Part I – Kenzie's Story
Cursing and crying, I entered the last few digits of the number into my disposable cell phone and hit Send. I hoped she was home. If she wasn't, I was going to fall apart.
"Hello?" the voice began.
"Danni? It's me Kenzie," I said with forced cheerfulness.
Danni had been my best friend in high school. We had been inseparable from the time we met in fifth grade. Fate had thrown us together for "the talk" at school. Her wry sense of humor, and visible disdain for the discomfort of our teachers had made her my idol. We'd been constant companions until I'd moved to Seattle half-way through my senior year. We'd stayed in touch a few months after I moved, but gradually, the calls became less frequent and we'd lost touch with each other.
"Kenzie, how are ya? Long time no hear girl! What's going on?" she said excitedly.
Good. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.
"Danni, listen. I'm in trouble and I need a place to stay. Can I stay with you for a couple of weeks? I wouldn't ask, but I'm really desperate. Please, can I stay? It's just for a couple of weeks."
"What's going on?" she asked.
"It's complicated Danni. I just need someplace to lay low for a while. Two weeks, tops."
"Two weeks? You can stay two months if you want. Works for me. When are you going to be in town?"
"I'm in town now. Can I come over in a few minutes? Please?"
"Sure, sure. I just thought I'd have time to make things nicer for you," she said flustered.
"It's OK. Really, I don't want to be any trouble. Would half an hour be OK?"
"OK, I'll see you in 30 minutes, here's the address." She repeated it back to me. "Kenzie?"
"Yes Danni?" I whispered.
"I'm glad you're here. See you in a few."
Looking down at the floor of the car, I contemplated life's big surprise: my daughter Elise. She was a beautiful, two-week-old, little girl. She was probably the only good thing that her scummy father had ever done. I wondered if a lifetime of cruelty and abusive behavior could be offset by fathering one perfect, beautiful child. I didn't think so.
I wasn't sure how Danni was going to react to Elise. I guess that's why I didn't mention her. I felt like shit for tricking my best friend, but I really was desperate.
I drove the car to a street about a block from Danni's apartment. Parking in a secluded place, I started wiping it down. I carefully went over the entire interior, remembering to wipe off the rear-view mirror and the seat belt blades. Getting out, I wiped off the door handles, the door frame, and the top of the trunk. When the police found this baby a thousand miles from home I didn't want any prints to lead them to me.
Picking up the car seat with Elise in it, I hoisted her diaper bag and my backpack over my shoulder and started casually walking away from the car. As I rounded the corner, and walked into Danni's apartment complex, I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't sure about the next part, but I'd gotten rid of the stolen car, and that was just a huge load off me.
I walked through the maze of buildings until I found the right one. Setting Elise's car seat down on the ground, I rang the door bell. Seconds later, the door flew open and she was there.
"Hey girl!" she said excitedly. "Look at you! I'm so glad to see you!" she squealed. Stepping forward, she grabbed me in a strong hug and started crushing me.
Danni had changed since school. Her build was better than I'd remembered. She had a long lean torso topped with a pair of pert breasts. Her brown hair was in a short buzz cut that was boyish, but when combined with her face still left her with a feminine appearance. She was a little heavy in the hardware department with a piercing in her eyebrow and a row of studs piercing one ear. For clothes she had on a pair of faded black jeans, and a battered Joan Jett T-shirt.
Stepping back, she started looking me over.
"Whoa girl! Look at that chest! When did those happen?"
"Those happened about 4 months ago," I grinned. "It's what pregnancy and nursing do."
"No Shit? You had a baby?"
Nodding, I stepped to the side and revealed a sleeping Elise.
"Wow," she said softly. Kneeling down, she took a close look at her.
"She's beautiful," she whispered. "Tell me about her."
"Can we go inside?" I asked. "It's been a long day, and I'm kind of tired."
"Oh! Sure! My bad. Let me help you." Reaching down, she picked up the diaper bag, and my backpack. I picked up Elise and we moved into her living room.
Danni's apartment was a study in utilitarian minimalism. A small table had two chairs. Open style cabinets revealed a plain stoneware set for four. The living room had a worn couch, and a beat up recliner. On the wall was a vague rainbow poster.
