That phone call had changed Rosalyn's life. One single call and her life had turned upside down. Her parents had died within a few minutes of her arrival. They had not even known that she had been there and all her chances for reconciliation were gone. Mom, dad, forgive me. Rosalyn had no idea how to proceed; what decisions was she supposed to make. She had so many regrets, and could not make it right. She had thought that by giving her daughter to them instead of giving her up, she was making it up to them. Somehow, it had not worked as she thought. Her parents had not been satisfied with Mariah; they still wanted her. All the phone calls she received from her parents had made her feel guilty about not visiting, but not enough for her to actually visit. "Honey, you need to come and visit,” "Honey, we miss you, when are you coming?" She had hated those calls, and their relationship had deteriorated every time they spoke. She had made poor decisions and now she could not get the time back.
The phone calls drove her crazy with guilt, but she could not face them. Every time she saw them, she saw the pain and disappointment. They were great loving parents, but she had caused them so much pain. How could she have done differently? It had all been her fault and she deserved the isolation and punishment.
Now she needed to face responsibilities she should have faced long time ago. Responsibilities she had been too afraid to tackle alone. She knew she had wanted to for a while, but was worried of making things worse. She had tried to pretend everything was fine. She had believed her daughter was better off with her parents rather than with her, and that might have been the case, but now she did not know how to be a mother.
Every time she thought about bringing her daughter home with her, she had put excuses and pretended that her daughter was better off with the grandparents. She had even adopted the phrase: if it ain't broken, don't fix it, as an excuse to leave things alone and she had convinced herself that everything was as it should be. She knew she had been in denial. Her life, her relationship with her parents, and her relationship with her daughter had all been broken for a long time, but she had a hard time accepting it. It had been easier to hide from everything and run, than to face her failures.
At one point, her mother had tried to convince her to bring Mariah home with her. But Rosalyn had made one excuse after another: she worked too many hours; she did not know anything about kids; her parents were so much better at parenting than she could ever be. Her whole life had become one excuse after another. She had pretended to have a normal, perfect life, but she knew better. Her life was far from perfect and now she did not know her daughter.
She had no choice. She felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of a child. What was she going to do now? How was she going to raise her daughter? Her mother had been taking care of Mariah from the moment she was born and now it all came down to her and she had no clue on how to do it. She had been protecting her daughter from her sin and she had been protecting herself from getting hurt, and now she had to face reality. She loved her daughter, and now she had to try her best to do it right.
The other problem she faced was her memories. What was she going to tell her daughter if she was asked about her father? Those were memories she did not want to ever face. Those memories frighten her and were one of the reasons she had moved away. She had loved her daughter from the very beginning. She had wanted to have her daughter with her, but she had been too afraid to try it. She had mastered the art of blocking her feelings, but Mariah with her sweet nature, had managed to tear down her carefully built walls. Every time Rosalyn had looked at her, she had wanted to reach out and hold her. She knew she could not do that. Eventually she would end up hurting her daughter, as she had hurt her parents.
“Mom, where am I going to live now that gramps and grams are not here anymore? Are you going to keep me?” a very shy Mariah had asked.
Rosalyn had been over thinking her life and options that she had not heard when Mariah came into the room and her question caught her by surprise. Rosalyn began to cry. How could she have done this to her baby?
“I would like you to live with me, if it’s okay with you.”
“I would like that.” Mariah had said, but then she got up and walked back to her room. Rosalyn had heard her crying.
She had to fix this somehow for Mariah’s sake. She knew Mariah was innocent of all wrongdoing. She was so very sweet. She had always been wonderful. Now Rosalyn needed to make some changes to own her life so that her daughter did not have to pay for her mistakes. She was going to work at having a relationship with her daughter. She was going to become the best mother she could be, but where did she start?
There were so many decisions to be made. As usual she started creating a list. She thrived on organization; first— storage for her parents’ belongings, second— sell her parents’ house, third— move. Move, where? To her very small apartment? Her place was not meant for more than two people. She had chosen her apartment because of its size and its location. The size gave her comfort. She knew there was no place for ghosts, and the location had been perfect when she had been looking for a job. She was so close to the downtown area she could walk to work if she so desired. She had not worried about school zones or having room for anyone else in there. What about Alana? Would she mind having a child in the house? She had not even told Alana that she had a kid.
Okay, do not panic, she told herself, one thing at a time. First, she needed to research schools, and rent a bigger place in the correct school zone. She would make this work. Her job? Oh! No, she did not have a job, and the one she had been hired she didn't show up to. Now, what? She doubted that she would get a second chance.
According to class discussion, this company was the hardest to get a job in. One student teasingly said that it was easier to get hired as a CIA agent than to get hired by this company. Everyone she knew wanted to work there because they paid higher salaries than most other businesses in the area. How could she have forgotten to call them?
