The mill was at capacity again. And again, most of the clients were mute, though several did leave and several did take our envelopes. We have to be patient. Many just make quiet resolutions not to return. Many eventually call us, but not until weeks later. yesterday, for example, a woman named Jaqueline came to meet us at the restaurant. She had been at the mill about three weeks ago and had gotten our information there. Her story was told the minute she walked into the restaurant: her left eye was blackened; a week ago, she said, it had been swollen shut. We said we would give her monthly assistance, provided that the boyfriend stayed out of the picture and that she kept in weekly contact with us.
In a similar theme, the phone rang this morning at 6:30. Alicia was on the line with Lily, who at that moment was being roughed up by her boyfriend. Alicia got a 911 operator on the line with Lily, but Lily became even more frightened, insisting that he wouldkill her if the police became involved. In the end, he struck her five times in the face and pulled a knife on her. She got out and was headed to a friend’s house the last Alicia talked to her.
