Chapter 19: Tina and the Tree Branch

It was a cold and gloomy Saturday evening when the old grandfather clock slowly struck nine. After the last chime had died away, the parlor fell silent. The only sounds were the crackle of the fire, the somber ticking of the clock, and the soft, rhythmic creak of Vivianne's antique rocker, her favorite chair in her favorite place to think.

Although Vivianne had tried to hide it from her niece, she was deeply troubled. The money she had inherited from her parent's estate and the little money that her husband had left behind had lasted fully three-quarters of a century. Now, it was finally reaching its end. Although Vivianne didn't regret inviting Gwendolyn and her three children to come and live with her, the four extra mouths to feed only worsened her finances. If she couldn't think of a way to find more money soon, her funds would not last another six months, eight at the most if they were lucky and saved every penny they possibly could.

Vivianne had already been forced to sell the most valuable of her mother's jewelry as well as several valuable paintings. Soon, she would have to start selling her rare books, something she feared she would be unable to bear. Losing her parent's beloved books would be like losing her mother and father all over again. Often when she sat in the library, she could feel their comforting presence. These books and the pleasant memories they evoked had been the only things that had kept her from going insane during the fifty years she'd spent as a recluse after her worthless husband disappeared with her best friend.

A car that Vivianne didn't recognize slowly drove up Hawthorne Drive and stopped next door in front of the Mitchell's house. The headlights turned off, but no one got out into the wintry mix of sleet and frigid northwest winds. After a couple minutes, the car backed up until it was parked in front of Hawthorne House.

Strange, she thought. No one got out of the car, and it was too dark to see who might be inside.

"Ahnt Vivianne," Gwyneth said, as she entered the parlor ten minutes later. "Do we have any eucalyptus and willow bark? Mothah thinks Gareth might be catchin' a cold and wants to make him a poultice."

"Of course, dear. They'ah in the herb pantry." As Gwyneth turned around, Aunt Vivianne called out "But before you go, come over heah and take a look outside. A car stopped in front of the Mitchell's house, but then it backed up, and now it's parked out front. Whoever it is, they'ah just sittin' inside."

"It's probably Tina. Matt mentioned she was going tah a friend's birthday party this evenin'. I bet one of her friends drove her home, and she's just waitin' for the sleet tah let up before gettin' out of the cah."

"Well, they've been sittin' there for a while now. And if Tina's waitin' for the sleet tah stop, she's goin' tah have a long wait. The barometah has been droppin' all afternoon, and these old bones can feel a big storm a-comin'. The way they ache, I bet we'll have a foot of snow come mornin'. But if it is Tina, why did the cah back up and stop where it did?"

Just then, the passenger door opened a few inches, and the interior light came on. For a couple of seconds, Vivianne and Gwyneth could clearly see the car's two occupants. One was indeed Tina, but the driver was a rather large boy wearing a Hawthorne High letterman's jacket. Holding a struggling Tina with one arm, he roughly reached past her and yanked on her door, slamming it shut and plunging the interior back into darkness.

Both Vivianne and Gwyneth reacted instantly, drawing their wands, but Gwyneth was much younger and faster. She pointed her wand at the old oak standing over the car and yelled "Magna Dea, fac, quaesumus, ramum ruinam!" There was a loud crack, and a large branch broke off the tree and fell, crashing onto the hood of the car. Seconds later, Gwyneth had unlocked the front door and was running toward the car when the passenger door flew open, and Tina stumbled out.

"Tina, this way!" Gwyneth yelled, throwing open the gate. She gave the boy a glare that would have horrified him had his attention not been entirely directed at the massive branch laying across the deeply dented hood of his father's car. Putting her arm protectively around the younger girl's shoulders, Gwyneth led a terrified Tina into the house.

"Ah you okay, deah?" Vivianne asked, as she sat Tina in a chair in front of the fire and placed a warm shawl around Tina's shoulders. "He didn't hurt you, did he? Were we in time?"

