Tina was 13 chronologically, but much worldly and wiser than her years would betray. She spoke with such authority and confidence that you would have to remind yourself that you were talking to a child who happened to be…..carrying a child.

Tina was my roommate at the home and hospital and as it turned out was more experienced than I when it came to the mysteries of motherhood. This would be her second child…..same father…..a guy who she’d accused of raping her the first time. Her reasoning being if she could say she had no ownership in the deed, perhaps her family would accept her situation and not throw her out of the house…..even if she was only eleven.

I asked her if she understood how her lie made it harder on people who actually were victims of rape, she said that she understood that and regretted it, but felt that was what she needed to do at the time. The guy forgave her and (obviously) started seeing her again. I wanted to understand why a ten year old would begin a sexual relationship with a fifteen year old in the first place. I wanted to believe that she had been seduced, but how much game would a fifteen year old have?   Obviously, it didn’t take much if the girl in question yearned for something she wasn’t getting at home.

She explained, quite calmly, that he was the only one who would touch her. She was born with eczema over the whole of her body. Her skin was scaly, flaky and dry and not only did friends shun her, but her family too. She said that she wanted to feel special and if having sex was the price, she willingly paid it. Besides, her mother (a single mom, who worked too many hours) didn’t have time to watch her, so she did what a lot of kids do between the hours of 3 and six….have sex.

When she became pregnant, she panicked and told her mother that she had been assaulted. No charges were ever filed, she had the baby and kept it. The boy was ‘forgiven’ by the family and since they had a baby, they were allowed to continue to see one another.

Fast forward two years later, she’s pregnant again. This time, there are no regrets. She’s happy. Her mom….not so much. She’s sent away to the home and can only see her son when he’s brought to her during visitation days. I think she was sent as a punishment so that she would have some solitary time to think about her poor choices.

I don’t think it worked because she was eager to welcome baby # 2 to the fold. She had no earthly way of supporting the child except with the government’s help and whatever part-time job the father could get after school. But she was happy, something that I do not understand to this day. I am confident that she had more children during her teen years. I do not think that she had any plans beyond that. I wish her the best and I hope that she is ok.