A new day has come and on this day a change takes place in Patches soul.
It was late into the evening when Pa comes home and finds Ma and Patches talking away in the kitchen and for some reason he hated them talking. Just detested it. He cries out with anger and yells to Ma, "It is either me or her but one of us has to go." Patches is now 12 but very well aware of what that meant. Part of her was relieved, ok, go, yes !
Patches begins to ponder how. How to do this and why didn't she think of leaving more serious on her own. She knows how to work and knows that what she will need is a job. Yes, She thinks. A job and she will be fine. Patches had a very good friend named Leita who was a few years older then her and was working as a waitress at a local diner. So the next day Patches makes arrangements with Leita and off she goes. She took just what she needed and left.
The diner was a local diner and might have been just the spot for Patches to attempt interacting with people. Up until now she was cornered, mostly alone,shy,distraught,and worn. But this adventure brings joy to her heart to be just a day without worry of being beaten, yelled at, degraded telling her she would never amount to anything and would always be good for nothing. So for Patches, this was a cleansing even though it would be a hard task at the age of 12.
Leita talks the owner into hiring Patches as a waitress. Being totally nervous and not sure if anything will come out of her mouth, here she goes.
Her very first customer was an elderly couple and ordering pork chops. So Patches takes the order as she watched Leita do a few times now and took it to the cook/owner. Ok, that was hard but accomplished. And for Patches it would be baby steps to grow her heart and desire to win at this quest.
Several minutes go by and finally one of the pork chop dinners are ready,so she takes it to the couple and the gentleman says, well, we were hoping to eat together, but if you only have one dinner, give it to my wife. Patches thought how wonderful it was that this man did that and that they wanted to eat together.
Now several more minutes go by and the second dinner never came out. As Patches goes to explore she finds the cook a sleep by the grill. Oh NO!! She thought. Not sure how long it takes to cook this but knew it was longer then the man wanted to wait. Leita, she yells. " You have to help me." Bertha is sleeping. And Patches tells Leita all about it. Thank goodness Leita calmed the man down and negotiated the bill. Poor Patches never got a tip her first day out.
As night time is coming about Leita and Patches decided to hide in Leita's basement so her mom didn't know that Patches was now on the run. Yet, how can that be when she was told to leave. Once that request all settled in her heart the pain was throbbing that her family truly did not want her there at all and now she knew it.
Well being several miles away from where school was, she couldn't go to school, so she focused on becoming a waitress and weeks would go by as she hid out in the basement of Leita's house. Never did she attempt to call them and for what reason would she. They clearly did not want to hear from her.
But after several weeks go by Patch's Ma finally calls Leita's to inquire if she was there. It was just a few days before Christmas but Christmas never mattered to Patch's , it was just a time for her to watch and not be a participant. Oh, she may have gotten a gift at times but hmmmmm, can't remember what that was or which year. So to comfort her heart from being a burden on Leita she was prepared to stay in the basement and be very very quiet. Leita would bring food and water every chance she could. But then the phone call to Leita's Ma.
Now Patch's had to come up with the courage to call her Ma but prepares herself first. As these past few weeks have been difficult they were refreshing to not have been beaten and NOW within her heart and soul and every fiber of her being she takes a stand............NOBODY WILL EVER BEAT HER AGAIN...NOBODY AND WALK AWAY NOT REMEMBERING WHEN THEY DID.
Patch's makes the call to her Ma and she demands that she come back. Well now, the questions that are going on through her mind are many. Why? Again that unanswered question that always comes up. Although her Ma never told her why, she figured the schools might have been the ones looking for her and not her parents. Patch's asked where her Pa was and he was at the shopping mall, buying presents for Christmas. So, whew he wasn't home. Good. But, he would be at some point. Patch's takes her stand as she knows she needs to do it now or never and asks her mother if Pa was going to beat her, but her mother was unable to answer the question. Several time Patch's asked and no answer,so Patch's tells her mother that IF she comes back and he does beat her she will be leaving again. That she will not stay any longer to be beaten.
So Patch's makes her way back to that place called home.
Love "Patch's"
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