A New Life

Alicia clutched Robbie against her as she watched the shelter van disappear down the street. Behind her, Sara was gazing at the humble little white house in amazement. It would be hard to imagine anything farther from Richard’s pretentious mansion, that was for sure.

“Is this it, Mommy?” Sara asked. “Is this our new house?”

“Yes, sweetie, this is our new house.”

“Are we really going to stay here and not move away? Can I go to school?”


“Yes, baby, we won’t move any more. You’ll start at your new school in a couple of days, as soon as Mommy can talk with the Principal.”

“Can we go inside? I want to see our house! Yippee!”

Setting Robbie down on the scruffy lawn, Alicia fumbled in her pocket for the key the social worker had given her. Time to see what there was to see.

A few hours later, Alicia stood looking around the simple living room with Robbie firmly in place on her hip. Sara lay tucked into the big bed in Alicia's room, reassured that Alicia would join her later. All in all, she thought, it could be much worse. Certainly the house and furnishings were plain, even shabby—but they were clean, and everything worked. After the weeks of ratty hotels, shelter dormitories and long bus rides, it seemed like a miracle to have her own home once again.

The night she’d left Richard, she had driven to the train station and parked the car, then taken a cab to the bus depot, hoping to throw Richard’s investigators off the track. She’d bought tickets on the first bus leaving the station, then gone on from there—north, south, it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t until she knew there were over a thousand miles between her and her former home that she finally felt able to stop running. The woman at the shelter in SimCity had been kind, though—offering baths, beds in the shared dormitories, and a listening ear. Alicia had been astounded to hear that the shelter had some donated single-family homes, where deserving families could stay at minimal cost for as long as necessary. It seemed almost too much to believe that she and the children could qualify for a home, as well as for a small government stipend to help with groceries and utilities. However, the social worker had convinced her that it was true, and here they were. Perhaps, at last, this was a safe place of her own.

Giving Robbie a last bottle, she tucked him safely into the crib, which she’d placed just outside her bedroom door to be sure that she’d hear him if he cried in the night. Richard had made sure that there were nannies night and day, saying that she couldn’t be trusted not to make mistakes with his precious boy—but she was determined to keep Robbie and Sara safe and secure.

Crawling into the big bed next to Sara, she felt herself relax at last. While Sara might have dreamed of the man they’d left behind, Alicia’s sleep was peaceful and free of nightmares at last.

The next week passed slowly. Sara started school, and Alicia struggled to help her with her homework. She had never done well in school herself, and somehow reading came hardest. The letters and words seemed to wriggle around on the page, and it was difficult to concentrate on them, almost impossible to make them stay in focus. But she was determined that her children would have a different experience, and she wouldn't let them see her give up.

Alicia wrestled with the unfamiliar tasks of housework, as well, and with caring for her toddler alone.

Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she hadn’t dropped out of school to marry Richard at seventeen. Perhaps she would have learned more, overcome her problem with reading, figured out how to run a home and care for children. But at first Richard had smiled, and said that nothing was too good for his wife, she wasn’t to bother her little head, someone else would take care of everything for her. Later, when he had grown tired of her, he was quick to point out that she was too stupid, too clumsy, too ignorant to be trusted with his fine home or his son.

Although the children seemed to be thriving, Alicia couldn’t seem to shake off the sickness and fatigue which had plagued her ever since leaving Richard’s home. She felt exhausted much of the time, struggled to swallow the simple meals she was able to make, and sometimes found herself unable to keep even a small amount of food down.

Finally, staggering queasily out of bed one morning, it dawned on her what was wrong.

“How could I be such an idiot,” she thought in horror. After all, she was a mother twice over—how could she have missed the signs? Yes, she hadn’t had her period in at least three months—she’d written it off to stress, when she’d thought of it at all, but there could be no doubt—she was pregnant.
She’d been planning to look for work as soon as Robbie was a little more settled, but who would hire a pregnant woman with no experience, no references, and no social security number? Dazedly, she sank onto the couch to think about options. Could she make her small remaining hoard of cash stretch long enough to survive? Perhaps, if she swallowed what little pride she had left and made use of the food pantry at the local church, asked for donated clothing at the shelter, and was careful not to waste a single penny.

When she explained the situation in careful terms to Sara, she was startled by the child’s response. Sara was excited at the prospect of another sibling, and quick to propose ideas for helping them to get by.

“We’re learning about plants at school, Mommy!” she cried. “My teacher said we could each have a few vegetable seeds if we promised to keep a journal of how they grow and how we care for them! I’ll plant a garden, and that will help give us food to eat.”

Somewhat to Alicia’s surprise, things worked out just as she’d hoped. Time passed contentedly in the little house. Robbie grew up into a handsome and studious boy.

He and Sara played together constantly, and were the best of friends.

Although the family ate peanut butter sandwiches, macaroni and cheese out of a box, and burned spaghetti, family dinners were filled with laughter and conversation. Alicia encouraged her children, played with them, and gave them all the love in her heart.

Alicia had been nervous about the new baby, but Maren seemed far easier to care for than she had imagined. The home nurse and the social worker from the shelter were always at the other end of the phone line, ready to answer questions and provide encouragement. Alicia found a joy and confidence in this baby that she had never experienced before. She even began to venture out, to the park, to a social group for single parents—and began to make new friends.

Unlike Sara, who had been raised by the nannies until childhood, and Robbie, whose toddler skills had been largely ignored, Maren basked in Alicia’s care and attention.

Watching her children grow, Alicia felt true pride in her family’s success.