“Hands on the cart, please.”Joey and Kylie have already done it, holding onto the same side, with Joey in the lead.“Perfect, you still have the list, Ky?”
“Sure do!”She waves the paper over her head.
Here we go.I keep the thought to myself.The grocery store is always the craziest part of our week.“School supplies first.Kylie, is there anything you need for class?”
Tapping her chin, she looks cute with her puckered lips and furrowed brows as she thinks about it.“Nope, I still have things, but Toby, who shares my table, has no pencils or erasers or scissors!”The sadness on her face breaks my heart.
“Have you been sharing with him?”She nods hesitantly and chews her lip, obviously worried she’s in trouble.“How about we see what we can find, and you can give it to him on Monday?”Her eyes light up.It warms my heart that she’s so darn generous, and I’m able to do this not only for her but for Toby, too.I’ve met him a few times; he’s a sweet boy.I also happen to know that his mom works two jobs to make ends meet.If this helps, then I’m happy to do it.
We find everything Joey needs, grab the items for Toby, which thankfully were on sale, and then hit the food aisles.
“Pantry!”Kylie points ahead of us to the dry-goods shelves, remembering what I’ve taught her about shopping and where to start and finish.
Allowing the kids to each pick out a box of snacks for their lunches, we move on to condiments, and I’m surprised when Kylie asks for a bottle of ranch dressing to dip her vegetables in.She explains that Toby let her try his, so now she wants some.
With the cart organized and loaded full of everything on the list that we could find for the pantry, we’re making our way towards the produce when I hear, “You fucking bitch!”right before my hair gets wrenched back and I’m forced to release the cart or risk hurting Emma if it falls.
“Let her go!”Joey yells as I fight to free myself from the familiar voice behind me.Emma starts screaming while I can see Kylie silently crying.
Ripping out of Matt’s hold, hot tears streak down my cheeks, witnessing the kids’ distress.“Stay there, Jo.”I wait until he nods, tucks Kylie under his arm, while keeping a hand on Emma, trying to calm them, then I confront Matt.“You can’t be near us.”The protection order is crystal clear.
“I can do whatever the fuck I want.Those are my kids,” he snarls at them.The hatred reflected in his glassy eyes tells me he’s drunk and doesn’t give one iota about the kids.
“You need to leave.”It suddenly dawns on me that he’s likely the reason for feeling watched all day.
“Not withoutthem.” He shoves me to the side and goes to grab Emma while she screams bloody murder.Ignoring the stabbing pain in my back, I clench his arm just as a few other shoppers come around the corner to see what the fuss is about.
Matt’s fist connects with the side of my face, and my vision blackens as I see stars, but I realize if I pass out, he could make off with the kids.
“Yo, man, what the fuck!”A guy comes charging forward to shove Matt away from us, while the woman he’s with comes to my aid, helping me stay on my feet when all I want to do is lie down, but I can’t.“Stay the fuck away from her.”The guy has Matt pinned to the shelf while items crash to the ground; thankfully, all in boxes and nothing breakable.He’s blubbering and cursing us both, making threats of killing my baby and me, then selling the kids for profit.
“Thank you,” I whisper, throat clogged tight with fear.
Security guards and a couple of managers take over, trying to contain Matt while getting the kids and me out of there to somewhere quiet.Emma clings to my neck as I pull her out of the cart and into my arms.Kylie is glued to my side, still crying, and Joey fights to hold it together, but I see his tears, too.
“Police and ambulance are on their way,” the manager tells me, I think.
My swollen face throbs with every heartbeat, my pulse races so hard and fast that it’s all I can hear, and once we’re in an office in the back of the store—the kind woman still with us, as well as three or four employees—all sounds are muffled at this point because I can’t focus.
Someone must say, “She’s bleeding,” while pointing at my side.I see that my shirt is torn, probably from when Matt shoved me into the shelf.It’s not a ton of blood, but enough to worry, given my condition.
Joey and Kylie sit in a chair next to me, holding each other, when paramedics walk in.Both appear to be kind as they move slowly and speak gently.
“Hi there, I’m Mayra, and this is my partner, Cody.We’re here to help.Are you two alright?”she asks Joey.When he looks to me for guidance, I nod for him to tell the truth.
“He hurt our mom.She’s bleeding.And he grabbed for Emma, but Mom stopped him, and he hit her again.”
His tears finally fall, and I feel like I’ve failed them all.
“Alright, Mom, how about I take a look at little Emma, and Cody has a glance at you?”
Attempting to release Emma, she refuses to budge.How are kids this small so damn strong?
“That’s okay, we’ll just look at Mom for now,” Cody says softly, trying not to scare Em, who shakes in my hold.
Pulling out an ice pack, he cracks it to activate the gel and instructs me to hold it on my cheek to help the swelling.They cut into the side of my shirt to reveal a long wound, but it’s not so deep that I need stitches.Because of the baby, they insist I go to the hospital, and I agree.
I’m able to walk out to the ambulance, and an officer is kind enough to offer to drive my car behind us with the kids, while her partner takes their cruiser.As hard as it is to get Emma out of my arms, she’s only swayed because the officer is female and promises food once they arrive and check on me.
