Free Ethics of a Thief by Mary Gale Hinrichsen Page B

bathroom, quickly washed and ran to the kitchen and went directly to the cookie sheet.
    “Eat your sandwich first, girls.”
    We picked at our food. When Mom left the room, we abandoned lunch, grabbed two cookies each and hurried out. We giggled on our way back to the table. Both of us had grins as we gobbled down our treats. We were glad my mom never came to scold us.
    “Where’s the school?”
    “Over there,” I pointed behind us. “It’s across from the store.”
    “Do other children live close?”
    “Mom counted eighteen.”
    “Any my age?”
    I nodded. “Dick’s seven. Lillie’s five. They live that way.” I pointed to the left. “There’s a boy named Berry. He’s older. He lives at the end of the street. No one likes him. He throws rocks at cars. He hits Steven. Mommy gets mad.” “Let’s pretend we’re having tea with our cookies.”
    Carry nodded.
    Remembering those days, it seems like another lifetime ago, Abigail thought. I’ll be telling her every detail of our ordeal. She listened to Lisa tell Danny, “I want a tea set with my reward money.” Abigail laughed.
    “What’s so funny, Aunt Abigail?”
    “What?”
    “You’re smiling,” Danny said.
    “Oh, just thinking about Carry. We also liked having tea parties.”
    Lisa smiled. “I miss her. Can we see her?”
    “When we get home, I’ll call. Okay?”
    Great, Abigail thought, I left my stupid cellphone in the car. Everything happened so quickly that I forgot.
     
    *
     
    In the early evening, Carry English arrived home. The answering machine light flashed. She pushed the button and listened. One message was from Steven. She hadn’t heard his voice for a long while. She quickly returned his call. When he answered, he wasn’t his cheerful self. “Can I call you back?” he asked. “My parents and I aren’t home right now. Can I call you later?”
    “Sure. Steven, are you okay?”
    “Yes,” he said. “I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”
    After placing the phone down, she stared at it for a moment. Her forehead started to form lines, and her smile disappeared.
    I hate not knowing what’s going on. I bet it’s about Abigail. Why else would he be calling? She shrugged her shoulders. I hope I’m just overreacting again, she thought. But, Abigail should have called by now. She picked up the phone and dialed Abigail’s home number. No answer. She called her cell -- no answer. She left messages at both numbers for Abigail to call back ASAP.
    Hearing Steven’s voice brought back childhood memories about the fort he built in his backyard.
    Abigail was ill one day, and he invited me to join him and his friends in his fort. I felt glad he didn’t know Abigail and I often entered his sacred place while he was at little league.
    While in the fort, the boys and I ate crackers and drank water from a canteen. Everything was going well until fifteen-year-old Berry pulled out his penis. Everyone stopped talking, and didn’t move. The boy reached for my hand and tried to force me to touch it. The other boys giggled and squirmed. Steven screamed, “Stop! What do you think you’re doing?” Everyone went silent, their faces red.
    I couldn’t move or talk. I was glad when Elizabeth looked in just in time to see Berry quickly put his penis back into his pants.
    “Get out,” Elizabeth shouted. “Do it now! You disgust me, Berry. You’re no longer welcome at our house. Your parents will be getting a call about this.” Elizabeth stared at me for a moment, and yelled to all of us, “Go home, all of you, right now!”
    While walking home, my head hung low, my mouth turned down and tears were forming in my eyes. Once I opened the front door, I couldn’t hold back tears.
    “What’s wrong?” my mother asked.
    “Berry grabbed my hand; he tried to make me touch him,” I sobbed.
    Quickly, my mother wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. Mom broke the silence. “Sit. Tell me what happened.”
    After I finished telling her