The Painted Rose

By Vernon Hicks II and Alejandra O. Reed

Dotti Sets a Trap for Mildred—Dotti Miller is having a problem convincing her father that she is being abused by his wife, the mother of his five children. So since she is not able to convince their father of Mildred’s meanness and hatefulness, Dotti will seek Robin’s help to set out a trap for her—to catch her behavior on tape and thereby build a case against her with this damaging evidence against her screaming, cursing, and being abusive toward all of them while Tommy is not around and also of the beatings all of them get. They are sure once he gets the evidence of his beloved Mildred, he will finally believe what he’s refused to accept. He will see through her deceitfulness once and for all. He will see her for who she really is, a mean and dreadful woman—not the charming, loving, or caring woman he believes her to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456823931

Vernon Hicks II

Alejandra O. Reed lives in Mesa, Arizona, for thirty-three years, after moving from Alexandria, Virginia. She has one brother and two sisters. One of which is a twin sister and also a published author. Alejandra is the mother of a grown son and daughter. The grandmother of fi ve grandchildren. Two girls, three boys, ages three years through eighteen years old. Alejandra is the owner and CEO of a nonprofi t organization for the promoting, securing, and advancing the future of our children, the upand- coming next generation. Alejandra lives alone with her cat named Bobby that is Siamese breed. Alejandra acknowledges her passion for writing is a god-given gift. She is an ordained minister, who gives God the praise for her gifts.

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Copyright © 2010 by Alejandra O. Reed.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 01/21/2021

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Contents

Chapter One Dotti Sets a Trap for Mildred

Chapter Two The Perfect Family

Chapter Three Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter Four Mildred Loses Her Control

Chapter Five Summer in the Country

Chapter Six Finding the Alcohol Bottle at Sweetheart’s

Chapter Seven Assault Charges

Chapter Eight Dotti and Robin Run Away from Home

Chapter Nine Petty-Theft Charges in North Carolina

Chapter Ten Dotti’s Experiments with Sex

Chapter Eleven Drinking and Driving

Chapter Twelve Summer with the Knowles’s sons

Chapter Thirteen A Path of Destruction

Chapter Fourteen Dotti and Bobbi

Chapter Fifteen Summer School for Dotti

Chapter Sixteen A Baby for Dotti

Chapter Seventeen Dotti Goes to School Against the Odds

Chapter Eighteen Dotti Graduates from Art School

Chapter Nineteen It’s a wonderful Life

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CHAPTER ONE

Dotti Sets a Trap for Mildred

Dotti Miller is having a problem convincing her father that she is being abused by his wife, the mother of his five children. So since she is not able to convince their father of Mildred’s meanness and hatefulness, Dotti will seek Robin’s help to set out a trap for her—to catch her behavior on tape and thereby build a case against her with this damaging evidence against her screaming, cursing, and abusiveness toward all of them while Tommy is not around and also of the beatings all of them get. They are sure once he gets the evidence of his beloved Mildred, he will finally believe what he’s refused to accept. He will see through her deceitfulness once and for all. He will see her for who she really is, a mean and dreadful woman, not the charming, loving, or caring woman he believes her to be.

After catching a little bit of interesting news on TV, Dotti sat down to continue watching an episode on possible dangers in leaving your children at home with a babysitter. A mother was suspicious about the welfare of her baby in the hands of her sitter. Her suspicion arose when a red mark was on the baby’s cheek, and the babysitter said that she was unaware of how it got there. So the parents decided to bug their home while they were away at work to catch any type of possible abuse. The parents’ suspicions were verified when they replayed the recording and found out that the babysitter indeed shook and hit their baby, and child abuse charges were brought against the woman.

That night, Dotti dreamt about the TV episode and thought that maybe they could do the same thing in their house. Dotti couldn’t wait to share this with Robin. Armed with this enlightening information that they could use for their own benefit, Dotti felt a sense of gratitude.

This can be the beginning of the downfall of their so-called perfect family. They could never completely and fully understand the destructive consequences that come with revenge. Because this is indeed what Dotti is up to. But the truth has to be told, no matter what the consequences.

It will be a painful revelation for Tommy. But Dotti believes that he’s their only hope for a real life, a better life. But how could they do it? Neither of them even knew where to start or what to do. They would have to be extremely careful when dealing with Mildred to avoid getting caught. It would have to be given careful, precise, and thorough thought to make it happen.

Robin, Robin, boy do I have something to tell you, shouted Dotti excitedly. She was talking so fast that she was stumbling over her words. Slow down, Dotti, I can’t understand a word that you are saying. So Dotti recited everything over again slowly. Do you really think that we can pull it off? But how, Dotti? Robin asked. We just have to put our heads together and come up with a plan, Dotti told Robin.

So Dotti and Robin sat down to prepare a plan. They started with a list of the things and equipment they’d need to accomplish the mission. First on the list was they’ll need money to purchase all of the necessities; they will need a budget. Next, they would need a camera for photos or a video recorder; however, that would need some thought because they would have to be as inconspicuous as possible. But they both agreed that the evidence has to be strong and undeniable. They had to set a time table, a reasonable period to set things in motion—a begin time and end time, start and finish.

Research is definitely required; they just didn’t have the knowledge to pull this off. They would start with the library. Where will the equipment come from, would they have to buy the equipment, or would it be possible to rent the equipment? At the library, they could look up some do-it-yourself or self-help books. They could make some calls from the phone books and call some spy equipment stores or home security systems. Plus, there is always the Internet.

Then Dotti thought it would help them a lot if they study and observe Mildred’s habits and daily activities more closely. For instance, where did most of her tantrums take place and what time is she most likely to get agitated and what provokes her change in attitude?

There seems to be a pattern to her mood swings. She is most agitated toward the late evening. Especially after she has sat at her desk for hours pouring over paperwork and household expenses. Then, her patience is very short and less tolerable. Or when its laundry day or the day to iron. These were the least likeable chores that Dotti and Robin did. It would take the two of them hours to complete three laundry baskets of clothes, and when it come to the dishes, it is the same thing.

They would get distracted by the television or the telephone. This would burn Mildred up. On one occasion, she slapped Dotti across the face so hard while she was watching TV that she left a hand print on the side of her face. Once she picked up another phone line that Dotti was talking on and cursed her out and told her to go finish the dishes in the kitchen. Dotti felt so embarrassed and humiliated that she was almost too embarrassed to face her friend.

Tommy have taught his children the importance of money and putting some away for a rainy day. He had them open a savings account three years ago when they got paid for the first time for working with him on the weekends. Also, during summer breaks, Dotti and Robin work summer jobs and have accumulated a sizable savings for girls their age. So they set a budget that they would use from their savings, and if necessary, they would have to cut corners if they didn’t have enough money for the equipment and supplies that they will need to bug the house.

So after several weeks of thought and preparations and study, Dotti and Robin thought that it’s now time to put their plan into action. After letting Mildred know they had homework that required research, Dotti and Robin headed for the library. Upon arriving at the library and reviewing the list of research on home securities, they immediately began their search because they were on a time limit. They only had two hours to get back home. A lot of the information they discover would not be allowed to be removed from the library. So they selected all the books that they could rent and took as much as they could in notes and made copies of the rest of the materials when time ran out, and Dotti and Robin had to head home before they would get in trouble and have to explain why they were late.

Back at home, Dotti and Robin compare notes and decided that before they can completely choose which piece of equipment they can afford, they will have to do some leg work; and that would have to wait until the weekend. They were getting very excited about the possibilities of finally realizing that help is almost at the door. The planning is put into action as of today; the fear is gone because they have made their first