On the Run

HOOK: Kate knew that she had to leave; she had to take the children and run. She and Stuart had planned everything. The plans had been in the making for months; now all she had to do was wait for the appropriate moment to flee, to escape from this horrible nightmare. Kate had every minute planned, the who, the what, the where, the how, even the why. Now she just needs the when, when would be the perfect moment? The court appearance was scheduled for next week. She had to do it before then. Stuart would stay behind unaware of it all, behind to face the nightmare alone.


PROLOUGE

He realized how much he had missed her, seeing her again brought back a flood of memories. Memories he had pushed far away. How could it be that one glance at that sexy body, at those long lean legs and those big brown eyes could cause him to swoon, a rush of adrenaline came over him when she said hello, he stuttered a weak hello back as he . . .

The knock on the door surprise Kate, the train of thought was gone. Augh . . . She was in the middle of developing a plot with a new character, she stood and headed for the front door, who could it be at this time of day. The irritation from this disruption automatically disappeared when Kate glanced into the playroom as she passed. Seeing the children playing quietly brought a smile to her face. They had finished their work for the day and were relaxing. Kate could not imagine who could be at the door, she was’t expecting deliveries and family and friends knew that this was her work time and the children’s quiet time. When she started working from home she set down hard and fast rules about being interrupted between 9 am and 4 pm. She treated her day as if she were in an office. Kate opened the door and peered through the screen, the lady standing on the porch did not look much like someone trying to sale Kate something. In fact the lady was not smiling at all, sales people usually have big grins on their faces before they push their product on you. Nope this lady was dressed up and carrying a brief case but she did not look the part of a pushy salesperson. In fact she did not look happy to be there and she meant business. The woman introduced herself as a social worker from the Department of Children and Family and explained that she was there to investigate. Kate stood there dumbfounded.

***

The loud knock at the wooden door on a Tuesday afternoon, surprised Kate. She was right in the middle of a massive plot with a new character, when the knock interrupted her thoughts. She glanced into the playroom at the children playing quietly they had finished their work for the day. Kate opened the door and peered through the screen door, the lady standing on the porch introduced herself as a social worker from the Department of Children and Family. Kate stood there dumbfounded.

“Excuse me” Kate stammered. Wondering what was happening.
“I am here looking into an abuse charges brought against you and your husband in regards to your children.” The lady stood in the doorway at about 5’2” with a name tag hanging around her neck and an oversized bag. Kate invited her into the living room. The social worker explained that they had a formal complaint and it need to be checked out. She inquired about the children’s education and asked to speak with each child. Kate dutifully explained to the social worker both the children were above average intelligence and that she and her husband homeschooled them. She introduced the children to the woman who proceeded to ask 5 year old Kalee and 6 year old Sean questions about home and school. Kate then showed the woman the children’s bedrooms with closets full of clothes and playthings on shelves. She explored the playroom where the children kept their toys and where they worked on schoolwork. After reviewing the children’s curriculum she was content enough to leave, seeing no abuse or negligence, she explained to Kate that she would be back for another unannounced visit.

After months of threats from Stuart’s parents Kate was not surprised that this had happened. She and Stuart had been in constant disagreement with his parents about the children’s schooling, their upbringing, and just about every aspect that involved the children’s lives. These people choose not to see their grandchildren yet demanded to control their well being. They screwed up with their own children and wanted to do it again.

Trying to appease Stuart’s parents was getting tougher and tougher. They wanted to raise their own children in peace and this visit from the state was interfering with a well-adjusted family.

CHAPTER 1

Sixteen months later
The phone rang around two it was the law offices again, their lawyer needed to see them both at four. Kate hung up the phone slightly shaking, a hundred thoughts running through her head. The upcoming few days were going to be as much of a nightmare as the last few months had been. Taking a deep breath Kate picked up the phone again and punched in the numbers to her friend Laurie’s cell phone. After a brief explanation and a mutual agreement that Laurie would pick for the kids from school they hung up and Kate punched in one last set of numbers that rang to her husband’s office. She told him about the appointment with the attorney and they agreed to meet there.

Kate gathered the necessary paperwork and jammed them into her brief case, after snatching her keys, coat and purse she headed to her car in the garage. On the drive to her appointment she thought about all that took place over the last few months, over the last few years. The next several days would be a tell-tell of her life and that of her children’s lives. She shivered at the thought of what lied ahead. As she pulled into the small parking lot on Newfoundland Dr. she scanned for her husband’s car. When she didn’t spot it she pulled into a stall near the entrance, she retrieved her cell phone from her purse and called Laurie to see how the children’s day had been. After speaking to both of them she hung up a smiled, feeling blessed to have them in her life. That was all about to change as she glanced up at the writing on the glass door: The Law Offices of Lucas and Carter. Stuart appeared at her window and they walked into the building together.

