Ms Johnson

Chapter two

Samantha's POV

18 months later...

Bam!Bam!Bam! Right jab, right jab, and left jab. I punch the trainer feeling like a professional boxer. "Great! Now I want you left jab twice, right jab and sidekick right" the sweaty trainer commands me. I punch him twice with my left hand, once with the right, and sidekick him with my right leg. He blocks my moves we both move in sync. Mateo has been a good influence on my recovery these past few months. I'm surprised by how strong, fit, and focused I've become. Mateo was right, kickboxing is really what I needed to help me heal.

I remember joining the gym six months ago after my divorce became final. My life was a complete mess and I lost myself in alcohol and prescription medicine. I remember walking past the gym when something got my attention, I entered the building. After an hour of browsing around and being intrigued by everyone working out and how fancy the equipment was looking, I did not notice Mateo approaching me. 

He asked me if I wanted to join his kickboxing classes. He was extremely friendly and said he could see I was going through a tough time and he knew it might help me. I don't know if it was his words or Mateo how handsome he looked with his dark hair tied into a bun, mesmerizing brown eyes sparkling with hope, and beautiful tanned skin looking like a model that belonged on the cover of a fitness magazine. Next thing I knew I signed up for the class and never looked back.

__

"That's it for today, great job Sam," Mateo says in his thick Mexican accent and walks to the corner of the boxing ring. We have been training for two hours now and our bodies are drenched in sweat. Mateo picks up his water bottle and takes a few sips, I do the same. After drinking water I take my gym bag and give him a weak smile "thank you Mateo for today's workout, it was a good session," I say out of breath. I walk towards the ladies' shower room and get ready for work.

It's 8 in the morning and I'm driving towards my mother's cafe in silence. This has been my routine for the last 6 months. I train with Mateo twice a week or go jogging at least three times a week. If I knew exercise could make one feel so refreshed I would have started a long time ago. The workouts have helped me not only physically but mentally too. 

After a few minutes, I arrived at the cafe and made my way inside. "Good morning Sam, you look great today," Ava the waitress greets me as I enter the cafe. I must admit kickboxing gives you a certain glow and I am loving it. Ava's red hair is tied into a neat bun she's wearing a waitress outfit and an apron with the cafe's logo on it. Ava is always cheerful, kind and all the customers loved her. She kind of reminds me of the character April Kepner from Grey's Anatomy. 

"Good morning Ava, thank you very much" I smile at her warmly while making my way inside. I walk towards the counter at the back and put on one of the aprons hanging on the hanger. "Is my mother in yet Ava?" I ask her while checking the schedule on the wall behind the counter. "Yes, she's in the kitchen doing stocktaking and checking what we need to buy for the week." "Thank you, Ava" I reply as I make my way to the kitchen. 

My mom always dreamt of having her restaurant. She loves cooking and trying out new recipes, and that's where I got my love for food. She saved up money throughout our childhood and finally decided to open up her cafe when my brother and I started college. The first few years after opening her cafe were tough, building clientele and making a success of her business was not easy. But with the help of Mrs. Smith, my mother did the catering for a few small tea parties and build up clientele in this manner. I am so proud of her being a single mother and owning a successful business not only the cafe but also catering for parties. 

I enter the kitchen I notice mom concentrating hard at the task at hand. She is busy checking the pantry and writing down what she needs to buy for the week. I'm sure she didn't notice me coming in. "Good morning mother," I greet her as I walk towards her. She softly gasps placing her hand on her chest in shock. "Sorry my baby I didn't see you there" she places the notepad on the counter. She walks towards me and later cups my face in her hands. "How are you doing my dear?" she asks me looking at me with worry in her hazel eyes. "I'm fine mom, no need to worry," I say while giving her a bright smile.  

Even though my brother Alex and I are twins; my mom and I look more alike than I do with my brother. People would always mistake us for twins or sisters when we are together. I guess that's what happens when your mother gave birth to you at a young age. 

She removes her hands from my face and walks towards the kitchen counter and picks up a wedding invitation. "Anyway, Sam why didn't you tell me it's James' wedding in two days?" waving the invitation in her hand. "You know, you don't have to go I'm sure James will understand," she says with concern in her voice. "Mom I need to face Jason sooner or later I can't hide forever," I notice the anger in her eyes when I mention his name. It's clear why she doesn't want me to attend the wedding. Last 18 months my mother had been extra protective towards me. She always tried to keep me away from situations that involved me being in close proximity to Jason.

