by CJ Simpson
Kat quickly recovered and shrugged her shoulders. “No, it’s okay. Uh, I really should pay more attention to where I’m going.” She looked at him warily, feeling very uncomfortable with what just transpired.
The man continued to look at her strangely, making Kat nervous. She apologized again and turned away, heading down the hall to where her Crafts classroom was.
When Kat entered her room, she stopped for a brief moment and breathed a deep sigh of relief. It’s okay, it’s not a big deal, she comforted herself. Get a grip already, it was just an accident. She made a mental note to find the man later so that she could apologize for acting like such an idiot.
Kat headed to the front of her classroom where there was a small table. She set her purse on it and draped her sweater over the chair sitting behind it. On the table was a note from Pastor Cullen, welcoming her to bible school. He wrote that one of her helpers came down with food poisoning the night before and would not be coming in that week.
Poor Elsie, Kat empathized. I hope she feels better soon. As she began taking crafts out of a box she’d brought a few days ago, she wondered how she would compensate for the shortage of helpers. She needed all the help she could get, especially when the little ones came to her class. Many of them did not have the dexterity required to make crafts and required one-on-one help. As she pondered this, she heard a knock on the door.
She looked up to see the man she crashed into earlier standing in the doorway. He was tall, handsome, and had on the same uniform she did. He wore a nervous smile on his face. “I just wanted to apologize for acting like such a dork back there.” He motioned toward the hallway and hung his head. “Are you Kat?” he asked.
“Yes, I am.” She gave him a wan smile.
“Daniel Stevens.” The man strode up to her and stuck his arm out. “I really am sorry.” His eyes showed sincere regret and Kat immediately felt at ease.
Shaking his hand, Kat responded, “I am too. I didn’t mean to act like such a dork, either.” They both stared at each other for a moment, then broke into laughter.
“Does this mean we’re on speaking terms now?” he quipped.
Kat grinned. “Yes, we are.” She began sorting her crafts in preparation for her first class, which was due to begin in one hour. “So, you’re a volunteer here?” she prodded.
Daniel explained, “Yes. Uh, from what I understand, one of your helpers fell ill at the last minute. Pastor Cullen called me and asked if I would be willing to come in and help.” He added quickly, “If that’s all right with you, of course.”
Kat could see Daniel was a little worried, so she forced herself to sound enthusiastic. “Absolutely, it is!”
“Whew.” He pretended to wipe his forehead. Both of them laughed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around before.” Kat said.
“I’m pretty new to the area, actually.” Daniel explained. “Moved here about six months ago.”
“Oh, yeah? Where from?” she inquired.
“Charltonville.”
“Really? Me too!” Kat exclaimed. “But I’ve been living here in Lakesboro for the last six years.” The expression on her face darkened.
“You must really like it here.” Daniel said, noting the frown on Kat’s face. “It’s a beautiful area.”
“Yes, it is. I enjoy the small-town atmosphere. It’s a great place to raise kids and everybody pretty much knows everybody around here.”
“Is that a good thing?” he hesitated.
Kat laughed. “I think it is. Although, sometimes I have to watch what I say in front of people.”
“And watch where you’re going.” Daniel teased.
“Hey!”
Daniel smiled at her and looked around the room. There were three long tables arranged in a horseshoe fashion. The walls had been decorated with photographs of various points of interest in New York City. “Okay. So, now that you’ve agreed to let me help you, put me to work. He rubbed his hands together. “What can I do?”
Although the pastor had already explained the basics of vacation bible school to Daniel, she briefly highlighted its importance, that it was a form of religious education, an extension of Sunday school. The program was designed specifically for children to connect spiritually to God so that they may share God’s love with others. She told him that their church holds the week-long evening program during the middle of June as statistics showed that turnout was much higher at that time.
Kat quickly showed Daniel the crafts they would be helping the kids make that week. She held up the models she and Rhonda had made so Daniel could see what the crafts looked like in completed form. She explained that for the various grade levels, classes are kept to twenty minutes. They would be working nonstop until break time an hour and a half later. Daniel listened with great interest and by the time Kat was finished, she felt he was ready. Her remaining two helpers had arrived by then and introductions were exchanged.
When the children entered the classroom, Daniel led them to their seats and made sure each child had a craft kit.
The first class consisted of first and second graders. Most of them already knew how to write their names and seemed capable of following simple directions. When a little boy raised his hand, Daniel quickly went to the child and offered assistance.
During the second class, Kat and her teammates were impressed with the ease at which Daniel seemed to have when working with children. When the kindergarteners became a bit rambunctious, Daniel expertly shifted their focus to the crafts in front of them. When class ended, Kat praised him on a job well done.
“Ready to go home yet?” she joked.
“No way!” Daniel chortled. “I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun!”
“Come on,” said Kat, “join us at Midtown for snacks. We have thirty minutes before our last two classes begin.”
Daniel followed Kat to the kitchen where her fellow parishioners were busy serving plates to the volunteers. After they received their plates, they joined their teammates, Janice and Betty Jean, at a table near the New York Harbor backdrop.
