Page 13 of Mia Amata

“Oh, wow. That sounds complicated,” I replied. “I wondered how you and your mom thought you would be able to help me, I had no idea that there were people out there that did this type of thing for people like me.”

“It can be complicated; everyone keeps their identity secret. I guess that came about years ago when a contact was murdered by the husband of someone they were trying to help get to a safe place. Since then, it is safer for all involved this way.” Eva said, “Anyway, I came up with an idea as far as the job for you that I think will be perfect for your situation. How would you feel about a job working from home? There are a lot of companies that will let you work remotely. Our contact states that he does have the ability to set you up with that if you would like.”

“That really sounds like a great idea. I don’t have very many skills. I took a few college courses before I got married, but I quit going—I should say was forced to quit.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Can you type at all?” Eva asked.

This was something that I could do. Allen made me do a lot of his reports for him and made me type up letters and other things during our marriage. “Oh yes, I can type about 60 wpm. I also have some very basic computer skills.” I stated.

“That is great, that will help a lot. I am sure that whatever job our contact manages to find for you will train you. A lot of companies with remote workers supply the equipment needed to work for them.”

I thought about this for a few minutes. How perfect would it be if I could work from home? Not only would it be great with the baby on the way, but it would also keep me out of the public eye a lot, so the chance of being recognized would be smaller. I looked at Eva, “I love that idea, it sounds ideal. I could stay out of the public eye easier.”

“Perfect! I think it will be great. We can’t promise where you will end up living. In fact, Mom and I won’t even know where you end up. It all depends on our contacts and their contacts to find a place that will be safe for you. The other thing we need to talk about is we need to change your appearance a little bit. How would you feel about a hairstyle change, including a different color?”

“Yes! I would love something new.”

Eva smiled at my enthusiasm. “We have a local contact that we will reach out to today to see when she can come over. She specializes in helping people change their appearance. She is one contact that we see face-to-face, but we still don’t share names with her. Unfortunately, now that you are on the news we need to try and get things going. We will need to get you some place safe soon.”

“Has there been more on the news about me?” I asked worriedly.

“They found your car; police are viewing this as a kidnapping now. Your husband is supposed to go on TV later with a plea for your safe return.”

“This I have to see,” I said, “it is a little ironic that I am safer now than if I return to him—even though he claims he wants me ‘home safe’.”

“So true,” Eva said. “We plan to keep you safe here. I’ll leave you alone now, I have some schoolwork to do for my classes today. I’ll text you when our contact will be here to give you a new look.”

“Thanks, Eva.” She reached out, gave my hand a little squeeze, then turned to leave the room.

“Eva?” I called to her. She turned and looked at me, “I was wondering if I could get some yarn and a crochet hook?”

“Sure! I didn’t know you could crochet.”

“Well, I can’t yet, but I saw a show on it. It looked like something I would love to learn.”

“I’m sure Mom has plenty of supplies. I think she might even have a book that shows you the different stitches and how to do them. She would be happy to loan it to you I bet. I’ll check with her; we will get you some starter supplies.” She turned, walking out.

After locking up after Eva left, I turned on the TV, thinking I would watch more crafting shows to pass the time. I thought about the changes Eva mentioned and the fact that I might be able to learn how to crochet. I felt a sense of excitement that I had never felt before. A baby, new job, new look, new life. Do I dare let myself get excited? Can I dream of a future that will be happy? I decided that I was not going to let myself get my hopes up too much because there were a lot of things that had to fall into place before I was even safe.

I spent the rest of the morning watching some craft shows, sort of tossing and turning in the bed. I shut the TV off at lunchtime, heading out to the kitchen to find something for lunch. I opened the refrigerator, pulling out the leftover pizza. I remembered how much I used to love pizza, even like cold leftover pizza. I grabbed a piece and decided I wanted to spend the afternoon on the couch.

I poured a glass of milk and took it with the cold pizza to the couch. I had brought the book out with me, so I read while I enjoyed my lunch. I finished the pizza and washed up my dishes when I heard the cell phone text alert go off. I walked back over to the couch picking up the phone to read the text message. It was from Eva again, simply stating ‘Hair appt 6:00 tonight’.

I sent a simple message back “Great!” Feeling a little tired, I moved back into the bedroom, taking the book and the cell phone with me. I crawled back into bed, read for a little while longer then closed my eyes for a nap.

Chapter 8

Upstairs, Eva was in her room logged into her college courses working away. It was hard for her to concentrate, her mind wanted to wander down the stairs to Mattie. Even though they knew her real name now, they were not going to use it because Mattie needed to get used to being called something else. She shook her head, trying to refocus her attention on her current class. Eva is in her second year of college.

She took extra classes her senior year of high school and during the summers, so she could get a lot of the basic classes out of the way. She still hasn’t decided completely on what her major was, but she was leaning toward social work or criminal justice. She really wanted to do what they were doing for Mattie somehow on a full-time basis. She was not exactly sure how to proceed with her college career in the best way to be able to help people in the way she wanted to. She liked the social work idea, but she also wanted to be able to make enough of a living financially to be able to help.

If she went into law, she could do her job as a lawyer, but on the side help those who need it secretly. The sort of help they are offering Mattie has to be done so carefully, so quietly as not only Mattie is in danger, but Eva and her mother are in danger for helping her. If her husband found out about Eva and Lauren, he could harm them trying to find out where she is.

Eva had talked to her mother about this before. They have contacts they reach out to for help, but they do not know these people on a personal level. It is safer for all involved to maintain low-key identities with others. Eva isn’t even sure how it works, but she really wants to figure out a way that she can be someone that others contact to help people out. Lauren doesn’t know how it works either.

They have often wondered if, when Eva is ready to take on responsibility, they could reach out to their contact and see if he could help her get set up as someone who is able to help people. In the meantime, Eva was going to keep her grades up and work hard to finish school early.

Eva worked tirelessly on her studies until her last class for the day was over. She stretched in her chair, looking at the clock. It was 4:30, she had time to start supper for her mom. She closed her laptop and headed into the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of the refrigerator to make some pasta and a salad. Most nights she was home about the same time as her mom.

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