Crown's Law by Wolf Wootan

Sam, “That
poor thing doesn’t even have a nightgown, and her underwear is a
disgrace! Tomorrow I’m taking her shopping to get her some decent
clothes. She doesn’t even have a bathing suit so she can take a
swim! Well, we’ll do something about that!”
    “Don’t get too involved, Mom! We have to
decide what to do with her,” said Sam, but he knew the shopping
trip would take place no matter what he said.
    ***
    Sunday morning, the three of them had
breakfast on the large redwood deck under a blue-and-white-striped
umbrella. Becky did not say much, and stared out to sea a lot.
    She ate heartily, however, and spoke whenever
she was spoken to. She wolfed down eggs, bacon, hash browns, four
pieces of toast with grape jelly, and lots of milk. She felt very
sad and alone. She wondered what these nice, friendly people would
do with her. She knew their only option was to turn her over to
CPS.
    Becky thought, Well, they’ve fed me, so I guess they’ll break the news to me
now! CPS, here I come! How do I escape? I’ve got no place to
go!
    Becky was surprised when Mrs. Crown said,
“Now, Samuel, let’s clear these dishes away and you can take Becky
and I shopping. We’re going to get her some new clothes. I won’t
see her in these rags another second! Besides, she needs a bathing
suit so she can take a dip in the ocean.”
    Becky said, “I can’t afford any clothes,
ma’am. I only have a couple of dollars. I was going to get $20 for
. . .”
    “Never you mind, child! My platinum credit
card will take care of everything quite nicely,” replied Helena
with a wave of her hand.
    “Well, can we make it Wal-Mart then? They’re
cheaper, and it will take me awhile to pay you back as it is,”
Becky complained.
    Poor dear! thought Helena. So proud! I guess I
should play along .
    “All right, dear. If that’s how you want it
to be. We can go up to Alicia Parkway, Samuel. There’s a Wal-Mart
up there I think. I was thinking South Coast Plaza, but this will
be closer. Now, let’s get a move on! Mr. Crown called from his boat
and said he’ll be home around 3 o’clock. We’ll want to be back by
then.”
    That will be the fastest
she ever shopped for anything! mused Sam.
    ***
    Becky was panicked at the large amount of
clothing Mrs. Crown was buying. Her cash-register brain was adding
up the cost as Helena threw things in the shopping cart.
    I’ll never be able to pay for all of this! She’s buying so much!
But . . . everything is so beautiful! I’ll figure out a way to
repay her . . . somehow!
    When they got back to the beach house, Helena
helped Becky put her new clothes in the closet and the dresser.
Then she gathered up all of Becky’s tattered clothing and took them
away.
    “You won’t be needing these anymore,” she
said.
    Becky put on one of her new bathing suits—a
pretty red one-piece—and donned her new white coverup. Then she
slipped on her new chic sandals and went downstairs to join Sam and
Helena on the deck. It was 2 o’clock and Mrs. Crown had fixed tuna
sandwiches and Hawaiian potato chips for lunch.
    “I can’t thank you enough for the clothes,
Mrs. Crown. I wrote down the amount. I’ll repay you someday,” said
Becky as she chomped a potato chip. “That’s a promise!”
    “I’m sure you will, dear. Now, let’s eat, and
later you can take a swim. You do know how to swim, don’t you?”
    “Yes, ma’am. I’m a good swimmer. I haven’t
been in the ocean for awhile, though,” replied Becky.
    Sam went swimming with Becky because he
wanted to see for himself how good a swimmer she was. He didn’t
want to be responsible for her drowning. While they were in the
water, Sam’s father came home from his fishing trip and was briefed
by Helena on the Becky situation. Helena gave him the task of
figuring out what to do with Becky, subject to Helena’s rules: one,
no CPS; two, not on the street again; and three, solve the
schooling problem. Becky should not be forced to go through