I almost put this in the pit. I don’t know exactly what changed my mind, but right now, I’m under the influence of a half mg of Xanax and a glass of wine.
At about 7PM this evening, 8YO mudgirl was out in our side yard, playing. I knew there were a couple of neighborhood kids in the yard with her. The kids in the yard were: Ryan, who is approx. 12-13 years old (I’ve known him to be destructive, steal kids’ bikes, be disruptive, but never what you’d call violent) and Tyrone. Tyrone, at a guess is ~14, and he lives in the neighborhood. He’s given me some back talk, but I never thought much of it. He’s a teenage boy (more or less), so I’ve basically cut him slack.
Anyway, our bathroom is on the second floor of the house, and the window of the bathroom overlooks the side yard. I was in the bathroom, coloring my hair, and kind of keeping, well, if not an eye, then an “ear” on what was going on in the yard. I heard some mumbling and stuff, then silence for a few minutes. Then after a bit, I heard mudgirl say, in her no-nonsense way, “time out!”.
Then she came in the house and up to the bathroom where I was coloring my hair. Here is an approximate transcript of our conversation:
Her: Mom, you have to go talk to Ryan and Tyrone.
Me: About what?
Her: They forced me to suck on their private parts.
Me: :eek: 
Me: OK (trying to be calm so I don’t upset the kid) Did you actually do that, or did they just try to talk you into it?
Her: (looks at the floor)
Me: It’s OK, baby, you can tell me the truth, I won’t be angry with you. Did you actually do that, or did they just try to get you to?
Her: A little of both.
I walked, as calmly as I could, into my bedroom. I called the police station. I told the dispatcher an outline of what had happened. He said he’d send a car right over.
I put on some clothes (I was dressed in just underpants and one of my hubby’s old shirts for coloring my hair) and went to wait on the porch. I told mudgirl not to tell the boys I’d called the police. They were still in my yard. While I was on the porch waiting, 17YO EtherealFreakOfPinkness came out and asked if she could get me anything. I was pretty much freaking out, and damned near homicidal. I told her, “yeah, some Xanax” she said OK. I asked if she knew where mine was, and she said no, but she knew where hers was. She came back out with a glass of iced tea and a half mg of Xanax just as the cruiser pulled up.
When the cruiser pulled up, the punks were still in my yard. As soon as they saw a police officer get out and approach the porch, though, they split, and fast. Officer Saeler took a preliminary report and asked me if I had any way to get to the police station. “I’d rather not do this out in public, unless I have to” he said. I told him yes, I could get there (I didn’t feel comfortable driving after having taken a half mg. of Xanax, but I knew I could get my friend Bill to drive us).
As we were getting in the car to go the the station, Ryan’s father yelled over to me, “Did Ryan say something inappropriate a little while ago?” (I guess he told his father something when he saw the officer). All I said was “That would be an understatement. . .that would be a big understatement”. I didn’t tell him I was headed for the police station.
So we went to the police station. Officer Saeler asked my permission to talk to mudgirl alone, as children tend to be more open without an adult present. I said OK. While she was in the room with him and I was waiting on the bench, I called my husband and told him what was going on.
After the interview was over, Officer Saeler came out and told me he was turning this over to C3I, the investigation team, and CPS, Child Protective Services. He said they’d be in touch, likely tomorrow (Thursday) and that an officer from CPS (a female) would come with anatomically correct dolls to get mudgirl to show her exactly what happened.
I said that Ryan had been in trouble before, but his youth had protected him so far. Officer Saeler looked at me gravely and said “This is serious; she (pointing towards my daughter) is eight years old”.
Officer Saeler advised me not to talk to the boys or their families about the charges until a police talks to them. I can certainly keep them off my property, but just don’t discuss it with them. It’s better, he said, if there’s an element of surprise.
I’m somewhat. . .sedated. . .by the Xanax, and the glass of wine. But I want to hurt people. I want to hurt them badly. I thank God that mudgirl doesn’t seem overly traumatized by this. I’ve praised her for the way she’s handled the situation. She did exactly the right thing. But God, I want to hurt someone for hurting my baby. . .