CHAPTER FOUR

Pam cried like a baby when Zoe broke the news that they were moving. Pam had grown comfortable with her surroundings and the people in her small circle. The thought of starting over all but paralyzed her with fear. But she knew that she would have to trust Zoe’s decision and be ready to leave the place she’d called home for the past ten years in just a matter of weeks.

Martha was more matter-of-fact about it all. She asked when they were leaving, how much they could take with them, and if they already had a place to stay. She notified her job, pulled all of the money from her profit sharing account, and went about the business of packing up her home. Martha showed very little emotion, she knew that Pam was emotional enough for the both of them. She packed her things as well as Pam’s. At this point, all Pam was fully capable of doing was securing the door and window locks over and over again. This was her coping mechanism, what she always did whenever she was scared or nervous.

Susan was sympathetic and very understanding when Zoe explained her situation. She even forwarded Zoe’s resume to a friend of hers that was a branch manager for an Atlanta based credit union. But what shocked Zoe the most was that Susan immediately laid her off. Susan was faced with letting one of her employees go anyway due to budget cuts and it only made sense to her to give Zoe the ax. That way, Zoe could go and apply for unemployment benefits before she left town and it would help provide a little financial cushion until new employment could be established.

Over the next couple of weeks, Zoe was able to pin point an area of town that Desmond confirmed was pretty decent. She shopped apartments in the area on the internet and was able to secure a place to live. It was convenient to downtown, had great shopping, and best of all it was within walking distance to Desmond. She contacted all of the utility companies to set up service and confirmed her U Haul rental. With the most important business handled, Zoe began to pack all of her things. She’d always tried not to become too attached to her home, her surroundings. But despite her efforts, she’d grown incredibly attached. Zoe loved the quaint house that she’d been renting for what seemed like forever. She loved and respected her neighbors and couldn’t help but to drop a few tears as she placed her personal effects into cardboard boxes. As she wrapped her fragile items and reminisced about her life in Manassas, the phone rang, interrupting her trip down memory lane.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby girl, please don’t hang up. Your aunt told me where you were and was able to get me your number. I’m getting out soon and I just wanted to assure you that I’m a changed man. I know that everything I did to you, your mom, and sister was wrong and I take complete responsibility for it. I would love to see you once I’m released and beg your forgiveness.”

“Go to hell!” Zoe slammed down the phone and yanked the cord out of the wall.

He hadn’t even been released yet and already Otis was starting his campaign to weasel his way back into her life. At that moment all Zoe could think was ‘to hell with memories, we’ve got to get the hell out of dodge.’ Zoe began throwing things in the boxes as if she didn’t have another second to spare. She grabbed her cell phone and called her mom.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey Mom, don’t tell Pam, but I just got a call from Otis. He wants to see us and beg our forgiveness. I expect that he’ll be here on one of our doorsteps within the next few days. We can’t be here. I need you to pack a little faster, we’re leaving tomorrow night.”

“We’ll be ready,” Martha confirmed.

Her tone was flat and dry. All anyone had to do was mention Otis’ name and Martha turned ice cold, no emotion, no warmth. He’d beat all of the love out of her, destroyed her sense of security, and had broken those that she cared for the most…her girls. She said a long time ago that she’d never be able to forgive him, that hatred would always be the dominant emotion where he was concerned.

Within twenty-four hours, Zoe’s hired help had hitched her car to the U Haul, packed up her, Pam, and her mom’s belongings and they were on the road to Atlanta. Zoe knew that this was the best possible thing for them and she was no longer nervous or anxious about the move. Pam, however, was a train wreck. Tears flowed freely down her face and she was constantly wringing her hands. Zoe reached into her purse and gave poor Pam one of her prescribed anti-anxiety pills. Pam took it with a sip of water and within fifteen minutes, she was calm and relaxed. Unfortunately there was no pill that her mother had been prescribed so she calmed her nerves with food. Sadly, that was Martha’s coping mechanism, she ate until she felt better and her girls were scared that she’d eat herself into an early grave.

By 6:00am Zoe was watching the sunrise as they crossed the Georgia border. A sense of peace washed over her and she knew that everything was going to be alright. They would make new lives for themselves and they would thrive, even Pam. Zoe recognized that this was the kind of peace that only God was capable of providing and she thanked Him for it.

Remarkably, the three Shaw women adjusted to their new city relatively quickly. Zoe secured a customer service position with the credit union. Martha fell right into her role as a Pre-K teacher with an elite school and Pam, well it took her a little longer, but she eventually took a secretarial position at a very small accounting firm. Life was good.