by CJ Simpson
Her aunt’s words stung Kat to the core. She felt like an outsider and knew that deep down, her family held her responsible for the loss of her parents. It really was her fault. If it weren’t for her, they would still be alive today. If she hadn’t suggested vacationing another week after her graduation, they wouldn’t have died. No matter how one looked at it, she was ultimately to blame.
Heartbroken, Kat desperately yearned for Michael. He always knew what to do and what to say. She felt extraordinarily alone and frightened. And this time, she was on her own, for good.
Two weeks later, Kat had received a package from her aunt. In it was a dinnerware set that had belonged to her maternal grandmother. Her aunt had included a short note explaining that Kat’s mother wanted her to have the dishes and that she would soon hear from an estate lawyer, her father’s best friend, in regards to the sale of her parents’ house. No words of affection were offered. No information about Mary was provided. It was as if the package served as the final communication link between Kat and her family. It would be a long time before she would be in contact with them.
It had been over six years since that fateful day. To Kat, the memories of losing them were still quite fresh. She knew she would never get over their deaths. She also missed Mary terribly, despite her sister’s treatment toward her. However, the time had given Kat a chance to accept her losses and learn to deal with them. She had to, for Tyler’s sake.
A lone tear fell slowly down Kat’s cheek. Not wanting Tyler to see her cry, she quickly brushed away the tear from her face. She put her hand on Tyler’s back and rubbed it gently.
She said quietly, “I miss all of them very much. I know that God is taking really good care of them for us. And someday, when we go to Heaven, God will take care of us too.”
Tyler took the picture from Kat and held it in his small hands. Studying his grandparents and the man whom he believed was his father, “I don’t really remember them, Mommy.”
“I know, honey. They died before you were born.”
“And before you got married, right? What’s that word again?”
“Engaged?” Kat inquired, raising an eyebrow. She wondered where her son learned that word.
Tyler nodded. “Yes, engaged. Is that like when you pretend to be married?” He played with the small diamond engagement ring that was still on Kat’s finger from when Michael had proposed to her.
Kat smiled at her son’s inquisitiveness. “Kind of. Being engaged means when there are two people who love each other want to marry each other.”
“And live forever with each other?”
“Yes, forever.”
Tyler appeared content with his mother’s explanation as he continued to look at the three people in the picture smiling at him. After a few minutes had passed, she said, “All right. Let’s go eat dinner before it gets cold. You have Taekwondo class in one hour.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Chapter 3
Breathing a sigh of relief that they had arrived safely, Kat and Tyler huddled together underneath her oversized umbrella as they stepped out of her car. While the training academy was only a few miles from her house, the drive over was a bit unnerving. The soft rain had turned into a downpour, creating large puddles of water in the streets and making it difficult to see. It didn’t help that it was windy, too. Sprays of mist showered onto Kat’s face as she struggled to keep Tyler dry as possible. As they quickly walked toward the entrance of the building, Kat saw the lights inside the building flicker. I wonder if we’ll lose power tonight, she thought.
When they reached the door, Tyler immediately spotted his best friend Eli and ran over to join him. They began taking off their shoes in preparation for the warm up exercises that were about to begin.
Kat selected a seat next to one that had a bright blue water bottle on the floor. Recognizing the bottle as belonging to Eli’s mother, she set her purse underneath her own chair. Her sweater was damp, so she removed it and hung it on the back of her chair. When she sat down, Eli’s mother came out of the bathroom and walked toward Kat.
“Well, hello there!” Kat smiled at her friend. “Get a little wet?” She laughed as Rhonda glared at her. Her shirt and pants were spotted with water and her auburn hair hung limply over her shoulders.
“We went to see Eli’s cousin today and time got away from us. Obviously, I didn’t have time to stop at the house to get our raincoats.” She sat down next to Kat and rubbed her knees, trying to warm her hands.
“Would you like to wear my sweater?” Kat offered. “It should be dry in a few minutes.”
“Thanks, but I’m okay. I’ll warm up once we get on the floor.” She motioned to the instructor in the front of the room.
There were eight children in the Tiny Tigers program, ranging from three to six years old. All of them stood at their respective places on the activity floor, chattering excitedly.
Tyler was three months younger than Eli, so they were paired up as partners. Both boys had known each other since they were born and did almost everything together. Their mothers were also the best of friends and lived across the street from each other. The women often took turns babysitting and jokingly referred to the other’s son as her second child. Kat was grateful to have Rhonda in her life and she trusted her completely when she left Tyler in her care.
While Tyler and Eli went to separate preschools, they often shared similar extracurricular activities. Taekwondo was one of them. After two months in the program, both boys had earned their orange belts. They were ahead of their peers due to the fact that they practiced regularly together.
“All right, how are my Tiny Tigers doing tonight?” Dottie smiled widely, clapping her hands. The owner was a tall woman, who usually dressed in her state championship uniform that gave her an aura of stern authority. “Did y’all get wet?”
The children clamored, jumping up and down, eager to get started. “Okay, let’s warm up!”
