"Mom, what are you doing?" DJ asks, walking through the door from his last day of school with a look of shock on his face. Of course, I can't blame him. I made this decision without even speaking to him about it, but I'm his mother, and I'm doing what I believe is best for us.
"Have a seat." I pat the empty spot on the couch next to me.
"Listen, buddy. Mom has done some serious thinking in regards to our situation. I'm not comfortable here in New York and I know I'm not being fair to you by keeping you stuck in this house all the time, so we're going to move. I want us to live somewhere that you can roam free and live the childhood life you deserve.
"But Dad's here." He sounds sad.
I close my eyes and take a slow, steady breath. "I know, and I believe in my heart that he would be okay with my decision. I believe that he would want me to do what is best for us." DJ losing his father at a young age has forced me to be blunt with him. We've had many conversations about the fact that his father is not coming back.
He nods but looks like he's still not sure he understands. "Where are we going, and when are we leaving?"
"I planned this so we could leave this weekend. You're done with school, and I want to be sure we find a place and get settled before the summer is over. Loretta is going to take care of selling our things and emptying our apartment for us. I've already gotten some of the items sold online. She and Carl will take care of meeting up with the people to deliver the items."
He looks a bit shocked but excited at the same time. "Mom, the weekend is tomorrow. Is my room packed?"
I smile at my son because I'm so proud of how brave he's being. "I packed your clothes. You have two boxes in your room that you can fill with anything else you want to bring, but unfortunately, we only have room for two boxes worth of what's most important to you and can't be replaced." What could a ten-year-old have that is really that important other than some things his father gave him. Two boxes should be plenty of space for him.
He nods and runs off to his room to do as I asked. I want so bad to follow him, but I need to give him some space. He hasn't been very happy here since his father passed on about two years ago. He has a few friends but they aren't close by, and there's no way I'm letting him roam the streets to hang with them. He's going to be eleven soon, and he needs some time to process this change.
Looking down at the family photo in my hand, I think about the many of nights I spent crying and praying to Dylan that he give me the strength to do what I believe is right. Thanks to my counselor, I believe I can finally move on.
I place the family photo into the box, tape it up, and stack it with the others by the door. I'm thankful for my minivan. It's comfortable for our drive and will allow us to take more things with us. I'm startled by the sound of the buzzer. It's Carl and Loretta bringing pizza over and saying goodbye. DJ and I will be leaving first thing in the morning.
I press the intercom button to confirm it's them before I let them up, and a second later there's a knock at the door. When I open it I see my dear friends standing there holding a few boxes of pizza and two bottles of soda. "DJ, Loretta and Carl are here with pizza." DJ comes running into the room. He says a quick hello and grabs the pizza from their hands to set it up in the kitchen. By the time we get in there, he's already setting up paper plates, napkins, and cups.
"Hungry?" Carl asks him.
"Starved," he replies, loading a few slices onto his plate. We all laugh and watch DJ dig in.
"Are you excited, DJ?" Loretta asks him.
He shrugs. "I don't know. Mom hasn't even told me where we're going."
"Well, I haven't fully decided yet. We're going somewhere in West Virginia."
His brows furrow. "West Virginia?" he questions.
"Yeah," I say with determination, not wanting to admit there's not a ton of explanation behind the choice.
"Why would you pick West Virginia?" he asks, sounding shocked.
"It's small town country living, and they have a lot of sports options for you. Maybe you can play something other than baseball."
His brows shoot up in shock. He looks like he's not sure what to say. "Whatever you say, Mom." He shakes his head and grabs another slice of bacon pizza.
We've just crossed the state line into West Virginia. "We're going to find a decent hotel to spend a few nights. I'll look for a place for us to settle down and get a job."
"Okay." He shrugs and goes back to playing a game on his phone, while I continue along our drive. It's been tough because there isn't a ton a ten-year-old wants to say to his mother while driving in the van. He would much rather occupy his time playing on apps than chatting with me. We loaded the van up late last night and left at two thirty this morning hoping to make good time, and we did. It's almost lunch time, and I'm going to need to find a place to stop soon. I decide to pull off the highway in hopes of finding something halfway decent.
