Can't Stop the Girl

After breakfast and a shower, Annie put on her brightest red dress and white tights and packed up her guitar, and it was off to the hospital. She spent the entire trip telling herself surely she wouldn't have to go too far with the doctor...and if she did, wasn't it worth it to get the toys back? Just how would it help get the toys back? No sense in worrying about that until she could prove he was the thief anyway, she admitted. Remembering his smug grin on the website, she almost hoped he wasn't.

Arriving at reception with her guitar slung over her shoulder, Annie forced a smile. "Hello!" she said to the clerk. "Is Doctor Stone in yet?"

"He is!" bellowed a stern male voice from behind the scenes before the clerk could even open her mouth. "Which bureaucrat wants a piece of us this time?" The face Annie had been dreading appeared from around the corner by the elevators, but his face softened when he saw Annie. "Well, hello! You don't look like a bureaucrat."

"I'm not!" Annie said, feigning the most enthusiasm she could. "My name is..." It occurred to her now that the perfect Christmastime alias now sounded too much like an alias, but there was no time to think of a new one. "...Holly. I'm with the Catholic church in the city and we've been making the rounds singing for kids in the hospital. I was wondering if your patients might have some kids who could use cheering up? Or the heroes themselves?"

"Well, that's mighty thoughtful of you," the doctor said, and to Annie's mild surprise he shook her hand like a gentleman. "We could sure use more of that, the way our government sends our boys and girls off to war and then forgets about them when they get hurt. And their poor kids! I'll tell you what, we do have a nursery upstairs for kids with a parent here. You'd be welcome to come entertain them!"

"I can sing for the patients too, you know, if they'd like that," Annie said as the elevator closed on them, pretending not to notice that he was leering at her and debating whether to try fighting him off if he tried to touch her. In any event, he didn't -- yet.

"I think some of them likely would," Dr. Stone said. "But let's start with the kids. Say, do you know the two fine young men who were here the other night for the prayer service?"

"Only to say hello," Annie said, feeling disappointed and relieved at once -- at least now she knew Sullivan and Jeff really weren't the culprits.

Annie reminded herself to smile through her rage if the nursery was stocked with shiny new toys. It was, and she did, breathing deeply as the doctor introduced her and the kids began to gather around her in the corner where he settled her. "We just got a shipment of new toys the other day," he explained. "So some of the kids might pay them more attention than you."

"They do look like fun," Annie managed to say as she nodded at two girls clutching pristine teddy bears who settled themselves at her feet.

Reminding herself that it wasn't the kids' fault, and pleased with herself for at least identifying the thief so quickly, she tuned her guitar and said hello and merry Christmas to the kids. One of the girls with the teddy bears called out for "Frosty the Snowman" immediately, and Annie complied.

Two hours of cheering up the kids, and appreciative hellos from nurses and parents, raised Annie's spirits somewhat. It did not get her any closer to a plan for getting the toys back, but at least she'd be able to report Dr. Stone to the police.

That idea had her genuinely happy to see the man when he put in another appearance around noon. "Holly, how'd you like to join me for lunch?" he asked. "Surely you could use a break."

"That'd be great, doctor!" With a promise to the kids that she'd be back to sing some more later, Annie packed up her guitar again and followed him down the hall -- she guessed towards the cafeteria -- and did her best to keep her cool. Thinking of the toys, thinking of Daryle, she steeled herself for an unexpected turn with her nemesis.

It came sooner than she expected. Doctor Stone stopped by an office door and pulled out a set of keys. "We're not going to lunch, then?" Annie asked.

"You don't think I'd treat a doll like you to cafeteria food, do you?" he said. He opened the door and stood aside, and Annie found herself ushered into an opulent office that looked nothing like anything she'd ever seen in a hospital. A dining table was set up in one corner with two place settings and wine glasses. "Drop of wine for you to start?" he asked.

"No thanks." Annie had seen enough movies with spiked drinks.

"A teetotaler, huh?" Dr. Stone said. "Mind if I have some?" He picked up the bottle to pour himself a glass before she could answer.

"Aren't you on duty?"

"Never you mind that, little lady," he said. "Now, do you like your appetizers before or after the main course?"

