“She’s beautiful.” Susan smiled as she handed Ava over. She’d taken her to clean her up, and wrapped her in a blanket. I was resting, and thinking about what was next.
“Thank you.” I wiped a tear away.
“We’ll file the birth record in a few days. I’ve got to get things set up for you to move again.” She sighed and I could tell that she knew what an ordeal this was for me.
“Move? Again? I just got here.” I started to cry. I had a newborn. How was I going to go somewhere new with a brand-new baby?
“I’m sending you closer to the West Coast. They’ll be ready for a new baby. Once I file birth records with the county, every man out there who’s looking for his wife will be able to access them. Do you understand now? If your husband finds out, he’ll be in this county looking for you. We have to keep as much distance between him and you guys as we can.” She patted my shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but you can do this.”
That night I fell asleep with Ava in a small cradle beside my bed. It was the first of four nights before we were forced to leave. I never knew how resilient humans could be until I traveled only four days after giving birth with no medication. A postpartum exam would have to be performed at my next stop. Ava and I were headed west for now, and I could only hope that there wouldn’t be too many more moves. I was lonely. I needed friends. I needed roots, and I couldn’t have them, not now…maybe not ever.
Chapter 8
Present Day
Brooke
It was a busy day at the market. Julie had asked me to come in early, and I’ve been bustling around here all day. Lunch was rushed, and now that my shift was almost over, I was starving.
“How much longer?” Ava whined as she came shuffling out of the back room. She’s been playing with Abbie today, but has been begging to go home. Ava loves being outside, but has to stay indoors when I’m working.
“Half-hour.” I attempted to smile. I knew how she felt. I wanted to leave too, but it was still too busy. In order for me to leave, business needed to slow. Julie couldn’t handle all of this by herself.
“Ok.” She sighed as her shoulders slumped. “This is taking forever.” She groaned dramatically.
I laughed lightly as I went back to work. It was taking forever, and if I could, I’d have left a long time ago. The job was reliable, but it was tiring work. I was on my feet all day, and I didn’t get any benefits. Ava and I saved every penny, and there have been many weeks where I did without so we could afford things for her.
“Busy day?” My head jerked up to find Blake staring back at me.
“Yeah. Can I help you with something?” I smiled as I glanced around, looking for his basket or cart.
“Maybe.” He smiled. “I have something for Ava. I was hoping to bring it by your place.”
My body went on high alert. These were the things that Donna and the others warned me about. “You can’t trust anyone. You have to keep a distance and make sure no one knows your personal information. One slip up, and it’s over.” Those words used to run on repeat through my head daily. They don’t as much anymore, but since Blake seems to be butting into our lives, they’ve been coming back.
“Did I do something wrong?” My voice shook.
“Wrong?” His brow crinkled and his hand went to the back of his neck. “No, why would you think that?”
“You keep showing up, and now you want to know where I live,” I stammered.
“It’s a small town.” He shrugged. “Boy, that woman the other day was right. You are a private person.”
“And there’s something wrong with that?” I stared at him in disbelief. I was actually feeling a little braver, and I wasn’t sure where the attitude was coming from.
“No, nothing at all. I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.” He turned and walked away without another word.
“What was that all about?” Julie came up behind me, startling me.
“I don’t know. He was being nosy,” I grumbled.
“He came in here the other day asking about you. He wanted to know where you lived.” My back went stiff when she uttered the words. “I didn’t tell him anything though. You never know about some of these people and their motives.”
“Thanks.” I sighed.
“I came up here to tell you that you could take off for the night. I’ll be ok, and I think Ava’s had enough.” She giggled. “Abbie and she made up this game where Abbie was the mommy and Ava was the baby. I think Ava is over it.”
“I’m sure.” I rolled my eyes. Abbie was a good kid, but she liked to be in charge. I didn’t complain because I got free childcare while I worked, but it was hard on Ava some days. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I waved as I reached behind myself and untied my apron.
“Have a good night.” Julie waved as I headed toward the back room to collect my daughter. “You ready?” I peeked inside.
“Yes!” Ava sprang to her feet. “Let’s go home!”
“Come on.” I held my hand out, and she grabbed it. We rushed toward the front of the store, and out into the fresh air.
As we jogged down the small set of steps in the front, we almost tripped over a Sav-A-Lot bag. “What’s that, Mommy?” Ava started to reach for it.
“Don’t touch that. It’s not ours.” I gently tried to pull her away, but a tag caught her eye.
“Yes, it is. Look! It has my name on it.” There, in messy handwriting on a white piece of paper, was Ava’s name. “See?”
I knelt down to examine the bag and sure enough, it did have her name on it. “What is it?” I released her hand so she could open the bag.
“Shoes!” She squealed as she pulled a pair of sneakers out. “These are the ones I wanted. Mommy, look. They’re so pretty. Can I keep them?” Please?” She began to bounce on her toes as she pleaded with me.
“Let me see that tag.” I reached for the empty bag. There was nothing written on the piece of paper other than her name. No note or anything to indicate who purchased them.
Ava sat down on the steps and proceeded to put one on her foot before I could stop her. “Look! They fit.” She grinned as she twisted her ankle from side-to-side to admire them. “Please, Mommy?”
I glanced around the sidewalk and street, but didn’t see anyone, and then Blake’s words came back to me. ‘I got something for Ava.’ My heart beat faster as I searched for him, but he was nowhere in sight.
“Please, Mommy?” Ava tugged on my hand, bringing me back to her.
As I gazed down at my daughter and her pleading eyes, I reluctantly gave in. “Ok.” I sighed. “If they fit, you can keep them.”
“They fit!” She squealed as she jumped up, causing the soles to flash pink. “Look! They light up and everything.” She beamed. I haven’t seen my daughter this happy since I bought the sprinkler for her. “Can I wear them home?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “Let’s go. I want to relax outside before dark.” I smiled as I held my hand out in her direction.
We walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk until we reached the edge of town, and then I let her run. Ava needed to stretch her legs, and she knew the rules I’d put in place when we first moved here. I made visual markers along our walk. Ava knew she could run as far as each marker before she had to turn around and come back to me. Once I caught up to the marker, she could go to the next one. She was almost four when I first did this. The markers were no more than fifty feet apart, A road sign, a bunch of purple flowers, a fence post, a white mailbox… she’d get there and come back. Now, we skipped a few of them, so she could go farther distances.