“I have some bad news, I’m afraid” Mr. Koll a junior partner, told them before their bottoms even hit the plush maroon cushions. He was not one to mince words and always got right to the crucial point.

“They are to receive supervised visitation, aren’t they?” Stuart asked

Mr. Koll paused, ponder his next move “I’m afraid it is more than that, they want unsupervised visitation and the presiding Judge has thrown out your application for psych evaluations and parenting classes. He feels that since they raised children of their own they are capable of have unsupervised visits with your children two weekends a month and every other holiday”

“Oh no” Kate shirked, “that’s not possible its an 8 hour drive, 2 weekends? We can’t do that.”

“I’m afraid that you’ll have to or you will be in contempt,” Mr. Koll told her sternly.

“Why were the psychological evaluations thrown out?” Stuart demanded to know, “What about the personal letters, they express a lot?”

“The Judge felt that though the letters were mean in nature that they were wrote while your mother was angry and not in an irrational state.”

“How can two people who choose not to see their grandchildren, their own fleshing blood decide all of a sudden be given partial custody or joint-custody of my children? We offered them ample opportunity to visit the children, we made multiple trips to make the visits easy for them, we drove hours and they chose not see their grandchildren. They couldn’t drive 2 hours to meet us” Kate shuddered again, “They decided that it wasn’t convenient for them. And now they want custody, they don’t even know my children, seeing them once a year for 6 years and now this. The Judge is insane”

“The first weekend in November will be their first weekend and you are to meet them halfway to drop off the children. The third weekend in November as well, you can have the children for Thanksgiving but you are to work out a schedule for Christmas. They are to have both children on Christmas Day.” Mr. Koll looked at the Spencers.

“And it is unsupervised?” Stuart asked.

“Yes unsupervised.” Mr. Koll told them, with the expression on Kate’s face, he understood that this next piece of pertinent information would more than devastate the Spencers. “There is a hearing scheduled for next Thursday and you are to present to the Judge a schedule that will work for both parties and fall with in the afford cited guidelines set by the Judge.”

“Schedule?” Kate demanded, “It sounds like the Judge already made the schedule.”

“The schedule for the holidays, which day you have the children and which days the grandparents receive the children for visitation. The Judge was specific on this. He will approve it in court and you will be in contempt and put in jail if either party does not follow through.”

“I . . . I . . . I don’t know what to say. How can something like this happen? This can’t be possible, I assume custody agreements happened between two individual parents not two parents and two grandparents. This is a schedule for divorced parents not for grandparents.” Kate wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mr. Koll told them that because of the state that they resided in it was possible. Had they lived somewhere else this wouldn’t be happening. “I need that schedule to me by Monday and I will pass it on to your parents’ lawyer, they will look it over and by Thursday at ten it will be extended to the Judge. You will both be obligated to be present for that hearing.”

“Why didn’t the Judge need to see us today, why weren’t we present at that court hearing?” Stuart asked.

“The Judge needed to hear the motions from both sides and did not need your presences. Since both you and your parents had given your testimonies last month he didn’t need to hear from you again. The court order that you had that your parents are not to see the children until after today’s hearing.”

Mr. Koll explained to them that he would appeal next week at the hearing but that they would have to send their children until the appeal was heard and that could take sometime. As the Spencer’s left the law office they were crushed at the news they had just heard. "How could they be forced to send their children with those people for two weekends each month and longer at the holidays? These people won’t even take time on their days off to see their grandchildren and now they want them on holidays.” Kate spoke to Stuart with much disdain.

He could not answer her question. His parents had baffled him since he was young. He did not understand their decisions, since junior high. He ran as fast from their house as he could. A couple years later he meet Kate and then it all made sense.


CHAPTER 2

The nightmare started when the Spencer’s decided to homeschool their exceptionally bright children instead of placing them in public school system. With the crowded schools they believed that their children would not get the comprehensive education they needed. So after leaving the publishing company Kate chose to work from home and homeschool their children. She balanced her precious time between her writing job and teaching their children. When Stuart’s parents found out they threw the biggest fit, demanding that the children be placed into school. When the Division of Children and Families showed up and found no evidence of abuse or parental neglect and that both children were flourishing in their environment and their schooling, Stuart’s parents took the next step and demanded full custody of the children.