Flashback 18 months ago

I wake up confused with blurry vision looking at the white ceiling wondering where I am. Beep, beep, beep I hear the heart monitor slowly beeping, and the strong smell of disinfectant quickly makes me realize I'm in a hospital room. I look around the room, my blurry vision finally gains focus. I notice my mom sleeping on the couch next to the bed. "Mom, how did I get here," I ask in a hoarse voice. My mom wakes up, realizing I'm awake she rushes towards my bed. "Oh my baby, how are you feeling are you ok? Are you hurt, do you want some water?" She looks at me teary-eyed with a worried look on her face. 

I try sitting up but the IV line in my arm prevents me from moving, I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen and realize how I got to the hospital. "Mom... the baby! Oh my, Jason..." I start crying able to finish my sentences. My mother looks at me crying and starts consoling me. "Oh my baby I am so sorry my dear, the baby did not make it. You had a miscarriage, the doctor says it was the stress. Cindy informed me about what happened at Jason's office, oh baby I'm so sorry my dear." My mother cries while holding me in her embrace. "No, this cannot be happening," I say in a soft voice. I cry out loud while my mom tightly hugs me rubbing my back consoling me.

End Flashback 

I walk towards the pantry getting ingredients to start with the pastry. Growing up my mother always saw Jason like her son even though he was a rebellious teen. It all changed 18 months ago, now she cannot stand hearing his name. 

"Well, baby I'm just saying you don't need to attend. Not only will he be there but she will be with him," she spat the words with venom in her voice. I take a deep breath and walk towards her and cup her face with my hands. "My dear mother I understand you worried about me seeing Jason or Amanda and slip back into the darkness but I need this mother. I need to face them and make peace with them. If I allow them being together to bother me I will never be able to move on. I refuse to give them power over my happiness. I needed this, I needed to move on, this is the next step in my healing. Anyway, James is my best friend I need to attend his wedding and support him."

James and I have been friends since childhood, we were extremely close. Everyone thought we would date and get married, Jason was always jealous of how close we were. But little did everyone know that James is gay and I'm the only one who knew his secret for years. I was there for him and supported him when he came out to his parents. They were shocked at first but supported him and never abandoned him or made him feel bad for being gay. 

I felt saddened that I was not able to help him organize the wedding but considering the circumstances, I avoided being in contact with the Smith family in order to avoid seeing Jason. The last six months helped me a lot to heal and recover I felt going to a wedding and seeing everyone will help me to finally move on.

_

Today has been a busy day and my feet are killing me. It's 7 pm my mother and the other staff have gone home already its only Ava and I left at the cafe. I go to the back taking out the trash when I noticed a young boy about 8 years old with dirty blonde hair and green eyes in pain searching through the rubbish bin looking for something to eat. "Hey what are you doing?" I ask him, he is startled by seeing me and tries running away. I stop him before he could escape and noticed the dirty bloody bandages around his arm. He looks extremely skinny and dehydrated, he looks at me nervously thinking I will hurt him. "Please don't hurt me I'm only looking for something to eat for me and my sister," he says in a shaky voice hiding his face like he was trying to protect himself from a beating. "Don't be scared little boy I won't hurt you, where is your sister?" He nervously points towards the little girl behind me, she looks like him but younger about 4 years old. 

"Come with me both of you," I say and invite them inside the cafe. They look at me nervously hesitating to follow me. "I won't hurt you, I want to give you something to eat and clean the wound on your arm." They look at each other and then follow me inside the cafe. I take them to the office and ask Ava to bring them something to eat. Taking off the bandage on the boy's arm, I am surprised by how infected his wound looks. I take the first aid box and some wear gloves; taking out some gauze, disinfectant liquid, and bandages. I clean the wound; it's quite deep and realizes he might need stitches but I don't have the instruments at the cafe. I cover his wound with clean bandages.

Ava comes in and gives each child a sandwich to eat, they devour the sandwiches in haste like savage animals, seems like they haven't eaten in days. "No need to eat so fast, take your time," I say smiling at them they smile back. "So, what are your names?" I ask them sweetly trying to gain their trust. "I'm Tommy and my sister's name is Lily" the boy replied with a mouth full of sandwich. I smile at how cute they look and feel sad that these two children are working around alone this time of the evening. 

"Are you and Lilly homeless Tommy?" I ask Tommy, his mood changes instantly starring at me with a sad expression on his face. "We have a home but our father is a drunk and hits my mommy. We haven't eaten for 3 days and we looking for something to eat. Our Daddy took the money at home and left." Tommy says with tears in his eyes. I look at them in shock, how can a parent do this to his own children? "I need to take you to the hospital to get stitches your wound is deep and will not heal properly."

I need to take the kids to the one I dreaded for the last 18 months...