“So what do you think of it?” Betty Jean asked Daniel.
“I’m enjoying myself so far. I can’t believe how fast time goes by here. We’ve been busy nonstop, it seems.”
Everyone laughed. Janice chimed, “We’ve got the older ones next so it should be somewhat less chaotic.”
Daniel smiled and turned to Kat. “How long have you been doing this?” He was referring to Kat being a leader.
“This is my third year. All crafts. I really enjoy it and so does Tyler.” When he looked at her questioningly, she said, “Oh, Tyler is my son.”
The foursome chatted throughout the break, sharing stories and past experiences with vacation bible school. It was obvious to Kat that Daniel was sincerely enjoying himself as he took a liking to everyone he came in contact with. When Betty Jean asked Daniel how he came to volunteer here, Daniel stated that he was attending a Baptist church before he moved. He found Piney Grove through the Internet.
When break ended, the Crafts team went back into their classroom to prepare for their next group of students. Third, fourth, and fifth grade students worked on a craft that was entirely different from the first two groups. It was an advanced craft, one that involved painting. They had to glue together a church birdhouse.
The last class of the evening was Tyler’s class. He was in the pre-K group and it was a large class. Their activity focused on singing one of three songs that they would later perform for the congregation on Sunday services.
When Daniel met Tyler, he stared at him in awe. At first, Kat thought his behavior was a bit odd, but she dismissed this as nothing more than someone who genuinely liked kids. This was confirmed after class when Daniel had a wide grin on his face.
“When I was a teenager, I used to sing like this with the kids in summer camp.” Daniel said proudly.
“Ah, that explains it, then.” Kat said. “I wondered how you knew what
to do with all of the kids we had tonight. You’re really good with them.”
Daniel seemed embarrassed by Kat’s admiration. “Nah, they’re really good kids. Besides, I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“Yeah? You have kids of your own?” Kat inquired.
“No, I don’t, but I would love to have them someday.” He smiled at her.
When Daniel left with the promise of returning the following evening, Kat reflected on the way they initially met. She felt very foolish now at the way she had acted in front of him. He was just trying to be a gentleman and I acted like a coward, she thought. Fortunately, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to hold a grudge. He really is a nice man.
A few minutes later, Kat turned off the lights in the classroom, closed the door, and headed for Blair’s classroom to get Tyler.
Chapter 10
Kat woke up unusually early the following morning. She slept restlessly throughout the night and woke up several times during the night. She didn’t know if it was her nerves due to the upcoming self-defense class in a few hours or due to her problem student or a combination of both. Maybe it’s the stress of vacation bible school, she thought, as she got out of bed.
As she ate a simple breakfast of toast and fruit, she thought about Tyler’s Taekwondo class the other night, when Dottie taught the stranger danger part of self-defense against strangers. She remembered feeling squeamish. It was all part of the curriculum, she knew, and she was grateful for that, but why did she feel so nervous about it? It hit a little close to home and brought back dark memories of a night she vowed never to relive. She recalled Pastor Cullen’s words to her. Maybe it was time for her to face her fears once and for all.
She also had a nagging feeling that her troubles with her former student wasn’t over. While she knew he wouldn’t be able to find her, she was worried anyway. She had disgruntled students in the past, but none of them compared to Darryl Baker. He seemed so very angry despite her attempts to help him understand she was only following school policy. The matter was out of her hands.
Perhaps I’m being paranoid, she thought. I seem to be letting the smallest things bother me lately.
After pouring another glass of orange juice, Kat decided to go upstairs and check her email. While she normally checked her email after she put Tyler to bed, she decided to check it anyway while he was still sleeping. She knew she would be jittery for the rest of the day otherwise.
Once she was logged into her faculty email, she saw that she had a message from Academic Affairs. At first, she was alarmed, but relaxed once she finished reading the email. Apparently, her student reported her to administration when she had written that she would no longer converse with him in regards to his final grade standing. The email assured her that she had followed policy in full and that it was standard procedure to investigate all correspondence between her and the student. Their findings showed she had acted professionally and appropriately. There was no further action required on her part. According to the university, the student had been suspended indefinitely and no longer had access to his classroom forums or student email account.
As Kat leaned back in her chair, she breathed a huge sigh of relief. She didn’t know why she let her student’s antics bother her so much. Her gut told her this wasn’t the end, and her gut had never failed her in the past. However, Kat decided she was being silly and needed to grow a thicker skin. I can’t let what happened that night dictate the rest of my life. I can’t continue to live in fear.
Kat decided to put the matter to rest and focused her thoughts on the self-defense class she would be attending in a couple of hours. While she was looking forward to it, she also felt nervous. As much as she tried to forget the night of the rape, Kat knew she would carry that horrific memory for a long time to come. Perhaps if I had self-defense skills back then, the outcome would have been completely different. Then I wouldn’t have had Tyler, either, she thought.
