Chapter 13: Un Mes
“Coincidence
is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”-Albert Einstein
http://youtu.be/Q5L7KWlTToU
“You scared me,” Samantha said in between unsteady breaths.
As the song faded into the next, Anton came running
into class late. He glanced over towards
Samantha and smiled at her with a sparkle in his eye. Samantha shyly smiled back. Anton took his place at the back of the room
as usual. The music started and Mara
sang out,
“Quiero bailar hasta almanecer
Quiero dejar que
la cosa siga
Quero esta noche
me duro un mes.”
Lucy
always did her best to explain what the songs were about because it helped the
people in her class connect to the music.
Lucy explained that in this song the woman wants this one night to last
for a month. She wants to dance until dawn and forget the past. Anton wondered if the woman in the song, like
Samantha, had endured abuse at the hands of someone who claimed himself to be a
man.
Anton searched Samantha’s face
through the reflection in the mirror at the front of the class. Her face has healed beautifully he
thought. Only he noticed the long bangs,
strategically styled to hide her one eye.
Only Anton really knew the scars that Samantha had sustained that
horrible night last week. Anton longed
to embrace Samantha, as he had started calling her. As he kicked his right leg than his left leg,
he thought back to the night at the grocery store…
Anton had been watching the news
late into the evening after his daughters had gone to bed. During the commercial break, he had gotten up
to pour himself a glass of milk to go with the freshly baked cookies his
daughters had made earlier in the evening.
Unfortunately, he found only a few drops left in the bottom of the
gallon of milk. Not only did he need his
milk for his cookies, but he knew his teenage daughters would throw a fit in
the morning if they poured their bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats only to find
zero milk. Anton grabbed his black
leather jacket and headed out into the night.
Only one store was open at midnight so he rushed right over. After he checked out in the express lane, the
only cashier open anyway, he spotted a familiar car parked under the street light. The sliding doors opened and as he walked
closer he could see that the dome light was on in the car but he couldn’t see a
person in the driver’s side. He thought
to himself, “That’s odd.” Here in
Boomerang Valley, people still watched out for others. He hesitatingly wondered if he should reach
in and turn the dome light off because it was probably a grocer’s car working
the graveyard shift. He knew he would
hate to come out at 5am only to find a dead battery.
Anton could see the form of a woman sobbing
as he neared the parked vehicle. A
little voice inside him said, “Walk away…don’t get involved,” but a much louder
voice said, “Something isn’t right…check it out.” And so he followed the louder voice. He didn’t know who was more surprised, him or
the woman in the car. The woman let out
a shrill scream and startled jolt. She
reached for the lock on her door and cowered over to the center console
covering her face. Anton was startled by
the woman’s uncalled for scream but could tell from her reaction that this
woman thought he was someone else. He
gently tapped on the driver’s side window of the terrified woman. Samantha slowly lifted her head and Anton
could immediately see the dried blood and puffy face. Was this Samantha from the fitness club? What on earth had happened? When Samantha had finally realized it wasn’t
Darryl standing outside her door, she decided to roll down her window and talk
to him. As her eyes adjusted, she
recognized him as Anton, from Zumba class.
“You scared me,” Samantha said in between unsteady breaths.
“You
scared me too…are you ok Miss?” Anton
said as tenderly as he could.
“You’re
Anton, right?”
“Yeah,
and are you Samantha?”
“Mmmhmm.”
Samantha
was humiliated that someone she barely knew was here at her car with her in
this condition. Then she remembered her prayer and thought that maybe, just
maybe, this man was the miracle she had so desperately been needing. She lifted her face exposing her battle
wounds once more. Anton asked, “Do you
need help? Are you alright? Who did this to you?”
Samantha
burst into tears as she said, “Darryl, my husband.” Samantha’s head was pounding and she was
having a hard time seeing straight.
Anton saw the stunned look on Samantha’s face and wondered if she had
sustained a concussion. “Help me,
please” she silently whimpered as she opened the car door. Samantha wasn’t sure she would have the
strength to stand on her own two feet as she got out of the car but Anton was
there to catch her with his strong arms and broad shoulders.
“I
don’t have my phone and I need to …. I need to… I need to call the…” She hesitated as she remembered the threat of
her husband that if she called the police he would come find her and kill
her. Anton finished her sentence, and it
was as if he had read her mind. He fished
out his smart phone and dialed 9-1-1.
