She was making excellent time. She was going to be home much earlier than planned. The seminar wrapped up three hours earlier than expected and she was excited about surprising her children by arriving home early. Little did she know she was about to face an evil she prayed to never meet again. This was the moment of absolution. It was going to be the confrontation of innocence, lost.

She pulled into the diner to grab a quick bite to eat before the last final hour of her trip.
She sat down at a corner booth. Ordered a burger, fries and a topped it off with a chocolate shake. Having decided to look over her notes while she waited for her food, she began rummage through her briefcase. IF it had not been for that voice she never would have looked up from her papers now in her hands. It was a voice of the past. A feeling of inner turmoil quickly poured through her veins.

 The server asked him the usual questions “Smoking or None?”  HE replied “Non smoking” And the server proceeded to lead him to a table just past her own. As he passed her table it happened, their eyes met. In that instant, she fears were confirmed. There he was the devil in the flesh. HE took a seat in the booth three down from her own. She began to shake and tremble. Her breath was suffocating as she tried to gain some sense of self. She gathered her things as quickly as she could. Threw a twenty-dollar bill on the table and headed for the nearest exit. As she began to run away from this insanity, she stopped dead in her tracks.  Something inside of her would not let her leave. Instead of heading through the doors as quickly as she could, she quickly made an escape into the bathroom.

    She stood there looking at the sweat pour down her forehead. She felt weak and dizzy. Unable to control herself from shaking. She washed the sweat from her fore head and stood there entranced by the horror that stood just outside the door.  Could she walk past him once more to get to the doors just on the other side? Did he realize who she was as well. The questions ran through her head just as quickly as the nightmarish vision came flooding back to her mind. Feeling defeated and out of control, she stood there not knowing what to do next. As she looked into her own eyes filled with fear, she began to see her reflection

    And as she looked upon her reflection, she began to see her young self from her younger years. Standing there behind the mirror, the young image she seen was terrified. She trembled in front of her quivering and tears wept. Something inside her began to stir. A strength she had never felt before. Every once of her being began to fill with energy from the depths she never thought possible. She knew this was it. The moment she had wondered would ever come to pass. But now that the moment was here, could she muster the will. This was the confrontation of innocence, lost!

    She walked slowly from the ladies room, he was instantly within view. However, he was in between her and the nearest exit.  Each step she took closer to him she was the young face in the mirror. All of the emotions of her past were brewing in the pit of her stomach. Would she face this demon?  The one who stole her innocence. She took each step slowly; with each breathe her fist tightened. In what seemed to be an eternity she reached the edge of his table. In this last moment, she was consumed by the feelings of escape. But as his gaze look up to meet her in her eyes. And in that moment, she knew she could not run.

    “May I help you?” he asked in the most unknowing of voices. She stood there for a moment, caught in fear and time. “May I help you?” He asked once more.
    In that moment that very instance, every emotion buried for all those years sprang forth. In a single sweep, she cleared the table in front of him. Soda splashed in her hair, glass shattered everywhere. The quiet chatter of the diner had become dead silence.

“Can I help you?” she replied as she stood as firm as she could. “Look at me, look at what you’ve done. You tore me apart and ripped out my heart. All the years and the pain, convincing myself I am not insane. You’re the very reason I can’t keep a friendship” she released these emotions with a fire most have never seen.
“I was only six when you tore away my innocence! Can I help you? You son of a bitch! You are nothing more than the devil in the flesh!”
In that moment the startled man’s face become pale and bleak. He now remembered those eyes, but so more weak. He now knew who this was and understood the confrontation.
She could believe the force she now felt. It was more than she could control. As the hot tears ran down her cheeks, She grabbed the steak knife as she leaned forward, pressing it against his neck. Now in only a whisper, she reminded him who she was confirming his fears.
    
“ Oh yes, it’s me, dear step daddy, dear.” she now soft voice whispered in his ear. “ Do you remember me now. You are someone I will forget. Your face, I have seen every night for 25 years. Pity you have forgotten me.”