The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
Psalm 33:10
Chapter 9
Boris was starting to panic. The cops were relentless in their investigation. They had found the girls’ fingerprints all over that apartment, and now the girls’ pictures were all over the news with a huge reward offered for whoever turned them in. He was expecting the cops to come knocking at his door at any minute now, since his company had sponsored the girls. He had covered himself and his company when he had turned them in as absentees from the company, but he was sure the cops were going to begin snooping around. He needed to have a plan, but he would not worry about it now. The new girl would be coming today and then she will be his.
"Helen, have you heard from the new girl, what happened to her?” Boris had asked.
"I do not know, she has not shown up nor has she called. Perhaps she heard about your reputation." Helen's answer was full of venom.
"She'll come, when she does, make sure you welcome her.”
“You are so full of yourself, aren’t you? If she is smart, she will avoid this place like the flu.”
Boris looked at her, ready to explode, “if you know what is good for you, you'll shush. Now get out.”
Helen knew she had crossed the line. What was wrong with her? Did she not care for her life anymore? She knew the repercussions for crossing the boss.
Helen was thirty-three years old, and had been working for Boris while she was working on her master’s degree at the university as an international student. She had needed a sponsor, and he had provided the sponsorship. He had trained her himself and she had fallen for every single one of his charms. Their relationship had only lasted until the next hired girl. At first, she had been heartbroken. She had realized that getting involved with the boss had been the biggest mistake of her life, but her heart had not accepted the facts and she had tried to please him in everything to lure him back to her.
She was done with that. Now, Helen want
ed revenge. She had been a good girl with high standards and a good reputation when she had met him, and Boris had taken advantage of her naiveté. He made her do things she would never have done otherwise. She had loved him so much. Now she knew that it could not be love, but loneliness. She had learned of the two girls. She wanted to find them first, and then what? She knew that she could not go to the cops with the girls. Boris had too much on her. Perhaps she could help them run away. She would be satisfied in knowing that he could not have peace while the girls were missing.
As Helen entered her office, the phone rang. It had been Rosalyn. She should warn her about the boss, but instead she just told her to come to the office in two weeks. Helen sighed and walked back to the boss' office.
“Now what?” a very annoyed Boris had asked his personal assistant.
"She just called. She will try to be here Monday."
Boris, who liked being in control and wanted everyone dancing to the tune of his horn, turned red on the face. What was the matter that nothing was going according to plan? "What do you mean TRY?" He had shouted.
"She has issues she is dealing with." Helen was doing her best to be ambiguous with her general answers and aggravate him in the process.
"What ISSUES?" Boris was shouting loud enough that everyone in the building could hear him, and even though Helen was terrified, she looked and sounded in total control of the situation.
"Well, she is out of town dealing with family problems." She said this, as she pivoted out of the room. She hated him so much. She loved it when she could get the upper hand. She was going to enjoy this as much as possible. On Monday, when Rosalyn did not show up, she would let him know more details, but until then, she was going to enjoy his bad mood.
For now, she had to figure out where she would go if she were those girls? She imagined them being afraid and alone. She had been afraid and alone before. She was going to be sent back to her country with no money and no prospects and Boris had rescued her. For what? She looked at her protruding belly. To make this out of her, she thought in disgust. Her parents would be ashamed of her.
Boris stayed in his office fuming. When did he lose control of the situation? He had noticed Rosalyn from the very beginning. The first time he had seen her, she looked so out of place. As the weeks had passed, she began to look the part of the businesswoman both in appearance and decorum. He had promised himself, that he would make her fit into his world. Now he doubted himself. He did not let women control him. He was in charge. He was the only one to have control. Women were on this planet to please men, in particular to please him.
Helen was another problem he had to deal with, lately she had been crossing the line, and she was going to have to pay. How dare she talk to him like that?
His now deceased wife had done that. He hated that wench. How he could have loved her so much, and hated her within a blink of an eye was a wonder to him. Perhaps he never loved her. The day she died, he had gone to the bar to celebrate. Everyone thought that he had gone there to mourn. Stupid people, they should have known better.
He had married his wife Annette when he had been young. He had only been twenty, six years her junior. He thought himself in love with her. Her experience had excited him. She made every fantasy a reality, but it had not lasted.
He worked at the docks over sixty hours a week for her. All the money he made had never been enough to satisfy her need for things. She loved jewelry and designer clothing. She had wanted more and more of everything he gave her. He began his life of crime then. Petty things to begin with, and little by little the crimes had escalated into felonies in the eyes of the law. He would have to make sure not to ever get caught.
