After Jennifer had eaten all she could hold, she slid the plate back. Ash tried to serve some of the cobbler but she waved him away.<br/><br/>"I'm going to pop, if I eat another bite. But thanks."<br/><br/>She untied the napkin and neatly folded it beside the plate. Rising, she reached for the dishes but Ash stopped her with a shake of his head. His hand was large and a little callused as he pulled her from the room.<br/><br/>A woman was vacuuming in the hall and Jennifer shrunk close to Ash but he just greeted the maid warmly even though she didn't seem to give him another glance. Jenn followed him down one magnificent hall way after another until they reached a dark hallway that was not decorated in such luxury. There were two doors. Ash led her through the first one into an industrial size laundry room.<br/><br/>Color coordinated baskets lined the room, some with clean clothes and others with dirty ones. Ash went to a pink one with clean clothes and pulled out some panties that looked about her size, and then he rummaged in a lime green basket for some slightly larger sweat pants and tee shirt. With a smile, he laid these in her arms and with a proprietary hand in the small of her back, headed them toward the other door.<br/><br/>He produced a key and opened the door. Overall, she had the sense of a large den. Hardwood floors gleamed, nearly mirroring the black leather sofas and chairs. One end of the room showcased a flat screen TV large enough to qualify for a movie theater screen. Pictures of Civil War heroes decorated the walls and stacks of history books had been casually discarded. Her favorite book, Gone with the Wind, was on an end table.<br/><br/>"Books," she exclaimed, her eyes shining, "I love books. I found an old paperback of Gone with the Wind when I was 12 and I have read it over 15 times since. It is the only book I own." She pulled it from the side pocket of her cargo pants.<br/><br/>Before she had time to do anything with it thought, a black cat, the size of the cartoon Garfield, waddled past, twining his tail around her let. A sandy colored terrier bounded out from a room just off the media room followed by the biggest pit bull that Jennifer had ever seen. He was white with a black/brown patch around one black olive eye. His ears flapped over, giving him the look as if they were helicopter blades. His whip of a tail was slashing the air while his black nose, nuzzled her arm pit. She was terrified but refused to show it so she placed a tentative hand on his head. He was soft as velvet or that soft secret place on bodies. Finished with sniffing her, he gave her face one long lap with his enormous tongue.<br/><br/>"I think he likes me," she grinned as Ash scolded the dog, "Brody! down."<br/><br/>A different maid, an older lady with an accent came through carrying some clean clothes, "Mr. Ash, has you picked up another wee stray?"  She indicated Jennifer with a nod of the head. Ash nodded and held up his finger to his lips.<br/><br/>"You're not wanting your da to know about her? Okay then, my lips are sealed. I ain't never seen nothing or nobody, no how." and she winked as she turned to go.<br/><br/>Jennifer stood with her mouth opened, dumbfounded.<br/><br/>Ash took her into a room, obviously his and then unlocked another door. This opened into a small sleeping room. It was sparsely furnished, probably from cast offs of earlier years. A full size sleigh bed, bedside table to match, although badly ring stained, a lamp, a small rocking chair, padded and, There was a God!, a floor to ceiling book case filled with books.<br/><br/>He showed her the door to the shared bathroom. Jennifer almost forgot to close her mouth.<br/><br/>Later, after he had gone, Jennifer looked at the clean clothes and decided to shower before getting into the clean bed.<br/><br/>Standing in the shower, surrounded by mountains of steaming water, she scrubbed until her skin was nearly raw. A giggle escaped her, she would smell like a boy tomorrow, all mountain scent and musk, but Ash's body wash and shampoo were divine, not like the watered down Suave she had used at the 'home'.<br/><br/>Once she was clean and relaxed, she began to sing<br/><a class="postlink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y56Bbsxp390&amp;feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y56Bbsxp390&amp;feature=related</a><br/><br/>She thought of the tears, the pain, the loss. She hated being invisible but even the cutting didn't make people see her. She was just a means to make money, indispensable, unloved. But for the first time in a long time, she felt worth. For tonight, for now, she had a glimpse of life has it could have been. She leaned  her forehead heavily against the marble tile. Leaving in the morning would be hard, but she could be strong.