Lost and Found

This story is pure fiction. Any similarities in names and places are purely coincidental. The story starts in the late 1950s.

I want to thank MiliktheRed for editing this story!

*

My wife, Yvonne, and I had been married for over a year when our first big challenge came along. Don't get me wrong, we had had minor disagreements just like any couple. Our challenge came from the fact that Yvonne has a big heart. She truly cares about people.

It all started one evening in late October. The phone rang, and I answered it. On the other end of the line was a woman's voice that I didn't recognize. She sounded like she was in a panic. The woman asked: "Hello, is this the number for Yvonne Noire?, "

"Yes, it is, but she is now Yvonne Mohr. Let me get her for you."

Yvonne picked up the phone in the study and I hung up the extension in the living room.

Ten minutes later, Yvonne came into the living room with a very concerned look on her face.

"I've got a problem. Well, it isn't actually my problem but in my heart it seems like my problem. We need to talk right now, Okay?"

"Of course, if it's important to you it is obviously high on my concern list. Let's have it."

"Back before I met you I had a friend named Sue Thompson. She did the same kind of work I did. She was into it because she had no true job skills and had been tossed out of her parents home before getting through high school. She's in real trouble right now."

"O.K., what is the trouble and how can we help her?"

"Two weeks ago she had a bad customer. He raped her and beat her severely. She received multiple fractures of ribs and a compound fracture of one leg. The hospital discharged her, but in the meantime her landlord cleaned her stuff out of her apartment and has re-rented it. Now she has the flu as well as her injuries. On top of that she has no place to go. I would like to offer her a room here. The problem is, she's only eight years older than our daughter. Our friends might not think it was proper. What should we do?"

"What we do is what you know in your heart we should do. We help her. Where is she so that we can go get her?"

"She went to the local police station and asked to phone from there. She said that at least she felt safe there."

"Did she leave you with a phone number?"

"Yes."

"Call her and tell her we will be there within forty-five minutes."

Yvonne came over to me and gave me a big hug and kiss.

"I love you, Jeff. You have a good heart."

"So do you. Let's go."

Thirty minutes later we were at the police station. We went to the desk sergeant and asked him where we could find Sue Thompson. The sergeant looked us over carefully and asked us for identification.

I showed him my driver's license and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

"Not at this instant. We know that Sue was badly beaten and her attacker is still on the loose. I just wanted to make sure who it was who was looking for her. She doesn't need any more trouble than she already has."

Yvonne spoke up, "Thank you sergeant. It's good to know that you are looking out for her. Can we see her now?"

The sergeant had one of the patrolmen in the room take us back to the police station's "break room". There was Sue, in a ragged old coat and looking like a very hurt young woman.

"Hi Sue, this is my husband Jeff. He'll bring our car around to the front door so that you won't have to walk too far. "

Sue nodded her head but seemed to be too tired, or too ill, to talk.

I went and verified with the desk sergeant that I could temporarily pull my car out front to take on our passenger, and then went to get the car.

Ten minutes later we were all in the car.

Yvonne asked Sue "Do you have any prescriptions that you need to take."

"Yes, but I can't afford to buy them."

I didn't even need to be told to head for the pharmacy. Twenty minutes, and two hundred twenty dollars later, we were driving to our house

When we got there, I drove the car into the garage. That's when the next obstacle reared it's ugly head.

"With those breaks, I don't know if she can handle the steps up into the house. What would you suggest, Jeff?"

"Well, I could carry her in, or we could carry her in together. Which is best?"

"You carry her, with only one carrying her it's less likely that she will be dropped."

"Sue, you can trust Jeff. He is going to carry you into the house. He is a gentle man as well as being a gentleman. You have nothing to fear from him."

Sue looked nervous, but didn't fight when I lifted her up and carried her up into the house.

"Let's get you out of your coat, Sue. Then we'll get you something to drink to take your medicine. Jeff, please go to the guest room you had me use and make sure that it is warm in there. I think that heating zone has been set on low for the last couple of weeks."

