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A teenaged babysitter decides to go to college.
A single parent places her child in daycare.
A three year old is mistakenly given to a stalker by his pre-school teacher.
A suspenseful analysis of choices and how those choices affect the people around us.A single parent places her child in daycare.
A three year old is mistakenly given to a stalker by his pre-school teacher.
When Saturday mornings rolled around Catrine Teddi would bring her three year old son Brhin to eat breakfast at Mc Donald’s. It was an established routine to mark a day of errands and bonding. She never paid attention to Mona Boots sitting in the shadows across the play yard watching the little boy.
In her delusion to finally do something right in her life Mona enters The Perfect Solution Childcare Center and leaves with Brhin-Kristoffer Teddi in her arms. It’s a choice she is prepared to defend.
*****
“Mona Boots”
Mona Boots untangled the ragged shoestring tip from the two-inch nail of her pointer finger. She examined the surface of the nail for any nicks or rough edges and thanked God that the nail hadn’t broken. Some people would probably think she was a bit manic when it came to the condition of her fingernails, after all there were things of more importance in life. It had taken months to get her nails to grow to the desired length and she freaked at the idea of them breaking. No one knew more than she, that there had been nothing and no one in her life she could lavish such care, until today.
Returning her attention to her shoes, Mona studied their dirty ragged tips in disgust. The toes of the once dazzling white Nikes were looking worn. They were peeling, wrinkled, and almost useless. Just like her body, her face, and damn near all of her life. She yanked the strings of the bow tight and sat back to admire her success. Success, that will be my motto from this day on, she vowed to her image in the mirror. In everything I attempt from this day forward, I will succeed or die trying.
Straightening the edges of the turtleneck she was wearing she frowned at the way it made her look. Maybe the shirt was too dark. She looked like some kind of formidable espionage agent. Black jeans, black shirt, black stocking cap.
"I guess I can do without this." Mona said out loud, yanking the cap from her head and letting the expensive braid job escape from its confines, fall heavily across her shoulders to her mid back. "I would hate to scare the boy; he's never seen me like this." She tossed the cap onto the desk.
Today would be the day her son would finally be coming home. All of her days of loneliness would be over. Covering her stomach with the palm of her hand, Mona tried to rub away the tight knot of anxiety that had taken permanent residence. She was nervous. Terrified, what if she wasn't able to be the perfect mother? What if something went wrong? What if she wasn't able to pull it off?
Pulling a crumpled, well-studied Polaroid from her pocket, Mona smiled at the little boy in the photograph. She loved looking at the picture and remembering the day it was taken. The sun had been shining as they sat in the fenced in play yard of the restaurant. She had sat across the yard a few tables from him because he wanted to sit alone like a 'big boy'. In the picture he was sitting at a small table with various McDonald's paraphernalia scattered about. The joy radiating from him made the desire to have him with her burn in her spirit more than ever. He loved McDonald's, almost as much as she loved him. She would do and say anything in order to hold her son. Nothing would stand in her way. He would never be without her in his life again. He would be home soon and she would be with him forever.
Mona slipped her arms into the sleeves of her 'Cowboys' starter jacket and walked to the rear of the house. She passed her bedroom and one of the bathrooms to get to the second bedroom. This would be his room. Standing in the doorway, she checked that everything was in order. Toys on the shelves, comforter on the bed, gift waiting in its place for him to open. Everything was perfect. "Yes, he is going to love it here." She assured herself. She felt she had now made one giant step towards her life's plan of success. Actually, success had begun when she had driven into Beaumont four months previously and had taken the Washington Avenue exit from the highway. Washington was the perfect street for a newcomer. There were plenty of convenient stores, gas stations, Laundromats, and fast food restaurants on either side of the street.
The one thing Mona hated above being alone, having to scrounge strange cities for minor things and she had prayed to find a house somewhere on the perfect Washington Avenue. And BAM, just like that, she spied a house with a 'for rent' sign on the property and tacked to a tree in its front yard. Once she had contacted the owner and made arrangements to move in, it had only taken a few hours. From then on everything in her life had been perfect. Nothing would spoil this day for her.
Looking at her watch, and patting the pockets of her jacket, she decides she has everything she needs and hurries out of the front door. Outside in the drive, she looks nervously at the houses surrounding hers. No one was outside. The nosey woman living in the house to the right hadn't come out to water her plants.
"Stupid woman", Mona mumbled to herself. "Why does she only come out when I step out on the porch? And why water plants in the middle of the winter? And why is it every time I look over, there she is waving and smiling like an idiot? Damn, there she is."
Turning her head quickly while pretending not to see the little wave the woman gave, Mona stepped quickly to the curb and slide into her car, she only had time for her son.
Further Interviews:
Nook and iPad here & here.
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Further Interviews: - The Author Explains Premise of Novel
- Catrine Teddi
- Austin Sanchez
- Brhin-Kristoffer
- Mona Boots
- Book Page on Smashwords
- Love and other Stories
Nook and iPad here & here.
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