Till death

Elsewhere

Cara
Saturday July 13, 2013.
Tony was never served an arrest warrent or divorce papers because he had vanished. No one, not even Eric or Mr. Conrad had heard from him. This was not a good sign, so I did what I had to, I decided to leave.
It hurt deep down inside when I was packing up my things. I didn't know where I was going to go but wherever it was had to be better than here. My side still tingles a bit, but healed nicely. At least I can hold Amelia again.
I hugged my parents tight and told them I love them more than life itself. I would call them from a secure line when I get to where I'm going.
I turned the car onto 95 going south. I caught a glimpse of Amelia in her car seat sleeping soundly. This is for her. All for her.
I drove for the next 2 hrs before Amelia started crying. I pulled the car over at a rest stop in Connecticut and fed her. She still takes my breasts milk. I can't pump on the road. Once she was finished I cleaned up and changed her diaper. I secured her in her car seat and got back onto 95.

I was beat. Tired beyond anything. I needed to sleep. It was not close to midnight. I'd stopped several times to feed and change Amelia. She was what I needed to take care of. I remember passing a sign that said Delaware/Maryland. St least I was far enough. I pulled into a motel. I grabbed my bag and unhooked the car seat. I paid for a room just until the morning, in cash.
I felt bad that Amelia had to sleep in her car seat, but I couldn't lay her on the bed, in case she falls off. She's a roller now. She's 5 months old today. I waited until she fed to fall asleep.
Morning came quick. I may have had a total of 5 hours of sleep. It was almost 7. I wanted to feed Amelia, change her and hit the road.
I opened the diaper bag to take out a fresh diaper and wipes, inside was another bag. This was my lifesaver. Inside the bag was over $300.000 I had taken over time from the joint account and the money I had in my own account that I had closed out before taking off.
I was desperate to give Amelia a good chance at being a happy kid.
I got back on the road and kept heading south. I figured this way, I'd end up in Florida if I kept going straight. Florida it is. It was warm mostly all year, so I heard.

The drive was long and tiring, I don't want to ever do that again, but by 9pm I arrived in a town called Fruit Cove. It has a pretty name. It's just south of Jacksonville.
I took a motel room for the night. This motel had portable cribs. What a relief. Amelia finally gets to lay down. While she slept I took a quick shower. I felt grungy. I'd give her a bath in the morning after she wakes. The room was nice. Not nasty like most motels. There was a newspaper in the room. I turned to the listing for rentals. I found a two bedroom apartment. It was dirt cheap. I circled it. I'd call them in the morning to see if it's still available.
But now, sleep.
Sleep came quickly. I sure needed it.

Monday July 15, 2013
"Hi. I saw an ad in the paper about a two bedroom apartment for rent, is it still available?" I asked when a woman answered the phone.
She informed me that it was and I can come by to look at it.
"Wonderful. Thank you. I'll be there in a half hour."
After hanging up I realized, I don't know where that is. I opened up my GPS on my phone and typed in the address from my current location. 503 Maple drive.
It was 20 minutes from where I'm at now.

I unhooked the car seat and headed up to the apartment. It wasn't your typical inside with a lobby type apartment. It was a small house. Well not that small it was about 1200 square feet. Spacious.
"I'm Cara. I called you earlier." I said shaking the hand of a woman who appeared to be in her 50s.
"I'm Bea. And who is this little angel?" She asked bending down to peek at Amelia, who was wide awake. Amelia was smiling at the stranger.
"This is my daughter, Amelia."
"She's precious. Come, I'll show you the apartment."
"To be honest. I thought it was going to be different. I was expecting a complex of some sort."
"Oh, no. This is our version of apartments."
Bea unlocked the door and let me in first. It was clean, very light and spacious. The kitchen was outstanding. It was a single level home. The bedrooms were down a hall to the right of the dining area. The living room was open to the left of the kitchen.
"Can I look back there?" I asked.
"Go right ahead. There's a hall bathroom on the right and a bedroom. The room in the left is the master bedroom with bathroom. "
"Nice."
After looking at the house, which was just what I needed. I asked what betting no one asked before.
"Bea. I love this house. Is there anyway I can buy it?"
Bea looked surprised.
"Uh. I guess so. It's never come up before. I'll ask my son when he gets home. In the meantime, settle in. It's yours. Your daughter needs a place to live. We live just 4 houses down at 511. Don't hesitate to bug me."
Bea sympathize with me. She didn't know my story, but she knew a woman in trouble.
I unloaded the things I had packed that would fit into the suv. Most items were not important. Not to me anyway. I left reminders of myself and Amelia behind in case Tony ever showed up at our old house.

Around 5 o'clock the doorbell rang. I was putting my clothes in the closet and ran to get the door. Amelia was sleeping in her portable crib I had set up in her room. I opened the door to greet Bea who was standing there with a younger man. He sure was good looking. Blond and tan. He wore gym gear.
"Cara this is Kevin, my son."
He held out his hand. I wiped my hand on my leggings and shook it.
"Sorry, I was running around. Come in." I said as I greeted them inside.
"So Kevin, Cara asked me earlier if she could buy this place. I figured since you own it, you could help her out."
"Oh." I said.
"Its for rent though."
"I see. I just really love it. I wanted someplace to call my own, ya know. It's been a tough couple years and I've never had anything of my own." I felt tears in my eyes.
Kevin and Bea looked at each other. "Kevin. She has a baby."
Kevin sighed. "You really love it? Because I put a lot of hard work into it. I wouldn't want to see it ruined."
I wiped my eyes. "Oh God no. I'm neat. I'm an interior designer actually."
"If this is what you want, I'll have papers for you to sign by the end of the week."
It was like Christmas day. The joy on my face.
"Really?" I asked jumping up. I hugged him. " Thank you so much."
"Now what about this baby?" He asked.
We quietly walked into her room. She laid there sleeping on her back. Her soft blonde hair a mess on her head. Her cheeks were full and pink as well as her lips. She had Tony's olive complexion. My hair and eye color.
"She's beautiful. How old?" Kevin asked.
"5 month."
" And the dad?"
"Not in the picture."
Kevin nodded. And we left the room.
Kevin told me that as soon as he has papers he'd come by and we would sign them together.
I would officially own property in Florida.