Julie watched with detached curiosity as the little drama played out in the park. It was about four o'clock on a balmy, breezy spring afternoon and the ducks and geese were gliding to and fro on the pond, looking for handouts from the park's occasional visitor. Julie wasn't interested in them just now, as her attention was on the young couple on the other side of the pond who seemed to be having a doozy of an argument.
She watched as the young man yelled his head off at the girl, who was yelling back at him tearfully. Julie was far enough away that she couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but she could tell the girl was crying and very upset. She could also see that she was very pretty, with dark reddish-brown hair hanging free just below her shoulders, wearing a tiny beige corduroy miniskirt and a pink tank top with spaghetti straps that showed off her admirable figure quite well. Julie tried to put any lustful thoughts about the young lady out of her mind, as she didn't appear to be of age and also apparently had a boyfriend.
Just then, something happened in the little drama on the other side of the manmade lake that changed Julie from an interested observer into a participant. The young man, probably at least six feet four and two hundred pounds, was grabbing the girl's arm and trying to drag her toward the parking lot. The girl was resisting, crying, and Julie could hear her pleas to him to leave her alone. At that point, Julie was on her feet and running, dressed in skin-tight jeans and tube top, to the other side of the water as fast as she could. She couldn't just sit there and let God-knows-what happen to the girl, and as she ran around the pond, she saw the boy reach out and slap the girl across the face so hard she sprawled backwards into the duckshit-caked grass.
Julie was furious. She had been in an abusive relationship and she couldn't let this go on. Her anger overrode her fear as she ran up and threw herself on the stranger, all five-and-a-half feet of her unleashing her rage on him.
"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE NOW BEFORE I KICK THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!" Julie screamed, pummeling the boy, who began to shrink back in fear and confusion. Finally he tried to regain a little control, and took a swipe at Julie.
"This is none of your goddam business, lady," he panted as he tried to dodge Julie's flying fists.
"I'm making it my business, punk, now hit the fucking road before I call the cops on your ass!"
The mention of the cops seemed to have an impact, because he backed off and started heading for the parking lot. "Jeannie, you comin' or what?" he said as he slunk of to his car.
"Fuck no she's not going anywhere with your sorry ass!" Julie yelled at him. "Just leave! NOW!"
The young man got to his car and turned to have the last word. "This ain't over, bitch," he said to the young lady.
At this point, Julie had had enough. She yelled at him, "It's over, asshole! My brother Jim is a deputy sheriff, and believe me, he's gonna hear about you."
With that, the young punk got a look of fear on his face and jumped into his car, fired it up and squealed out of the parking lot.
With him dealt with, Julie turned her attention to the young girl, still sitting in the filthy grass, her head in her hands, crying her eyes out.
Julie knelt down and held out her hand. "Jeannie?" she said quietly. "It's OK, sweetheart, he's gone. Let me help you up."
Jeannie looked up at Julie with tears streaming from her eyes, and Julie saw a horrible bruise on the right side of her face where the punk had hit her.
"Jeannie, it's OK, really, I'm here to help you. You've been hurt. Come on, take my hand."
The girl took her offered hand and stood up, looking at Julie with a look of utter helplessness and despair. The back of her tiny skirt, as well as the back of her legs, was covered in duck excrement, her face was bruised, hair disheveledβin short, she was a mess. Julie understood that look, that emotion that Jeannie was imparting, and instinctively held out her arms to the younger girl, who collapsed into them.
"It's OK, really. I'm gonna help you, Jeannie. My name's Julie, and I'll make sure you get home OK. Can you walk all right?"
"Yes," the girl sobbed in Julie's arms, "but I can't go home, not like this."
"How old are you, sweetie?" Julie asked.
"I just turned twenty-one, but I still live with my parents. I can't let them see me like thisβthey warned me about Rob but I didn't listen, now their just gonna gloat and say I told you so."
Julie felt a stirring, a longing, in her loins. This attractive, seemingly unattached young lady was over eighteen, actually not too much younger than she was. And she was in need of a friend right now.
"Come on, then, we'll go to my place. It's just down the street," Julie said. "We'll get you cleaned up and get some ice on that bruise, and you can tell me all about that bastard."
"Thanks," Jeannie said, her tears subsiding as she pulled away from Julie. "Thanks a lot, but I don't want to get this duck crap all over your car."
"Not to worry," Julie said as she walked over to her little sedan and popped open the trunk. "I have a couple of old beach towels I keep back here for emergencies just like this." She pulled out a ragged old towel and opened the passenger side door of the car, and threw it across the seat. "There you go, go ahead and have a seat."