Chapter Thirty-Six Ellie
Life was perfect. I never thought it could be. But suddenly, it was.
Andres loves me.
He loves Sammy.
We’re building a life together.
I had a basket of sourdough proofing on the countertop. I was going to make that rosemary focaccia Andres loved so much with dinner tonight. Steak and asparagus in a hollandaise sauce.
For Sammy, I was making another side dish, his favorite homemade mac and cheese. He’d already told me the macaroni monster in his tummy was hungry for it.
“Sammy!” I called my son’s name, frowning.
He’d already been warned we had fifteen minutes to spare at the park. No more than that.
I didn’t want to be late for our appointment at the preschool we were looking at for Sammy. It had great reviews and a long waitlist. But luckily, we were able to snag an interview.
I walked past a group of hippopotamuses at the Safari Playground, some of them half sunk into the soft rubbery ground that was safe for toddlers and preschool aged children to play on.
I knew we shouldn’t have stopped, but we were too early for our appointment to visit the preschool we were considering. Plus, it was a bright and sunny November morning, perfect for some outdoor fun.
“Sammy?!” I called again, ducking around a tall tree to check behind the slide.
In the summer, there would be sprinklers in that park, bathing the children with cold water from tiny little spouts on the hippos. I couldn’t wait for Sammy to see it then, but right now, I needed to find him.
There were only a handful of people there, and I became more and more frantic as the seconds ticked by. I only glanced at my phone for one second to check the time, but it must have been long enough for Sammy to wander.
Shit.
Fuck.
I was a bad mother.
No.
I shook my head. That was ridiculous. I was not a bad mother. I loved my son, and I took good care of him. He probably just got distracted by some squirrels or something.
My heart tightened. I couldn’t breathe. I was starting to panic.
Where was he?
It felt like my soul was about to shatter.
I wanted to scream. To rant. To rave. I wanted Andres.
He would help.
He would find Sammy.
“Sammy? SAMMY!” I screamed, ignoring the pitying glances of strangers as I raced from one bench to the other.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“My son! I-I can’t find my son,” I whimpered.
I tripped over my own two feet, landing hard on my knees, and tearing my pants. I bit back my tears and pushed myself off the ground.
“Mrs. Ramirez! This way,” Eduardo, the man Andres assigned to be our bodyguard, called my name, just as he took off down a path.
My heart stuttered inside my chest. If the bodyguard was running that meant one thing.
Someone took Sammy.
Someone bigger than him.
Someone who could hurt him.
No. No. No!
A scream tore from my throat, and I started to run as fast as my short, chubby legs could carry me.
People passed by in a blur, but I kept my sight zeroed in on the bodyguard who was pounding the pavement, gun raised and pointed at a man holding my son.
He’d stopped behind one of those smaller brick buildings that were scattered across the park for whatever reason. I whipped my head from side to side, but no one was around.
Arms wide, I tried to approach the dirty man holding my boy.
“Stop! Drop your gun or the boy dies!” a familiar voice snapped.
I squinted my eyes.
Could that be? Oh my God!
It was Gary. But not the Gary I knew.
“Do as he says,” I told Eduardo, stepping in front of him with my hands raised.
“Ma-am,” Eduardo began, but I shook my head.
“Nothing matters except Sammy, understand,” I said through my clenched jaw.
“Mommy,” Sammy whimpered, and he had tears in his little eyes.
It had started as a nice day, but suddenly the sky was gray and overcast. There was a bite in the air. A frigidity I equated with fear.
My entire body trembled with rage, but I stepped forward, my gaze never wavering from my tiny, trusting son.
“It’s okay, Sweetie. Mommy’s here.”
“Mommy, he said he has Rocky and that he’s sick,” Sammy whined.
“It’ll be okay, Baby. Rocky is just fine,” I told my boy, angry at Gary, furious that he somehow found out about my son’s pet.
“Just give Sammy to me,” I said the last to Gary.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to go,” my ex tried to speak, but it was difficult to understand him.
Dark dribble leaked from the corner of his mouth. His face was distorted, badly bruised, and swollen from where Andres had beaten him.
He looked terrible. But it wasn’t enough.
I wished he’d killed him. This version of Gary was completely unrecognizable from the man I knew. But maybe it was more like him than his regular appearance let on.
It was good he looked like a stranger. Maybe Sammy didn’t recognize him either with that crooked, swollen nose, two blackened eyes, and his broken jaw.
“Get over here! You’re coming with me. Do it, and I’ll let this little bastard go,” Gary said, his eyes crazed.
I nodded, eager to get my son to safety and more than willing to trade places with him.
“Mrs. Ramirez, I can’t let you—” Eduardo started, but I shook my head, warning him to be silent.
“It’s fine. It’s okay. I’ll go with you, just let him go. Let Sammy go.”
“Mommy? I want Rocky. I want Dad,” Sammy cried, and my heart broke for my son.
“You’re okay, Baby. Rocky is okay, too,” I told him.
“Dad?” scoffed Gary, but I ignored him.
“Dad is going to come get you and bring you home. Mommy will be okay,” I spoke directly to Sammy, knowingly lying to him for the first time since I left Gary.
I took one step, then another. Moving closer to Gary in an effort to keep his attention on me.
Sammy was full-on wailing. I thought it would bring some attention to us, but I should have known better.
We were in Central Park. The largest recreation center on the whole island of Manhattan. Arguably the most famous park on the East Coast.
There were thousands of visitors daily. More than that. But no one heard his cries. Or if they did, they thought nothing of it.
No one noticed the drama ensuing right there in broad daylight. No one came around the building to ask questions. And no one got involved because we were in the City, and people minded their own business in the city.
Life was hard, sure, but so what? Everyone had their baggage. One crying kid wasn’t noteworthy. One ex couple having a spat wasn’t the end of the world.
But to me, this could be. And I wasn’t going to let anything happen to my baby boy.
“Shut up, you brat,” Gary sniveled and dropped Sammy on the hard ground.
“No!” I yelled.
The gun in Gary’s hand was too close to Sammy’s head. I made a run at the same time someone behind me roared. Gary jerked his hand up, he had his leg lifted as if to kick Sammy.
I couldn’t let him do that. I ran harder. Time seemingly frozen until I reached him.
A sound I didn’t recognize spilled from my lips as I used all my strength to tackle Gary to the ground, grabbing the hand holding the gun.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone grab Sammy off the floor. I prayed my boy was safe as I tore the gun from Gary’s hands and spun it around, aiming for his face.
Then I squeezed the trigger.