Dottie Rodriquez was a no-nonsense kind of woman. While she understood young children were highly energetic and rambunctious at times, she had little tolerance for those who disrupted her classroom. She spoke loudly most of the time, perhaps in effort to maintain control of her students. She was a fourth degree black belt martial arts instructor and was known for being one of the best trainers in the area.
“Parents!” she yelled. “We’re gonna do something a little bit different tonight. Come on up.” She waved her hands for the parents to step forward onto the floor.
After Kat and Rhonda removed their shoes, they took their respective positions behind their sons. Tyler looked up at his mother and she gave him a wink.
“Here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to learn what we need to do when someone grabs us from behind.” Dottie eyed the children and continued, “We are going to pretend that your mommies and daddies are the bad guys!”
Tyler turned around and said to Kat, “You’re the bad guy, Mommy!” He giggled as many of the kids did the same with their parents.
Tyler didn’t notice the frightened expression on Kat’s face, but Rhonda did. While Kat tried to wear a happy face, it was obvious how uncomfortable she was.
“You okay?” whispered Rhonda.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” Kat replied. “I had a bad memory there for a second.” She smiled at her friend, grateful for her support.
“All right! Mr. Henley here is going to give us a little demonstration. She motioned to the side of the room, where he stood next to a rack of sparring gear. Ryan Henley, a first degree black belt certified student instructor, sauntered over and stood facing Dottie.
“Everybody watch!” she boomed. “Mr. Henley is going to take his right hand and grab my left wrist.” After he did this, Dottie yanked out her left arm from his grip, swung it back inward, and used both hands to lightly punch the student instructor in the chest with three jabbing motions.
“Did you see how I did that?” The children nodded, wide-eyed with interest. “I’ll do it again,
watch carefully.” She repeated the process and this time Ryan pretended to be hurt.
The children laughed when they saw Ryan hold his hands to his stomach, feigning pain. “Now it’s your turn!” Dottie instructed. “Face your parents.”
Dottie paced back and forth, observing each parent grab their child’s wrist to ensure proper techniques were being followed.
“Now, what happens if you can’t pull your hand away? What do you do?” She looked at each child. All of them stared blankly at her.
Ryan and Dottie reclaimed their places and Ryan once again took Dottie’s left wrist in his right hand. Dottie pretended to struggle, as if she couldn’t break the strong hold Ryan had on her. She then clasped her right hand over her opponent’s grip, leaned her body to the right, swung her left foot out and lightly kicked Ryan’s right knee. Ryan immediately broke his hold on Dottie’s wrist.
“Did you all see that?” The children bobbed their heads in agreement. “Okay, now I want you to practice with your parents.” As an afterthought, she added, “Be gentle with each other!”
As the children and their parents began practicing under the supervision of Ryan Henley, Dottie walked to the entrance where the secretary’s desk was located. A woman stood there, patiently waiting to speak with her.
When Dottie returned a few minutes later, she said, “Okay, now we’re going to practice with the opposite hand and opposite foot.” She and Mr. Henley repeated their demonstration. “Any questions?” she asked.
For the remainder of class, Kat and Tyler practiced their newly learned self defense skill. Before they were dismissed for the evening, Dottie called the class to attention.
“I have an announcement I’d like to make.” Everyone in the room gave Dottie their full attention. “A lady was just in here asking me if I would offer a self-defense class for women only.” Dottie looked at the women in the room. “If you think you might be interested in participating, come see me before you leave.”
As Kat and Tyler walked back to their seats and began putting on their shoes, she thought about how she may benefit from a self-defense class, especially for women only. She looked over to where Rhonda was helping Eli put on his shoes and asked her, “What do you think about the self-defense class?”
“I think it’s a great idea. I probably won’t attend but I know someone who may be interested.” Rhonda said. “What about you?”
Kat replied, “I’ve always wanted to take something like this. A little extra security couldn’t hurt.”
Aside from Kat’s former gynecologist and the police, Rhonda and her husband were the only people who knew about the rape. Kat didn’t want people feeling sorry for her and more importantly, she didn’t want Tyler to learn about it through the grapevine. She would tell him when the time was right.
Rhonda agreed. “Let me know the date and I’ll watch Tyler for you.”
Kat nodded silently. She had put on her sweater and saw that Tyler was ready to go. “Well, we’re going to head out after I speak with Dottie.” Tyler and Eli bowed to each other while Kat and Rhonda exchanged goodbyes.
“See you tomorrow, Tyler!” Rhonda said warmly. She waved as she and Eli walked toward the back entrance.
“Mommy is going to talk to Miss Dottie, okay?” Tyler nodded and sat down in a chair. He had brought a miniature car with him to keep himself amused.
“I’ll only be a few minutes.” She bent down and kissed the top of Tyler’s head before walking up to the secretary’s desk.
Dottie was sitting at her computer, her back to Kat. When she heard Kat approach, she turned in her chair to face her, a smile on her face.
“How’s it going, lady?” Dottie stood and approached the counter.
“It’s going just fine.” Kat said, suddenly hesitant about signing up. “I wanted to ask you about the self-defense class.”
“Okay, sure.” Dottie replied. “The lady that was in here earlier said she has some friends from her church who were talking about starting up a class.” She looked at Kat. “Did you want to sign up?”