"Depends on what the main course is," Annie said, nervous that she knew what it was.

"Well, now," he said, and before Annie knew just what had happened he had her pinned against the wall by the table. "You sang so beautifully for our kids, I can only think of one way to pay you back. The main course is me, little lady!" He slipped his right hand under her skirt, still holding her back with his left arm across her chest.

"Doctor, I'm on my period." She managed to say it in an even voice, though she could hear the fright and disgust in it.

"That's what they all say when they're playing hard to get!" With a ravenous grin, he yanked Annie's panties out of the way. As she felt his unwelcome groping, she could only hope he'd have the typical male revulsion when he realized she wasn't lying.

To her great relief, he did. As his fingers found her tampon string, his grin disappeared and his face turned to a grimace of irritation, as if it were her fault. "Then you really are," he said. "Well, you can still --"

The very thought of what he might say next was all Annie needed. She'd managed to wrap one leg around one of his, and she pulled that leg back and shoved as hard as she could. It was just enough to get him off balance, and he tumbled backwards onto the table, where his wine glass spilled on him. Annie was vaguely aware of him grabbing at her breast with his left hand as he fell, but he failed to get a grip on that or anything else.

"You bitch!" he grunted, and he managed to get back to his feet before Annie could escape. But she had gotten a hold of her guitar, and she clocked him in the temple with the case, sending him sprawling on the floor.

She jumped atop him and straddled his chest, holding her hands tight around his neck. "Where did you get the toys?!" she screeched. "Did you steal them?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!" He squirmed and kicked at her, but Annie kept her hold on his throat.

"The new toys! Did you steal them?"

"Hell, no! A general's wife had surgery here last summer, and he bought the toys as a thank you! What's your problem?!"

Annie let go of his neck, but when he grabbed at her again, she kneed him in the balls. "Oofff! You fuckin' bitch! I'll call the cops!"

"And tell them you tried to rape a volunteer who came to sing to the kids?! Besides, how do I know the general story is true?!"

"General Paul Gernon. It was in the papers just last week! Now get out of my office!" He was still writhing on the floor.

"With pleasure," Annie snapped. She grabbed up her guitar and stormed out of the office. Following the signs for the stairwells, she was downstairs and out in the chilly freedom in a matter of minutes.

Twenty minutes later, safe in her locked car in a parking lot several miles away, Annie got out her phone and googled General Paul Gernon and Park Meadows. It took all of two minutes to determine that the asshole's story was true.

She was still reading about the good General's gift when a police siren split the frigid afternoon air. A glance up confirmed Annie's worst fear: the cruiser was headed down Bedford Road, the main artery into her part of Park Meadows. They could be going anywhere for miles around her home, she told herself.

Anywhere including her home.

Though she doubted she was in any real trouble, Annie started the car and headed for the interstate.

She drove south for hours, away from Park Meadows and farther away from the city, well into territory she'd never seen before. The cheerful holiday music on the radio and the passing time with no further sign of the cops soon had her breathing easier, but not easy. She drove until the sun began to set and she was nearly out of state, then decided she might as well get across the river for the novelty of spending the night in another state.

Stopping at the first hotel she saw on the other side of the river, she got a room for the night. Only on her arrival in the room did she remember she didn't have any toiletries with her, or any clothes except the dress on her back. A visit to a convenience store she'd seen by the highway exit yielded a toothbrush, shampoo, a comb and tampons, but clothing-wise Annie concluded she was out of luck. If there was a shopping mall anywhere near here, it probably closed early on Sundays if it opened at all.

A recommendation at the front desk yielded dinner at a diner two miles down the road. As she got out of her car, she spied a makeshift stage at one end of the lunch counter. Figuring it was worth a try, she got her guitar out of the backseat and carried it inside, where her costume got a lot of attention from the old guys sipping beer at the bar, but Annie was well-versed in ignoring that sort of attention.

"Are you the entertainment for the night?" one of the less-drunk ones asked.

"I can be," Annie said. "Any chance I can sing for my supper?"

"Only if you promise not to sing Christmas carols," said the man behind the counter. "I'd had an earful of those a month ago."

