Tennessee Whiskey

Chapter 16-Mary

Chapter 16

Mary

I wake up the next morning and see Logan and Mia still sleeping. I know I should feel relieved that we have her back and I do but now I’m scared to death that someone else is going to try to take Mia from us. Gabriel took her to try to get me. Evan could have lost us both. But he did everything he could to get her back. “You’re thinking too loud baby.” Evan whispers. I look at him and see his eyes flutter open. “Sorry baby.” I whisper. He cups my face and I kiss the palm of his hand. “You brought her home.” I whisper. “I promised you I would. I will always protect what’s mine Mary. You and Mia are the two most important people in my life.” He tells me. “I can’t believe he took her. What do we do from here?” I ask. “She needs to keep to her normal schedule. If we show her fear, she will be scared. Have her counselor see her at the school today just to see how she’s doing with it.” He tells me and I nod.

We’re still laying there together when we hear “Mommy.” Mia says “Morning baby.” I whisper. “I’m hungry Mommy.” She says. “Let’s see what Grandma is making for breakfast.” I tell her as the three of us get up and Evan carries her downstairs. As soon as she sees Jane, she wiggles until Evan lets her down and she runs to Jane, latching onto her leg. “Grandma!” she exclaims. Jane turns and picks Mia up and hugs her close. “Morning Jelly Bean.” She says and Mia hugs her tight. “Let’s get my babies fed.” She says as she moves Mia to her seat at the island and we all take our seats to eat, including Jane. After we eat, I get up to make Mia’s lunch and get her snacks together. I grab the bag of Goldfish and she freezes. “Mia?” I ask, confused because they’re her favorite. She runs over and grabs the bag and throws them in the trash before running to Evan. He picks her up and we’re all confused. He sits her on the island in front of him and asks “What is it Princess?” She is still snuggled into his chest and says “The bad man gave me Goldfish.” And that’s all we needed to know. I sit next to Evan and take her little hand. “Then we won’t get Goldfish anymore. Is there something else you want for you snack baby?” I ask, not making a big deal out of it. “Apples.” She whispers. “Apples it is.” I tell her before finishing getting her lunch together.

After dropping her off at school, I call Susan on the way to the mission. “Susan. Hey, it’s Mary. Do you have time today to drop by the school for a quick session with Mia?” I ask. “Sure. Anything I should know?” she asks. “I had a stalker. He kidnapped Mia. We got her back and he’s not a threat anymore but he had her for over 24 hours and she was in a cage. He apparently gave her Goldfish and now she can’t handle seeing them. I told her teacher about the Goldfish issue and they know she was kidnapped but I thought maybe you could talk to her and help her process it and maybe see what else happened that she hasn’t told us.” I say. “Of course. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done seeing her.” She tells me. “Thank you Susan.” I tell her and we end the call.

I walk into the mission and to my office and just sit at my desk. The first art class is scheduled for today and we several people that signed up but I can’t enjoy it right now. I’m in my own head when I hear a knock at the door. Izzy and Lori. I wave them inside and they take seats across from me. “How’s Mia?” Izzy asks. “She’s okay for the most part I think. Susan is going over to do a session with her at the school to help her process.” I tell them. “That’s good. How are you?” Lori asks. “I don’t know. Still freaked out. I mean, he took Mia to get to me. What happens if…” I start and Izzy stops me. “Nope. We’re not doing what ifs. You’re safe. Mia’s safe and Evan brought her home. That’s all that matters. Might help if you had a session with Kathy.” Lori says and I nod.

