Spivey Davenport

Saturday, July 14, Dixon was up by 5. He showered, dressed then went to Spivey's room and woke her. She moaned as she sat up in bed. The dark room was all too familiar."Get up," he said harshly. "Uncle Dixon is taking you on a trip." He looked through her closet, found an outfit. He washed her up from the sink, made sure she brushed her teeth; then, he did the best he could to comb her hair. He packed a jacket and a change of clothes. He gave Spivey a bowl of stale cereal. Dixon called a taxi from the living room. They arrived at the Saint Cloud Minnesota Airport within forty minutes. He purchased two tickets to Newark International Airport. The flight had a two-hour layover in Charlotte, North Carolina. The trip was a six-hour event altogether. When they arrived at the Newark airport, Dixon hired a taxi to take him to the West Windsor Township address written on the piece of paper. He hadn't spoken five words to four year old Spivey since they left the farm house. She remained silent the whole time, wondering why her mother hadn't come home yet. When the taxi reached its destination, the driver was instructed to wait. Dixon exited the vehicle, took a tired and sleepy Spivey by her left hand and led her up the driveway. It was nearly 9:30 pm. No cars were in the driveway so, he assumed no one was home this hot July evening. He left the child on the front porch with a note in her pocket, returned to the taxi and back to Newark airport. Dixon repeated the plane trip in reverse. Again, the layover in Charlotte was two hours. He found a bar in the airport to kill time. After an hour, he pulled the ticket out of his pocket and tore it up. Forget it! He wasn't going back to Sauk Rapids. He left the airport, found a hotel in Charlotte and slept off his beers. Tomorrow, he would start a brand-new life too, in Charlotte, North Carolina!