistol. My heart is pounding a hundred miles a min, what is he going to do with that. Steven says  "Hand it to me". I picked up the gun carefully and hand it over to Steven. He had this evil look in his pale blue eyes. I look up ahead and I can tell he is trying to gain speed to catch up to the man in the white nova. It took awhile for the station wagon to build up speed. We pull up along the nova, Steve yells at me to roll down my window. I crank it down as fast as I can. Steven driving the car with his left hand, the pistol  in his right hand pointing in front of me at the man in the white Nova, yelling at the man to leave us alone or he will shoot. The man in the Nova backed off and we never saw him again. Why did I want to leave the safety of my home and family?
It was dark and late as we pulled up to his home in Salt Lake City. Linda and Janice met us at the door in their bathrobes. I wrapped my arms around Janice and didn't want to let go. Linda gave me a
big hug and right away I knew she was good and safe. She got us some supper and ask  about our trip. I took one look at Steven and knew by the look in his eyes that I had better keep my mouth shut.
I told her our trip was fine. After we ate, Linda  made me a bed on their couch. She hugged me again and told me she was so happy that I was here safe. She reassured me that we would have fun and that everything would be ok. I tried to relax a little, but my mind was running away. Steven with that gun in his hand kept flashing in my mind. Mama had helped me memorize the 21 psalm, and told me if I was ever scared or sad to repeat it over and over and it would bring me comfort. I needed comfort NOW. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green Pasteur's He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my sole.  He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his name sake, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow and death, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me, Thy rod Thy staff They comfort me, Shirley goodness and mercy shall fallow me All the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  I said it over and over.
I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. I kept telling myself, the LORD will protect me. As long as I was saying those words in my head I felt calm, I finally fell asleep
The next morning was exciting. I awoke to the chitter chatter of ten hungry children. I was use to my
sisters around but Donna was my only sister who was younger than me. Here I was the oldest with ten little ones. I felt way old. They all told me their names all at once. How was I suppose to remember them all.
Breakfast was a BIG pot of oatmeal cereal. That pot was HUGH. I learned quick that you can't be shy at the breakfast table or dinner table or supper table or you went hungry. And you ate what was put on the table or else you went hungry. Linda took extra care to make sure I got enough.
As soon as breakfast was over everyone had a chore to do. Lorraine was my age, and beautiful like her mother. Her hair was blonde and almost to her waist. She wore it in a French braid down her back.
Her job was to get the two and three year olds dressed and hair done. Sarah was two with blonde curly hair, cute chubby cheeks and the biggest eyes i had ever saw. Julie was three, and she new she was big enough to get herself dressed. Just when Lorraine had Sarah almost dressed she would turn around to help Julie and she would be gone, down stairs playing with toys. They had a big play room downstairs with way more toys than I had ever seen before. There were three bedrooms down stairs that all the kids slept in. Steven Jr. Alex and Joshua in one room, Lorraine Ashley and Rachel in one room and then Kathrine, Sarah and Julie, in the other room.  Baby Grant slept up stairs in Janice's room. Janice loved babies.. She bathed him so careful and rubbed him with good smelling lotion.  If a stranger would have come to visit they would have thought baby Grant was hers.  She loved him.  She was so sweet to him. She took care of baby Grant every min unless he was nursing Linda. Linda  was a very soft and loving Mother.  She never yelled at her children, but they listened to her and were very well behaved. She taught with love and encouragement. She was very tender with them.  She was tender herself.  She was soft spoken, beautiful inside and out. She had bright green eyes, full lips with high cheek bones. Her hair was long past her waist. She wore it twisted up into a bun on the back of her head. I loved watching her because I hadn't ever been around a grown up lady as pretty as she was. They were bright happy children during the day, but when Steven the Father came home everything changed. I saw fear in the kids eyes when Steven walked in.  Everyone scurried and picked up toys or cloths.  I noticed Joshua and Kathrine disappear. I felt their pain.  I would hide when my father came home too. So days were happy and evenings were dark.