Twenty minutes later, I am sitting in Kathy’s office. “What’s on your mind, Mary?” she asks. “Mia was kidnapped.” I tell her. “Oh no. Is she okay?” she asks. “She is. Evan was able to find where she was and brought her home, unharmed. Susan is going to the school to do a session with her for me.” I tell her. “That’s good. Get ahead of it. But that’s not what brought you here is it?” she asks. “No. Mia was kidnapped because of me. How am I supposed to be a good mom if I can’t protect her?” I ask. “Okay. Let’s start with the first part of that sentence. What makes you think that she was taken because of you?” she asks. “The man that kidnapped her, Gabriel, he worked at the art store where we order the supplies for the art program. When I would go in, he’d try to talk to me. Try to flirt with me. The last time I went in, I had Mia with me and he tried to talk to her. He was watching me. He knew my routine. We saw him sneaking around her school but we got extra security there and he still took her. He took her to get to me. He knew I would come for her and would do what he wanted as long as he didn’t hurt her.” I tell her. “That doesn’t mean it was because of you. What he did was purely his own decision. You didn’t hand her to him. Did you tell Evan about him?” she asks. “I did. I told him each time I had any interaction with Gabriel. I even told his boss about it and asked that he be kept away from me and the mission.” I tell her. “Then you are not the cause of any of this. Stalkers focus all of their attention on getting access to the person they want. Men like that will do whatever they feel they have to so that they can ensure their obsession would be more compliant.” She tells me. “Now, let’s talk about the second part of that sentence.” she continues. “You’re a good mom. You did everything you could to make sure that you let this guy know that you weren’t interested. When you saw him at Mia’s school, you made sure extra security was there and you’ve made sure her counselor sees her today to make sure she’s processing it in a healthy way. You’re an amazing mom. Don’t ever doubt that.” She tells me. “How do I help her going forward?” I ask. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Be prepared for nightmares. Make sure she knows she’s safe and keep things as normal as possible for her.” She tells me and I just nod.

After seeing Kathy, I head back to my office and work on some scheduling before heading to the first art class. As soon as I walk in, Charlie greets me. “How are you doing?” he asks. “I’m okay. Had a session this morning. Mia is having one today too. We’re okay.” I tell him. “Good. Do you feel up to doing the introduction or do you want me to handle that?” he asks. “I can do it.” I tell him before we move to the front of the class and I start the introduction.

“If you’ll all take your seats, we can get started.” I say and give everyone a couple of minutes to get in their seats and settled. Once everyone is seated, I start. “First of all, I want to welcome you all to the first ever art class here at KJ Mission. My name is Mary Black and this is Charlie Marshall. He’s going to be your instructor. In this class you’re going to be learning different types of art. Everything from drawing to painting, sculpting and fiber works. The point of this class is to give you a healthy outlet to deal with emotions you’re not ready to deal with yet. But mostly, we want this class to be fun. There are different classes for different age ranges. The reason we’re doing the adult class first is so that you can see what we offer to be able to better help your kids decide which ones they would enjoy. Does anyone have any questions before I turn the class over to Charlie?” I ask. One woman raises her hand. “Yes, Martha?” I ask. “It’s not a question as much as a comment. I “If you’ll all take your seats, we can get started.” I say and give everyone a couple of minutes to get in their seats and settled. Once everyone is seated, I start. “First of all, I want to welcome you all to the first ever art class here at KJ Mission. My name is Mary Black and this is Charlie Marshall. He’s going to be your instructor. In this class you’re going to be learning different types of art. Everything from drawing to painting, sculpting and fiber works. The point of this class is to give you a healthy outlet to deal with emotions you’re not ready to deal with yet. But mostly, we want this class to be fun. There are different classes for different age ranges. The reason we’re doing the adult class first is so that you can see what we offer to be able to better help your kids decide which ones they would enjoy. Does anyone have any questions before I turn the class over to Charlie?” I ask. One woman raises her hand. “Yes, Martha?” I ask. “It’s not a question as much as a comment. I ask. “It’s not a question as much as a comment. I know some of the other ladies and I have been talking about getting into this class and we just want to thank you for helping us find ways to deal with all of this. We’re all dealing with different things but having this class gives us a chance to get out of our own heads and feel normal for a change.” She tells me. “That means a lot Martha. Seriously. That’s the main point of all of this. All of us here at the mission only want to help you heal and get you back to normal life.” I tell her. “Now, if no one else has any questions, I’m going to turn it over to Charlie. I can’t wait to see what you all create.” I say and turn to Charlie. “The floor is yours Charlie.” I say before heading out of the room.

