Stranger than Fiction

I wanted to give you an update on what's been happening here. It's a strange story, but like they say, truth can be stranger than fiction! It goes something like this:

Two weeks ago, I was working the night shift here at the hotel when I got a phone call from Chris at about 4 am. Someone had flipped their truck right in front of our house. The guy and girl in the truck weren't seriously hurt, so Chris called the police and took care of them, took them to breakfast, and helped get everything settled. When they came to pick me up the next morning, I had just finished the flyers for our graduation bonfire (Chris graduated!) happening the next weekend, so we invited them to come by.

Well, the girl showed up, and had a great time, along with everyone else. (The bonfire went exceptionally well!) I had to work the next evening, but when I got home, she was at the house again, in bad shape. There had been a guy who showed up uninvited to our party looking for her; she asked us not to let him back, and we didn't think much of it at the time, but we found out when she came back that not only was she living with him, but he was beating up on her pretty regularly. We didn't even have to think about it; we needed a roommate, she needed a safe place to get out of a bad situation. We moved her in on an air mattress that night and went to the house to get the rest of her things the next day. We were expecting possible complications with facing a drunk abusive now ex-boyfriend, but thankfully nothing went awry.

It's been a few days now, and so far it's pretty smooth sailing. It just felt like the right thing to do. It still does. T (since that's what I'm gonna call her, for privacy's sake) is relatively young, still six months away from being a legal adult, but she's been through so much already that it's difficult to tell. She's one of the happiest people I've ever met, though, and she's beautiful, both inside and out. There's so much potential in this girl! She's quick, smart, and so good-hearted. She's been volunteering to do housework since she moved in, even though we told her she didn't have to, because she wants to give back and contribute in some way. And the most incredible thing is I see so much of what I've been though when we talk about her life, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to pass some of the wisdom I've gained through my own experiences to someone who will appreciate where it's coming from. The only word to describe it is serendipitous. This can only turn out good. We're helping her find a better job right now, something close to home since there's still only one car for the household, but eventually she wants to get her license. She also wants her GED so she can go to college for physical therapy, and since I want to home school my children someday and could use the practice, I'm more than willing to help her study. I want to teach her everything I know, anything she wants to learn. I want to see her succeed.

God, I love finding good people in the world!