Kate and Stuart decided to place the kids in private school for gifted children, a place they had looked at in the past. They felt that this would settle the custody fight and still provided their children with a proper education. They could barely swing the tuition, Kate volunteered in the classrooms for a price reduction on tuition. That was 16 months ago, 13 months ago the Spencer’s received a summons to appear in family court for visitation for their children. That visitation request turned into a battle with both sides fighting for custody of the children.

Kate arrived at home and waited for Stuart, they clearly need to make an impending decision and they needed to make it now. Forty-five minutes later she heard the garage door and meet Stuart in the living room. It was Friday night and the children were spending the night at Laurie’s house. They pulled out the form for the custody agreement and started reading over the Judges requirements.

“This is insane. How can two people who have no vested involvement in their own grandchildren decide after 6 years to not only begin showing an interest but demanding custody? We spent 4 and a half years trying to get them to visit the children and now this.” Kate was fuming at the prospect of sending her children to those awful people. Stuart and Kate had always kept their distance from Stuart’s parents setting up opportunities for them to see the children but in their presence. They were not the most stable people in the world but they wanted the children to have two sets of grandparents. Eighteen months ago after her mother-in-law went into yet another rage they choose to keep their children away from the toxic behavior.

“I know honey I’m sorry, let’s just get this filled out and enjoy our weekend. Our weekends as a family are going to be cut in half next month so let’s just get this over with.” Stuart told her.

“Over with? This is our children’s future we are deciding on here. We can’t subject them to this. We decided before we had them that your parents would never be alone with them. That if we ever had children that we would limit the exposer they had to your parents.” Kate stood and started to pace quickly.

Stuart clutched her hand and caressed it, “I know but you understand what our only other option is and I don’t think that I can do that”

“We have to do that, it is our only hope” Kate was stern; she would do anything to protect her children from those monsters.

“Katie, we can’t do it, we need to fight them in court.”
“You heard Todd Koll an appeal could take months even years. The children can’t be subjected to that for years.” Kate sobbed.

“Let’s just get this paperwork over with, we still have time to discuss the other stuff later. Come on Kate”

“Time? Later? We have 5 days before the hearing. That’s not time.”

“Okay, okay we will finish this fax it to Todd tomorrow and then we can discuss other options. We have to make it seem like we are going to follow though with this.”

“Fine. We will fill that out now; fax it tomorrow and by Sunday we will have made a decision. The children will be home by 11 tomorrow we need to decide by then.”

Kate and Stuart filled out the necessary paperwork and went to bed. Kate tossed all night worrying about her children.


CHAPTER 3
Saturday was spent with the children at the zoo, and Sunday was spent playing family games. Kalee's favorite was shoots and Ladders and Sean's was Sorry. Kate could not focus on enjoying the time with her family she was too worried about what two weekends from now would be like. Either the children would be with their grandparents or the plan would be set into action and who knows where they would all be.

Stuart and Kate had not discussed anything since Friday night; nothing was brought up all weekend. After the children went to bed Sunday night they sat down at the kitchen table to discuss all the possibilities. The first was that in the custody agreement they asked that the children’s first two scheduled visits to their grandparents be in the company of Kate and Stuart since the children did not know either grandparent they felt that it would be hard on them to be with strangers. Kate decided that if they did not go for this then all deals were off. They would hear Monday afternoon about that.

The second possibility was the plan they had set up a year ago. It was time to consider putting that into motion. Stuart was against it from the start. Then he slowly agreed to it with a lot of opposition, but the crucial time had come and he was to go to the bank Monday morning to withdraw the remainder of the money.

Kate knew that she had to leave; she had to take the children and run. She and Stuart had planned everything. The plans had been in the making for months; now all she had to do was wait for the appropriate moment to flee, to escape from this horrible nightmare. Kate had every minute planned, the who, the what, the where, the how, even the why. Now she just needs the when, when would be the perfect moment? The court appearance was scheduled for next week. She had to do it before then. Stuart would stay behind unaware of it all, behind to face the nightmare alone.

The time had come, Monday after Stuart returns from the bank Kate and the kids would run. They had slowly withdrawn the first three-fourths over the last twelve months, it was stashed away in their safety deposit box at the bank and the rest was stashed in a locker at the bus depot. They had prepared well.

Stuart would deal with the lawyers all week giving Kate a head start, no one being the wiser until Kate didn’t show up on Thursday at the court hearing. In fact if Stuart played it right Kate’s non-appearance could be explained and the first visitation would not be for another week and a half giving her even more time.

Kate spent half the night packing things for her and the children. She called the bus station and ordered three tickets for tomorrow morning for Dallas, TX. She retrieved the key for the locker and put it with her stuff. In the bathroom she cut her hair and dyed it from the reddish blonde to a golden brown.

