Was That All There Was?: (Book 2)

By Burdella Minter

This book is a sequel to the book Was That All There Was?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9781481766920

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© 2013 by Burdella Minter. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 09/19/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6693-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-6692-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013911050

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I thank my husband and all of our children for their love, patience, support, and belief in me. More than that I thank God because it was His will that you stand by me. That’s why I love the Lord, He heard my cry, and pitied my every groan!

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T he day after I took my three children and left my husband, which was a Sunday, I called the lawyer on the phone. I told him what I had done and that I was in deep need of some help. I asked if he would help me. He paused without saying anything. It seemed like forever before he said anything. (I was scared to death he’d turn me down.)

Finally, he said something. He asked me for the phone number where I was and promised he’d call me back in a few minutes. Before he hung up, he said, What’s the address where you’re staying at? That minute of fear went over me. I don’t know why I told him the address and who I was staying with. He said, Don’t worry. I’ll call you back in a few minutes. And he hung up!

I was really scared then. What if he didn’t call back? What was I going to do? Then, right then, I dropped everything, went in the room where my children were, wrapped them up in my arms, bowed my head, and prayed.

The young lady that my kids and I were living with was younger than I was, and she and her boyfriend lived in this apartment; they didn’t have any children. I kept the kids quiet during our stay here. We never saw her boyfriend, nor did he see us (that I’m aware of). And we were there about one night and two days. It was a beautiful apartment with two bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. I loved her living room; it had a large, glass, cocktail aquarium table with beautiful fish. She had a long, black, leather couch, one orange leather chair, and a matching leather chair that was black. I liked them very much, and they were made differently than any I’d ever seen.

I was getting very nervous. It’d been about an hour and a half, and the lawyer had not called back; it felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I was on the verge of crying. The kids could tell I was coming to pieces. They began to hug me and ask me, What’s the matter, Burt? (They called me Burt often, but sometimes they’d call me Mama. That always made me happy.) Your head hurt? You want a drink of water?

I tried to reassure them and tell them I was just a little tired, and then I’d try to change the subject. I excused myself and went to the bathroom. When I got in there, I broke down and cried; I was hoping the kids couldn’t hear me.

I heard the doorbell ring. I was hoping that wasn’t my little friend’s boyfriend. As I came out of the bathroom, I heard her calling me. Burt, there’s someone here to see you.

I went into the living room, and there he was. I almost collapsed. I let out a gasp and began to fall. He caught me. He said, It’s okay. Everything is okay. He turned to my girlfriend and called her by her name. He asked her to get me some water. I really went into shock, and he knows her! How does he know her? You guys know each other? I asked. They laughed and said yes, but they didn’t know that I knew each of them. I couldn’t believe it. I kept saying, How do you know each other? He said, I’ll tell you all about it sometime, and my girlfriend said, Just don’t think. It’s nothing like you’re trying to think. We all started laughing, but I couldn’t stop laughing. My laugh turned into large, uncontrollable sobs. I couldn’t stop. I went on like that for about twenty minutes.

When I finally calmed down, I introduced him to my children. They smiled and shook his hand. After a few minutes of getting to know each other, the lawyer said, Okay, guys, let’s get your things and your mom and let’s go. I could see they were thinking, trying to figure everything out. I stopped them and hugged them. I told them everything was going to be all right and very soon I’d have a long talk with them and explain it all to them. They said, Okay, let’s go. We got our shopping bags and left with my new friend. My kids trusted me. I could see they had relaxed and were comfortable in the presence of our new friend.

As we got into the car, I said, I thought you were going to call me right back. He replied, I thought you’d have more confidence in me if I came and got you. It’d be quicker than calling you. Then he gave a big hearty laugh. As we got in the car, I thanked my girlfriend and we promised to keep in touch. She said, I want to know how you are, plus, we have a lot more to talk about now. She winked at my friend, and they laughed. We hugged and parted. I was so grateful to her and her boyfriend.

I’d never asked my new friend where we were going—let’s call him Ed, so I can stop referring to him as my new friend. I felt secure, and my kids were comfortable. They were laughing and playing; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them this relaxed. I can’t explain how blessed I felt at that moment. More than anything, I wanted my children to be together and happy belonging to each other. My prayer was—and even now that God keeps and blesses my babies from head to foot, from front to back, and from side to side—"Give them peace, Lord. Give them joy, Lord. Oh, please, Lord, keep them continuously constantly. Thank you, father. Thank you for this right here, right now. Thank you, Lord!

Ed took us back across town to a place called The Sutherland; he said he was taking us to get dinner. The Sutherland was a grand hotel there in Chicago. That’s where most of the singers (well-known) appeared and stayed when they were in Chicago. We went there for dinner, and after we had finished eating, we got on the elevator and went upstairs and down the corridor to the end of the hall. We stopped there at the last door on that floor. Ed took out some keys and opened the door. He walked in, extended his hands to us, and said, Come in. This is your home for a while.

