Page 6 of Abigail
“Late again, Abigail? I swear if you don’t straighten up, I’m going to fire you,” Brent spits as her. Abi takes a step back and wipes the spittle from her face. She isn’t really worried about getting fired. Brent threatens it at least once a week for one reason or another. “Get out there. We have a convention coming to town. Not to mention the Naval Base in San Diego is having some sort of thing going on this weekend. Lots of soldiers will be coming in to stay with us as the base won’t have enough housing for them all. Now get to work! I have important things to be doing. I can’t do your job and mine too,” Brent whines as he turns to head into his office.
Abi wants to tell the jerk to kiss her ass, but she needs the job. So instead of telling him off, she smiles sweetly and turns to head out to the desk. The man having important things to do is laughable. Abigail and Teresa, the other full-time clerk, do all the work, including the reports he is supposed to file weekly. Abigail should be pissed that he makes a lot more money per hour than she does for sitting in his office playing candy crush on his phone, but she figures that’s just how life goes, unfair and unequal treatment of the haves and have nots. Brent has connections. His father is a big investor in the hotel.
Abi takes a moment to enjoy some deep calming breaths after Brent’s tirade. She has to get her mind in the right place to deal the customers for the next eight hours, which turns out to be a challenge. The night clerk is new and has inadvertently double booked a couple of rooms. It’s a nightmare to work out the logistics since the hotel is booked, but she manages to work some magic and make everyone happy in the end. It takes a lot out of her to keep the customers happy throughout the long day. It feels like she’s checked-in thousands of people today. When it’s finally time to call it a day, Abi is beyond tired, but she still has to pick up Ellie from daycare. Once she gets home, she will have to cook dinner, give Ellie a bath, wash some clothes, and finally get some much-needed sleep so she can do it all over again. The life of a single mother isn’t easy by any means, but Ellie is more than worth all the struggles.
Arriving home, Abi is still worried about Ellie’s sore throat, but the daycare staff reports she’s played normally. Ellie’s pre-school teacher had put a note in her backpack saying she’d been fine all day at school. They’d checked her temperature several times during the day, but it had remained normal.That’s a huge relief!
Abi leads Ellie up the stairs to their third-floor apartment. Once inside, she locks the doorknob, both deadbolts, and engages the chain. The apartment is in a rough part of town, but it’s the best she can afford on her salary. That doesn’t include the ‘protection’ money she has to pay the local gang monthly to prevent from being harassed. She wishes she could find something better but being a single mother without a college degree she is lucky to have a job. She’d been very fortunate to have found her current position and the salary is more than she expected.
Abi’s evening goes by much better than her day. She is always content when she is with Ellie. The child is happy all the time. Her exuberance is contagious and lightens Abi’s mood. Ellie cheerfully chatters about her day and her friends. It was art day for her special class at school. Ellie loves any kind of crafting projects. She is over the moon happy that she got to paint a picture today. The teacher allowed the children to bring their works of art home. Abi proudly displays it on the refrigerator.
Abi regrets that she can’t give Ellie everything she wants but is thankful she has been able to give her what she needs. She’s managed to keep a roof over their heads and food in their bellies. Ellie seems to be happy and well adjusted. While Abi may regret what she can’t provide, she doesn’t regret what she did to protect Ellie. She would willingly do it again, if needed to keep her precious baby girl safe. Her thoughts drift back to that fateful day.
A knock at the door pulls Abi out of her musings. After a last loving look at Ellie’s picture of a field of flowers, she turns toward the door. She doesn’t get visitors often. She always has some apprehension when she gets an unexpected guest. As she passes the worn, brown couch, her phone dings. She grabs her purse off the end of the couch and retrieves her phone to check her messages. It’s from Sara, a young girl who lives in the building. She often babysits Ellie on the weekends that Abi has to work. Sara has text to let her know that she is waiting at the door. Relief washes over Abi as she hurries to unlock the door and let the teen inside but only after checking the peep hole. You can never be too careful.
