Free A Street Girl Named Desire: A Novel by Treasure E. Blue

I ain't missing another day of work 'cause of this child.”
    “Ms. Corley, that is the least of your worries,” Nurse Dixon said. Everyone in the room was quiet and tense. Desire could sense that things were about to drastically change.
    Mother Corley stood speechless. She turned her attention and anger toward Desire.
    “You ungrateful little heifer. After all I did for you, you betray me?” The outburst showed her true colors. Nurse Dixon decided to get down to business after that.
    “This is a paper relinquishing your custody of Desire, and the other one is a temporary order of protection to stay away from her until you appear before a judge,” announced Nurse Dixon.
    Mother Corley fumed as she read the papers. Her ruse was up.She did not even have a shred of integrity left to ask for forgiveness.
    “Fine … keep her ass,” she spat. “She ain't worth having anyway. Who gonna want your thieving, black ass now?”
    Nurse Dixon smiled. “By the way, I'd like to introduce you to Ms. Hattie Mae Evans … Desire's legal guardian.”
    For a moment, all the women in the room were still. Then Hattie Mae could no longer contain herself as she laid eyes on the child whose life she had saved. She had given up all hope of ever holding Desire in her arms again, yet here she was, right before her. Hattie Mae walked over to Desire slowly. She looked at the bandage on Desire's head and the cast on her arm. She took a deep breath, then lifted the back of Desire's shirt. She stared at Desire's wounds, then closed her eyes to hold back her tears. She didn't want to imagine what had happened to Desire.
    “She had that before she came to live with me, huh,” Mother Corley huffed. She was desperate for a way out, but there was none. Nobody responded to her as Desire allowed herself to unstiffen in the strange woman's arms.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    T ime had created an unfamiliar foreignness between the elderly woman and the child whose life she had saved. As Desire adjusted to her new environment, she and Hattie Mae seemed like strangers. Desire, still apprehensive, refused to unpack her things even though she had her own room. Miss Hattie stayed out of her way and didn't impose questions upon Desire. For her, it was simply enough to know that the girl now, again, had a loving, caring and safe place to live. She did try to constantly reassure Desire that this was her home and that she was welcome to anything in it. Desire would simply reply, “Yes, ma'am,” with a wide smile. Hattie Mae did not know if the girl actually believedit yet. But she was determined to prove to Desire that she was for real.
    One time, in the middle of the night, Hattie Mae was awakened by a slight noise coming from the kitchen. She got up to inspect. As she flicked on the kitchen light, Desire quickly closed the refrigerator door. She was holding something behind her back. She hadn't told Hattie Mae about how she was denied food—not just at Mother Corley's, but other foster homes as well. Hattie Mae saw the scared and guilty look in Desire's eyes as she tried to hide what she thought was thievery. Hattie Mae needed to let her know it was not just okay to eat here, but to not be ashamed of the need.
    Hattie Mae smiled and said, “Have as much as you want, just wash out whatever you use.” She scrunched her face and continued, “Grandma Hattie don't like no roaches.” She winked and returned to her room.
    There were other incidents such as this, where Desire resorted to behavior she had used to survive and found that Hattie Mae did not scold her for her actions. Desire spent many hours locked behind the door of her bedroom, and she never had to worry about Mother Corley questioning her about her need to be alone. She did not express much joy when Hattie Mae would bring her little presents: books, nice hair clips and bows and even pretty blouses and sturdy shoes. Sometimes, they both would merely stare at the television for hours, watching channel after