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I was aboutto be sick.
Monday had finally arrived and my belly fluttered with nerves. I’d spent the weekend thinking about my exchanges on Friday that had led to me finding this job. I didn’t have experience or references, and Lord knows I couldn’t verify who I was. It was like finding a needle in a haystack or plain darn luck.
Who would have guessed that getting off at the wrong bus stop would lead me to that building? I’d found a pregnancy clinic that helps mothers who were expecting without having to disclose personal information, so I’d gone in to get checked out. It was all anonymous. That in itself gave me peace of mind for the time being.
So, there I had been waiting for another bus when the sky opened up and decided to let loose gallons of water, soaking me like a drowned rat. Frantically looking around I saw a building behind me and headed for cover. What I hadn’t expected was the hiring sign on the door staring me in the face.
I couldn’t help but think someone was watching out for me.
Mom.
I reached up and played with the ring that dangled from a silver chain on my chest. The thought of her looking down on me made me smile, but at times I’d questioned where she was in all the bad years since she passed away. Standing just outside the building's door, I rested my hand on my protruding belly. My baby was the blessing that came from all the dark times and without the path I walked I might not have him or her.
I couldn’t wait to find out if I was having a boy or a girl.
When I first got pregnant, Thad had insisted he come to a couple of doctor's appointments with me, but then he lost interest and I had been going alone the rest of the time. When the doctor asked if I wanted to know the sex later, a part of me almost caved, but I knew somehow he would use it against me.
At the beginning of the pregnancy, he’d calmed and kept insisting he had changed. But it slowly started escalating again as time went on and waiting to leave until after the baby was born wasn’t an option anymore.
Not if we both wanted to survive.
A swirling motion that felt like my child was doing somersaults in my belly made my heart beat wildly with so much love I thought it would burst. “Momma loves you, baby,” I whispered. Then I took a deep breath, pulled on the handle of the door, and walked inside.
Gemma was at the front desk and waved cheerfully as I headed her way. “Hey, Teal. How was your weekend?” The smile on her face was infectious.
Her energy and friendliness would come in quite handy when she became a teacher. Her vibe was soft and sweet, mixed with a bit of rebellion and sass from what I saw and heard on Friday. Her friend’s kids adored her, and I was sure once she got in a classroom, all the children would as well.
“It was okay, thank you.” I tried hard to give her a bright smile, just as she had given me, but truth be told I’d been scared and lonely all weekend.
Two things I knew all too well since that is how my life had been for years. But after being around everyone Friday and seeing their tight-knit group, it was a smack in the face of what I never had.
And probably never would.
“Oh, before I forget, this is for you.” Gemma waved a card around enthusiastically and then reached out to hand it to me.
My brows pinched together in confusion as I took the pretty pink envelope from her that said,Welcomeon the front of it. “I don’t understand, what is this?”
“Open it and find out.” She bounced on her toes excitedly.
When I thought she had a lot of energy I was wrong. She had an abundance of it and could probably go head-to-head with little Embry any day of the week. It was great and intimidating at the same time. I just didn’t know how to act around others and everyone I had met here was so open, honest, and confident.
All things I wasn’t.
Slowly putting one finger under the edge of the seal and carefully sliding it along the seam so as not to ruin the paper, I pulled the flap up and then glanced back at Gemma.
“It won’t bite,” she assured me, giggling.
Smiling, I looked back down and pulled a card free. Full of curiosity, I opened it and found a couple of things inside. A Target gift card for three hundred dollars and a handmade coupon that had said it was good for one girl’s day, filled with lunch and shopping. And inside they wrote,Glad to have you join the group.
I’d blame the tears that welled up in my eyes on the pregnancy hormones, but the truth was I was overwhelmed at the generosity that was right before my eyes. These people didn’t know me, yet they had been kinder to me and given me more than anyone since I was a teenager.
There was no way in hell I would consider anything Thad gave me, something special. In the beginning, it was to deceive me, and along the way, it was to try and make up for the beatings he gave.
“Please don’t cry,” Gemma pleaded. “We all, girls and guys included, wanted to give you something nice because we are happy you found us.”
Those next words had the tears trickling over, but I brushed them off quickly and tried to pull myself together.
“That is really nice, you all shouldn’t have,” I replied lamely. How did one handle situations like this when it wasn’t every day someone in my shoes ran across people like them?