Speaking of Tyler, it was time to wake him up. He would be playing with Eli while she went to her class. Rhonda had returned Kat’s message from the night before to confirm the boys’ play date. She was going to take them to Bounce World, an indoor playroom that housed inflatable play equipment. She and Rhonda had taken the boys there before and they had had such a good time. They had jumped and rolled and laughed. Kat was forever grateful to have Rhonda in her life and knew she could depend on her to watch Tyler when she needed her to.
Tyler was sound asleep in his bed with Froggy wrapped tightly under his arm. He had his thumb in his mouth and one foot peeking out from under the covers. Kat stood there watching her beautiful child sleep and marveled at how fast he seemed to be growing. She sat down on the bed and lightly kissed his cheek the way she always did when she went to wake him up.
Tyler groaned and lay still. “Tyler, wake up.” Kat coaxed, gently shaking him. He didn’t budge.
She rubbed his back for a minute before pulling the blankets back. “Would you like to go to Eli’s house today?”
Tyler opened one eye, yawned, and stretched his little body. Then he sat up, clutching Froggy as he looked at her sleepily. “What time are we going there, Mommy?”
“We’re going to leave in about an hour.” Kat replied. “Mommy has a Taekwondo class and Miss Rhonda said you could come over to play with Eli.”
“Yay!” Tyler suddenly stood up and jumped on the bed. Kat laughed. He bounced back down and slid off the bed. As he ran across the hall to the bathroom, Kat went over to the dresser to pick out an outfit for Tyler to wear. She selected one of his favorite sets, a Red Sox shirt, and a pair of navy shorts to match. She pulled out a fresh pair of underwear and socks, closed the drawer, and exited the room.
By this time, Tyler had gone downstairs and turned on the television. He was lying on the couch waiting for her, and when he saw her enter the living room, he sat up and clapped his hands. “I’m going to Eli’s house today!” he beamed.
“Yes, you are!” Kat motioned for him to stand on the floor so she could help him get dressed. He was still wearing pull-ups at night although he rarely wet them. After Tyler removed his pajamas, he began to dress himself. Kat helped him put on his socks and sneakers then instructed him to go into the kitchen to eat. She had made his favorite breakfast, waffles.
Half an hour later, Kat and Tyler left the house. She dropped him off at Rhonda’s and headed for her self-defense class.
Chapter 11
There were nine women, including Kat, who arrived for the self-defense class. All of the women stood around talking to one another waiting for Dottie to begin class.
“Before we start,” Dottie opened, “There’s someone who would like to say a few words.” She motioned to a young woman from the back of the room to come forward. “If you would all take a seat on the floor, we can begin.”
When the women were seated comfortably, they gave their full attention to the brunette who was now at the front of the room. She stood tall and held her head up high. She quickly glanced at Dottie before speaking.
“My name is Sarah and I was raped four months ago.” She stopped abruptly, her lower lip quivering. A hush befell the room while the women watched Sarah struggle to maintain composure. Kat felt her pulse quicken as a hard lump formed in her throat.
Sarah continued, “It happened while my husband was out of town on business. In broad daylight. I had gone for a walk in this park and a man came out of nowhere. He grabbed me from behind, put his hand over my mouth, dragged me to where his van was parked, threw me in the back of it, and raped me.”
She paused to take a deep breath, her face turned upward toward the ceiling. Kat stared at the woman with such compassion that she thought her heart would break.
“When he was finished,” she said disgustedly, “he practically shoved me out of his van. He said he would kill me if I told anyone.”
The women in the class looked at Sarah with grave concern and gave her encouraging nods. Their hearts were breaking for her, too.
“Why am I telling you this? Because I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through what I’ve gone through.” Sarah’s voice cracked as she went on. “Despite what my attacker said, I called 911 anyway. I gave them a description of him, which wasn’t much, because he had on a mask. I only got part of his license plate but no matches came up with the type of van he had. He also had a foreign accent which suggested that he wasn’t from the area.”
A woman named Marsha piped up, “Girl, you are one brave soul.” She got up and walked to the front of the room where Sarah was standing and hugged her tightly. It was a very emotional moment for all of the women in the room, especially Kat. She felt a very strong and immediate connection to Sarah.
The women offered their condolences and encouragement to Sarah as Dottie spoke up. “This is why we are all here today.” she boomed. “We are here to learn how we can defend ourselves and prevent someone from trying to harm us.”
“He was caught, right?” Marsha looked at Sarah.
“No, he’s still out there.” Sarah remarked grimly.
There was a moment of silence in the room. Dottie then began calling out names, pairing the women with their partners. When she realized she had an odd number of students, she asked Marsha to be her partner and assistant.
“Let’s get started.” Dottie began. “The first form of defense we’ll learn today is what to do when someone grabs you from behind.” With Marsha standing in front of her, Dottie proceeded to make obvious what appeared to be a choke hold around Marsha’s throat.
“Do you see that?” Dottie demonstrated. “Now, watch what happens when Marsha tries to choke me.” Dottie and Marsha switched positions.