I helped Sue sit down at the kitchen table and then checked the guest room. Then I returned to the kitchen. When I did I got a good chance to look at Sue's physical condition. She had a bandage on her head, and both arms. I later found out that they were covering deep lacerations. She had a cast that started at her mid foot and disappeared up under her dress. Her face was black and blue, her hands and arms looked badly banged up. She looked a mess.

Yvonne came over to the table with the bag from the pharmacy and a large glass of orange juice.

"Let's get you started on these meds Sue. We'll start with the antibiotics."

Eight pills later Yvonne sat down at the table with her old friend.

"Can I make a drink for anyone?"

In a weak voice Sue asked: "Can I have a cup of tea?"

"Of course you can. What type would you like?"

"If you have it I'd love a cup of Darjeeling or Constant Comment tea."

"We have both. Do you have a preference?"

"Darjeeling please."

Eight minutes later we all had cups of tea in front of us.

It suddenly dawned on me that I needed to ask a question. "When was your last meal, Sue?"

"Last evening."

"What would you like to eat?"

"I'm not fussy, I'm just hungry."

"Well, we had beef and vegetables in gravy over rice with a side of broccoli with cheese sauce for dinner. There's at least a serving and a half left. Would that do?"

"Yes, please."

Yvonne talked with Sue while I got the food from the refrigerator and microwaved it. While it was getting hot, I brought over a cloth napkin and silverware for Sue. When it was all hot I brought a plate with the food over to her. She ate it all in very short order.

"Would you like some more?"

"Yes, if it's okay."

Yvonne spoke up. "Of course it's okay. For the next few weeks you are our guest. If you need something, just let one of us know and we will try to get it for you. By the way, your room has its own bathroom and there is a lock on the inside of the door. However, I can assure you that you need not fear anything from either of us."

The rest of the heated food was put on her plate, and disappeared in short order.

"Sue, let's go down to your room. That pain medication will kick in pretty soon and you want to be ready to sleep when it does. There are clothes in the closet that may well fit you. Also, let us know if there is anything that you need help with."

"You're too kind, Yvonne. Why are you going out of your way to help me this way?"

"Sue, you're only a few years older than our daughter. I've known you for about ten years and I like you. And, you are in trouble and need help. Those are the major reasons we're helping you. On top of that our faith teaches us to help those who need help. Now, let's go to your room."

As we walked to the guest room we could both see that Sue was in awe of the house. As we entered the room she would use she almost lost it: "I've never seen a place like this before, except in magazines. This is beautiful. Am I dreaming?"

"No, Sue, you aren't dreaming. Now, what do you prefer to sleep in? We have nightgowns and pajamas. I'll get you a robe and slippers from the closet. These belonged to Jeff's mother. "

"I normally don't sleep in anything. I would love to take a bath but don't know how I can arrange it. I'm not even sure I can get into a tub and out of it again. I'm not supposed to get the cast or bandages wet."

"Well, if you wish I, or Jeff and I, could give you a sponge bath. He's strong enough to help you move with that cast and he will leave the room anytime you are exposed. Would that work?"

"Yes, but I'm nervous about having a man near me while I am almost naked. The beating is still too recent for me."

"I understand, Sue. I will leave the sponge bath to Yvonne. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get our family doctor out here to give you a good physical. You'll like her, she's a really good person."

"Your doctor is a woman?"

"Yes, and she is an excellent doctor."

I left the room and let Yvonne help Sue get cleaned up. It was forty minutes later when she came out.

"Her lights are off and she's asleep. It looks like that pain medication really carries a punch. I'm worried about how she looks. There's something else wrong, but I can't put a finger on it."

"I'll call the doc and ask her to make a special house call tomorrow morning, early." We have had the doctor and her husband over for dinner several times. As a personal favor she agreed to come out and take a good look at Sue.

"She'll drop by early tomorrow morning. She thought it might be best to see her ASAP when I mentioned your concern."

We sat down in the living room and snuggled together on the couch.

"What kind of a person does that kind of thing to a woman? It makes no sense."

"Well, Jeff, the average prostitute normally does not have gentlemen for clients. Some people see prostitutes as perfectly fair game. They figure that neither the police, nor society, will care much if they are hurt. Of course they are wrong. Almost any decent police person will be just as concerned about a prostitute being abused as any other woman. After all the abuser may well be ready to move on to picking on 'more respectable' victims."

