began dancing at the club. She had made up her mind she would dance the best she ever had to make as much money as possible. The men loved her, and within days, she was making the kind of money she hadn’t dreamed of. After she had been dancing for a week, Alessa took Lucy out early one evening to buy her clothes. She knew that eventually, the kids at school would give the girl a hard time about how shabby her clothes were and decided this was the moment to get her some new things before the “new girl” effect wore off. Lucy was happy and content.
With every passing week, Alessa’s savings grew rapidly. She was making nearly fifteen hundred dollars a week. Working five nights a week, she was averaging three hundred a night—more, if she had a steady flow of lap dances. She was frugal with her money and only bought essential items they couldn’t do without. Alessa took public transportation to avoid the cost of cabs. Only on the nights she left the club late would she splurge on a cab, more out of concern for her safety than for reasons of convenience. Alessa and Lucy talked with Ebby three times a week now. Both seemed well on their way to recovery, healing from the traumas of the past.
By springtime of the following year, Alessa had saved close to twenty thousand dollars. This time, she was smarter about handling her money. She had rented a safety deposit box at a local bank where she kept all of her cash. She and Lucy were living comfortably on five hundred a week, and the rest was put into savings. Both were happy living at the hostel. While residents kept coming and going, the girls had no problem making new friends.
On the weekends, the two would go into the city and window shop. They would buy soft pretzels to hand out to homeless people. Sometimes, they would go to the Salvation Army and buy cheap clothes and shoes, to give away to those among the homeless who needed them badly. Both girls remembered how hard it was when they had been homeless and invisible to all the humans around them. Alessa had established a rapport with the homeless children and adults. They could relate to her because she, too, had been homeless once and was still getting on her feet. They respected and admired her for wanting to leave the streets because many, especially the older ones, had lost the will to try and no longer minded being homeless. The younger ones, though, the children and the teenagers, often felt there was more to life than pulling food from garbage cans and begging for quarters. Alessa spent her days volunteering at homeless shelters when she wasn’t studying for her GED. Every week she called her sister, Rosabella, planning for the day she would take the train out to Norristown with Lucy, so she could meet her niece, Eva.
In early June, Alessa arranged for Lucy and herself to have lunch with Ebby in the city on a Saturday afternoon. They had been talking on the phone for nearly a year but hadn’t seen each other in all that time. At Ebby’s suggestion, they met at the White Dog Café in University City, a quaint little restaurant that was very popular with the locals. Alessa and Lucy arrived first, barely able to contain their excitement at the prospect of seeing Ebby.
The moment she walked in through the door, Alessa rushed to greet her. They hugged for a long time before Lucy interrupted them.
“What about me?” she protested. “Ebby, aren’t you glad to see me, too?”
Ebby leaned down and lifted the child into her arms. “Of course I’m happy to see you, sweetie!” she said affectionately. “Who in their right mind wouldn’t be happy to see you?”
Lucy beamed with delight as the other two exchanged a playful glance. Ebby was trying to assess both girls without making it obvious. They looked healthy and were dressed decently. She could see Alessa was happier than she had been a year ago.
Once they were seated at their table, they all ordered burgers and talked excitedly. Alessa told Ebby she was taking the test for her GED the following week. Lucy raved about her teachers and her friends at school.
Ebby asked Alessa how much longer they intended to stay at the hostel and was told of their plans of moving out after the summer before Lucy started fourth grade.
The little girl perked up. “Alessa, does this mean I won’t see my friends anymore?”
Alessa comfortingly covered the child’s hand with hers. “No, Lucy,” she assured her. “We’re going to stay in the area so you can still go to the same school.”
Satisfied with the answer, Lucy asked if she could get ice cream for dessert. They were all enjoying their time together. As they were finishing dessert, Alessa turned to Ebby.
“I’m nineteen years old now,” she declared. “I want to adopt Lucy, and I need you to help me do it. What do you think?”
Ebby stiffened. “Alessa,” she said carefully, “sometimes, these things get complicated. Lucy’s parents aren’t around, and the courts could legitimately want to put her into foster care. However, you might have a chance because she has been with you for a year now and you have a stable job at the grocery store. An attorney volunteers at the shelter. I could make a few inquiries without divulging too much information.”
Alessa froze. She hadn’t told Ebby she was dancing at a go-go club again. She didn’t want to disclose any information that might jeopardize her chances of keeping Lucy with her. She turned to the child and asked her to go to the bathroom and wash up before they left. Lucy readily complied. As soon as she had left the table, Alessa looked intently at Ebby. She knew that what Alessa was about to say was important.
“Ebby, I’ve been lying to you,” Alessa confessed.
“Oh my, what now?”
Alessa looked somber. “I don’t have a job at a grocery store,” she told her. “I’ve been stripping at a go-go club since early December. I make an incredible amount of money, and I don’t have sex with anyone. I strip. The men love it. Some of them touch a little, but nothing hardcore. I want to adopt Lucy, but what if they find out that I am dancing for a living?”
Ebby frowned. “First off, I’m not happy that you lied to me yet again. Second, I am very concerned about you stripping. I wanted to see you doing something that didn’t involve allowing yourself to be exploited all over again. Third, I don’t think a court in the land will let you adopt Lucy while you’re stripping. Let’s face it, you don’t even show any money on the books, right?”
Alessa nodded.
“And fourth, I don’t want you to ever lie to me again. I am your friend and I love you. I will never judge you for the choices you make. My suggestion to you would be to keep Lucy with you and not do anything that would draw attention to the relationship.”
Alessa was disappointed but appreciated Ebby’s honesty. It would keep her out of trouble. At that precise moment, Lucy returned to the table, ready to go. They could see she was tired. It had been a long lunch with a lot of excitement.
Once outside, the three embraced for a long time.
Alessa said, “Maybe we can meet for lunch once a month. Do you think that would work?”
“Of course that would work,” Ebby replied. “I couldn’t keep myself away from little Miss Lucy over here, even if I tried!”
Lucy threw her arms around Ebby. “I love you, Ebby, and Alessa loves you, too. You’re our family,” she whispered in her ear.
The moment brought tears to Ebby’s eyes, and Alessa looked on with joy in her heart. Her child—which is how she saw Lucy now—and her only real friend loved each other.