His number one goal had been to make his wife happy and have all her dreams and desires come true. Unfortunately, making him happy had never been her goal. He did not know when it had started, but she had been unfaithful. He had tried to provide for her the best money could buy, and while he was working, she had been in the arms of other men. He had learned his lesson well. Women were not to be trusted.
At that moment, he had realized that women had one purpose in life - to please him, not the other way around. Rosalyn will be his, but in the meantime there was the new girl in accounting. She did not understand it yet, but she will soon see how lucky she was he had chosen her.
He heard a knock on the door, “come in.” He had been waiting for her. This one was not going to be difficult. “You called sir,” said the timid voice. A young graduate of the university was waiting for him. She was an international student from South America, who had come begging to be sponsored. Her parents had sacrificed all of their savings and retirement to send her here. If she went back, all of their sacrifices would have been for nothing. If he had not helped her, she would be on a plane back to her impoverished family with no job prospects. She owed him and once she realized how fortunate she was to have been chosen, she would love him forever. She did not have to do much to become a favorite of his. Unlike his customers, he chose his girls locally and they all loved him and wanted him.
This God is my strong refuge and
has made my way blameless.
2 Samuel 22:33
Chapter 10
John, an agent with HSI, was waiting for this particular young woman to show up. He was doing this on his own time, under his own budget. A friend, who was an investigator at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), had called him asking for his assistance. "Hey, White Townsend here."
"It's been a while, is this business or pleasure?" John had asked. "What can I do to help?"
Townsend felt ashamed of his job, but he needed to do something. He had joined the force to make a difference. “I don't know if you can help since this is really our jurisdiction. The boss here has a chip on his shoulder and refuses to take this case.”
"Spill it, I don't have all day,” interrupted John, who had little patience with people. He was blunt and to the point and expected everyone to do the same.
"This young woman came to complain about her boss. She was so shaken up, I promised I would do everything I could to help her and now my hands are tied."
"Ok, give me the details and I'll see what I can do to help," said John.
"White, I'll do what I can to unofficially help you, but now that the boss has warned me off, I have to watch my back. He is a very vengeful man. I have already been warned to stay away from that company." Said Agent Townsend.
"Okay, you have my curiosity. What company? And who are we talking about?”
"Global International Import/Export Trade and its CEO, Boris Brockovich."
“Its funny, this is the second time in a month that I have heard the name of this company.
“Really?” said Townsend.
“Yeah, but the first time, they were the injured party. They had sponsored a couple of girls and they didn't show up to work.” John took a deep breath. He needed to proceed cautiously with this situation. “Listen carefully, keep this quiet. Brockovich and my RAC are golf buddies. As long as I am working to help the company, I wont have any trouble investigating it. As soon as they find out I am looking for evidence against the company, then that would be a different story. If we come to the boss without strong evidence, he’ll yank the rug out from under us," replied John in frustration. He was so tired of politics and red tape. He knew that if his boss learned of him doing this, even if he had all the evidence in the world, his boss would sweep it under the rug.
For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations,
whose designer and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:10
Chapter 11
John sat at the cafe, drinking his coffee. He did not understand the reason EEOC was looking the other way. Their job was to investigate sexual harassment, not to cover up for friends. They needed to protect the innocent. The fact that the girl was a foreigner was of no consequence.
As he repeated the conversation with Agent Townsend in his head, a g
orgeous young Brazilian woman sat at his table. She took his breath away. She had beautiful big brown eyes, and had the most beautiful olive complexion he had ever seen. She was tall, and her body was what men dream of. She must have been in her early twenties. He realized that had to stop ogling and act professionally.
"Hello, my name is Ana Souza, are you Agent White?" She said as she extended her hand to shake his, and he felt like a teenage boy on his very first date when he extended his hand to shake hers.
After hearing Ana's story, he had decided to help her. Her boss had insinuated that she owed him for the job he had provided and there was only one way to pay. Ana had not succumbed to her boss' demands yet, but if she did not get help from someone, she would have no choice but to accept the boss' proposition. He could not help it; he had to help her even if it meant his job. Someone dear to him had been raped and nothing had been done about it, so he took all cases of abuse seriously.
In order to help Ana, he had to go back and look at the file his boss had given him. As he investigated the missing girls he would look for other victims. Men who abused their power usually had several girls who had succumbed to the sexual harassment and were to embarrass to come forward, before there was one who had the guts to file a grievance.
Preserve me, O God,
for in you I take refuge.
Psalm 16:1
Chapter 12
Myrna had gone to the café, as she had done for the last few weeks. Bobby was a kind man, and he always waited with a carryout bag. When Bobby opened the door, she realized that this time, friendly Bobby wasn’t friendly at all. “Hi,” she had said with a hesitant smile when she saw his frown. He had not smiled back as usual. He looked angry.
Second Chances: The Power of Renewal Page 5