I was completely stunned. In the living room was a piano, couch, and three chairs, and a little farther in the room was a dining area, table, chairs, refrigerator, and off to the right was a bathroom. Off to the left was a large room with three beds and another bathroom. Immediately, that was the kids’ room. They ran in and chose a bed; they were too happy. I don’t know how Ed knew, but that was perfect. My kids liked sleeping alone. They didn’t want anybody touching them. How Ed did it, I don’t know, but he did. I couldn’t believe it. My sleeping quarters were on that large let-out couch in the living room. I liked that, because the kids couldn’t get to the door without me knowing it.

Ed stayed around there with us until about eight or eight thirty. He gave me some money for my purse. He said he’d paid for three meals a day for each one of us. He suggested that we didn’t linger around in the lobby too much, for fear someone might be around looking for us. To make sure I had his phone number with me at all times, call him at any time, at any time at all. He gave my kids some pocket change and told them not to open the door at any time, to always get me when someone knocks, and never to leave out of the apartment without my permission. And to be good boys and mind their mother.

Ed told me he’d call me later and see us tomorrow afternoon, not to worry about anything, everything was going to be all right, and to not forget to pray. He gave me a hug, kissed my forehead, and shook my boys’ hands as they all exchanged good-nights. My kids were beaming, they weren’t worried about anything, they felt safe and secure, and they knew they could depend on me to keep them safe. We’d had a long, tiring weekend, so I heard each one of their prayers, kissed each one of them good-night, and we thanked God for his goodness. I prayed, lay down to watch a little TV, and didn’t wake up until the next morning.

It’s good it was summer school vacation, because I wouldn’t have been able to get them off to school that morning; I was exhausted. We got cleaned up, went down to breakfast, then we went shopping for a few things for them to play with or read. I had a doctor’s appointment (my husband had torn open some stitches at my abdominal surgical site) to check the surgical area. The doctors said it was looking better and showed me how to treat and change the dressings. We went back to the hotel. I watched TV, the kids played with their toys, and I did some reading.

At noon, we went down to lunch and had an excellent meal. We were so blessed; my kids were so happy. I promised them everything was going to get better than what we had. My kids loved me, and they still love me. Later that evening, I called Daddy George and told him what I had done and where the kids and I were. At first, he was very angry with me because he wasn’t able to fine me over the weekend and had no idea what had happened to me. He wanted to know where I had gotten money to run away and pay for a suite at The Sutherland. I begged him not to be angry at me. This is something I had to do myself and didn’t want him caught up in it. He calmed down and told me, Baby, you’ve got to really be careful. You know you are in danger, and listen: if it doesn’t turn out like you want it, don’t forget I’m here for you. You are not alone. I thanked him from the bottom of my heart and told him that I loved him. He said, I love you too, baby. Give the boys my love and give them a hug and kiss for me. Please let me know where you are and what you’re doing, okay, baby? Promise me that. I promised, and we hung up. I loved him so much; I just didn’t want him involved right now. I didn’t want him tangled up in this mess.

Someone knocked on the door; it scared me, it was someone from downstairs. He said he had information, and he wanted to tell me to stay low, because there was a man downstairs looking for a women and three little boys, and that they had probably been there a couple of days. The man said he’d told the inquirer he wasn’t able to help him, excused himself, and brought me the message. I felt safer than I had felt before. He left, I locked the door, and I went to the piano and started to play. There were a few pieces of sheet music in the bench. One piece was Ebb Tide, which happened to be one of my favorite pieces of music, and for a few minutes, there I was playing for a huge crowd of people at a large concert hall. I was wonderful. The piano keys were like flowing waves of water as I struck them. Oh, it was beautiful. No one had ever played that piece like I was playing it. I was in another world—nothing but peace, quiet, and calmness. Then all at once, Burt! Kenny was looking at me and screaming like a banshee. Instantly, I was off that concert stage and in the midst of my reality (three active boys), and I was remembering I hardly remembered the piano scales. How did I ever manage that great masterpiece I had rearranged and played for my audience? Quiet as it’s kept, I was happy to be back in my reality with my boys. Boy! Get your eyes off your brother. Oh, I was back. They had been so good, quiet, understanding, and compassionate to me, but now they were back (and I liked it) to their disagreeing selves.

After I got everything quieted down, I called my friend little Barbara. I love her. She was far more than a friend to me and my kids. First thing she yelled was, Where the hell are you and those kids? I explained everything to her. Of course, she was upset because I hadn’t contacted anybody. All I wanted was for them to understand. I didn’t want to get anyone involved in my decisions; it wasn’t safe for them. I told her where I was, and before I was finished, she said, I’m on my way, bye. I thought, I’m glad she’s coming. I wanted to talk with her. We were good, one of the best friends anybody could want. (Other than my Heavenly Father, there’s not any better; He’s not just the best friend, He’s the only true friend.)

I was so happy to see Barbara when she got there, hugging each other and the kids as well. They loved Barbara too, and she loved us as we loved her. Oh, it was a happy day! She had brought her overnight case. So I knew she was going to spend the night, and that was perfectly fine with us.

The phone rang. It was Ed, and he wanted to know if he could come by that evening. I told him yes, he was welcome anytime. I told him that my girlfriend was there, and before I could finish, he told me that was fine because he had to go to Chicago Heights that night, and when he came by, he wouldn’t be visiting that long since he had to be in Chicago Heights by 7 p.m.

I told him we were going down to the dining room to have our dinner about 5 p.m. and he’d have to come