Danni collapsed into the recliner and I sat heavily on the couch. Seeing her again brought back a flood of emotions. I guess she was feeling the same way. We sat looking at each other, I suppose lost in our own thoughts, wondering I suppose what the hell fate was doing bringing us back together.
Finally, she got up. "Would you like something to drink? I've got beer and wine."
"A cup of tea would be nice if you have it. I'm nursing, and I can't really drink. If you don't have any tea, some water would be fine."
"Let me look. My mom gave me some tea as part of a house-warming basket when I moved in here. I'm pretty sure I didn't drink it all."
A minute later, she gave a triumphant shout and held up the tin of bags, complete with the original cellophane wrapping intact.
"I see you didn't drink it all," I smirked.
"Wise-ass!" she grinned.
Soon, I was holding a steaming cup of tea. As I sipped from the mug, I felt her appraising gaze looking me over. Somehow, I knew she wasn't looking at my maternally enhanced boobs.
"So, are you going to tell me what's going on?"
Taking a deep breath, I started in on the whole sad, stupid story.
"After we moved to Seattle, things pretty much sucked. My folks divorced, and my mother went through a string of boyfriends. I was a little freaked out at the way some of them were looking at me I guess. I was seventeen, and these losers were dropping hints and looking me over any time my mom wasn't around. At the same time, my mom started drinking pretty heavily. While this was going on, I started hanging out with kids that weren't exactly civic leaders. Considering some of the crap I did, it's a wonder I was never arrested. I knew I had to get out of there, so I made a plan."
"As soon as I finished school, I went to beautician school, and started cutting hair. Once I had a steady job, I moved out. I spent the next couple of years cutting hair. Not a lot to tell there. I got up and worked weekdays. Weekends, the other girls from work and I went out to bars looking for men. Almost always, I was too picky to take any of them home. With one exception anyhow."
Taking a break I took another sip from my cup. It was chamomile. When I'd been a little girl, my mother and I used to drink chamomile tea together on rainy days. I missed my mother. No, that was a lie. I missed the woman my mother used to be. Maybe I missed the little girl I used to be.
"So, I met Kurt. Kurt's an investment advisor for a bank. When I met him, I was just floored. Here's this 30 year old guy, who's just totally handsome and well dressed. I mean he's wearing Giorgio fucking Armani suits. Not only was he good looking, but he had money. He drove a BMW, and his condo had been professionally decorated by someone with taste."
"In hindsight, I should have asked myself why this perfect specimen of manhood was trolling bars and picking up hair dressers. I didn't use my fucking head is the nicest thing I could say," I said wryly.
Stopping again, I took a deep pull from my tea and plodded onwards and downwards through my life.
"After a couple of dates, I started sleeping with him, and in another couple of months, I moved into his apartment with him. He was just totally amazing. He was so attentive. He was always doing little things that made me feel like a princess. I was in heaven. It was just so wonderful."
"After I moved in though, things started changing. He wasn't quite as attentive. Some days, he was a little short with me. At first, I thought it was just normal stuff. I never dated much, but I know that every relationship changes as it develops. It was around this time, that I got pregnant."
"Kurt was just totally furious. He kept asking how anyone could be so damn dumb. Birth control was my one responsibility in our relationship and I'd fucked it up. That night was the beginning of scary times, and for the first time I slept on the couch in the living room."
"The next day, he was all apologetic. He bought me flowers, and we went to dinner at an expensive restaurant. During dinner, we started talking about marriage."
"Over the next couple of weeks, Kurt convinced me to quit my job. After all, as he pointed out, we were getting married and his income was enough for us to live comfortably on. After I quit my job, Kurt started pressuring me to stay home, and stop meeting my girl friends from the salon."
"Looking back, it's pretty easy to see that he was isolating me. He was making my life totally revolve around him, and making sure that I had no regular contact with anyone else. I don't know why I didn't see it at the time. Right about then is when we got married. We just went down to the courthouse and had a civil ceremony. His parents sent a congratulations card. When I saw the zip code was for the next township over, I asked Kurt."
"My mother is a god-damned drunk and my father's a loser who stays with a drunk. You don't want to know them," was his response.