"I love you, wife of mine. Let's go to bed and enjoy each other in a more physical way."

Sex that night was wonderful. We started out in the whirlpool bath and then moved onto the bed. As usual, we started out our lovemaking with a nice session of sixty-nine. Yvonne is unbelievably talented in that way.

After sixty-nine we decided for cowgirl, reverse cowgirl, and doggie as the next stages. I love to watch Yvonne's beautiful breasts swaying as she gets it on. I'm physically at the point where I may be able to ejaculate once in an evening, but we try to time things so that she gets multiple orgasms before I have mine. That way we both are satisfied. Afterwards, there is nothing like falling asleep with the one you love in your arms.

Before we fell asleep I set the alarm for five a.m.. Tomorrow was a Saturday and I had no classes to teach but the doctor would be dropping by early.

Our doctor, Janet Wolfe arrived at six a.m. I had coffee and coffee-cake ready for her. As she had her cup of coffee Yvonne filled Janet in on Sue's past.

"Has she been tested for STDs?"

"I don't know. You might want to draw some blood for blood work."

"I figured I might need to do that."

Finishing her coffee, Janet said "Well, let's go see our patient."

We led Janet to the guest room and Yvonne took her into the room. I stayed in the living room. We weren't sure if Sue would be 'decent' or not and didn't want to embarrass her. It was twenty minutes later that they came back out of the room.

"You have a good eye, Yvonne. She is sicker than she realizes. My bet, at this point, is that she has at least a severe yeast infection and possibly hepatitis. She also shows signs of having some fluid in her lungs. I drew some samples and will get the lab on them stat. When you expressed your concerns, I brought blood sample tubes out with me, just in case. I'll let you know the results. I'm dropping the vials off at the hospital lab on the way into work. I may know the gory details this afternoon."

"Thanks Janet. Have them send us the bill."

"I'll do that, and thanks for the coffee."

"Janet, we have a little thank you gift for coming out here on such short notice." Saying that I handed her an envelope.

"Open it when you get to your office. Drive safely Janet."

And she was gone.

*********************

It was two in the afternoon when Janet was at our door.

"What brings you out here, Janet."

"Two things, your little gift was in four figures. Thank you. And, I've got the test results and need to administer some medicine ASAP."

"What's the problem?"

"Sue doesn't have the flu. She has bacterial pneumonia. The anti-biotic that the hospital prescribed isn't the right one. I brought a very potent antibiotic with me and want to give it to her right now. I'm planning on staying for about four hours to make sure she doesn't have an allergic reaction to it. On top of that I have a heavy dose of medicine to fight the vaginal yeast infection that she has."

By this time, Sue had barely eaten breakfast and didn't want lunch. Her appetite was nowhere as good as it had been the previous night. The doctor gave her the medicines and checked on her about every ten minutes for the first hour. After that, she checked every half hour. By five that evening Janet was comfortable in leaving.

"Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"Some other time, perhaps. I'm joining my husband in going to a banquet thrown by the humanities department at the college. As the chair of that department he is expected to be there. Thank you anyway. Don't forget the list of instructions I left on your kitchen table. If any of the warning signs it describes show up, call 911 and get her to the hospital with the note to tell them what to do."

With that our doctor left. We went into Sue's room to ask her what she would like for supper.

"I'm not really hungry."

"Well, you should eat something. How about a milkshake?"

Sue smiled at that suggestion. "Do you have strawberry?"

I replied "Yup! one strawberry milkshake coming up." and headed for the kitchen.

"Yvonne, you have a wonderful man there. Where did you meet him?"

"In tenth grade homeroom. He was new to the school and I introduced myself."

"What does he do?"

"He's the professor of physics at the college. I met him through my daughter."

"Wow, I've heard that physics is a tough course."

"You don't know the half of it. As I understand it, if you study any form of engineering, chemistry, geology, or meteorology you will end up with physics. I've glanced at some of the exams that his students have had to take and can't even understand the questions much less know how to solve them."

