Becca's Gift

Wednesday evenings were always slow at the diner. She wasn't sure why it was always this slow. Sure there was a dinner rush between four and six but never the rush like the rest of the week. Even Mondays were busier than Wednesdays. Maybe people were starting to get the blahs by Wednesday evenings and would rather slum around in front of their TV's than spend an evening eating out.

Whatever the reason, she hated Wednesday evenings at her job. Not that she hated the job, Mr. and Mrs. Carson, the owners of this establishment called Karen-Kay's Diner, are a wonderful older couple. They have owned and run it for nearly forty years! She just didn't like slow evenings. Not that they we boring. It was more than that, it gave her too much time to think, to contemplate and evaluate. Something she truly hated doing and didn't want to happen again this evening. She would much rather be the smiling, happy-go-lucky waitress that her regulars knew and loved, the one they all liked to joke around with. Unfortunately, she could never seem to control her mind and stop it from evaluating her life all the time because her life had turned into such a shitty life. It would happen again this evening whether she wanted it to or not.

Rebecca Lee Schuler. That was the name her parents gave her at birth. Somewhere along the line, during her toddler years she guessed, she became known as Becca. She wasn't sure if it was her mom or dad who started calling her Becca but it stuck. She has been known to just about everyone as Becca ever since. Family, friends, general acquaintances, everyone she knew called her Becca. One would think that Becky would have been a more likely choice of a shortened first name/nickname but no, she was Becca.

Then her thoughts came around to her parents, Ronnie and Kelly. She had very limited memories of them. She remembers going to a sleepover at a friend's house when she was 8 years old. Could it have been devine intervention that she wasn't at home that night? That awful night. A house fire that started because of an electrical short in a living room lamp. Neither of her parents made it out of that fire. Because she was so young at the time, her memories of her mom and dad are fuzzy at best. Sure she can remember some of the funny and great times but the normal day to day memories are fuzzy at best. No matter how hard she tried to remember things about them, the memories are limited because of her age when they passed. She would probably even forget what they looked like if it weren't for a few pictures she had of them.

Both sets of her grand parents had passed long before she was born. Her parents were older when she was born. Her dad was 39 and her mom was 37 when she was born. Since mom and dad were both only children themselves, there were no aunts or uncles her parents age to take her in. The only family member she had was a great aunt. Aunt Darlene.

Aunt Darlene was 61 years old when she accepted Becca into her home. It turned out that she was a very good foster mother. She taught her a lot of great life lessons, including cooking, cleaning, finances, etc. Aunt Dee as Becca called her had been a woman of the world during her younger years. She and her late husband, Gary hard traveled the world many times due to his job as a minerals and precious metals surveyor.

Becca heard the stories of her adventures in the Amazon, Africa, the Canadian wilderness. China, Japan, Burma. You name the countries and more than likely, Aunt Dee had a story or two about that place. She had travelled the world and cheerfully told Becca the stories of her experiences, often pulling out pictures and old videos recording those memories.

She taught her outdoors survival tactics as well, things that she had learned in her many outdoor adventures. Finding food, water and building shelters. How to start fires using flint and steel, wood friction, as well as several other ways. How to use a topo map and compass to navigate, using the sun and stars for basic navigation. So may things that helped mold her into the type of woman she is today. Tools she often used when she had time off. She would spend a few days on her own in the mountains honing those skills.

But the most important thing Aunt Dee taught her was self respect. How to dress to impress without looking like a slut. How to be a woman of honor, not some gold digging tramp that would latch onto a man with money just so he could provide her with material things. She taught her self reliance, how to live without relying on others to support her. She remembered caring for the vegetable garden and how to test soil to know when to add lime or something different to keep the pH at the right balance. Feeding and caring for the chickens so they always had fresh eggs. Canning vegatables and meats. Fishing, in particular, how to catch them. Aunt Dee always said that there was a difference between fishing and catching.