Linda home schooled her children. As soon as breakfast was done and the table cleared off, it was time to start school lessons.  Everyone had a spot for their school books. Linda was very organized everything in its place. She found me books to read while she was helping her kids with school.  Janice did all the laundry and picked up after the children and helped with the little ones during school.  Then lunch break, then back to school tell 2pm. Free time tell supper at 6;00pm. Chores to tidy up the home before bedtime.  Linda would read bed time stories at night to keep them all down stairs away from their Father.  He would stay up stairs and watch TV.
This was pretty much the routine every day, except on the weekends.  Saturdays were spent doing chores cleaning the house.  Linda would take Steven Jr. to help her with grocery shopping. They would come home with bags and bags of food. They lived on the basic foods like oatmeal, rice, beans, potatoes, and pasta.  On Sundays there was some kind of meat added to the evening meal to make it a little extra special.  Lorraine would make a cake or cookies for dessert. What a treat.
I was going on my second week there and was really getting home sick. 
One evening the kids and I were playing up stairs, just being kids and Alex grabbed a pillow of the couch and threw it at Steven Jr. who was standing by the fire place.  The pillow missed Steven Jr. and hit the fire place mantel. It knocked over a real nice picture frame of Stevens parents.  It crashed to the floor and the glass shattered into what seemed like a thousand pieces.  There was dead silence.  Alex started crying and said over and over.  "I didn't mean to."  Linda went to comfort him and ask Steven Jr. Lorraine and I to clean up the broken glass.  Linda put the picture frame back together and put it back up on the fire place mantel.  She told the children.  "It looks good as new, Father wont even notice its broken."  Two days and nights went by before Steven noticed the broken picture.  He had just got home from work.  We were all busy helping get supper on the table and picking things up.  I noticed when he walked in the door he seemed up set.  He had slammed the front door , marched down the hall to his room.  His usual rutean was to come in and sit down in his big chair and have one of the kids take of his work boots and socks.  All the kids seemed extra quiet.  Steven finally came out of his bedroom, walked around the house like he was looking for something in particular.  He went to the fire place mantel and we all held our breath. Please God don't let him notice the glass missing from the picture frame.  He picked up the picture frame and looked at it. WHO broke this picture of my parents?  Sarah, Kathrine and Joshua had already run to hide.  WHO broke this picture.  Each time he said it his voice got louder and meaner.  He started yelling at the kids to line up, Steven Jr., Lorraine, Alex, Alesha, Rachel Joshua. He went up and down the line yelling. I'm going to spank you all until one of you tell me who broke the picture. He Yanked off his leather belt and started  whipping Lorraine. Each one got at least 3 or more hard swats with the belt. By the time he got to Alex they were all crying. I had run to hide behind Janice  This looked all to familiar. Linda stepped   in front of Steven.  "STOP" she said. Steven looked at her with dark crazy eyes. He slapped her across the face so hard it nocked her down.  "Go sit down" he said. Seven when back to the front of the line and started  whipping Lorraine. again.  This time they were harder swats. "They will keep getting harder.  Someone had better tell me who broke the picture." He had just spanked  Alex the second time and was going for Ashley next.  "Father," Ashley said, "Alex did it.  He didn't mean to.  It was him," she gasp between sabs. Steven got in front of Alex who was crying with his head down.  He pulled his tear streaked face up to look at him. "Did you break my picture?" He shook his head yes.
I knew what it was like getting beat by my Father, but what I saw next made me sick to my tummy. Steven picked up Alex by his ankles and swung his head and body into the wall by the fire place over and over. Linda was begging him "STEVEN STOP you will kill him, STOP." When Steven put Alex on the floor, he had blood running out his nose and ears.  Linda scooped him up as careful as she could and carried him down stairs.  All the children fallowed her. They hovered around to see if Alex was alive. She cleaned up the blood from his nose and ears.  She put a cold cloth on his forehead, and then She picked him up ever so tender, and rocked him back and forth in the chair, telling him how much she loved him and how sorry she was for what happened.
Alex never seemed quite the same after that. Things were different.
I cried myself to sleep every night after that.
Father came the next Saturday. I was so glad to see him, I hugged him tight.  Janice said to Father, "I go with you." We packed our bags and  said good by to Linda and all the precious children.
Lilly