The two young people lived mostly by dumpster diving. They hit the dumpsters behind restaurants and grocery stores for food. Charity had found part time work as a waitress but lost the job the week before. She was fired because the clothes she had were not good enough for her to keep working. The boy took her entire pay check because he said it was a man’s job to handle the money in a family. Unfortunately he spent most of the money on beer and cigarettes. He didn’t let her buy clothes and they bought very little food. She would have starved if she had not been able to eat one meal a day at work. Her boyfriend seemed to eat almost everything they found in the dumpsters that was edible. He had become violent with her. He beat her this time when she told him she had no money and had lost her job because she didn’t dress well enough.
Tasha thought for a moment and said, “You need to come home with my husband and me. We live a long way out of town and you will be warm and safe there. I will see if he will allow that. Wait here.”
Tasha walked to the truck where Seth was tying the load down. She touched his arm gently. When he looked at her she explained Charity’s problem. She asked if she could come home with them for a while. To his credit Seth didn’t even hesitate. He merely told Tasha yes and sent her for Charity.
When Charity and Tasha got to the truck Seth asked, “Where is your car? Do we need to go pick up your things or do you have them here?”
Charity began crying and said, “No. He threw my clothes in the fire when I told him I needed more because they were no good. He laughed and said if they were no good any longer they should be destroyed. While he was burning my clothes I grabbed my purse and ran. All I own now is hidden in the storage shed in my purse. This morning while I was searching the dumpsters for food I saw he had moved his car. I don’t know if he has found some money somewhere and filled the car with gas and left town or if he just moved it. I really don’t care. I just want to get out of here and away from him. The plastic we were using for tents is still where we were parked.”
The three young people climbed into the cab of Seth’s truck. When they were all seated and buckled in Seth said, “I have seen that plastic on the new lumber. If your plastic tarps are in good repair we might be able to use them. If you’ll tell me where you were parked we will go get them and take them home with us.”
Charity directed Seth to the empty lot they had been camped in. The plastic was still there and in good repair so they folded it up and put it in the truck. They also picked up a couple of pans and some other items left lying around. On the way out of town they passed a second hand store. He slowed down and turned into the parking lot.
When he had parked and turned off the truck Seth reached into his pocket and took out some money. He counted out $60.00. Seth handed the money to Tasha and said, “Why don’t you and Charity take this money inside and buy her some clothes? Buy a good mattress for her to sleep on if they have one cheap enough. I think we have room to haul it on top of the load. Don’t take any longer than you have to. I want to get home before it’s too dark to unload.”
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