“Hey you,” Abi begins when she gets the door open. “What’s up?” Abi steps back to allow Sara entrance. The girl looks upset as she hurries past Abi and into the tiny apartment. Worry crosses Abi’s face as she closes and latches the many locks on the door. What could be wrong with the sweet girl?
Once the door is secured, she follows Sara into the kitchen. She is pale and trembling. She turns toward Abi and when their eyes meet, Sara runs to hug her and begins sobbing. She is shaking violently, and though she is speaking, her words are unintelligible.
“Oh, there, there,” Abi coos as she strokes the young girl’s head. “What’s gotten you so upset?” Sara doesn’t respond at first. It takes her a few minutes to get herself under enough control to speak where Abi can understand her.
“I…I saw s-something today,” Sara begins in broken sobs. “I was w-walking home from the bus stop after school. Just after I crossed Barrier Street, there were these guys in an alley.” Sara pauses and shivers all over. Abigail can tell the young girl is frightened, but she is determined to get through this. Her speech is getting stronger the more she speaks. “I’m pretty sure it was something underhanded like maybe a drug deal…or something worse. At first, I was thinking it was gang related, but now I’m not sure. The men were too well dressed in fancy looking suits. The mob maybe? I’m not sure, but it was definitely some shady sh-…uh crap.” Sara pauses to get her breath. “I wasn’t trying to be nosey.” She looks up into Abi’s eyes to make sure she believes her. Sara has a habit of sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong, but only because she has a heart of gold and wants to try to help others. When Abi acknowledges her, she continues, “I glanced down the alley as I went by, you know? It was just to make sure no one was gonna to jump out at me. That’s a very sketchy neighborhood. You can’t be too careful, you know?” Abigail did know and nods her understanding as the girl continues. Sara pulls out of her embrace and begins to pace as she continues her story.
“The men were about halfway down the alley, facing each other talking. There was a black Cadillac parked in the alley just past them. It was facing away from me and had tinted windows so I couldn’t see if anyone was in it. Just as I checked the alley, the back door of the car opened. The scariest man I’ve ever seen got out. He turned to reach into the car and I saw a gun strapped to his side. He dragged a woman out of the car. She looked terrified but didn’t make a sound. The guy with the gun spoke to the two men briefly then handed the woman over to one of them. A guy grabbed the woman by her arm. He was so rough with her. I could see her flinch when he grabbed her and her face was contorted in pain. She looked my way as the man dragged her toward an open door of the building next to them. I was so shocked. I just froze for a moment, but it was long enough for the men to notice me. I know I should have taken off running the second I saw the gun, but I just freaked. I was trying to figure out what was happening and if the woman needed help. The man dragging the woman yelled ‘get her!’ at the other two men. I just stood there like an idiot!” Sara’s pacing getting faster the longer she talks about the incident.
Suddenly she stops and turns to Abi. “He got a good look at me, Abi. The man with the gun. I’m afraid he can recognize me if he sees me again.” Sara’s voice cracks as emotion overcomes her again. “I out ran him and the other guy. I’m pretty sure I ditched them. I look the long way home, hid out in a few places for a while until I felt comfortable moving on. I just made it here a couple minutes ago. I don’t think I was followed, but I can’t be certain. I was just so freaked out, you know?”
“Oh honey!” Abigail exclaims. “I’m so glad you made it back here in one piece. It’s getting too damn dangerous around here. There’s no telling what you just witnessed.”
“Mom has to work tonight. Can I stay with you?” Sara pleads. “I’m too scared to stay by myself.”
“Of course, you’re welcome to stay here, Sara,” Abi assures the young girl. “I’m sure everything will be fine, but just in case, you shouldn’t be walking home alone from school anymore. If it’s okay with your mom, you can come to the hotel after school on the days your mom has to work. I’ll bring you home in the evenings. I know Ellie would be happy to have you entertain her while I’m cooking and cleaning. Let me text your mom and let her know you are here.” Sara agrees and heads down the hall to Ellie’s room.