“Uh, yes, I-I think so.” Kat stammered. She felt her face flush and hoped that Dottie wouldn’t notice, but she had.
Dottie peered at Kat with concern. “Are you all right?”
“Oh yes, I’m fine. Kat covered. “I’m just tired.”
Dottie dismissed this for a later conversation. Instead, she said, “Well, as I had mentioned earlier, this class would be for women only. The techniques you’ll learn will focus on what you can do to prepare yourself in the event you are attacked or abducted.”
Kat stood nervously, playing with her hair. “That sounds really good. Can I sign up now?”
“You can sign up now, sure.” Dottie reached for the sheet of paper she had used earlier when talking with the woman from before. “Write your name down right here.” She pointed.
Kat printed her name, phone number, and email address on the sheet. “How much do you charge for something like this?” she inquired.
Dottie answered, “Twenty-five dollars per person.” When Kat looked at her in surprise, Dottie nodded. “If it means saving a life, I have no problems making that happen.”
Kat instantly relaxed. She smiled warmly at Dottie and asked, “To keep your prices low, do you have a minimum class size requirement?”
Dottie nodded. “I do. I like to keep it around twelve to fourteen people, preferably an even number so that everyone has a partner.”
Kat studied her for a moment, then took a deep breath and said, “Well, that settles it. Count me in!”
“All righty, then.” Dottie approved. “I’ll let you know when I come up with a couple of dates. I’ve got to check the schedule from my other job, but I’d like to have the class on a Saturday morning.” Kat nodded in agreement and Dottie continued, “Most people can usually get the time off.”
“Sounds good.” Kat said. By this time, Tyler joined them and was ready to leave. “You itching to go, little boy?” she said.
“Yes!” Tyler jumped up and down. “Bye bye, Miss Dottie.”
“See you next week!” Dottie held up her hand and Tyler gave her a high five.
After Kat and Tyler left, Dottie thought about their conversation with curiosity. There’s a story behind that one, she thought. Shaking her head, she returned to her computer and resumed her work.
Chapter 4
After Kat tucked Tyler into bed, she walked across the hall toward the guest room she used as an office. She usually did her computer work at night so that she could focus on Tyler during the day.
Her home office was similar to the one in her former apartment, except that here her furniture was antiquated. She had sold her computer desk because it was unstable and too much trouble to dismantle. Besides, the wood had been dark in color and she wanted something entirely different.
The walls of her office were separated by a chair rail. Above the rail, Kat had painted a green monsoon color that emanated a cozy atmosphere throughout the room. The bottom section was coated with a deep mahogany color, giving the space a subtle flair of ambiance.
In one corner sat her computer desk. It was more of a table that one would typically place in a foyer. Kat had fallen in love with it when she discovered it at an antique store. It had a flip-down panel shelf that accommodated her keyboard and mouse. The table was made of solid wood and had an antiqued white finish applied to it. A flat screen computer monitor sat near the edge, accompanied by a small desk lamp.
Next to her desk stood a matching two-drawer lateral filing cabinet that Kat used as her printer table. It offered cubbyhole storage features with two adjustable shelves. In it, Kat kept her class materials and office supplies.
At the opposite corner of the room was a built-in bookcase that served as the library. The bookcase took up the entire wall and the shelves were filled with a variety of fiction and non-fiction novels. Kat was an avid reader and was always on the lookout for antique books to add to her massive collection.
Whe
n Kat entered her office, she turned on the light and powered on her computer. As she waited for it to boot up, she circled around to the double-hung windows next to the bookcase and raised the bottom hutches a few inches. It was one of the cooler June nights and she wanted fresh air circulating throughout the room while she worked on her computer. Then she reached for the ceiling light and pulled down the switch that turned on the fan. Satisfied with the cool breeze that flowed within the room, Kat sat down in her high-back swivel chair. The floor was made of hardwood, but Kat had a little section of carpet that she kept under her desk. With her bare feet buried in the shag carpeting, she got to work.
When her computer was ready, Kat signed into her money manager account. After she paid her bills online, she clicked on her investment portfolio.
Before Michael died, he had set up power of attorney in Kat’s name and turned over his entire savings to her. Michael had over $100,000 in an aggressive retirement plan, with the majority of it invested in overseas stocks. Michael had also arranged for a trusted colleague, a financial advisor, to oversee the account so that Kat would gain the maximum return on her investments.
In addition, Michael had put a down payment on the house Kat and Tyler were living in now. He didn’t tell her about it until the night he proposed. A couple of months prior to that, they had taken a weekend trip to the coast to look at homes. They had been to the coast several times before and decided they wanted to live there once they became husband and wife. On each visit, they had slept in separate bedrooms at their favorite bed and breakfast inn. Michael respected Kat’s wishes to wait until they were married before becoming intimate with one another.
They explored a section of the coast they had not seen before and immediately fell in love with the area. When Kat saw her house, she knew it was the perfect home for them to live in after they were married. Michael agreed and the two went as far as to speak with the former owner who had put up the house on the market. She had been recently widowed and could not manage the house by herself. It needed quite a bit of work, but with a little bit of love and manual labor, it could be restored to its original beauty.