They settled on a sandwich and a bowl of soup for an hour of singing, and Annie soon found herself perched on the stool, wracking her brain for the next Dylan or Beatles song she could remember all the words to while working her way through the last. Which at least let her steer almost clear of the afternoon's awful memories or the excruciating knowledge that it had all been for nothing. The patrons mostly ignored her or applauded politely, and Annie was almost happy.

All was well until a teenage boy who'd come in with his family piped up from a booth at the far end. "Freeeeeebird!" he called out, triggering a round of laughs from the drunks at the bar.

Annie kept her cool. "Tell you what," she said. "I'll play that if you come up here and sing it."

"You don't want to hear him sing!" taunted the boy's kid sister.

"Shut up, twerp!" he snapped, and his request was promptly forgotten amidst angry words from his parents. Annie almost felt sorry for him -- though not quite, since she wasn't even sure if she knew the chords to "Free Bird" to begin with -- and as she kicked into the next song, she wondered if she ought to apologize to the family if they were still there when she got done.

It was well past dark when Annie finished her set and the diner was quite crowded by then. But the waiter had cut the drunks off and they'd taken their leave, and he beckoned for Annie to sit at the counter. "Nice job, kiddo," he said. "I'll have your dinner in a minute."

"Thanks." Annie sat down and looked over toward the table where her heckler and his family had been, only to see they were all heading her way. The poor boy's mother had his arm in an iron grip. Annie cracked and uncomfortable smile.

"Miss, my son has something he'd like to say to you," the mother declared, giving him a rough push towards Annie.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, his eyes cast toward the floor. "I was only joking. And I thought your comeback was pretty funny, too."

"So did I," said the waiter, who had just appeared from the kitchen with Annie's dinner in hand. He set it on the counter before her.

The boy laughed uncomfortably. "Oh, cool," he said. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Annie said. "Thank you. And merry Christmas."

"And?" The boy's mother prodded him.

"Oh! Right. Heh." The boy shifted. "Speaking of Christmas, we need a singer for our church party next week. If you'd like the job..."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Annie said. "But I'm not from here. I'm just...passing through."

"Tough time of year to be traveling alone," the waiter said. "Hope you don't have to go too far."

"I don't," Annie said. "I ought to get there tomorrow.

"Where are you headed?" asked the mother.

"Park Meadows." Annie figured it wouldn't raise any suspicions if she said she was going there rather than coming from there.

"Oh, not too far, then," said the boy's father.

"But far enough she wouldn't have to drive back down here just for us," the boy pleaded.

"You might want to come someplace else for Christmas, to tell you the truth," the waiter said. Turning to the family, he added, "You guys probably know about Father Logan up there, don't you?"

"Oh, dear God," said the mother. "Yes, everybody around here remembers him." Turning to Annie, she explained, "Father Logan was a crazy religious nut who used to lead a storefront church here. Almost a cult, really. He finally got shut down a few years ago when they got him for credit card fraud. After he got out of jail, rumor has it he moved up to Park Meadows."

"He's hard to miss around Christmastime," explained the father. "Always railing against commercialism and about the real meaning of Christmas."

"When we were little, all the kids were terrified of Father Logan," added the boy. "Because he was always saying Christmas presents were evil and un-Christian. Parents always used to threaten to have Father Logan steal our presents if we weren't good."

"We never did that!" his mother added firmly. At last she released her son from her grips and he lunged for the door. "Good night," she said to Annie and the waiter.

As Annie bid them all good night and turned her attention to her sandwich, she was privately thrilled. Another lead!

Father Logan, Father Logan... Annie repeated the name again and again so as not to forget it. Back to the hotel, she scribbled the name down on the notepad at the desk. Alone at last with the still-ripening memory of Doctor Stone, she undressed and threw all her clothes in the bathtub to wash them with shampoo. Once they were hung around the heater by the window to dry, Annie drew a fresh bath and did her best to wash away the hateful sensation he'd left between her thighs. It was no use, she'd be feeling dirty for a while. At least, she pondered as she tried in vain to relax in the steamy water, she was a step closer to finding the toys. But why hadn't the cops thought of Father Logan right off?

The cops. Were they looking for her now?

