Page 97 of At Her Will

He was telling Bible stories, and integrating some singing into it. Though what he sang were playful rhymes and he kept his volume low, his compelling voice had drawn a crowd. Mothers perched on secondhand sofas or folding chairs, kept stacked in here for group counseling sessions. Many held children in their laps. Others lined the walls to listen.

While many of the kids were young, some were teens, including a boy so skinny a good wind could take him away. Rev’s gaze strayed to him several times. He was remembering Craig, she knew. He’d gone to the juvenile detention center to meet with him a couple times, though the boy had been unresponsive to anyone, even his own bewildered and horrified parents.

This scene was poignant and heartwarming, a needed contrast. Skye touched her arm, directing Vera’s attention toward what her friend really wanted her to see.

Cyn was leaning against the wall, listening to the stories with as much attention as anyone else. Mick stood next to her, his hand braced above her head. Like many here, they’d seen the worst side of humanity. Rev’s words offered a balm, maybe in a way they hadn’t expected. He had that effect.

Since Cyn was as situationally aware as a feral cat, she noticed Vera’s arrival. Saying something to Mick, she tugged onthe front of his shirt, an affectionate gesture, before sliding over to Vera and Skye.

“At first, I watched him because I didn’t want him bible thumping,” she admitted quietly, “But he’s not like that.”

“No, he’s not. I wouldn’t bring him if he was. I wouldn’t be with him if he was. I’m also bringing him to dinner tonight,” Vera added.

“We’d be pissed if you didn’t,” Skye responded, signing.

“The Bible also say there a time to dance.” Rev said, concluding his story. He swept his gaze around the room. “I think now is that time.”

“‘Says,’” one of the girls declared. “The Bible alsosays,there’sa time to dance.”

“Is that how it go? Well, that works, too.” Rev smiled at her. “It important to go to school and learn how to speak proper. See, you already taught me better. Maybe you be a teacher one day.”

She beamed at him. “Then I’ll tell all the students what to do.”

Vera suppressed a chuckle and exchanged a glance with Cyn and Skye. “Next generation Domme, in the making.”

Rev’s attention moved to the emaciated teen, dropping to the phone in his hand. “Anything on that have a beat that’ll work?”

A tentative smile crossed the boy’s face. He called up his music, scrolled through and pressed play. A tinny version of Olly Murs “Dance With Me Tonight” started, with the toe-tapping drumbeat.

There was a set of speakers nearby, and the boy connected his phone to them. As the music filled the room, its cheerful vigor and Rev’s smile had even the shyer kids slipping off their mothers’ laps to dance with him.

Rev swayed back and forth, clapped and spun. He led them in some nonsensical dance moves, making the children laugh.Then he picked a child to choose the next dance move. Then another.

A woman at the wall was tapping her foot, despite a bruised face and her arm being in a sling. Rev offered her his hand in his gentle way. “Let’s show ‘em how it’s done.”

A considering pause, then she put her hand in his. He back strolled them into the circle, snapping his fingers with his free hand, and guiding her in a turn under his arm, being careful of her one in the sling. When she smiled, the bruises on her face didn’t disappear, but held less weight. Her six-year-old boy came with her, and Rev incorporated him into the dance they were doing until Rev relinquished her to her son. “You take over now,” he told him. “A boy should always be willing to dance with his momma.”

“Fucking hell,” Cyn murmured. “I’m half in love with him already. No offense,” she told Mick.

“None taken. I’m totally smitten myself, and I’m as straight as a Roman pillar.” Mick shot Vera an amused look.

After several songs, a staff member announced it was lunch time. When the boy disconnected his phone from the speakers, Rev was talking to him. The boy stiffened as Rev put a hand on his shoulder, but relaxed into the contact as Rev kept talking. He nodded and sauntered off to lunch.

As Rev moved toward Vera, a little girl with an eye patch and an earnest expression intercepted him. She wore jeans with daisies embroidered on the pockets, matching the daisy fasteners in her dark hair. She reached out and gripped his hand. “Will you come sit at the table with me and my mom?”

“I need to do some more chores. But I appreciate you asking. It always nice to have a pretty little lady wanting to spend time with big old me.”

She giggled and left to find her mother. As Rev reached Vera and the others, he spoke low, but with feeling. “They want daddies so bad, it breaks the heart.”

“It’s a good sign for her, though,” Stefanie said. The staff member was leaning against the wall on Vera’s other side. “When she first came here, men scared her half to death. All she expected from them was yelling and hitting. She’s made great strides. Now we work on the deeper stuff.”

At Rev’s curious look, Stefanie added, “We build up her self-esteem so she doesn’t backtrack in her future relationships, looking to fill that need for a father by trusting anyone who comes along, and ending up down the same path her mother did. But her mom’s made good progress in that direction, and she’s the most important role model her daughter can have in valuing herself.”

“You have a hard job,” Rev said. “That’s a lot to work through and figure out.”

“Volunteers like you remind us that learning to have fun and enjoy life is a big part of that healing process. And helps with the harder challenges. Thank you. Thank you all,” she told Vera.

Vera could tell it helped Rev to hear that. Craig would be going through counseling, part of his road to trial and sentencing. Cyn touched her arm. “We’re headed out. We’ll see you tonight.”

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