I make it to the hallway and Izzy is standing there. “I’m proud of you sis.” She tells me as we walk to my office. “Why’s that?” I ask. “Six months ago, you would never have gotten up in front of that class to speak. But that back there? That’s a woman who’s strong, happy and doing amazing things to give back.” She tells me. “You all helped me heal. I couldn’t have done it without all of you taking me in as family. And Evan. He’s done so much for me. But I think the thing that’s helped me the most is Mia. Lori and Logan knew I needed her as much as she needed me.” I tell her. “You’re a good mom. Mia is happy and healthy and with what’s happened, you’ve done everything you can so far to keep things normal for her and making sure you can help her.” She tells me. “God I hope so. I just keep telling myself I don’t want to be like my mom. Every decision I make, I ask myself what would mom do and do the opposite. Is that bad?” I ask. “No. You know what it’s like to not have a good mom so you’re doing everything you can to make sure Mia doesn’t go through that. You’re doing great and if you ever need reassurance, we are all here to help you. You know, the whole it takes a village thing.” She tells me and I can’t help but laugh.

After getting some work done, my phone rings. “Hello?” I ask. “Hey Mary. It’s Susan.” She says. “Hey. How’d it go?” I ask. “I think she’s going to be okay. She said he took her to a place with a bed in the ground and then then put her in a cage.” She tells me. “Yeah. He took her to two different places. One was a house built into the embankment and when Evan found her she was in a dog kennel with Goldfish to eat. Nothing else.” I tell her. “That’s what she was talking about. She was telling me that the bad man gave her Goldfish. She doesn’t like Goldfish anymore.” She tells me. “Yeah. We found that out this morning. It’s what made us decide to call you in.” I tell her. “Mary, she’s a smart little girl. She knows he was a bad man but you know what she told me?” she asks. “What?” I ask. “She said that she knew her daddy was going to save her that he was her superhero.” She tells me and my eyes fill with tears. “Yeah. Seems he’s getting good at saving both of us.” I tell her. “She’s going to be fine. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keeping things as normal as possible. Don’t talk about it in front of her but talk to her if she asks about it.” She tells me. “We will. Thanks Susan.” I tell her before ending the call.

I put my cell phone down on the desk and look up when I see Evan standing at my office door. “You okay?” he asks. “Yeah. Just got off the phone with Susan.” I tell him. “What did she say?” he asks as he walks into my office and pulls me from my seat. He sits in my chair before pulling me into his lap and kisses me softly. “She said Mia will be okay. She told Susan about where he kept her but she talked about you.” I tell him. “What about me?” he asks. “She said she knew her daddy was going to save her because he was her superhero.” I tell him and he buries his face in my neck. I run my fingers through his hair and whisper “You’re an amazing father to her, Evan. Thank you.” He looks up at me and says “All I ever wanted was a family. You and Mia gave me that. Her being that young and knowing I was coming for her…that means everything.” He tells me. “Let’s go get our little girl.” I tell him before standing and grabbing my things.

We pull up to the school and the entire time here, Evan hasn’t let go of my hand. We stand outside of the school and wait for our little girl to come out. As soon as she’s out the door, she sees Evan and yells “Daddy!” before running as fast as her little legs would run, right into his arms. He holds her close and she snuggles into her own personal superhero. I can’t help but smile at how much they love each other already. Evan is holding her close when he looks at me and asks “You ready to go home?” I nod before kissing Mia’s little hand and we head towards the car.

Once in the car, we start to drive and Mia starts talking. “We got to play outside and Joey told me that his daddy is a hero because he’s a cop but I told him that my daddy is a superhero because he saved me from the bad man.” She tells us and Evan smiles at me and winks. “Is that so. You know, cops are heroes too. They put the bad men in jail to keep us safe.” He tells her. “Is that where the bad man is Daddy?” she asks. “The bad man is somewhere that he can never hurt you again.” He tells her. “I know Daddy. Did you know we got to color and I drew a picture of puppy. Can we get a puppy?” she asks and it’s good to see that she really is going to be okay.

