I smiled at my skinny shrimp of a cousin as she practiced on her trampoline. At 15, she still looked like an 11-year-old, with her blonde hair tied in a ragged ponytail and her innocent white T-shirt and cut-off shorts outfit. Her mom, my father's sister Tanya, had just gotten a divorce the year before. Tracie, her only child, had taken it hard but was throwing herself, literally, into her gymnastics. She'd always been a natural, with her skinny body and graceful moves. "Nice backflip!" I called out as she somersaulted up, landing on her feet.
I was 3 years older, just starting college, and had come up for a weekend because I was Tracie's favorite among the kids her own age in the family. Her mom was a bit of a black sheep, and had isolated herself in her marriage, cutting some family ties. Then her marriage fell apart, and I knew that if the family didn't support her, she'd have nothing left emotionally. None of the other cousins was as good-natured or forgiving. Also, Tracie lived in Modesto, and I was going to college at Santa Clara, having purchased a small place [1-room shack with attached bathroom, really] perfect for myself. [My family is not in the Fortune 500, but we don't lack for money.] The rest of the family was back in the Midwest, where our roots are.
I spent the weekend with my aunt and cousin, enjoying myself. I told Tracie that if she ever needed anything, just to call me. I fully intended to stay in the Bay Area after finishing school. I didn't know then what I was letting myself in for.
[3 years later]
I was sitting on the floor, trying to plan out how to handle my soon-to-start senior year of college, when the phone rang.
"Jeffrey!" said a desperate voice. "Thank God you're home! Remember that promise you made?"
"Tracie?!" I gasped. "What's the matter?"
"I can't take it anymore," she sobbed. "Mom's been acting worse and worse since the divorce, and I ran away. I'll be at your house in 5 minutes."
The phone went dead in my ear. I hung it up, stunned, as I tried to make plans. Before I could react, the doorbell rang. I walked over to see my cousin.
She was a mess. Her face was red from crying. Her clothes were in a disheveled state, and she had a ragged, half-torn duffel bag with her few possessions slung over her shoulder. I brought her in, closed the door, and sat her down in a chair. "Tell me what's been going on," I said.
The story I got was simple, and horrifying. Unable to find another man after the divorce, Tanya threw her share of the family fortune away on booze and drugs. She would yell and scream at Tracie over the slightest perceived fault. The living situation got worse and worse, until finally the two of them were in a flophouse, unable to pay rent even there. Tanya got drunk and passed out, and Tracie packed her stuff and walked out. Then she came here, not knowing where else to go.
By the end, Tracie was in full-out flood mode with her tears. I pulled her close and hugged her. I then realized that she had grown a lot. Her body had filled out, she was several inched taller, and she now had curves. And her charms had to be at least 38D. Even as a crying, sobbing mess, she was still very attractive.
I tried to put such thoughts out of my head as I offered words of comfort. "You'll always have a home here," I told her. "I'm not going to yell or scream at you. I will do whatever I can to make you happy. You won't ever have to walk out in anger with no place to go."
My cousin stopped her crying and hugged me even tighter. I could feel her body pressing hard against me. "Really?" she said hopefully.
"Absolutely," I replied.
She smiled. Her smile was radiant. "Wonderful," she said. "Now what do you have to eat? It wasn't easy getting here."
After dinner, we lay down on the bed. I filled her in on my life as a student, majoring in physics. It was a life that led to a lot of studying and little social life.