An echo from the bed - her phone ringing. Annie's heart raced, and she elected to stay in the water and hope for the best. When another eternity ticked by in ten or fifteen minutes and the cops didn't break down her door, Annie got out of the tub and dried off, and braved a look at the missed call on her phone.

To her immense relief, it was only Daryle. Annie stared at the phone in half-relief, half-vexation -- only hours before, talking to Daryle on the phone in a nice private hotel room where she literally couldn't wear any clothes would have been a dream come true. Now, the day's events had her feeling naked rather than nude, and vulnerable even with a lovely and harmless young man like Daryle. But maybe he knew something she needed to hear, and maybe he needed her.

Annie turned out the bedside lamp and, with only the glow from the bathroom to backlight her, she stepped to the curtains and opened them just enough to give the barren fields a defiant peek at her naked body. She would not let that asshole deprive her of her joy and pleasure in herself in this season of goodwill, thank you very much! Swallowing hard in case it was bad news, Annie pressed the call button.

"Annie?!" came Daryle's voice, sounding just as urgent as she was feeling, which gave her a start.

"Daryle? What's wrong?"

"Another fight with my mom! I just can't take it anymore! I'm out walking until she calms down, if she clams down. I know I have no right to do this, but...can I come over?"

"Oh, Daryle, I'd love you to, but I'm not home right now. Is there someplace else you can spend the night?"

"I can go home once Mom locks herself in her room, I guess. Where are you?"

"It's best that you don't know." If she was in the news back home, that ought to get it out of him, she reasoned.

"Oh...I see." Annie couldn't read that "oh" at all, but there was no breathless news about visits from the police or anything else, and she relaxed a bit more as she gazed out at the empty fields. "Well, what about tomorrow, then?"

"I'd love to see you tomorrow, Daryle." Truer word was never spoken! "In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help from here?"

"Not if I don't even know where 'here' is," Daryle said. "I just...fuck, it's the season of cheer and love and goodwill, and I just want to be somewhere I can feel that. I hope you are in a place like that right now!"

"I assure you I'm not, Daryle. But I feel for you and I could sure use your company as well right now! Can I call you tomorrow?"

"I'm on lunch shift at Woody's. He hired me back for the break. Can I call you when I get off? You'll probably be finishing work then too."

Work! Annie hadn't even thought of that -- she'd have to either leave hours before sunrise and wear that ridiculous outfit, or call in sick. But that was the least of her worries just now. Again, best that Daryle didn't know. "Sure, Daryle, I'd like that. Maybe you can come by my place for dinner, even."

"I'd love that! But...Annie, if you're with another guy tonight, I mean, it's none of my business, but do you still want to...you know?"

"More than you can imagine, Daryle. Don't worry about that!" Her heart sank as she realized now he'd be sure she was with another guy...but there was no other way.

"Okay. I'll see you then, Annie. Good night."

"Good night, Daryle."

Feeling more sad than scared -- Daryle's embrace would feel so heavenly just now! -- Annie tossed her phone back on her bed and turned back to the window. She opened the curtain wider and stood unapologetically hands-on-hips, and breathed the hot dry air from the heater. She was free, she still loved her body, and that asshole would not take anything away from her, she told herself again and again until she believed it.

After a few more minutes to continue with the healing, Annie retrieved her phone and googled Father Logan. Sure enough, he was in Park Meadows, and from what Annie was able to make of the several news items she found on him, he was trying to rebuild his congregation. One official-looking page said something about a Bible study group at the community center. So that was how he'd have heard about the toys!

Annie did not sleep well that night, but she did fall asleep sometime towards sunrise and wake up at a plausible hour to call in sick to work. With that out of the way, she checked the local news back in Park Meadows and found no news about a manhunt for a young woman dressed like an elf. Drilling down further, she googled Dr. Stone and found nothing more recent than the news of General Gernon and his gift. Annie heaved a sigh of relief and got out of bed. The heater had dried her clothes, she had a day off, and evidently she wasn't wanted.

Mrs. Goldstein was just sitting down to lunch when Annie arrived home. "Very interesting outfit, Annie," she said.

"Thanks," Annie said wearily.

"You didn't wear that to work, did you? Why aren't you at work?"