Monday morning Kate dressed Kalee in her Sean's clothes, and put her freshly dyed hair under a baseball cap. She bleached Sean's curly hair blonde. After Stuart returned from the bank he handed Kate an manila envelope with cashiers checks from their savings account and a brief case with cash and paperwork from the safety deposit box. Kate would pick up the rest of the money at the bus depot. She placed the envelope and brief case into her backpack.

After a sorrowful good bye, Stuart Spencer dropped his family off at the bus depot. The Foster family boarded the bus at eleven, headed for Dallas, a mom with golden brown hair and her two sons, Jaden and Kevin.


CHAPTER 4
At the conclusion of their journey the Foster family exited the bus and headed out the front entrance where they hailed a taxi. During the bumpy ride Kate thought about how long they would have to be on the run. How long would her children have to be away from their father, how long would she have to live in fear, Kate wondered as they pulled up to their destination. Kate paid the driver and took a deep breath as he drove off.

At the library, Kate perused the obituaries on the fish machine. She found a death, a child born in 1973 a few years before her own birth, died two days later . She jotted down the name and then proceeded to scan ahead 20 years in the obituaries. After finding two more names of babies and jotting down the details she needed, she went to find her sons' 6 year old Kevin and 5 year old Jaden in the children’s department both reading a book. “Mommy can we check this book out” Jaden asked. “No I’m sorry sweetie we have to go now. We have a long drive ahead of us and we won’t be coming back to here to return the book. Now let’s go we have a few more stops.

They walked 8 blocks to their second stop, Kate left the children in the unsightly lobby and entered the Dallas ?? (get info from website) office and applied for new social security cards. She told the man behind the counter that she had loss all three of their identifications during Hurricane Katrina and were displaced to Dallas, she needed to apply for copies of their social security cards and birth certificates. The man handed her a form and she filled in the required information she had obtained from the library. The man told her that the identification would arrive in 4-6 weeks.

They grabbed a second taxi; ten minutes later they exited the taxi and strolled on the pavement. A man in a grey suit approached the family and introduced himself. “I am looking for a cheap used car,” Kate told the man. She paid cash for the car and provided the man with a fake name, she would obtain a tag at her final destination. She had thirty days. After an hour on the car lot Kate and her sons drove off the lot in a run down 4-door. Kate had decided that it would be easier to buy a car in Dallas then back home. No questions asked. Their last stop was a run down hotel room. Today, Tuesday was their first day in the city, yesterday morning they boarded the bus and traveled all day and night to their destination. They were tired and had a big day ahead of them tomorrow.
***
After breakfast they stopped at the park for a while to let the children play. They arrived at the post office late in the morning; key in hand Kate unlocked the postal box and retrieved the mail, along with a key for a bigger postal box, which inside contained a box sent from Stuart on Monday. The box from Stuart contained clothes, cash and a few toys; Kate had packed it Sunday night. They couldn't travel with it on the bus. She put an envelope in the blue mailbox and loaded the box into the trunk of the car, drove through a drive through and got on the I35 east headed for Amarillo, TX on that Wednesday afternoon.

Dictionary
headed:
v: to go or travel towards: "where is she heading";"We were headed for the mountains".
adj: having a heading or course in a certain direction;"westward headed wagons".

Chapter 5

That evening she arrived at the women’s shelter in Amarillo. The children had slept the last two hours. Kate pulled off the highway and found a pay phone in the Hardee’s parking lot. She dialed the number she had in her purse. She had obtained it from the Internet. She was interviewed over the phone and asked a multitude of personal questions. Questions about whether her husband abused her, her children, where she was from, where he was at. Kate lied. She could not tell the truth or the shelter would not take her or her children. She just needed some place to stay until she calculated her next move. She needed to save her money since she did not know how long she would be on the run. Kate took down directions and headed down 9th street to the shelter. She pulled into an empty parking lot. With the children sound asleep and no one insite, Kate bashed her head againist the edge of the phone booth causing a big gash in her cheek and and swelling on her forhead. She ripped her shirt and tussles her hair. Back in the car she checks her self in the rear view mirror giving her hair one last toss before heading to the shelter. An older woman answered the door helped Kate in with her stuff. After introductions the Foster family was shown to their room. Once Kate got the children settled into bed she went back downstairs to visit with the staff. She told the staff about how she got the bruise and cut on her face; when her husband hit her. She explained how after her husband passed out she packed upthe kids and called the shelter from the payphone. They explained to her the paperwork that she needed to fill out and told her she had to secure a employment and that they were permitted to stay at the shelter for 30 days. She had 30 days to prepare her next move. First thing in the morning she would place the money she was carrying, the money from the bank, from the house and from the bus depot into a locker at a YMCA for tonight she would keep it in her room in the duffle bag she grabbed from the bus locker on Monday. She could not risk hiding it at the bus station like last time. She was sure they place would be looking for her there when she did not show for her court appearance or produce the children for their first visit to their grandparents. She laid down on the twin bed exhausted from the week's events. She would sleep uneasy tonight in a strange place and a duffle bag full of cash under the covers with her. She closed her eyes and listened to the breaths of her children as she drifted off to sleep. Kate woke with a start an hour later, a noise outside woke her she peered out the window and saw red and blue lights in the distance, and heard the faint sounds of sirens as they drove further away. She was not in the nicest neighborhood that she was accustomed to but she knew she and the boys were safe. The women who helped her tonight had double bolted the door and turned on the alarm. In fact Kate had to be buzzed in and then walked through a heavy metal door which was latched behind her before she proceeded through a wooden door with the double bolts. The camera perched just above the door recorded every move outside the door. The people inside identified who was buzzing to come in. She felt like she was entering a prison except this was to keep the bads guys out, not locked away inside. This was her fortress for tonight and she and the children were safe. She double checked her bedroom door to be sure it was locked. No one was getting her tonight. She covered each each child up and kissed their foreheads before crawling back into her own bed placing the duffle bag on the floor next to her bed.

