Let Love Rule - Lenny Kravitz Page 0,37
with friends and look for any kind of job. She told me she wanted to turn a page, and I believed her. She said she’d fallen in love with me and offered to do whatever she could to bring me money. That’s the last thing I wanted, but I understood that that’s how she’d been living her life. I said she had to put all that stuff in the past. We hugged, and sometimes she kissed me on the cheek, but that’s as far as it went. I kept my pledge. If I hadn’t, I would have hated myself. Hearing her story broke my heart. Like so many lost girls, she’d been taken advantage of by money-hungry men who’d sold her like meat. She just didn’t have the strength to fight back.
I knew I couldn’t keep this up forever, but at the same time I couldn’t find a permanent solution. The routine stayed the same, and the scheme seemed to be working … until one fateful afternoon. That’s when Jennifer spotted Jewel climbing over the fence to get into our backyard. Jewel knew she’d been seen and ran into my closet. Next thing I knew, Jennifer was in my room, demanding to know what was happening. I told her the truth. Jewel came out of the closet. Jennifer felt compelled to tell Mom. I tried to argue her out of it, but it was no use.
That night was rough. When Mom learned the truth, she flipped out. Fortunately, Dad was out of town. The confrontation started with Mom insisting that I bring Jewel into the living room. She needed to talk to this girl. Jewel was practically shaking. When we got in front of her, my mother had recovered from her initial shock, and now she was calm. It was just the three of us. The first thing Mom asked Jewel was: Where is your family? Where are your people? Jewel told Mom about the situation with her father. I could see that my mother believed her, just as I had. My mother knew how to read people.
Next thing Mom wanted to know was what was going on between the two of us. Jewel said I had been a gentleman. I had placed comforters and pillows under the bed. She swore that we were not lovers, and again, Mom believed her. At the same time, my mother made it clear that this situation could not continue. Something had to be done, and Mom being Mom, she had a solution.
She told Jewel that she and Christina Crawford, the daughter of actress Joan Crawford, were involved with ICAN, the International Council for the Abused and Neglected. Christina had written Mommie Dearest, the famous memoir exposing her own abuse at the hands of her movie star mother. My mom explained that, as volunteers, she and Christina had worked with the ICAN faculty. ICAN was a first-rate organization, one where Jewel could receive proper care. Mom then asked Jewel if she was willing to go there. Jewel didn’t know what to say. This was a lot to take in. We had just been cold busted by Mom, who was prompting her to go to a facility where she wouldn’t know a soul. She looked terrified. Here was my mother—the lady from The Jeffersons, of all people!—confronting her. But instead of being hysterical, Mom handled the situation with grace.
Staring at the floor, Jewel took a long time before she responded. No one said a word. Finally, she looked up and quietly said, “I’ll go.” She was willing to go anywhere she’d be safe. Mom took her hand and said, “Everything’s gonna be all right, baby.”
That same day, she drove Jewel to ICAN. I came along, but Mom took charge. She helped Jewel through the admissions process and introduced her to her friends on the faculty. Before we left, Jewel and I hugged one last time. She promised to stay in touch.
Jewel was there for several weeks before being released to the care of her grandfather, who ICAN had located in the Crenshaw District. The man was a minister. It all seemed good, but it wasn’t. Not much time passed before Jewel called me to come get her. What was wrong? She couldn’t say on the phone, but it was urgent.
When I picked her up, she told me the story. Her grandfather had walked in on her while she was bathing. He said lewd things and made lewd suggestions. In a flash, she saw the same