Mrs. Anita Goldman didn’t consider herself old. At the age of 76 she considered herself to be in the prime of her life. Her friends would tease her about being the “baby” of the group. But secrectly, behind her back, they would whisper about how jealous they were of her good fortune. Most were confined to Rascal Scooters, wheelchairs or walkers. And depended on Medicare or another goverment funded program to supply them with medicine and food for the remainder of their lives. But not Anita. Her daily routine consited of jogging up to three miles everyday and working 30 hours a week at the local grocery store. As well as painting murals for the local elementary school and volunteering at the YMCA, teaching youngsters about fitness. No, Anita definitely did not consider herself old. She was in the best shape of her life. And she wasn’t about to let anything slow her down.
Sitting on her front steps, relaxing after her morning run, she waved to Rebecca and Sandy as they exited their house.
“Hi Nita!” Becca screamed as she turned to wave back at Mrs. Goldman.
“ Good morning sweetie. Are you off to school to fill that brilliant little brain of yours with dinosaurs and dingos?”
Becca giggled, “Yes I am Nita. Are you going to be coming over later to help me with my homework?”
Anita grinned widely, “Of course I will dear, I’ll be over at 3 o’clock sharp. Now run off to school Rebecca, don’t keep your mother waiting.” Rebecca waved again and ran over to the car and hopped in the passenger seat.
Sandy stood where she was, looking at the ground with a lost look on her face. Anitas smile faded instantly, her mood turning somber. She stood up from her steps and slowly walked over to where Sandy was standing. “So today is the day, is it not?” Anita asked, trying to keep the sadness and worry out of her voice.
Sandy looked up, seeming to come out of whatever trance she was just in. “Yeah, today is the day.”
“So, now that the bastard is finally out of Prison, do you think that he’ll come looking for you and Rebecca?” Anita asked without any hesitation. There was no use in trying to tip-toe around this topic.
“Yeah, he will. I know it”
“And do you think that he’ll be able to find you?”
“I don’t know Anita. I’ve done everything in my power to try and hide our identities. I've changed our names, our social security numbers and even moved out here in hopes that he won’t be able to track us down. But...” Sandy’s voice cracked, a tear began to well up in the corner of her eye. Anita instantly grabbed her and sqeezed her tight. “He has eyes everywhere Anita. I just don’t know if I can hide from him forever. He’ll find me, he’ll find us, I know he will. Tony will find us...” Just saying that name sent a shiver of fear up Sandys spine.
Anita let her go, but stayed within arms reach. She stared at Sandy for a long time, the woman was trembling. Anita never saw her like this. She was usually strong, happy, carefree. A smile was always on her face. But when she talked about Tony, thats when Anita saw the dark, depressing, sadness flow from the young woman. She had never met the man, but the stories she heard were enough to convince her that Sandy must be protected. “I’m going to pick up Rebecca from school today, okay?” Anita said, offering to take at least a little worry off of Sandy.
“I appreciate the offer Anita, but you don’t have to do that.”
“Its no bother, really. I’ll be waiting for her when she gets out. I’ll call you as soon as we get to my house and let you know that we’re home.”
Sandy looked up, half smilling, half crying. “Thank you Anita, for everything.”
Anitas heart was breaking, she had only known this woman for a short while, but she cared for her like a daughter. “We all do what we can for each other sweetie.” Anita rubbed her hands together in front of her, trying to ward away the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. “Now you’d better get going. Rebecca is going to be late for school.”
As if on cue Rebecca stuck her head out of the window, "Hey, Mom? Are you coming or what?"
“Okay, sorry Bec. I’m coming!” Sandy took a kleenex out of her purse and tried her best to wipe away the tears on her face. “How do I look?” She asked Anita, smiling slightly.
Anita allowed herself to laugh a little, “Beautiful as always, hun.”