She had fond memories her aunt taking her hunting for deer and bear. Aunt Dee teaching her how to shoot the old Winchester model 94 30-30. An old rifle that Aunt Dee's dad had left to her. A rifle that Becca still owned and still stood in the corner of her small apartment.

Had she gone into the foster care system, she probably wouldn't be the woman she is today. She wouldn't have the outdoor skills and knowledge that she still enjoys and practices every chance she gets, even to this day and she thanked Aunt Darlene for that.

Sadly, Aunt Darlene passed away when Becca was twenty years old. Cancer had taken her too soon. Becca really missed her, especially their talks about just about anything and everything. Aunt Dee's guidance that never led her astray. She could always talk to Aunt Dee about anything. Work, school, men, relationships, anything that was on Becca's mind, Aunt Dee was there for her. Unfortunately, Aunt Darlene was the last of her real family and she was gone as well leaving Becca to take on life without advice from someone who actually cared about her. Someone to help her make the right decisions. Without her, she definitely made some wrong decisions. Especially some of her relationship decisions.

A couple of the men she dated were complete losers and users, men who lived off of her and did very little to contribute to their lives as a couple. Constantly losing jobs because they would rather sit at home and play video games and drink beer than help make life easier for them. She didn't put up with those men, there was no relationship there, no partnership, so she pushed those ones out of her life.

Then along comes Cody. Tall, muscular, extremely handsome and a construction worker's body. Six pack abs and a sense of humor that always had her laughing. He loved just staying home and having dinner with her. Long and enjoyable conversations about anything and everything. He would actually listen to her and respect what she had to say. He cared about her opinion on their personal matters and tastes. She was in love with this man so after a few months, she didn't hesitate to move in with him when he asked her.

Were her dreams finally coming true? Where would this lead? She'd always dreamed of having a family, a family like she didn't get to have. Maybe a couple of kids. Maybe more than a couple? A wonderful husband and father to their children? Could it be more than just a dream this time?

She remembered thinking these things as the relationship progressed. They seemed to be getting closer and closer as time went on. Six months, eight months, for over a year everything was absolutely wonderful.

Until that day. The day that changed her life yet again. He was normally home from work about 5:30-5:45. That day he wasn't home at that time. She called him over and over, no answer. She was incredibly worried, so worried that she called his boss. No answer there either. About 1:30 AM she called the police. No reports of an accident and too soon to file a missing persons report. The police asked her if maybe he just left her or that he decided he needed a break. They asked if the two of them had been fighting or any other type of problems. She was at a total loss by all their questions. In the past year or at least the last eight months that they had lived together, he'd never been late getting home. Only a few times that he had to work longer hours but he had called to tell her he'd be late. This wasn't like him at all.

After the police officers left, she sat at the kitchen table, staring at her phone for a long time, crying because she didn't know where he was. Worried that something bad had happened to him. She even had his mom worried to death. They kept calling one another seeing if the other had heard anything from him. Nothing, not a word until about 3:00 AM. She suddenly heard keys at the front door and quickly rushed to the door, unlocked it and yanked it open.

"Cody!" She gasped. So happy he was home. She threw her arms around him as her tried to walk into the apartment or rather stumble in. Her quick hug caused an instant change in balance and he began to stumble. She realized he was falling and tried to hold onto to him to prevent him from hitting the floor but to no avail. He hit the floor in the doorway with a thud. She reached down and began helping him to his feet as he mumbled something somewhat incoherently. As she got him to his feet, she closed the door and blurted out, " I've been so worried about you, where have you been? Are you ok?" As his slurred answer came out unintelligibly she realized that he was drunk! Very drunk. She couldn't believe it, she had never seen him drink let alone drunk. "Cody, I was so scared when you didn't come home, why didn't you call me, I could have come to pick you up. I didn't hear from you and was so worried. I even called the police worried that something bad had happened to you!"