Sobbing, Tina shuddered but was too upset and frightened to speak.

"Gwyneth, go and tell your mothah what's happened. And ask her tah make us a calmin' tea. Chamomile and lemon balm with a couple of dried passion flowers should do the trick." Vivianne turned her attention back to the young girl sitting there, shaking despite the warmth of the fire.

"There, there, deah girl. You're safe and among friends who are more than able tah protect you from the likes of that boy outside. Now take a deep breath and let it out."

Tina looked up at Vivianne and breathed a sigh of relief. The unpleasant smell of beer was faint but unmistakable.

"Again, deah. A big deep breath this time, and then let it all out. There, that's bettah."

Gwyneth returned, followed shortly by her mother, who carried a tray with an antique silver teapot and four fine china cups. Gwendolyn poured the tea and handed a steaming cup to Tina. No one spoke until everyone had had a sip and Tina had finished hers.

"Now, deah, we all want tah help, but first we need tah know what happened this evenin' so that we can give the right kind of help."

Tina looked anxiously at the three generations of Hawthorne woman gathered around her. "What... what about Dad? Are you going to tell him what happened?"

"Now, don't you go worryin' about youah fathah," Vivianne answered. "Foah now, this will be a secret just among us women. No need tah get the menfolk involved, not if you don't want us tah."

"I don't," Tina said quickly. "I don't think he'd understand."

"Well, you might be surprised at what your fathah would understand, but that is a topic foah anothah day," Gwendolyn said. "Right now, deah, we really do need tah know what happened that has caused you tah be sittin' heah, havin' a nice cup of tea among friends."

Tina nodded but remained quiet.

"I know this might be hard tah talk about," Vivianne said, "I'll tell you what. I'll start, and you can interrupt me any time I'm wrong."

"Okay, I guess," Tina said, beginning to feel warm, safe, and much calmer as the tea took effect.

"Well, Matt told us you were goin' tah a birthday party, but it wasn't really a birthday party, was it?"

Tina shook her head sheepishly.

"So, several older boys and girls wah havin' an unsupervised party, probably at the home of one of them whose parents wah away," Vivianne continued. "There was music and dancin', and there was also drinkin', beer by the smell of it. One of the boys spent the whole evenin' with you, maybe even the one you wah hopin' tah see theah. He told you how pretty you ah - and you ah quite a pretty girl - and tried tah get you tah drink with him.

"You didn't want him thinkin' you wah a child, and so you let him talk you intah it. But you didn't like the taste and only drank a little. And then, when it was getting' tah be time tah go home, he offered tah drive you, and you accepted.

"Neither of you wanted youah fathah tah know you wah alone with a boy, and he didn't want you tah go in right away, so he backed up the cah so your fathah couldn't see you. You wanted tah spend more time with him, so you talked foah a while. And everythin' was goin' fine until he decided he wanted moah than just talk." Vivianne paused. "Does that about covah most of the evening?"

"How... how did you know?" Tina asked, amazed at how well the old lady had described her evening."

"You are not the first young girl tah be seduced by an older boy. Such parties have taken place for time out of mind and will almost certainly continue long aftah we'ah all dead and gone. The important thing is that we stopped him before he could do permanent harm. And we did stop him in time, didn't we? He didn't have his way with you, did he? That would necessitate a call tah the police foah him as well as an altogether different tea foah you."

"Oh God, no!" Tina exclaimed, when she realized what Vivianne was asking. "He wanted to. We kissed, but then he tried to put his hand down my top. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't. He started forcing his other hand up under my dress. I struggled and almost got out, but he reached over and yanked my door shut so I couldn't. He was so strong. Then..."

"And then the branch fell." Vivianne shook her head and sighed. "It's a shame so many young men are obsessed with sex. Some can't understand why anyone would reject them, and they see failure as a weakness. It's clearly time tah teach this boy that no means no. Who is this boy who can't keep his hands to himself?"

