Change In Atlanta Georiga (21)

The ‘change’ that was coming would take us to Georgia. Everything in North Carolina was just a mess that didn’t seem like it was going to get any better. There was the issue with the perverted landlord, Jonsey losing his job and me becoming very pregnant with each passing day.

Jonsey’s mom and step-dad lived south of Atlanta and after we told them what was going on in N.C., they offered to move us down there where we could start over. We would move in with them and live in the basement part of the house until Jonsey could find a job and we could find a place to move into.

We started packing up what little we had in our little trailer and then started saying our goodbyes to everyone. It was hardest on me because I had lived there longer and had been more involved with people. There were the people at Burger King that I had to say goodbye to, the managers said they would actually miss me and I would miss them too. Then there was everybody at church, at Shining Light Baptist Church. I was really going to miss them. We all had done so much together, Youth Rally’s, camp meetings, children’s church, the bus routes and the choir. The church had become very special to me, the pastor, the people and young people.

I went by the women’s shelter too and said goodbye to the few ladies there that I knew and the director and assistant director. I hadn’t been there in a while and so the ladies were admiring the baby bump and they expressed how disappointed that they weren’t going to see the baby. I gave them all hugs and even the directors would say a prayer with me in their office, the office where I had first met them when I showed up that day with the social workers needing a place to live. It was special.

The day would come and the in-laws would drive up in John’s truck with a trailer and they would pick up the bigger stuff and what could be taken and drive it down to Atlanta. We would take the smaller things and load up the car and come a day or two later.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Karen and her sweet mom. Karen was my best friend and she really had been there for me while I was in a place like the mountains all alone. She was the first person to train me at Burger King, she was my friend and she was my maid of honor. Her mom had become like a mom to me and had always welcomed me in her home and fed me. Karen and her mom were of Hispanic origin so I was going to miss the mutual bond we shared with Mexican food.

The morning we were to leave, for some reason we needed gas in the car, I think it was because there wasn’t enough in the car to get to a gas station and it was closer to drive to Karen’s mom’s house which was right down the street. Mamma (as I called her, Karen’s mom) had said we could use what was in the gas can outside and we would leave some money for what we were needing to put in the car.

 After, we got some gas and made it to a gas station to get more gas, we would stop by Mike’s house on the way out since his house was on the way out of town. He was the last person I needed to say goodbye to and I dreaded it. Mike was probably the most special person to me there. I remember when we first met, he paid for my lunch one Saturday afternoon after working a bus route. He was just special, not in a weird inappropriate way either. We had spent a lot of time on the phone talking and sometimes it was just so that he had someone to talk to and to fight the depression he struggled with.

We got to his parent’s house where we sat and talked. It was hard, he didn’t want to say goodbye and he even told me that he didn’t know what he was going to do when I left. But, soon we had to get going, we had to be in Atlanta soon and I probably would have just sat there and talked to Mike all day. So, as we walked out onto the car port, I said good bye to his parent’s who I had gotten to know. And then we just stood there and tried not to cry. We hugged and vowed to write to each other and then off we went. I cried as we drove away. The life I had been thrusted into over a year ago was all behind me and even though I would be back to visit a couple of times, it was pretty much over. I would stay in touch with a couple of the girls from the church, girls I had worked with and a few others from the church. And of course I would stay in touch with Mike for a while through letters in the mail.

We were heading to Georgia, a place I had never really been to except the Greyhound Bus Station on my way up to North Carolina. It wasn’t going to be that long of a drive. I think it was supposed to only take about 3 hours to get there, maybe a little bit more because we were going south of Atlanta and we were going to be going through traffic.

It was summer time though, I think it was either June or July and I was very much along pregnancy wise. I was about 6-7 months pregnant and was really showing it, in fact the baby had already dropped so I really looked like I was close to having him and I wish I was. I was ready to be done being pregnant. It wasn’t fun anymore but I was just getting ready to start the third trimester and I didn’t realize how much more ‘fun’ it would get.

So the drive down the mountains wasn’t so bad, until we go somewhere in South Carolina. Then the car started having issues and would shut down. I don’t remember what was going on, but I do remember it being hot and when the car shut down, the air conditioning went out too. I was HOT and miserable. We got the car up and running, only for it to break down again somewhere in Georgia. It would break down again and again, and I was getting really mad. It was so hot and humid in Georgia and the air wasn’t like it was in the mountains. I was just miserable and not feeling so good at all. I don’t remember how or when we made it to the in-law’s house but we did. What should have only taken about 3 hours to drive there, took about 5 or 6 and that was just stupid.

Fortunately, when we arrived at the in-law’s house, they had already put our furniture together and had our place downstairs set up and ready. We had a room that was already furnished, a bathroom and then there was like a den/office room where we were allowed to set up our computer and all. It was our space and I was grateful for it.

After we settled in I called my friend Karen to let her know we had made it safe and sound as well as could be. I told her about the car breaking down all the way down and we were trying to figure out what in the world was going on. She was on the phone with Mamma nearby and she was explaining to her what had happened. Soon, Mamma got on the phone and asked me which gas can Jonsey had used. I told her after I asked him and she exclaimed over the phone that it was the gas can that had oil in it! He had used the wrong can and had put oil in the gas tank. That explained it all! I was so mad. All that mess on the way to Georgia was because he hadn’t paid attention and it could have all been avoided. Oh well. What was done was done. We were there alive and ok, tired but ok.

That night, the in-laws laid down some guidelines and some rules. Jonsey was to find work immediately. There was no reason to not find a job, we were right in the middle of what looked like industrial city. Every warehouse and distribution center you could think of was in Atlanta and in the surrounding areas.

We would have to find our own place before the baby came too, who was due in October. The in-law’s both worked full time and they really did not want to listen to a crying baby all the time, considering hours they had to be up and in bed.

There were a few other rules laid down as far as the house goes but everything was within reason. There wasn’t much for me to do. I couldn’t work, or go anywhere. We had one car and when Jonsey found a job working the Toys ‘R’ Us distribution center, he would work the second shift. So, I would become kind of bored. I would sleep a lot in the morning, mostly because I would stay up late waiting for Jonsey to come home around 11:00 and go to bed late.

The baby was doing fine. I would get set up with a doctor, actually a few doctors. I was being seen at a center where they had multiple doctors in the office. I would be seeing each doctor so that when the baby came and either doctor was on call, I would be familiar with them. Everything was going good though as far as the baby went. They kept his due date the same which was October 3 and everything was on track. I was really craving food though and the baby was always hungry it seemed like.

The change was good, I thought so anyways. I missed everyone in North Carolina though. Mike and I would call once in a while just to talk and stay caught up. It was always good to talk to him.

I was looking forward to being in our own place though. I didn’t mind living with the in-laws but I remember feeling like I was in their way and a bother. But, for now, I was content and ok. We were safe, we were with family and everything was just ok. 

Until Next Time, be blessed and inspire to make a difference!

~The Adopted Child