Becca suddenly realized that the lights in the living room were dimming. Why was everything sounding distorted? Why was her hair partially covering her eyes? Why was she looking at a blurry ceiling? All of her senses seemed to be very distorted and confused. Her ears were ringing and she tasted something odd, something....metallic. She felt like she was suddenly in an altered state of mind as if she were floating but at the same time, weighted down. Floating in some sort of dream or altered reality. This was so weird. What was happening to her?

The ringing in her ears began lessening, the dimmed lights began getting brighter. She came to the realization that she was on her back on the floor. Had she passed out from the stress of the last few hours? The weighted down feeling began lessening as well and her senses started becoming sharper. She sat herself up to a sitting position and suddenly felt pain. Her face hurt badly and she had a sudden, pounding headache. Her hands went to her head, an immediate reaction to the pain she felt. When she pulled her hands away from rubbing her aching head and the pain she felt in her face, she saw blood on her hands! Seeing blood shocked her back to reality. "What happened"? She thought to herself.

Suddenly Cody's voice rang out, "Help me up, bitch!" He yelled in a very slurred voice. "I'm stuck!" She heard him blurt out. Although she heard him her mind was still trying to process what had happened. The blood on her hand was puzzling her. She moved her other hand to the area above her eye where the pain seemed to be centered. When she pulled it away it too had blood on it. She was bleeding! She gasped as she realized it and suddenly pushed herself up with her bloody hands and got to her feet. She was still woozy and it took her a few seconds to completely get her balance. It suddenly dawned on her what had actually happened. Cody had punched her!

"Help me get the fuck up outta here!" He yelled, shattering her thoughts. She looked to where he was yelling from and could see that he had fallen into the approximately 18 inch space between the end of the couch and the little wall next to the door. "Come on, help me!" He hollered again while reaching a hand toward her.

Her mind was now moving a hundred miles an hour. "He hit me, I can't believe he hit me!" She yelled to herself. She would have never thought in a million years that Cody would ever be an abusive man. Someone who battered women. She had always felt safe around him but now, all the love she had felt for him before was suddenly gone. Her mind became cold as ice. She would never deal with, let alone live with a man who could do this to her!

It was actually amazing her how one stupid action could completely change the way she felt about him.

One thing for sure, he wasn't going to hit her again. She turned her eyes toward the kitchen and saw one of her favorite possessions. A 12 inch skillet. Not just any skillet but an All-Clad skillet that she had saved quite a bit of money in order to purchase. She moved toward it and with a still foggy mind and slight wobbly movements, grabbed the handle and carried it back to the living room with her.

Cody was still calling for her, not by her name but by certain expletives. Keeping the frying pan behind her back, she tightened her grip on it and reached out with her other hand for his hand. As he came up and began rising to his feet, her high school softball skills surfaced. All the coaches' guidance and training. Several years of competitive work she had put into playing the game and doing her best to help her team win resurfaced and she swung.......hard!

In that moment, all the memories of the past year with this man passed through her mind very quickly. The laughs. The great times together. The snuggling, the romantic times, everything. But they all disappeared at the sound of the skillet striking him on the side of the head. A sound that she didn't expect. A sound that at once both scared her and made her feel much better at the same time. Cody hit the floor, unconscious. She stared at him for a minute to make sure he was breathing. He was but he definitely wasn't moving. She slowly walked back to the kitchen and began washing her skillet. Once finished washing, she dried it with a towel, put it back in it's place, picked up her cell phone and dialed 911.

She explained to the dispatcher what had transpired and was told that the police and medics were on the way. As she waited for them to arrive, she simply stared at Cody's unmoving form, slowly developing a hatred for him now. She had devoted herself to this man and he had seemed to be devoted to her. How could he do this? Why? Had she done something to turn him against her? What had she done wrong? She was blaming herself for this.....this.

She suddenly collected her thoughts, she garnered the strength of mind to realize that she hadn't done anything wrong to him. He hit her and she wouldn't stand for that, that was something of which she was sure. After they would both eventually heal, there would be no going back. Ever.