Tina paused. "I don't want to cause any problems, especially if Matt finds out and tells Dad. Can't I just ignore him, and we all forget about the whole thing?"

"Tina, I'm afraid that boys like that do not forget. He will keep aftah you, and if you continue to ignore him, he may even brag to his friends that you couldn't resist his charms. And theah ah the othah girls tah considah.

"Such boys rarely stop unless someone stops them. You might well have not been the first, and if we don't do somethin', you almost certainly will not be the last. No, we must stop him before he causes irreparable harm tah someone and even tah himself should the police have tah get involved. So, Tina, tell us the name of this boy."

Tina paused. When she finally answered, her voice was little more than a whisper. "Brad O'Connell."

"I know him," Gwyneth said. "Brad's one of Colin O'Connell's cousins. He's a junior in some of my classes. He's a big football jock, kind of handsome if you'ah intah hunks with moah muscle than brains. Thinks he's the Goddess's gift tah anything in a dress. I'll talk with him and make sure he learns that no means no. Once I'm done with Mr. Hands, he won't be makin' the same mistake again."

"But what if someone overhears you?" Tina asked. "And what if Brad lies and brags that I gave in to him?"

"Don't worry. I'll be discrete. Believe me, when I get through with him, he'll want to forget this evenin' evah happened."

"Thank you, Gwyneth. I really appreciate it."

"Well, now that we have taken care of Mr. O'Connell," Vivianne continued, "there is only one more thing to discuss. Although there is absolutely no excuse foah what he tried tah do, it is unfortunately all too common. This time you were lucky. You won't always have friends nearby, and you certainly can't count on a tree branch fallin' on your attacker's cah.

"That is why you must learn tah protect yourself, physically if you have tah. But bettah than fightin' is avoidin' the fight in the first place. While I am in no way blamin' you for what he tried tah do, your poah judgment tonight put you in unnecessary dangah. Next time, you should not lie tah your fathah. Don't let anyone - especially an older boy - talk you intah drinkin', and definitely don't let a boy you barely know drive you home."

"Yes, Mrs. Hawthorne. I won't."

"There's no need to be so formal, deah. Call me Ahnt Vivianne. Everybody else does."

"Yes, Mrs. Haw... Aunt Vivianne." Tina paused, suddenly realizing that something didn't quite add up. Looking intently at the old lady, Tina continued. "Wait a minute. You've said several times that you stopped him, but it was the branch. When it fell on the car, he let go of me, and I was able to open the door and get away. So why are you saying that you stopped him?"

"Why deah, Gwyneth prayed tah the Goddess tah keep you safe until she could get tah you. And the Goddess looked down and, in her mercy, answered our prayahs. She commanded that old tree tah drop the branch on the boy's car."

At first, Tina didn't know what to say. The three Hawthorne women obviously meant well. They offered her sanctuary in their home, and Gwyneth had run to her rescue. However, their talk about prayers and goddesses making tree branches fall made her nervous. Finally, she said, "I appreciate everything you did for me, really I do. But it's late, and I need to get home. I told Dad I would be home thirty minutes ago." She started to get up, then stopped. "You don't think Brad's still out there, do you?"

"Not if he knows what's good for him, he isn't. But Gwyneth will escort you safely home, regardless."

They all went to the windows and looked out. The spot where the car had parked was empty except for the fallen branch.

Gwyneth put on her coat, selected a large umbrella from the umbrella stand next to the door, and walked Tina to her front door.

"Ah you goin' tah be alright?" Gwyneth asked, as Tina pulled out her house key.

"I think so. And thanks again for coming to my rescue. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come running."

"You're very welcome Tina. But the next time you want tah go tah a party, invite me along. It would be fun to go out together, and I'll make sure that no one forces you tah do something you shouldn't."

"Thank you, Gwyneth. I will."