I didn’t cry as I should’ve, I guess a part of me knew that it would be a possibility even though it hurt. I did love the man once, I mean I married him, gave up Harvard for him.
Didn’t it count for something? Apparently not.
He didn’t even have the decency to send me a parting check or offer to pay child support.
It would’ve been nice if he could’ve helped me pay for at least one pack of diapers or sat with me on one of those sleepless nights when she suffered from colic but whatever.
I had no regrets because I wasn’t looking over my back waiting for him to come and take her away these past six-years. Jocelyn might be fatherless but she has me.
She is my kid; all mine and I like not having to share her with anybody else. I’m selfish like that.
“Please put your seatbelt on, I’m not getting stopped today by Sheriff Briggs ’cause you can’t sit still,” I say as I open the back door of my small white Camry knowing I’m going to be shouting at her about the same thing until we get to soccer practice.
Lucky, I have a safe ride.
The car is something I bought off DJ a few years back. It was a newer model at the time and she allowed me to pay her off over the past three years, interest-free.
Which worked out well because there was no way I could afford something so nice otherwise. But that’s the thing about Kanla, the people are either your friends and they’re all in or they aren’t.
There’s no grey areas and no shady characters. Well, at least not anymore.
Three-years back, a drug ring came around our small town. In the beginning, a lot of the youngsters got hooked on drugs.
And the thrill of hanging with the gangster group was the weekend rush.
That was until someone ended up dead and it wasn’t from an overdose.
No, more like cold-blooded murder.
After that, things got very bad.
The gangsters started robbing our stores and pushing people around, there were even incidences of rape.
I wasn’t sure who it was but somebody around here knew a biker club and next thing we knew these scary men and women were riding on motorcycles and taking residence in our town.
They wore sleeveless jackets with lots of different color patches in the front and a logo on the back that was meant to scare everybody and called themselves The Satan Sniper’s Motorcycle Club.
The motorcycle club pushed the gangsters out and kept any riff-raff from entering Kanla since.
The bikers never really kept to themselves. From the first day they rode into town, it was never a secret that they lived here. Some of them have since opened businesses.
Others were building properties, hiring locals and creating more job opportunities for our residents. A few of them even volunteer around the town.
They protect our small population and in return, we adopt a don’t ask don’t tell policy. We all know they are a group of Ex-snipers and soldiers who still work for the government.
We aren’t sure what they do in that farmhouse all the time but I heard rumors that I’m not too keen on confirming its authenticity.
The finer details are something I am still not sure of because it isn’t my business but like all the folks in Kanla, I’m just glad to have them around.
I was so close to skipping this small place when the drug gang moved to town because as much as I love Kanla I love Jocelyn much more and if it wasn’t for The Satan Snipers, I’m not sure what I would’ve done.
I double-check to make sure my kid is buckled up in the back. No matter how many times I’m going to ‘remind’ Jo to put her seatbelt back on, there is no way I’m starting this car until I know I have at least made sure she’s strapped up when we leave.
Once my sunglasses are on my eyes, I take the thirty-minute drive in stride, and pass the park and then The Satan Snipers Clubhouse before finally getting to the school.
This, however, doesn’t happen without me telling Jo a million times to put her seatbelt on because I’m driving.
Lucky enough I don’t get stopped by that jackass Sheriff Briggs. The man still thinks I’m going to go on a date with him.
Stepping out of the car with my black converse and shorts I lastly realize I forgot to change my black t-shirt which is full of bleach stains from the cleaning I was doing this morning. I open the door for Jo and she hops out.
Her eyes rooted toward the field in front of us that I know is full of boys and fathers. The Sun’s bright rays have me squinting when I slip off my shades.
“Momma can I go now?” Jo asks me in a hurried voice, anxious as ever to see her friends.
I look down at her outfit to make sure she’s good. Her white shorts have a bit of a stain but either than that her white t-shirt is clean, hair neat but still open and big frown plastered on her face is all normal when she’s antsy.
“You good to go, baby, no pushing today alright, can I get a kiss,” I say as I pinch her cheek.
“Momma, Caden’s watchin’.”
I roll my eyes, and make a sad face,
“Okay then, maybe later?”
She looks back to the field before her vision finds mine.
“Maybe a quick one.”
After a very quick kiss, I watch Jo rush off onto the other side of the fence. The shiny new fence surrounding the school’s property is just one of the new things The Satan Snipers have done to improve our small town.
The motorcycle club also bought two school buses for the local high school last year when the school’s one blew up because it was so old.
Barry Keager, the town drunk was the only one who got hurt. He sustained multiple injuries but nothing severe enough for him to put the bottle down.
He is one lucky bastard but then I always wondered what the hell was he doing around the parked school bus in the first place.
I stand on the outside of the fence and watch Jo from my vantage point as she dribbles the ball. I’m not going to embarrass my kid and walk down there dressed as I am, but I’m not missing a single game either.
I can’t afford luxuries like that without it affecting my kid because I’m a single mother. I am also subsequently a father too.