"Yvonne, what will happen if my attacker finds me. I'm the only witness who can identify him by sight."

"I wouldn't worry about that. We are out in 'the sticks' here. Have you ever handled a gun?"

"I was pretty good with a .22 rifle when I was a kid."

"I can bring you a .22 rifle if it would make you feel safer. We also have a professional alarm system installed in the house."

"I'd feel better with the rifle on hand."

"Okay, but don't put the loaded magazine into it unless you have to use it."

Yvonne brought her a Mossberg semi-automatic rifle and a full nine shot magazine.

Sue immediately recognized it. "This is the same as the first rifle I ever used."

"Good, here is the magazine. It has nine hollow point .22 caliber long rifle cartridges in it. Please, do not put the magazine in it unless you need to use it."

"Don't worry! That is the second rule I was taught. The first rule was never to aim it at any living thing you didn't plan on killing."

It was then that I delivered the strawberry milkshake to Sue.

"If you want more, just let us know. Now, I'll get out of here so you two ladies can talk."

"Yvonne, I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing for me. Not only are you treating me like your own daughter, your husband is treating me like a lady. Does he know what I did for a living?"

"Yes, he knows. However, he also knows that the human condition, since the fall, has been one of sin, misunderstanding, and mistakes. As one of my favorite passages says, 'For there is no distinction; since all have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ.' "

"Oh, I know about Christians! The man who beat me up said that he was a Christian and he was trying to teach a sinner a lesson."

"No person, who would treat another person like this, is a Christian! I suspect that you have never knowingly met real Christians. When you are better I'll explain that. For right now, you should finish off the milkshake and get some sleep."

"Okay, mom. I hope you don't mind me calling you that. It is a comforting thing to me."

"It's fine, Sue. Now, get some sleep."

When Yvonne came out to the kitchen we sat and talked. She filled me in on Sue's thoughts about Christianity.

"Yvonne, if you think back you may remember you had some of those ideas as well. What she needs, for understanding, is to see real Christians in action. We need to pray for her eyes to be opened to the wonderful gift God has given us."

We prayed and then decided to do a bit of reading before going to bed. We had other things to do once we got to bed!

*****************

About a week after Sue started the antibiotics she was feeling much better. She still needed to recuperate from her pneumonia and beating, but she was obviously on the mend. It was then that she started to be bored.

Having been thrown out of her house by her parents when she was fourteen, her education was less than adequate. We decided to talk to her about her education. That evening, at dinner, Yvonne opened the discussion.

"Sue, what grade were you in when you were kicked out of your parent's house?"

"Ninth, why?"

"Have you done any type of school work since then?"

"No, why are you asking me these things?"

I could see the concerned look on Sue's face.

"Sue, if you are going to have a future where you are not going to get beaten again, you need to find another line of work. To get that line of work, you need at least a high school diploma. We want to find out if you would be willing to stay with us, at no cost to you, while finishing your g.e.d. (general equivalent diploma)."

"Why would you want to do that for me? People don't go out of their way to help strangers."

"Sue, you've been a friend of Yvonne's for several years. I have grown to like you, like another daughter, and am very concerned about your future. We want to give you a chance at a good life. Will you accept our offer? We can assure you that there are no strings attached."

"I would like to take you up on that offer. But there are some practical things in the way."

Yvonne asked: "For example?"

"First of all, I don't want to feel like a burden on you. I would want to do something to help out around here."

"Okay, that's one thing. What's the other?"

"I'd feel better telling Yvonne this problem, alone. Would you go in the other room while I tell her?"

"Of course. Let me know when it is safe to come back in."

With that I got up and went into my den. When the ladies heard my den door shut, Sue started to talk.

"Yvonne, you know I've been doing 'tricks' for years. Beside earning money to live, it often also helped me get rid of sexual tension. I don't know how long I can go without some form of sexual relief. As it is now, I've been a week without being able to get off. I'm going nuts, out of frustration."

Yvonne sat contemplating that comment for a moment.

"Have I embarrassed you by telling you that?"

"No, Sue, I'm working on a solution. Let me ask you a pointed question. Do you masturbate?"