Page 14 of Mia Amata

They either made supper together or took turns cooking. Since she was home today, she was more than happy to cook supper for her mom who worked hard to support the two of them. Eva had a part-time job, but she worked mainly weekends unless her boss called her to see if she could cover a shift during the week when someone called in. Her mom would not let her help pay any of the household bills, insisting that she put her money into savings for her future. While in college she honestly was not earning a lot of money, but she felt bad that her mom refused to let her help out.

Her mom has done so much for her and gave her a good life, the best she could, given the circumstances, and she wanted to help her mom out. This was another reason why she was leaning toward becoming a lawyer, she hoped she could earn enough money to take care of her mother. She would love to take her mom on some extended trips and vacations and do the things they always talked about. They had gone on vacations, but they were small and not too far away.

Eva had a wonderful childhood; she loved the time spent with her mom. She certainly did not harbor any ill feelings that they lived a modest lifestyle. She just wanted to take care of her mom in the best way possible and give her things to make her life easier. Lord knows she did not have an easy life.

***

Lauren’s childhood was very difficult. Her father was an alcoholic who gambled most of his paychecks away. Her mother worked outside the home, trying to make ends meet, leaving Lauren home alone a lot with the next-door neighbor to check in on her and make sure she was OK. The neighbor was a single woman with three kids of her own who made sure that Lauren was fed and clean, but she was always looking for the next great love of her life. Unfortunately, the men she dated were not that nice, most were abusive or lazy. She seemed to always be in new relationships.

When Lauren was five, the summer before she was to start kindergarten, the neighbor’s newest love interest volunteered to check on Lauren. Lauren was a pretty little girl, with long blonde curly hair and blue eyes. She was also very smart, her mom taught her at a young age things that she should do and not do when she was home alone. Her mom was a good mother and loved Lauren very much, but due to her husband’s addictions she had no choice but to work. She thought she was leaving her daughter in the safe hands of the neighbor.

The neighbor accepted her boyfriend’s offer to check on Lauren as she had to take her three kids over to their father’s house for their weekend visit with him and was running late. The boyfriend went into Lauren’s family’s apartment shortly after the neighbor left with the boys. Lauren was playing with her dolls in her bedroom at that time.

Lauren doesn’t share many details with Eva about what happened next, Eva thinks her mom didn’t remember everything that happened to her, but she knows that the boyfriend sexually and physically abused Lauren. When the neighbor came home, she found the apartment door wide open and a battered little girl lying on her bedroom floor. Horrified, she called the police and ambulance, then called Lauren’s mother. Lauren was taken to the hospital where she spent a few weeks recovering from her injuries. During the time that she was in the hospital, her mother had to go to court to prove that she was a fit mother.

Her mother was able to provide several witnesses to her character and prove that she was a good mother. The judge did demand that Lauren’s father be brought into court. Her father would disappear for days on end, drinking, gambling and not supporting his family. In a highly unprecedented ruling, the judge told the father to stop drinking and gambling and take care of his family, or he would send him to jail for as long as he could.

Lauren’s mother told the judge that she did not feel like she could stay married to him, and the judge agreed. They went through a divorce, but Lauren’s father finally sobered up, worked hard, and paid Lauren’s mother alimony and child support which allowed her mom to take care of Lauren.

Lauren recovered from her injuries. With the help of a therapist, she was able to start kindergarten on time. Her mother was able to return to work at a job that allowed her to work during school hours and be home when Lauren was home.

During the summer months, she could afford to send her to a decent daycare. Her father remained sober but did not spend any time with Lauren. She never saw him until years later. Not only did he stay sober, but he stayed up to date with alimony and child support, probably more out of fear of going to jail.

Lauren’s mother raised her alone until Lauren’s senior year of high school. That year, her mother was killed on her way home from work in a car accident. Lauren was devastated. She and her mom were extremely close, all they had in the world was each other. The only other family she had was her father, so she was sent to live with him.

He was an uncaring father, who seemed to blame Lauren for his lot in life. He made it very clear that he expected her to clean the house, do the laundry, and cook his meals for him. Other than that, he really had nothing to do with her. He treated her like she was the dirt on his shoes.

Toward the end of her senior year, Lauren met her future husband. He was the new kid in town. He immediately showed interest in Lauren. He asked her out, and she accepted. They were constantly together after that, seeming to be the perfect couple. No one knew that he was already abusing her, she kept it a secret.

They married right after high school; Lauren was pregnant with Eva at that point. The relationship got worse right after they married. He was the typical fly off the handle and hit her abuser, then begged for forgiveness later, promising it would never happen again, claiming that she drove him to it.

One day, Lauren was preparing to cook supper, and she realized she was out of a key ingredient. She grabbed her purse and headed on foot to the grocery store a few blocks away, figuring she would be able to make it back before her husband got home. She ended up buying a few more things they needed that were on sale, struggling to carry it all home.

The owner of the store, seeing her struggle with all the groceries, came out, offering to give her a ride home. She accepted the kind offer, having known the owner for years. Soon they were pulling up in front of her house. He helped her get the groceries in, then she walked back outside with him to tell him goodbye, thanking him again for the ride when her husband pulled up.

The grocery store owner got in his car to drive away but stopped when he saw Lauren’s husband strike her with his fist, making her fall to the ground. As he climbed back out of his car, he could hear Lauren’s husband yelling at her as he continued beating her. The grocery store owner ran over to try to stop him but was struck down himself. He was much older than her husband.

Her husband continued to beat him while he lay on the ground. When he was sure the man wouldn’t get up to interfere again, he turned his attention back to Lauren, but she was not lying there anymore. When he had his back turned, she ran into the house to call the cops. He figured that was where she had gone, so he went in after her.

Knowing that he would eventually come in looking for her, she made the call, left the phone off the hook, and then ran out the back door. She snuck back around to the front of the house. Seeing that her husband had gone into the house, she knew she should get away, but she couldn’t leave the grocery store owner lying on the ground. She ran over to where he was lying, horrified to see that he had been beaten so badly.

He was still alive but unconscious. She took his hand and tried to tell him that help was on the way, but before she knew it her husband had her hair by the handful and was pulling her back away from the old man. Luckily the police showed up, managing to get her away from her husband.

It was at the police station when she went to give her statement that a police officer gave her the tiny piece of paper that saved her life. He was taking her into a room where she would give her statement when he handed her the piece of paper, whispering to her. “Don’t look at that until you get home. Don’t share it with anyone. It will save your life.” He turned, walking out of the room.

She slipped it into her pocket, thinking that it was probably a good lawyer recommendation or something. She gave her statement and went home, remembering the paper later that evening. Pulling it out of her pocket she saw it was a phone number, nothing else. She called the number, and the rest is history.

Her husband was charged with assault on the grocery store owner and her, but only given a short jail term of one year. She was gone the day after the trial with only the clothes on her back. Thanks to that police officer she began a new life and has been paying it forward every chance she gets.

***

Eva was in the kitchen making supper for her mother when Lauren walked in the door. “What a lovely surprise Eva.” Lauren said, “It smells wonderful in here.” Lauren walked over to her daughter and gave her a hug.

“How was your day?” Eva asked her.

“It was good. Not a lot of drama going on, and the patients were great. Did you manage to get your classes done today?” she asked Eva.

Eva nodded. “I talked to Mattie about things today too. I think she is excited about the new look she will be getting tonight. She also seems to be very agreeable to a position that allows her to work at home.”

---