It’s amazing how we sometimes under count the truly priceless people in our lives. I became vividly aware of some of the one’s in mine during an incident that could have easily elevated into not only the loss of my life, but the loss of my children’s lives as well. Several of my sisters (of whom there are six) Marlene, Yvonne and Renee, would demonstrate to me the power of love, the fiber of family.

The year was 1988 and I had just begun to communicate again with the father of my two children, whom neither they nor I had seen or spoken to in the past 11 years. Our conversations were light and easy and I began to remember him for who he was when we were together, a kind and caring man and not who I envisioned him to be during all those years that I had not heard from him. Surprisingly, through our telephone talks we grew close again. So close in fact that I somewhat trusted him when he proposed that I bring the children to visit him in the town of Bryant, Texas, where he then lived. Now, my sisters for some reason always considered me to be the most level headed one of us all, the one who didn’t get so easily lead by my heart. But this time was different, because he was not only the father of my children, but my very first love. So him suggesting that since we both had limited funds, I should pay our way down by bus or train and he would pay our airfare back home, seemed perfectly reasonable to me. I really wanted the kids to “meet” their father. However, because I had not seen him in so many years I was still feeling a bit unsure.

I consulted my older sister Marlene, and asked her what she thought I should do. She informed me that I should wait until I had enough money to pay for round trip transportation. She reminded me how mama always told us to “never put your welfare, in the hands of someone else.” Of course, I didn’t listen to her. I did what so many women do. I listened only to my heart. It would prove to almost be a deadly mistake. Our visit started off great. He and the children were getting along very well. About a week into our stay, I began to inquire of him as to when he was going to purchase the plane tickets for our departure. His answer was always, “tomorrow.” I became somewhat suspicious of his continuous stalling and called Marlene again for her advice. Never once saying “I told you so,” she told me to be adamant when telling him that I was ready to go home. I took her advice this time and confronted him. At that moment the kind and gentle man whom I thought him to be, disappeared and someone frightening stood in his place. He became heated and angry, telling me that we would leave when he was ready for us to leave. For two days he never let us/me out of his sight.

We became virtual prisoners in his home, until one night he was called into work on an emergency. He knew that I didn’t have very much money and told me that if I left, I wouldn’t get very far. He would find me and kill me.He was right about the money. I had a total of $90.00 to my name, but I knew I had to get my children out of there. Immediately I tried to get in touch with my family. After several attempts I was able to reach my sister Renee. In a panic, I explained my situation to her. She told me that if I could make it to the airport in Houston, she would make contact with the rest of the family and together they would work something out. Not knowing when he would return, I had to do something quick. Hurriedly, I called a cab service, gathered up everything we had and preceded to leave. That’s when I discovered he had locked us in.

Afraid and confused, with my children by this time knowing that something was terribly wrong, I acted on impulse, the impulse to protect them at all costs. Frantically, I searched the apartment for an escape route. Finding none, I knew what I had to do. I smashed a chair through the front window, grabbed my children and what little we could carry and got out of there. He lived inside of an apartment complex and as we were running towards the front gate, a cab appeared. Never so happy to see another human being in all my life, I flagged him down, learning that he was indeed the cab I called. Realizing that someone would be reporting the broken window I wanted to get out of there as fast as we could. Also the driver seemed a bit perplexed at our frazzled appearance, plus the fact that we had no luggage. I pulled myself together, telling him calmly and precisely that I had a family emergency and we needed to get to the airport right away. At that point I learned the airport was almost two hours away. A new wave of fear began to engulf me. Did I have enough money to pay the fare? Would I be able to reach anyone in my family? Was it safe for us to ride with this stranger for such a long distance not knowing the route to where we were going? Numerous questions raced through my mind. However, there was one question I needed no answer to. I couldn’t go back, I had to move forward. Once in the car, not wanting my children to be more afraid by sensing my fear, I told them somewhat of the same story I

told the driver, that someone in the family was sick and we had to get home. They were tired and scared so it didn’t take long for them to fall off to sleep. The driver informed me that the fee would be about $85.00 once we got there. I felt a little better; I would have enough change to call home.

We arrived at the airport around 5:30 am. with the final fair being $87.00, leaving me with $3.00 and some change. My children were hungry so I purchased two pastries and a carton of milk for them to share as we made our way towards a phone booth. I called home and my sister, Yvonne, answered the phone. She was happy to hear that we were safe and told me that Renee told everyone what was happening. She and Marlene were out attempting to collect funds from other family members to get us home. Yvonne stayed on the phone with me for what seemed like hours, reassuring me that everything would be all right. I was getting more worried by the minute that my children’s father would track us down and do us harm. Finally, Yvonne informed me that my mother and Marlene had come in. When my mother got on the phone, I could hear the fear in her voice. She spoke with such concern and love when asking me if we were all right. I told her everyone was fine. I was just scared and wanted to come home. We both began to cry at that moment, and as children will do when they see their mother cry, my children began to cry too. Marlene took the phone from my mother, assuring me that all of the arrangements had been made. She told me all I had to do was go to the check-in counter and give them our names; they would be waiting for us. I pulled myself together and did just that.

Everything went just as my sister said it would. Once we were in our seats and the plane began to take off, I remembered to breathe again. It felt as if I had been holding my breath from the moment I got into the cab. My children were excited about being on a plane and were completely unaware of ever being in any danger. I was thankful for that and also for the fact that they would only have good memories of our stay with their father. I did not want them to ever relive this horror, as I was sure I would for a long time to come. Eventually, I began to relax and looked forward to being in the safety of my home and family. It took forever but finally, the plane began its descent. Realizing I hadn’t spoken to anyone since I hung up the phone with my sister, I began to wonder who would be picking us up from the airport. What I saw when we came through the gates altered my life forever.My entire family was there; my mom, my sisters, my brothers and almost all of their children. It was the most beautiful site in the world. It was something to see. When they spotted us, everyone ran towards us, swallowing us up in a sea of hugs and kisses. I would later learn that is was Marlene, Renee and Yvonne who not only pooled their money together to pay our airfare but were also the one’s responsible for gathering the rest of the family together and getting them to the airport to welcome us home.

I would not hear from my children’s father again for several years. By then my children were old enough to determine what kind of relationship they wanted to have with him, if any. What they learned from that day at the airport was there are a lot of people who care about them. So whatever they decided to do in regards to their father would not be due to a lack of love. What I learned is that family is forever, my sisters are my sanctuary, and there is no place, no place like home.

© 2003 Patricia A. McLean