Anton walked her to a bench outside the
store and waited with her until the police arrived. Samantha confided in him all the events of
the evening. Anton was shocked to say
the least that such abuse could happen right here in their happy valley. He just let her talk and cry and talk and cry
some more. He had set the gallon of milk
down on the ground and was silently thankful that he had run out milk when he
had. How long would she have sat
there? How long would it have been
before her husband found her sitting in that parking lot? He wrapped Samantha in his leather jacket to
protect her from the chill of the night air.
Soon a police car turned into the grocery store parking lot with lights
shining. Samantha had never been so
happy to see red and blue lights!
The events of that night seemed to
all be a blurr. Anton helped Samantha
tell the story to the cops. A different
cop car was dispatched to apprehend Darryl and bring him in for
questioning. Darryl had passed out on
his porch steps so he was easy for the cops to find. Unfortunately, the cops startled Darryl so
badly that he had reacted in what he thought was self defense and had given the
arresting officer a black eye in the process.
Samantha didn’t care if they arrested him on domestic violence charges
or assault of a police officer. All she
knew was that Darryl was back at the station and at least for the night, she
would be safe. Right before she left to
go back home, Anton had given her his number and said, “If you ever need
anything…I am right here.” And Samantha
knew he meant it. She and Anton had been
inexplicably drawn together that night. Samantha
had immediate trusted him and connected on a different level than she ever had
with Darryl. Anton, went home with his
gallon of milk, wondering, “Why do women like that have to go through things
like this?” He had noticed Samantha’s
transformation as week after week, she was getting toned and losing
weight. Anton had noticed a spark of
energy in Samantha the last couple weeks of class that had never been there
before. He knew something good was
happening to her. Anton also knew she
was a married woman though, and had let his thoughts stop there. He wasn’t about to be the cause of anybody getting
into an adulterous relationship. He knew
had badly that had torn his heart out and he would never wish that on his worst
enemy. However, he felt a connection to Samantha
that night that he liked. He felt
needed, he flet useful, and he felt strong.
Anton threw his keys on the kitchen
counter and put the milk in the refrigerator when his Jack Bauer CTU ringtone
signaled someone was calling. He
answered the phone and Samantha said, “I ummm, were you serious about me
calling if I needed you, cuz I think I need you.”
“Anything
Samantha, what is it?” he inquired sincerely.
“I
know Darryl is at the station but I … I …well I am scared… and I …”
Anton
was ready for action and would have done anything for this woman, no matter
what.
“I
don’t want to be here tonight…I can’t be here…I need a place to… “
Anton’s
protective instincts kicked in as he said, “Not another word, I’m on my
way.”
“But
you don’t know where I live…I’ll text you my address.”
As
he grabbed his car keys once more, his youngest daughter Lia came out and said,
“Is everything alright, dad?” “Yes,
sugar…could you please make sure clean sheets are on the bed in the guest
bedroom? It looks like we are going to
have an unexpected guest tonight. I will
explain everything in the morning.
Thanks!” As Anton raced down the
road, he thought it odd that he would be Samantha’s first choice to call but he
was just happy to be in the position to help someone in need. He believed that everything happens for a
reason, and he would soon find out that he was right about that.
…As the song ended, he couldn’t help
but catch himself staring at Sami. He
had called in late to work so he would be sure to be there when she woke
up. He knew she would be hungry and in
need of a shoulder to cry on again. He
was right again. Together, he and Samantha
formulated a plan. Anton recommended his
divorce attorney to her and she eagerly grabbed her cell phone and dialed the
number. She then called her mom and told
her about the situation. Her mom would
be on the next flight in to Boomerang Valley the next day to help her figure
things out and keep her company. Samantha
filed a restraining order against Darryl.
Anton stayed out of Samantha’s way.
She was a strong woman and although she was bruised and puffy around her
eye and lips, Anton thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen.
Samantha
could literally feel Anton’s eyes on her with every dance move but she didn’t
dare look back at him. Anton knew too
much about her bruises, and right now she just wanted to dance…to escape…just
like the girl in the song. That one
night and day in Anton’s house had felt like a month…a really good month!
Mara. Un Mes. Rec. 22 Aug.
2010. Zumba Fitness, 2010.
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