Back then, he was only a department chief, and I was scraping by with a high school diploma, bouncing between manual labor jobs.
I could barely afford meals. I ended up at the hospital every other day.
That afternoon, I was crouched in a hallway with an IV drip in my arm when he walked over in his white coat and stood there, looking down at me for a long time.
"Norma?"
I looked up and recognized him instantly. The golden boy of our class, the one who'd been inseparable from Eunice Summers, the prettiest girl in school. The perfect couple everyone envied.
Then he started being kind to me.
He helped me register for appointments, brought me food, and on his night shifts, he'd come find me just to talk.
He told me Eunice had gone abroad to study. They'd broken up ages ago.
He said he thought about me sometimes over the years. Said he couldn't believe how much I'd changed since school.
Under that relentless pursuit, I said yes.
I thought God had finally looked my way, that all the suffering I'd endured was about to be repaid in full.
I never imagined it was just another wound, carefully planned long before it was inflicted.
Eunice nestled against his shoulder, her smile soft and poised.
"Norma, the baby's two years old now. We can give him a better life."
"You wouldn't want little Tommy growing up in hardship, would you?"
My legs buckled. I collapsed to the floor, too hollowed out to even cry.
Jean sidled over, eager to twist the knife. "Norma, dear, my son has a doctorate. Young, brilliant, a real catch. You didn't actually think he could fall for someone like you?"
She stared down at me from above.
"Every penny our Nelson earned after the wedding went to Tommy."
"There's forty thousand in savings. We'll split it with you. Twenty thousand. Consider it compensation for carrying the Sanchez heir."
Twenty thousand dollars. That was the price they put on three years of my life and the child I nearly died bringing into this world.
Nelson dusted off his pants and stood up.
"Mom, stop wasting your breath. Just take Tommy. I'll wire the money to her account."
I scrambled to my feet and threw myself in front of the bedroom door, arms spread wide, bracing against the frame.
"Nobody goes in there!"
But I was no match for three of them.
Jean let out a cold snort and grabbed at my hands, prying my fingers loose.
Nelson seized my wrist and hauled me aside like I weighed nothing, flinging me to the ground.
The back of my skull cracked against the corner of the wall. Stars exploded across my vision.
"Don't make this harder than it has to be," he said.
Jean shoved the door open. From inside came Tommy's wailing: "Mama! Mama!"
His tiny hands were clenched around the bedsheets, his face beet-red, his screams so raw they barely sounded human.
Eunice followed Jean in and bent down, reaching for his face. "Shh, Tommy, don't cry. Mama's here. Mama's right here."
Tommy recoiled from her touch, straining toward me with both arms outstretched, choking on sobs so violent they turned guttural.
He couldn't breathe.
I shoved Eunice aside, dropped to my knees, and scooped him into my arms.
His whole body trembled against me, his face buried in the crook of my neck. The screaming dissolved into hiccups, and it took a long time before he could catch his breath.
Nelson was a doctor. Even he couldn't stand to watch anymore. "That's enough. Not today."
Jean whipped around to glare at him. "Not today?"
"A child this young, reacting this violently, could have a medical episode."
"Once the divorce goes through, the court will give us custody anyway. One more day won't matter."
The three of them turned and left. The door shut behind them.
I sat on the floor holding Tommy, shaking from head to toe, drowning in the relief of having survived something I barely understood.
I knew I couldn't just sit there and wait for the next blow.
I didn't sleep that night. I packed our bags and gathered every document I could find.
When the sky was still gray with the first hint of dawn, I lifted Tommy from the bed, still fast asleep, and crept toward the front door, ready to slip out of Southport for good.
My hand had just touched the doorknob when the doorbell rang.
I flinched so hard my whole body seized, and I pulled Tommy tighter against my chest.
