Pocahontas bedding and curtains matched the light-blue walls of Sherry's bedroom. Teddy bears and Black dolls with longhair lay next to her. With all the things she showered her daughter with to make her bedroom her own, she knew Sherry would only end up in the bed with her later that night. Jennifer smiled at her sleepy face and bent to kiss her.

"Good night sugar. Tomorrow we'll go see aunt Deborah and Devon." she said and turned toward the bedroom door. She clicked the light switch off and the nightlight took control of the darkness. Sherry was out with the light.

Jennifer made a stop in the bathroom and then headed toward her bedroom removing her robe. Terrence was already sleeping. She gaze at him in thought then laid down and picked up her book to finish reading. She compared the book's plot to her own life where the main character was a single mom living with her boyfriend against her family's wishes, but the drama in her life was not as extreme as in the book. She had a simple life, work, love, and fun every now and then.

Sherry had started school in the fall and would be turning seven in two weeks. She planned on a Chuck-n-Cheese birthday party with some of Sherry's schoolmates. Forty dollars was about right. Even though Terrence was not working, he did good keeping the house and paying the bills. Lay offs were plentiful in the city these days.

Jennifer felt her eyes drop and the book fell from her grip so she reached over and turned the lamp off.

The day started as usual, her rushing to get dressed, Sherry lagging around getting ready for school, and Terrence in the kitchen making breakfast. He was a good cook. She darted from the front door and took the usual route to Sherry's school. Sherry leaped from the car and ran happily toward the school door. Jennifer honked her horn at another of the parents she recognized and continued on to work.

Sam ole, same ole at work. Sitting there in her cubicle, taking calls, making calls. She glared over at Reese who sat next to her across the narrow breezeway. Reese smiled a spiteful smile. Her daughter's pictures was twice as big as Sherry's picture; this was the competition in the office, who had the biggest picture of their child and who really had the most beautiful kids. Jennifer knew she had them all beat with Sherry, and they all knew it too.

She took a routine call but it was not a customer, it was the school nurse. Her eyes hung on one object as she listened to the nurse explain that she had examined Sherry and by a local physician after a complaint from the teacher that Sherry had been rubbing herself in class.

"Rubbing herself where?" Jennifer forced strong words into the phone so not to be heard. "What do you mean down there. Where is she let me talk to her." She was refused the chance and she told the nurse she would be right there and hung up in anger and shock. She stood up and looked over the cubicle rows around for her supervisor. Then she walked swiftly toward his office.

She explained she had a school emergency and she hurried back to her desk, grabbed her purse and left. In the car she searched her mind bewilderedly for some reason the nurse could be getting this idea about Sherry. It must be a mistake.

She got to the school and noticed a police car in front. "What the hell?" she thought and fear ran through her chest. When she got into the school she did not even stop at the front desk but went straight to the nurses office. Sherry sat quietly in a chair beside a long-legged white woman and an officer standing on the other side.

"What is going on?" Jennifer asked as she reached for Sherry. The officer blocked her reached with his notepad.

"Sorry Ms. Waters, she is in state custody right now, you can…." Sherry turned from the officer and to the nurse who came through the back door of the office. "What the hell is going on here Ms. Turner? What do you mean about Sherry rubbing herself?"

The white lady stood up tall beside Jennifer holding Sherry's hand. "Ms Waters, we can schedule an appointment to talk over this situation in my office tomorrow."

"No, I want to talk now!" Jennifer's voice had risen.

"Well, we have reason to believe your daughter has been sexually assaulted, in fact the test show she has been penetrated."

"Test, what f***king test? You tested my daughter without my permission? Who the hell do you people think you are?" Jennifer started shouting. She reached toward Sherry and took her by the arm. She pulled and the tall woman pulled and the officer slowly and firmly forced Jennifer's hands away. Jennifer struggled more and the officer had to use more force. He yanked Jennifer away and Sherry started crying. This started Jennifer to crying and shouting. "No! What are you people doing, there is nothing wrong with my daughter!"

The next day Jennifer sat on her couch crying after talking to her mother. Terrence sat next to her for comfort. "My mother is trippin." She said thinking about what her mother had said. Her mother implied that Terrence was a bit shifty looking, but Jennifer said nothing to Terrence about what her mother said. There was a knock at the door and she heard radios on the other side. It was the police.

She opened the door and officers extended a yellow envelop her way. We have a search warrant Ms. Water."

Jennifer's eyes opened wide. She had never been searched and had so much drama in her life. The police walked in while she stood thinking, hard. Terrence rose as the officer came directly to him. "Are you Terrence Simmons?" Terrence looked shocked. Jennifer turned slowly toward the scene.

"Yes sir." He said. "Why, what's up?"

"You're under arrest for one count child molestation. You have the right to ……." The officer continued.

Jennifer looked in total confusion, like someone had sent a curse into her life. Tears continued down her face for two days and she felt like she was not going to live much longer. As they took Terrence away she could not look at him. She thought about her mother. Terrence assured her they were wrong and he never did anything to Sherry. Jennifer just stood, staring into her life.

Two months went by. Jennifer had not returned to work and her bills had piled up. She had seen Sherry only once at the court proceedings, and she saw Terrence only once. Sherry had been living with a foster family somewhere in the city. The court said that if Jennifer did not get her life back together she might not see Sherry for a while. But Sherry was too broken to work. She was too angry to think.

Her mother tried to explain to her that if she did not go back to work she would lose Sherry for sure. Jennifer understood but could not get her body to obey her brain. She had a nervous breakdown one evening while talking to her mother on the phone. The next morning she woke up in the hospital with her mother staring down at her. Her mother told her that her things were OK and that Marcus, her brother and his friends had gotten her things out of her apartment in time.

"In time?" she whispered. "In time why?" she said confused. She had been evicted. Terrence was in jail and Sherry was still with her foster family. Then it happened. Her mother sat close to her in the hospital bed and rubbed her forehead, tears fell and she looked sad.

"What's wrong mama?" Jennifer smiled in fear. She started crying, holding her mother's hand tightly and her mother held tightly back. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes Jennifer, there is." She said and caught her breath. "It's Sherry." She said and hesitated. She did not have to complete the sentence, Jennifer could feel the pain. She could feel her mother's pain and the pain Sherry felt when the foster father strangled her.

It was as if life betrayed her. All faith left her and there was no reason to be here. She was just a bad seed and a curse hung powerfully over her and her child. Used by the devil for the world to mock. Jennifer no more waited for the good but expected the worst.

The phone rang and Jennifer sat up quickly in the dark room. The familiar scent of the candle burning filled her nose and she wiped sweat from her face. Her heart pounded fast and she jerked her head around the room to recognize anything. The phone rang loudly again. She lifted the receiver and answered, afraid. "Hello….hello…hello." they had hung up and Jennifer slowly put the phone down. She gathered her thoughts and knew it was a dream.

She looked over at Terrence in the bed next to her then rushed into Sherry's room. Sherry was sleeping soundly under the Pocahontas bedding. She clutched her heart and looked up to the Lord, "Thank you Jesus." She thanked him over and over. Then she stood in the kitchen sipping juice when she heard it in her ear.

She quickly went to her bedroom determined to have a talk with Terrence. She turned on the top light flooding the room. She pulled the covers from off Terrence and called his name to wake him. "Terrence, Terrence." She said. He slowly turned over and looked at her like she was crazy. "What, what."

"You got to go."

His children hear his voice.
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