Page 156 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

“And call me more, for fuck’s sake.”

The first thing Cara had learned about Carolina’s House was that it had been named after its unintentional founder. Carolina Demaske had taken in over a hundred women during the span of her ninety-four years of life. Women who were old and young, sick and helpless. She had nursed their bruised faces, cleaned their sick bodies, and helped raise their young children without ever asking for a single thing in return.

After Carolina had passed away, her daughters began the foundation that would eventually lead to the women’s shelter Cara stood in front of.

Carolina’s House was quiet when she strolled through the front doors. It wasn’t unusual for a mid-week day. The women’s shelter took in victims of domestic abuse, along with older teenage girls, and young mothers who needed help in various areas of their lives. Some needed the ability to safely get away from their abusive partners. Others needed a place to sleep, and the chance to get on their feet.

Cara had been incredibly lucky to be offered a spot at the shelter as a counselor of sorts. She worked alongside a registered therapist and counselor to help the women get their lives, business, and futures sorted out. Whatever they needed regarding legal things or even just surviving, Cara helped.

Or, she tried.

Cara wanted to be one of those people who helped.

She stopped at the drop-off room—a daycare-like space in the center where two volunteers watched over younger children while the mothers did whatever they needed to do for the day. She dropped off a bag of snacks she knew the kiddos loved. One of her favorite children noticed her presence instantly.

“Cara!”

“Hey, Mikey,” she said, letting the three-year-old boy hug her around the legs. “What are you building today?”

“A train station.”

“A train station, huh? Can I help?”

Mikey nodded enthusiastically. “Momma said she would help when she was done with Miss Jenny, but you can help, too.”

Cara didn’t hesitate to get down on the floor and help Mikey begin the building of what looked to be a huge train station. It was only once the kiddos noticed the treats that she was able to sneak out.

Carolina’s House survived because of volunteers. Amazing men and women who came in with no expectations, only the desire to make life a bit better for someone struggling. People brought food. Some brought items for the babies and kids, or things the women needed. Every little bit helped.

Cara had learned something incredibly important since beginning her co-op program with the shelter. Money could only go so far, and while it could buy a hell of a lot for those in need, sometimes care, love and support helped even more.

“I hear someone wanted to see me today,” Cara said, leaning in the doorway of her boss’s office.

Jenny smiled from behind her desk. On the other side, Tiffany flipped through documents in a folder.

“You weren’t busy, were you?” Jenny asked. “I know it’s your off day.”

“Nope. Never too busy for this.” Cara slipped into the office, closed the door behind her, and took a seat beside the seventeen-year-old Tiffany. “Mikey is working hard on his train station, by the way.”

At the mention of her son, Tiffany beamed. “I’m trying to save up enough to get him the big Lego set he wants for his birthday. It’s a whole train. He saw it at the store. Killed me to tell him no.”

Cara held back her frown. She had so much, when others had very little.

“When is his birthday?” Cara asked.

“Two months.”

“You’ll get it.”

Cara would make sure of it.

The teenaged mother hadn’t been given an easy life, and Mikey had been one of the final things to send her running from her abusive father. She had hopped from couch to couch with her son, never staying in school, and barely being able to hold down a job. Child Services had eventually caught up to the teen, and sent her home to live with her father.

Tiffany ran away with her son again. The second time, she came to Carolina’s House. So far, Tiffany had gotten a job, and her GED testing was a month away, which Cara had no doubt the girl would ace. Tiffany’s court appearance to be legally emancipated from her father and keep him from trying to take her son away, was in just two weeks.

“So, what’s happening?” Cara asked Jenny.

Jenny nodded to Tiffany. “She had something she wanted to ask, and while I could have done it over the phone, I felt it better she ask directly.”