Selling My Soul for My Kids

Eviction Notice

My mouth dropped open and my brow furrowed as Shanetta finished up her proposal. I was so shocked by what she had said that I was speechless. Shanetta must have picked up on what I was feeling because she sort of shrank back at the end of her spiel.

“Okay, I can see you’re not thrilled about what I just said. But before you get upset—”

“Are you f*****g kidding me?” I had said it more as a statement than a question. “I’ve had a prostitute babysitting my kids this entire time!”

“Wait, Amanda. Don’t shout. The kids—”

“Don’t worry about my kids! Oh my God, I can’t believe this.” I stood up and walked to the other side of the room with my hand on my forehead. I felt a massive headache coming on.

“Amanda, you promised you wouldn’t judge me.”

I swirled back around, instantly regretting doing so because it made my head throb. “That’s before I knew you were going to suggest some illegal, slutty way to make money! Do I look like the type that would do something like…that? Do I look like a…a w***e?”

Shanetta stood up. “So, you’re one of those, huh?”

“One of what?” I asked.

“Those people who judge people like me. Who thinks they’re better than me?”

“I never said I was better than you. I just wouldn’t stoop that low for money. What you do is disgusting. There is always another way,” I said.

Shanetta’s eyebrows shot up and she c****d her head to the side. “Disgusting? Stoop that low? Stoop that…wow. What other way would that be? Surviving off the pennies you were paying me for babysitting?”

That statement stung. I hadn’t been paying her much for babysitting, certainly not enough to live off.

“The way I see it, only one of us is getting evicted here. I’m going home to my comfortable apartment where my rent is paid, and my cabinets are full! By all means, stay here in your shithole place and judge me while you and your kids end up on the streets. Let me know how it works out for you.”

Shanetta grabbed her purse and phone and marched towards my door. I heard one of the boys start whining in the room.

“It’s going to work out just fine,” I shouted after her as she slammed my door closed. That startled the other two awake.

“Mommy?” called Zara from the room. I looked over and saw Zach appear in the doorway.

“Oh baby, I’m sorry. Did Mommy wake you?” I walked over to him and shuffled him back into the room. I walked in and saw the other two little pairs of eyes staring at me sleepily. I picked Zach up and put him back in the full-size bed he shared with his siblings.

At least I’ll only be losing one bed. The thought had appeared in my mind so suddenly that I wasn’t prepared for it. I felt tears welling up and I squeezed my eyes to hold them back.

“You’re sleepy too?” asked Zain.

“I sure am,” I said. I’m very tired.

“Lay down right here, Mommy,” said Zain. Zara instinctively moved all the way over to the wall.

“Okay,” I said. Zach and Zain moved over closer to Zara, and I climbed in right next to them. I was still in my work clothes, but at that point, I didn’t care. I was exhausted, disheartened, and depressed.

The triplets all curled up and went back to sleep almost immediately. I was thankful for that. I was in no mood to tell a story or sing a lullaby. I flipped over, gently so as not to wake them again, I closed my eyes, and I lay there trying not to think about my situation. Chris, what am I going to do? I can’t do this alone. I can’t. I need you. Please, I need you. These thoughts floated through my head as I drifted off to sleep.

Chris walked in the door and the triplets ran up to him. “Daddy!” they all shouted as they hugged his legs. He laughed and bent over to pick them all up. He’d gotten good at that—scooping them up like they were little dolls. The four of them hugged each other lovingly, then he put them down again. The triplets ran off to play with toys that were strewn around the floor. He looked at me with love and admiration in his eyes. Then suddenly, a black hole appeared in his forehead and blood dribbled out of it. His expression changed to anguish.

No! I shouted. Chris, no!

He stood there as more and more blood fell from his forehead. His skin turned a pale color, then developed a bluish tint. “Save them,” he said.

“I can’t do it without you,” I said as I started crying. “Chris, I’m not strong enough.”

“Save them,” he said again.

“How? I don’t know how. I’m all alone. I don’t know what to do!” Suddenly, Chris dropped to the floor. I ran over to him and screamed.

That’s exactly how I woke up. Screaming. I scared the triplets out of their slumber and all three of them started crying. “I’m sorry, babies,” I said as I tried to console them.

The sun was up so at least we’d gotten a good bit of sleep, even if it wasn’t the most peaceful slumber. I remembered my dream in vivid detail, almost as if it were real. Save them Chris had said. But how?

I got up and realized I was still in my work clothes. My former work clothes.

I felt gross, but the triplets weren’t going back to sleep this time. I walked into the living room and grabbed my phone. It was 7:36am, so I figured I would go ahead and give the triplets their breakfast since they were up for the morning.

“Come get some breakfast, guys!” I yelled. I went into the kitchen and pulled out three plastic bowls and grabbed three spoons. The triplets came running to their table and sat down, excited about some food. I grabbed the box of Fruity Rings from the top of the refrigerator and pulled the gallon of milk out. There was just enough to split between the three kids. I fixed their cereal and sat it on the table in front of them.

They looked up at me with happy faces as they prepared to dig in. It really didn’t take much to please my kids. They were blissfully unaware of the situation we were in, and I was thankful for that. Just then, I heard a noise at the door and realized I had forgotten to lock it last night after Shanetta left.

I walked over and looked out of the peephole. I couldn’t see out of it. Seems like it was covered. Goosebumps appeared on my arms.

“Hello?” I called. There was no answer. I opened the door a crack and peeked out. No one was there. I opened it more and saw paper taped to the door. I didn’t need to read the whole paper to know what it was about. The two big words in bold, capital letters at the top said all I needed to know.

EVICTION NOTICE.