She needed to get the hell out of this one horse town. She was going crazy within herself. All she wanted was to find herself, to have a bit of excitement in her life, to finally live! She spent so many years being the go-to girl for everyone. She was always the fixer, the one who made everyone else feel better about themselves while she silently cried herself to sleep every night.
The past few years, she went through a lot of changes. She met some people who made her think outside the box, she started school and she went through some horrible turmoil in her home life. Her husband became very demeaning toward her. The verbal and emotional abuse alone would have sent even the saintliest women running. But then the sexual abuse began and she was torn between her commitment and her need for something better. She was almost to the point of finding a way to let it all slide when he began to physically abuse the children. That was it, that was the last straw! It was time to embark on that path she never thought her life would take and she filed for divorce.
Time quickly proved to her that people you thought you could count on tend to turn on a dime and leave you feeling less than human. She began to wonder when she'd ever be enough for anyone. Striving for perfection in her studies became an obsession - she needed to prove that she was good at something. She began to find herself, somewhere buried deep within was the real person trying to claw her way out of the many masks she'd worn for so long. She began to reclaim her life, to take a stand every once in a while and to stop trying to be everything to everyone. At one point, she remembers her sister laughing and exclaiming "Look out world, Stella got her groove back!"
That made her feel a small sense of accomplishment. Granted, her sister was simply quoting a movie title, but it was true. Two months ago, she graduated with honors and finally had her degree. She was going to follow her dream, scared as shit, but determined nonetheless. She wrote a few letters, made a few phone calls and rented a large U-Haul.
It was early on a sunny Saturday morning, she made one last pass through the house, making sure that everything was clean and nothing was being left behind. Then, she and her kids piled into the big truck and backed out of the driveway. The boys were excited for the new adventure; she glanced back at the house as a lone tear made its way down her cheek. She was trying very hard to bite back thousands of others that threatened to spill out of her eyes.
The night before had been awful. All of her friends and family had decided to hold a going away party for them and it was quite a somber occasion. She was definitely going to miss those closest to her - she would not, however, miss those so-called friends who had made her last year in this town absolute hell. She was going to miss her family though; she'd never been separated from them by more than 45 miles. Now she was going to be almost 900 miles from her family and closest friends. YIKES! What the hell was she thinking??
Apparently there just comes a time in a person's life when they feel they need to spread their wings and follow their dreams and this was her time to fly. She'd been accepted to the FBI in Quantico, Virginia 2 weeks ago and she knew for a fact that the next 18 weeks would be the most important of her life. She wasn't quite sure how she and the boys would make it out there on their own, but her heart just kept telling her to go for it.
The trip to Virginia with 3 boys was brutally long. But they made it in just under 16 hours. She was exhausted and just wanted a long, hot shower and a nice bed to sleep in. The little house she was renting was a wonderful sight. They pulled into the driveway only to see a small lamp glowing in the back of the house. She smiled to herself, she knew he'd been there.
"He" was one of her best friends. They had met online and the chemistry was instantaneous. He was the only person she knew in the area, but he was most definitely the reason she had the nerve to follow her dreams there. He helped her get this place. She couldn't have found the time to go out there and house hunt, so he did some checking and helped her get into it. He had one set of keys and had mailed her the others.
The house was perfect! It was very contemporary and open. It had 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths and an amazing kitchen; not to mention a finished basement and a garage. She was completely enthralled with her new house. The boys were overly excited to pick out their own bedrooms and explore the rest of the house. She looked to the small lamp on the table in the living room and saw a piece of paper resting against the base. She walked over and picked it up.
"Welcome home Baby, I hope you don't mind that I stopped by with a few things and left a light on for you. I wanted to be there to welcome you into my waiting arms, but I had a meeting to go to and ended up at dinner with some of the bank reps. I hope you understand, I'll call you tomorrow. Sleep well, I'm sure you're exhausted. Kisses, D"
She smiled and held the note to her chest as she wondered what other surprises he'd left for her. Instinct sent her into the kitchen. She opened the fridge to find it stocked with milk, eggs, cheese, butter, lunchmeat, and beer. She grabbed a bottle of Newcastle and used the opener on her keychain to crack it open. A few long drinks and it was gone. She could hear the boys running from room to room upstairs, arguing over who should have the largest room. She just grinned and a quick scan of the kitchen counters revealed that he had brought over a coffee pot, filters, coffee and a large mug. There was also an ashtray next to the sink.