My eyes are wide with excitement as we pull into this small town. I don't really know where we are, but it's the type of town I've always dreamed of living in. This place looks so warm and inviting. First thing I notice are a ton of beautiful tall trees. You don't get to see stuff like this in the city. "DJ, program the GPS to find us a restaurant." He pushes a few buttons and the voice calculates telling us there are a few options. I continue on the path the robotic voice is describing, and now DJ is looking out the window with me. We drive past the town hall. It's a small, outdated building, but it fits in perfectly with the scenery. Not too far from that is the small diner the GPS is directing us to. When we pull up, both our stomachs begin to rumble. We climb out of the van, taking a second to stretch before heading in. "You know, DJ, I have a good feeling about this place. This might just be home.” I look around with a big smile. “How about we grab a bite to eat?"
DJ chuckles. "Sounds good to me."
As we approach the diner, my smile grows even more when I see a help wanted sign in the window. Things are getting better by the minute.
We walk in, and a woman with short dark brown hair greets us. "Good afternoon, y'all. Can I get you a booth?"
"Yes, please."
She walks us over to a small table. "Welcome. I'm Misty. What can I get you folks to drink today?" DJ orders chocolate milk, and I order a diet soda.
She returns with our drinks and we place our food order, but before she walks away I grab her attention. "Excuse me, do you know what kind of help they're looking for?"
She chuckles. "I'm looking for a waitress."
"I'm looking for a job," I tell her, sounding hopeful she'll even consider it.
"New to town?" she asks with a pleasant smile.
I nod. "Just got in today. I'm going to be staying in the local hotel until we find a place to settle."
"Well, why don't I get you your lunch and then we can chat."
When she walks away, I wink at DJ "What do you think, buddy?"
"I don't know. It'll be cool to stay in a hotel if it has a pool because then we can swim." I can't help but chuckle.
A few minutes later, Misty comes back with two plates of food and she asks if she can join us. When I agree, she pulls up a chair. "Tell me about yourself."
"I'm a single mom. We just moved here from Manhattan, NY, and I need a job."
"What made you move to West Virginia?"
I smile and tell her our story, going into just enough detail to let her know that I really need this job. "My husband passed away, and it made me afraid to stay in the city. Plus, I've always wanted to live in a small town like this one. I just happened to stumble upon this place and decided to stop."
"Wow, you're one brave woman." The conversation between the two of us flows easily. I can see Misty is going to be a good friend, and that's what I really need in my life right now—good friends. My parents passed away when I was a young adult. DJ doesn't even remember them, and Dylan's parents moved away from New York to Florida to retire and enjoy the warm weather. They didn't want to deal with the snow any longer. That left us with no one but friends. Misty pats DJ's arm with a smile. "DJ, how old are you?"
"Ten, but I'll be eleven soon," he says with pride, puffing his chest out.
Misty chuckles. "I have a ten-year-old too. Do you want to meet him?"
"Sure," DJ says, trying to play it cool, but he's not really hiding his excitement.
"Awesome because I'm going to hire your mom to work in my diner, but that means we need a place for you to hang out until school starts, right?" He nods. I look up to the ceiling and say a silent thank you to Dylan for looking over us and hooking me up with such an amazing person.
"Misty, I can hire a babysitter for DJ if you just give me some time and maybe some names."
"No, no, I won't hear of it. Mason needs someone his own age to hang with while I'm at work. I want you to come to dinner tonight at my place. I'll introduce you to my family, and the boys can play for a bit. Take the rest of the week to get DJ settled, and you can start on Monday."
"Misty, I don't know what to say."
"Welcome to small town living.” She chuckles. “All you have to say is that you'll join us."
With a huge smile on my face, I thank her for both hiring me and her hospitality. I think it's extremely sweet of her to welcome us into her home for dinner. I'm a little nervous about going to a stranger's house, but I have to believe that Dylan will continue to look over us. This is a chance for us to make a new start, and this is the type of town I was looking for—friendly people who are willing to help a woman in need.