Addicted to Tea

She was standing at the front door.

“How did you get here?”

“I walked from downtown.”

“All that way barefoot?”

“Yes, it wasn’t that bad.” Mary began to shake so I sat her down on the small couch next to the front door.

She looked straight ahead at the floor in front of her and that’s when I noticed how emaciated she was. She leaned forward and started talking in between sucking in her breath and laughing to herself. I noticed how her teeth seemed larger than the last time I saw her, and she quite frankly looked homeless. The Mary who was sitting next to me hardly resembled the business savvy multi-millionaire I used to know.

She looks awful. I wonder what happened to her in the last two years.

I leaned toward her and softly said, “Mary, what happened? Do you want me to call someone?”

“No, no, no. Don’t call. I need to rest.”

“Are you hungry?”

She turned and looked in my direction with unfocussed eyes and nodded her head.

“Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ll make you something.”

Mary followed me shuffling her bare feet and looking down acting as if she was scared of something or someone. I motioned for her to sit down in a chair facing the kitchen door so she could feel safer and made her a bologna sandwich. I had just made tea before she appeared at my front door, so I offered her some. She grabbed the hot cup with both hands and took two sips then wolfed down three bites of the sandwich. She relaxed and eventually stopped shaking. I asked again if I could call someone.

She looked up at me with blurry eyes and pushed a small piece of yellow paper toward me and said, “Call her. She said she would help me. He raped me.”

“Who? Who raped you?”

“She’ll know. I have to go to the Women and Children’s Hospital in Honolulu.”

“Okay, we’ll take you there.”

“Now.”

“Okay.”

As my husband Dave and I were driving her to the hospital in Honolulu, I looked over my shoulder at her sitting behind us and asked, “When did this happen?”

“After the cops left. After they told us we would have to move because there was going to be a raid tonight. They weren’t mean. They were just warning us.”

Dave and I exchanged glances. This is what my daughter Rose had been telling me about her old friend. She had told me how Mary had started down a bad path with drug addiction and she had lost all her businesses and somehow picked up a boyfriend to live with on the beach at North Shore. She had been living with him in various homeless camps along the coast for at least a year.

I turned around and looked at her and said, “So, Mary, we’ll take you to the hospital and then I’ll call this number to let Sgt. Dawson know where you are.”

“Thanks.” She nodded and lowered her head as if she was praying and avoided looking in my eyes. Dave and I didn’t speak the rest of the way there. We both very much wanted to help her but were confused. I had never seen Mary like this. She had always been cheerful and a determined problem solver. She had been a caretaker for an old lady who left her a million dollars with which she bought and managed two bars and a snack store. The last time I saw her she was doing well and had lots of friends.

When we got to the hospital, I walked with Mary into the reception area. She started shaking again and asked me to find her some cigarettes. She offered me money which I refused and called Dave who was waiting outside in the van. He said he’d buy her some cigarettes and would be back shortly.

I sat near the receptionist so I would be available but made sure I was not too close. I wanted Mary to have some privacy. I called Sgt. Dawson but had to leave a message. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive a return call for more than two hours. It must have been a busy day for the Honolulu Police Department.

When Dave got back with the cigarettes, I quickly walked outside to the van. He handed them to me, and I immediately turned around and went back into the reception area. Mary was nowhere to be found. I asked the receptionist about her, and she told me that Mary had stepped out to smoke. So, why did she ask me for cigarettes if she had some with her? Apparently, she bummed one off a patient in reception.

I gave the receptionist my name and number and the number of the police sergeant who would be asking about Mary. The receptionist nodded and gave me a knowing look. It was clear to me that she had been through this scenario before.

Dave and I drove home while looking at people walking in the surrounding neighborhoods, but we didn’t see anyone who resembled Mary. Fifteen minutes after we got home, I received a call from Sgt. Dawson who asked, “When was the last time you saw her?”

“At the hospital. I stepped out for about five minutes to grab her cigarettes and when I went back in, she was gone.”

“Damn. Well, let me know if she contacts you.”

“I will.”

“Thanks.”

I turned to Dave who was watching me and said, “I think this has happened before. The police sergeant didn’t seem surprised. I guess what I’m really worried about right now is Mary’s safety.”

Dave put his arm around me and led me to the kitchen. He motioned to the chair where Mary had been sitting and made me some nice hot strong tea. I lifted the cup with both hands like Mary had done and felt as if she was there with us.

Looking out the window, I saw Rose returning home from work and told her what had happened. She said, “Mom, don’t worry about Mary. She has lots of friends and family on the island. And, by the way, Josh didn’t rape her. He tried to get her to leave their spot on the beach but she didn’t want to move to a different area so he drove her here and dropped her off a few blocks away. A friend of mine saw her get out of his car and throw her shoes at him. Then she must have walked here and told you her story.”

“Anyway, thank you for helping her and just know you did the right thing. I will find out what really happened from some of our mutual friends in the next few days.”

I nodded at Rose but must have still looked worried. Rose leaned over, looked at my face, and gently said, “You did your best, Mom. She’s got a long way to go to climb out of the hole she put herself in. But everyone I know wants to help her when she’s ready. I’m glad you’re my mom.” She reached over and hugged me and looked down at my cup.

“Tea! Can I have some? It’s been a long day and, as you know, I’m addicted to tea.”