Scott honestly didn't know what he could do for his girls. It's a strange sort of limbo. Often Scott was able to see what could happen down the road because he planned for it. He knew what he wanted, what goals to achieve, and what to expect. Scott even had a backup plan for his backup plans. He had this nice house with plenty of room for his family of 5 girls, a large half acre land with a huge garden, play set and grilling area for outdoor picnics. Scott was careful, or so he thought.
Scott had even planned on saving money to pursue his musical passions. If there was anything else that defined Scott, it was his love of music. Scott was the kind of musician that could pick up any instrument and play it like he had been playing for ages. He played the piano like a real pianist but he could also play the organ without a flaw. Not a lot of people can do both like Scott could. Scott had played accordions, trumpets, violins, cellos, drums, you name it, he played it. His dream was to share music with his girls, record some of his organ music, and own a music shop. But as the nightmare unfolded, his musical dream vanished quicker than the time it took to develop.
"We'll take one girl."
"What!?"
Scott couldn't believe his ears. Bev's sister, Jill, came from out of state to offer help. She just didn't say what kind of help until she arrived. Jill had four boys of her own and had a distaste for Scott and Bev's brood of girls somehow thinking that five girls was far too many than her four boys.
"Be reasonable Scott! You have far too many girls to expect anyone to house and feed them!"
"But you don't like any of my girls. What makes you think I will allow you to take any of them? And besides, I am well aware it's asking a lot for anyone to house five girls but I have to try! They already lost their home and everything they knew. They don't need to lose each other."
"Sentiment is not something a man in your position can afford! You simply cannot expect my aging mother to care and provide for these girls in this small house while you pull yourself together. I will offer housing to one girl, the oldest one. Take it, or leave it."
As much as Scott didn't like Jill, he knew she was right. He wasn't even sure how long it was going to take before he had another home for his family again and to ask someone to house five girls indefinitely wasn't a fair. Scott relented and allowed Jill to take Kelly back to her home.
The next day, it was time for Jill to go back home and take Kelly with her. She didn't have much to pack and more than anything, didn't want to go. Scott took Kelly by the hand and walked her out to the car. He knelt down to Kelly. "Kelly, I know this is hard. I promise you that I will work day and night to fix this. I will not stop until you are back home. Not until we are all back together again." He hugged Kelly to reassure her before getting her into the car with Jill. Soon after Ann and Angie were sent to a farm to with a family friend.
What is your worst nightmare honestly? Some people would say it's not having certain things, not knowing what could happen, or some terrible hurt caused to yourself. Scott didn't know what his worst nightmare was until it happened. Having to give up his daughters and not knowing when they would be back is where words fall short of how he felt. The only thing that kept him going at this time was work. While he worked, it made him forget how depressed he was as he would leave the cares of home life at home. For a little more than a year, Scott worked at the lab, a shoe store and cleaned floors on the weekends. He would not stop and kept his promise to Kelly.
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