After the police arrived and deemed the scene safe, they allowed the medics to come in and begin providing aid to both Becca and Cody. Once they had the statements from Becca, handcuffs were placed on Cody and he was wheeled away to the ambulance. The whole time, Cody was only semi conscious so luckily she didn't have to listen to him calling her name anymore as he did when he was stuck between the couch and the wall. It would have angered her and possibly caused her to grab the pan again or worse, her old model 94.

She was left alone after everyone left. Cody was being charged with assault and battery. Although, if from other cases she'd read about and heard about in this area, he will get away with it. This was his apartment before she moved in so if she wanted away from him she'd have to move out. Would he ever leave her alone now? would it turn out to be a case of him continually harassing her? Like so many cases she'd heard about when restraining orders and PFA's are ignored and the abuse continues. She knew in her mind that she had to get away from here.

She awoke about 10:00 the next day and began packing her things. She didn't have much so it only took about an hour or so to get it all loaded into her car. She contacted her boss and let him know how sorry she was but she had to quit. She explained to him what happened and she was leaving the area. He understood and wished her well. He even offered to help her. To rent her a moving van. She declined of course. She didn't want a paper record of where she would eventually end up. She didn't even know where she would end up stopping.

As she was gathering the last few things from the bathroom, she noticed herself in the mirror. A black eye, butterfly bandages holding the cut closed. A small butterfly bandage on the corner of her upper lip. It steeled her resolve to get out now. Things would never go back to what they were before last night. Her anger took over and she finished grabbing the remainder of her personal items, donned her sunglasses to hide the evidence of last night the best she could, got in her car and drove away. A stop at the bank to withdraw her checking and savings and close the accounts. A fill up of gas at the local gas station and she was on the road, getting away from this northern California town.

She had no clue where she was going, she just drove and drove. At some point she entered the state of Nevada. She just kept driving, crying, drying her eyes, stopping for gas and to pee. It seemed like she was in some sort of out of body experience and wasn't in control of her mind or body. Driving and crying for more than 8 hours, and her body beginning to let her know. She was getting tired. The hum of the tires on the road and the low volume of the radio had her slightly hypnotized, nearly asleep behind the wheel.

Suddenly, the ringing of her cell phone abruptly brought her back to consciousness. She slowed and pulled to the berm of the highway then looked at her phone. It showed Cody's name on the screen. Oh shit! She forgot about the phone, now he was calling her. Or at least trying to call her. She stared at it while it rang and rang. Finally, it went to voicemail. She couldn't, no wouldn't talk to him. She wouldn't be convinced to go back. She knew from knowing other women in abusive relationships that it would keep happening over and over again. She wouldn't take him back, ever! Not after what happened last night. Her hand rubbed her black eye under her sunglasses as she watched the phone until he hung up. Remembering, hating him for what he did to her. After all of their great times together, everything destroyed in an instant.

She pulled into the next rest area on the highway, took out a pen and an old envelope from the glove box and began writing down phone numbers of her friends from her contact list in her phone. She would need those as she planned on having her phone number changed first chance she got. But her good friends, the ones who would never give Cody her new number, were important to keep in touch with.

As she finished writing she decided to lean her seat back and rest for a while. She hit the lock button on the door and let her seat recline all the way down and closed her eyes. Hoping to catch a short nap. Hoping not to relive last night in her mind. No such luck.

After an hour she decided to keep on driving. For several hours more, she drove. She drove until she saw a sign that said Welcome to Arizona. "Arizona." She said to herself. "I've never been to Arizona before." After a while she saw a sign for another interstate and took the exit. Another hour and she decided to get off at the next town for gas and something to eat.

The town turned out to be a little larger than she thought but after filling up her gas tank she asked the store clerk where would be a good restaurant to have dinner. The clerk gave her directions to a well known local diner called KarenKay's. When she found the diner she found the food was delicious. She also saw a sign that they were hiring. She got an application and the rest as they say is history.