Kate awoke the next morning early after a very sleepless night. She peeked at each child still sleeping soundly she went into the nearby bathroom to prepare for the day. It was still quite early, 5:40. When she finished she woke each both kids and got them ready for the day as well, then they all went downstairs for breakfast. After speaking with the manger and getting directions she and the children left, duffle bag in hand. They had locked their stuff in their room and had plans to get their new life started. Kate drove to the local YMCA and queried about their activities, she enrolled the kids in a swimming class and found a locker for the bag. They cost of the classes were minimal as they were eligible for a scholarship. They left the Y and headed to the post office to get their mail for the day and then to the park so the children could play and Kate looked through the paper for an ad. Not just any ad but a specific ad. There it was on page 6. Lost a white and tan tabby. In the 900 block of Burbon St. Her ad. Gave all the information that she needed (explain ad here). She then went to the classifieds and looked for a job. Conditions of the shelter were that she had to go to one interview a week and have a job by the end of the 30 days. So she circled a couple of items in the help wanted section. With no intention of getting the job she had to make the staff believe that she was looking for a job. When she got back to the shelter she would call a couple of the places she circled and see about the job. She would set up one interview with in ear shot of an employee. That should keep them happy until next week and give her time to plan their next move. She would use the shelter computer tonight, the computer that is for the use of the residents for resumes and what not. She would type up an add to place in her hometown paper. About a found tan and white tabby.

DOES KATE’S NAME NEED TO BE CHANGED HERE With HER NEW ID

They left the park grabbed lunch at a drive through and headed back to the shelter, Sean and Kalee played with the other children and she spoke with other moms. Hearing their stories broke her heart. She hated that she lied to everyone pretending to be in their shoes. She wasn’t, not even close. She helped with dinner and then wrote her ad to be mailed to the paper tomorrow. She made up a fake resume and set up an interview for tomorrow as a sales lady at the department store in the mall, the night manager was happy to hear. Her own personal resume would not gotten her the job. She was over qualified for it with a BS in Journalism from Harvard and as well as her PhD from Columbia she was a well respected writer and making quite a nice income, or she was until this week.

She went back to her room and pulled out a newspaper article with a phone number. It was for an underground railroad for abused women and their children. She kept these people in the back of her mind. She would use them as her last chance. Her plan was to move to a new shelter every thirty days until her money ran out. Which would not be for quite sometime, since staying at the shelter did not cost her a thing. If need be she would get a job. It was summer so the kids were out of school and she would have to find daycare for them, she did not need the money but it might come in handy at a later point. She began to slowly relax, they were fine. They were safe, sheltered and healthy. She had plenty of money, she and Stuart made sure of that. They emptied their savings and cashed in their stocks so that she had plenty of money when she was on the run. No worries for now. She could be on the run for a couple of years if need be. Stuart stayed behind to continue working so that she would have more money if needed. Tears flowed down her face as she thought of her husband. She did not know when she might see him again or even hear from him for that matter. So when the police learn of their scheme and they would be watching him like a hawk. He could not contact her with out the police knowing. But she could contact him without anyone being the wiser. She and Stuart had worked it all out they had a handful of small ways to contact each other. The newspaper ad was just the beginning of a long secret communication between them.

She crawled into bed and thought of all the lonely nights ahead of her as she drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 6 (Stuart’s view)