Crossing the Bridge

Betsy huddled in the back seat of the brown car, leaning her forehead on the glass of the car window. She could feel the thump of the tires hitting the road as they crossed the bridge. In the distance she could see a boat pulling out on the river. She had never seen boats on a river before. She had never seen a river.

She looked up to see the eyes of the brown lady, driving the car, looking at her in the rear view mirror. The lady spoke, false sweetness dripping from her vocals, "We're almost there. Aren't you excited?"

Betsy shook her head slightly and her eyes glared at the lady's brown eyes in the mirror. "You know, you can make this hard or you can make the best of It, young lady", the brown lady snapped.

Betsy turned her head to the side and closed her eyes and her throat tightened as she fought back tears. "Don't cry," she said to herself, as she felt the hot tears well up. She clenched her eyes tight and saw Joe lying on the sofa quiet and still. She pulled her head down into the collar of the old scratchy brown coat they had found at the center for her to wear on this cold winter day.

The lady at the center had shrugged her shoulders when Brown Lady showed up to pick her up. "She don't have a coat. She had nothing, The police said there was little in the house, when they found her and that brother of hers. He was, well, you know the story," and the fat lady at the center's voice had dropped to a whisper, as she shook her head back and forth and folded her arms across her chest, looking at Betsy with pity and distress. They bundled her up and the brown lady had taken her hand and pulled her out to the waiting car, telling her to "hop in". She had crawled in and shrunk into a corner of the back seat, too tired and weak to fight them anymore.

The car suddenly pulled to a stop. Betsy opened her eyes, looking out the window, she saw a white house. Brown lady opened Betsy's door. "Hop out young lady. Here's your new home, "and she smiled with her big teeth showing. Betsy shrank back, and then the smell of warm vanilla hit her nostrils and she looked out to see two ladies standing there, an expectant and eager look on their faces. They looked like the angels on the windows at church as she slid out and stood in front of them, head down, but peeking up at them from shuddered eyes. The younger one with blue eyes and yellow hair took her hand and said, "Betsy, do you like baby kittens?" Betsy thought about it and a small smile entered her eyes.."Yes," she said and together they walked up the brick walk to the house, the scent of vanilla all around.