After we get home, we eat, get Mia a bath and are in the library relaxing like we normally do. Mia is at her table and Christopher knocks on the door. “Cissofer!” Mia cries as she takes off towards him and we both smile. “Hey Princess. Did you have a good day?” He asks her as we get up off the couch and head towards them. “I did.” She tells him and I move to get her from him. “Actually, you’re the one I need to talk to, if that’s okay.” He says and Evan takes Mia. “Give me a minute and we’ll meet you in my office.” Evan says and Christopher nods.

After taking Mia to Jane, we head to Evan’s office. Christopher is waiting outside the door and we all head inside. “What’s going on?” I ask and we all move to the chairs around the table in Evan’s office. “I got a call a little while ago. One of my neighbors is an older woman, takes care of all of us and is like a mom to all of us.” He tells me. “Okay?” I ask, confused. “She was at the store earlier and saw a girl sitting outside, beaten pretty badly.” He tells me. “Where is she?” I ask as Evan grabs his keys. “Took her to the mission. Mrs. Rockton is with her there. She won’t speak to anyone.” He tells me. “And you think she might talk to me?” I ask. “Yeah. Something tells me you might be able to relate to her.” He tells me and we head out of the office. We see Jane along the way and we kiss Mia goodnight and tell her we will see her in the morning before heading out the door.

We pull up to the mission and head inside where there is an older woman sitting with a younger woman about my age. Evan and Christopher stay back and I slowly walk over and ask “Can I sit?” She nods and I take the seat next to her, on the opposite side as the older woman. “My name is Mary Black. What’s your name?” I ask. “Leann Fowler.” She tells me. “Leann, can you tell me what happened?” I ask. She shakes her head no and I see her cutting her eyes to Evan and Christopher. “Why don’t we go into my office here and talk. Just the three of us.” I tell her and she nods.

We head to my office the two ladies sit on the couch and I take the chair next to them. “Now, what happened to you?” I ask. “My dad. He…um…is an addict. Told me to pack my things, that he arranged a marriage with me and one of his friends who’s old enough to be my father. He…told me that his friend was taking me in exchange for his drug debt.” She tells me. “You’re in the right place. Here, you’ll be protected. We have a doctor and counselor on site. We have security patrol 24/7. Art classes as well as resources to help you get on your feet. We have free legal services for restraining orders and anything else you might need.” I tell her. “You’ll help me?” she asks. “Absolutely. I was in your shoes once.” I tell her and she looks at me confused. “When I first came here, I ran away from home. My mom was using me as payment for her drugs. I ran away and the woman that started this mission, who’s now one of my best friends, brought me here and the mission helped me get on my feet and now I get to pay it forward by helping you. I even met my husband here.” I tell her. She seems to relax a little. “So, what we’ll do is get you set up with a dorm and in the morning we can get you in with Susan, our doctor just to make sure you’re okay physically and then Kathy, who is our resident counselor.” I tell her. “I don’t have any clothes. I took off and didn’t have time to grab anything.” She tells me. “That’s not a problem. Being the kind of mission we are, we know that a lot of the people that come here have had to leave in a hurry so we have clothes and necessities on site and we can go in a couple of days to get you anything else you need.” I tell her. “Thank you.” She says softly.

After helping her get what she needs, Evan and I head home and Christopher takes his neighbor home. Once we’re in the car, alone, he asks. “What does she need?” I look at our joined hands and say “Her dad arranged a marriage with her and his dealer to pay for his habit and she ran.” I tell him. “We’ll give her a couple of days to get settled in and get Lori and Logan to talk to her and get their information. We’ll handle it.” He tells me. “I know. Seeing her, reminding me of how I was when I first got to the mission. If it weren’t for the mission and all of you, I don’t know if I would have made it. I got lucky.” I tell him.