Lucy over to the river and washed her face and hands, using an old T-shirt she had in her duffel bag. Then the child led her out of her new home and toward South Street. Lucy was right. There was food left out by the dumpsters of various restaurants. Alessa was careful as they sifted through the food, knowing it had been left out all night and could have been contaminated by animals or spoiled from not being refrigerated. They paused at Jim’s Steaks, looking in the window to watch the men making steak sandwiches for people waiting in line to get them.
The two gathered all the salvageable food they could find and brought it back to their home. Lucy was quiet through most of the day. Alessa kept gabbing and told her all about Ebby.
“Can we go and visit Ebby?” Lucy asked enthusiastically.
Alessa knew that was too risky. “No, not yet,” she answered. “But I promised Ebby I would call her. Let’s walk to a pay phone so we can call her now. She’ll worry if she doesn’t hear from me.”
Excited by the prospect of calling Alessa’s friend, the child jumped up and grasped her hand. “Okay, let’s go!” she declared breezily.
They found a pay phone three blocks away. Alessa pulled out Ebby’s business card and dialed the number to the shelter.
“Hi, Ebby, it’s me,” she said when the phone was answered. “I was calling to check in and let you know I’m okay.”
Ebby’s voice betrayed her excitement when she realized who was on the other end. “Alessa! I’m so happy to hear from you. How is it there? Are you doing okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Something was different in Alessa’s voice that Ebby caught immediately. She suspected that either something was wrong or the girl was lying.
“What’s all that noise in the background?” she asked, puzzled. “It sounds like cars.”
Alessa recovered quickly. “Yeah, it is cars,” she replied. “I took a walk into downtown Norristown.”
“Can I talk to Ebby?” Lucy suddenly piped up.
“Who’s that?” Ebby asked suspiciously.
“Her name is Lucy, and she is staying at the shelter,” Alessa lied glibly. “I was telling her all about you and she wants to say hello.”
Ebby was confused. Normally, a shelter wouldn’t allow underage children to go out without their parents. “Where are her parents?” she inquired.
Alessa lied again. “Oh, they both had job interviews the shelter had set up. So I said I’d keep her with me for the day.”
Ebby thought it rather strange but accepted the answer. “Well, put her on,” she said.
Lucy got on the phone and chirped, “Hi, Ebby. I’m Lucy. Alessa told me lots about you. You’re like her mom. I wish my mom was nice like you. Alessa said she got to sleep over at your house. When can I come see you?”
Ebby laughed. “Well aren’t you a charmer. I hope you can come here someday soon. You and Alessa can visit me and we can have a sleepover party.”
Lucy was excited at the idea. “Alessa has to take care of me now,” she babbled, “because she’s the newest one in the family. I don’t mind, though, because I like her best. She talks to me about different things and we have fun together. Last night, I shared my blanket with her, and today, we went out to get food together. Everyone else is nice to me, too, but Alessa tells me stories about different people she knows. She told me lots of stuff about you.”
Ebby listened intently, realizing that her instincts were right. She knew Alessa was hiding something from her.
“Well, it was nice talking to you, Lucy,” she said. “Can you put Alessa back on the phone?”
Lucy said goodbye to her, promising they would call again.
When Alessa got back on the phone, Ebby asked, “What did Lucy mean when she said you were the newest member of the family and that you had to take care of her? What’s going on, Alessa?”
Alessa was scared to tell Ebby the truth. She wanted to be honest with her but was embarrassed to admit that she was now homeless and living under a bridge in the city. “Oh, that’s something the teenagers made up at the shelter,” she replied after the slightest hesitation. “The newcomer gets to hang out with Lucy. It means that if her parents have interviews or job training, she stays with me.”
“Really?” Ebby said, mystified. “That sounds odd to do at a shelter. You know the staff takes care of the children here when their mom has other obligations. Are you sure everything is all right?”
“Yes, everything is good. But listen, I have to get going. I need to get Lucy back to the shelter before someone gets worried. I’ll call you later in the week,” Alessa promised. “Okay?”
***
The moment they hung up the phone, Ebby reached for the brochure to get the number of the shelter where Alessa was supposedly staying. She had a stab of guilt about checking up on her, but her gut told her Alessa wasn’t being truthful with her. Since the girl was intrinsically honest, deception didn’t come naturally to her, and it was easy to detect from her tone she was lying.
When the receptionist at the shelter in Norristown answered the phone, Ebby asked to speak to the day manager. After a few moments, a friendly man answered and introduced himself. Ebby explained who she was and her association with Eliza Shirley. She told the man she was calling to confirm the placement of one of his residents.
The man hesitated. “I would love to help you out,” he said sincerely, “but you know how it works. I can’t give you any information about the people staying here. I have no way of confirming your identity. It’s standard procedure to protect all the residents who live here. I’m sure you understand.”
Ebby thanked him and silently chastised herself for even expecting to be given the confidential information she sought. She was disheartened at being back where she started but felt somewhat reassured that the man had refused to divulge any information about the residents. Alessa would be safe for now.