Hey, Sharon. Sara is staying over here tonight. When you have a minute, we need to talk.Abi sends the text and goes back to finish the dishes in the kitchen. It isn’t long until she hears the chime of a reply. She picks up her phone to see Sharon’s reply.
K. Get break in 15. I’ll call ya,is Sharon’s reply. Abigail smiles when she reads it. For a woman much older than Abi’s twenty-nine years, Sharon is hip. It amazes Abi that at fifty Sharon is more into texting and technology than she is, but it’s likely due to having a teenage daughter. Abi is beginning to realize she is going to need to up her game when Ellie gets older. Abi sighs; it’s not something she is looking forward to. Thankfully she will have a few years before she has to deal with a teenager.
True to her word, Sharon calls about fifteen minutes later. Abi snatches the ringing phone off the counter to answer.
“Hello, Sharon,” Abi greets her friend and neighbor.
“Hey, Abigail. What’s up?” Sharon replies. “Sara’s not conspiring to get you to talk me into something is she?” Abigail laughs at Sharon’s immediate question. Sara has tried to get her way a few times by telling her mother that I thought it was fine for her to go to the movies with her friends without an adult or be allowed to go to a party where there hadn’t been any adult supervision. Fortunately, Sharon is wise enough to know Sara had been trying to play her and hadn’t been upset with Abi. It hadn’t that long ago that Abi had been a teenager herself and not having had a decent adult role model, Abi’d seen and done plenty of not so good stuff. Now, having a daughter of her own, she wasn’t about to agree with the teen. Sara is too young and too naïve to see all the dangers in doing what she is asking to get to do. Abi wants Sara to keep her goodness as long as possible.
“No, she’s not trying to con you into anything, but I am concerned about her. She witnessed something nefarious this afternoon on the way home from school. Not sure if it was gang activity or what, but she was chased by a couple of men this afternoon. I’m thinking gang bangers, but she thought maybe it was mob activity. She was pretty shaken up when she got here.”
“Shit!” Sharon exclaimed. “We need to get ourselves out of that crappy neighborhood, but everything is so expensive I just don’t see how to make it happen.” The woman sounds defeated, and Abi totally understand how she feels. Abigail, too, wants to get Ellie out and far away from this area, but nicer neighborhoods were just too expensive, and if she tried to relocate in a more rural area, there weren’t any jobs in the small towns. She’d learned that little truth the hard way when she’s been traveling the country, trying to find a place to settle after leaving South Carolina.
“Yeah, I wish there was a way we could, too, but that’s not going to happen. Not unless we move out of state to some place less expensive to live,” Abi replied thoughtfully. “Even if we did, who knows if we could find jobs and an affordable place to rent.” Silence reigned for a few moments as the women contemplated their no-win situation.
“So, how is Sara?” Sharon finally asks.
“She’s calmed down now,” Abi answered. “I’ve checked the peep hole several times and looked out the apartment windows. I haven’t seen anything suspicious, so I think she was correct that they weren’t able to track her to here, but she doesn’t need to be walking home from the bus stop by herself anymore. I’m fine with her getting off the bus at the hotel. There’s one that stops right in front so she wouldn’t have to be in the city alone.”
“Oh, Abigail,” Sharon replies in almost a whisper as if Abigail has just given her the most beautiful gift. “That’s so thoughtful of you, but won’t Brent be an asshole about it?”
“Probably, but let me worry about him,” Abi says with conviction. “I can handle him. He’s mostly a coward. He just likes to pretend he’s tough.”
“I don’t want to cause you any problems, but I would feel much better if she could do that,” Sharon confesses. “I try not to drive her crazy, but it worries me to no end when I have to work. I make her text me every few minutes until it’s her bedtime, and even sometimes, I’ll text to make sure she’s all right. Leaving her home alone at night while I’m at work leaves me worried sick the whole time, even if you are next door. Damn her asshole father for running out on us!”
