Mrs. Johnston was a middle aged woman who dressed very elegant, and she always wore a smile at least always in public. When she spoke there was a tone of eminence present in her voice notifying Helen not to interrupt her when she gave orders. Helen was kind of scared to look at Mrs. Johnston straight in her eyes, even though a smile stayed placed on her face, her eyes reeked horror. Something about her cold stare showed a past of pain that left her with no compassion.

Helen’s first day was rough, but she made it through by taking her mind elsewhere. So many thoughts roam through her mind she even cried briefly when images of Gary aroused in her mind. She honestly loved him and felt stupid for doing so; the incident made Helen hate to love romantically. Helen despised herself for thinking of Gary knowing that the thought of the coward made her miserable. The day coasted by slowly, but Helen showed initiative to her duties. She was thanked by Mrs. Johnston on the way out; Helen still ignored those harmful eyes.

Suddenly Helen’s week became a routine; she would go to work Monday thru Friday; proving her mother right about Mrs. Johnston. On Saturdays and Sundays Helen would perform household chores at her own house. The pains in her stomach came and went leaving Helen in a crouching position at times. The kicks from her stomach internally seem to hit twice as hard, the reason for that in the future will be self-explanatory. She was now six months pregnant and still under her parent’s roof; she felt it was time to move. In her bank account was five hundred dollars that she earned with blood, sweat, and tears, and her desire for independence became too strong to fight.

 

On an early Saturday morning, Helen and her mother rode to Newport News a city that is an half of an hour from where they lived. They were on a journey to seek a two bedroom affordable apartment that was not too far from Mrs. Johnston’s residence. The ride to Newport News excited Helen and she began to smile like a child headed to the candy store. Her mother looked at her and had to fight back her own smile, “I don’t know what cha grinnin’ bout. There’s a lot come wit havin’ ya own.” Helen was still smiling, but she was serious, “I know mama.” All she could truly think of was that she was finally going to be out of the bird nest on her way to joyous freedom.

When they reached their destination they sought out the apartment complexes and Helen’s eyes grew monstrous. The first stop was at a complex called Beechmont. The rental office was occupied with white faces behind a desk looking at black people applying for an apartment. Helen’s mother took the role of the spokeswoman since the lease would be in her name because Helen didn’t qualify. Helen paid the five dollar application fee hypothesizing her mother would qualify for the apartment. Their competition was slim for the apartment, so her prediction was reasonable.

The women cut the day short they viewed two more apartments, but they only filled out an application for one of the two. Helen was confident that Beechmont would be her new place of residence. She thought of the different ways she could decorate the apartment to make the appearance more eye pleasing. After finishing her chores Helen laid in the bed holding her stomach hoping that her life would improve by the time her child arrived. Life felt like it would finally evolve from pain and suffering to joy and prosperity.

 

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