Worried Single-Mother Story Part 1
written by Stella Chan-Ong
Her daughter, Samantha and son Sam have gone to school. She decided to have their left over dinner for
breakfast, homemade tuna mayonnaise with baguette. She turn on the tap water and
let the kettle fills up, she start the stove and put the kettle on. She open
the bottle fill with grind coffee, then she put in the filter in a tea pot and
put in two big spoons of coffee powder. She set her dining table and turn on
her laptop. When the kettle boiled, she pour in the hot water in the teapot.
She put the teapot and the cup and the baguette on the tray and carried to the
dining table. The same thing she been doing for the last three months enjoying
her quite time with her breakfast. She
pour the hot coffee in the coffee mug, she sit there and stare on the computer
screen. On her left hand she have her baguette, she bite one big mouth of the
sandwich and her right hand is on the keyboard, she was wondering what to type.
So what should I write, she ask herself. Suddenly her fingers just start typing
because she decide to write a story about herself, her true life, changing some
facts.
Amanda officially unemployed for three months, since the last
company she was working went into merger, but after the merger the new
management decided to lay off some of the employee to cut the budget, those
that work less than five years in the company was the first lots that being lay
off and Amanda happened to be in the batch. She join the company less than two
years and the retracement package are one month for every year of service with
the company. Even though she earn well but most of her salary went to the banks
for the debts her ex-husband incurred. After the sudden exit of her children
husband, less than a week she received five registered letter under her name.
All of them are from difference banks, she open the envelope one piece at a
time, each time her eye just getting bigger by the time the last envelope was
opened she just breakdown. Her children father have been borrowing money from
the bank and the huge debts was more than five hundred thousand. After the
initial shocked, she quickly calm down when she heard her children crying. She
hug them and assured them she is alright. After settling them she called the
bank, she was shocked when the bank told her that she is a guarantor for the
loan. She was shocked! Money was tight then for the young family of four but
they were happy, that’s what Amanda though.
But now her children father vanish without a trace after he called and
said he is not coming home anymore. Since that call she been trying to look for
him everywhere but to no avail. She make police report and was informed that
her husband have left the country one week ago, based on the immigration record
and the travel information give also informed he ticket was dated a month ago
and the destination was in Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia and the report end.
From the initial shock to feeling betrayed to facing the
reality, she clear her mind and start to find a job cause she realised the bank
account left about five hundred dollars, there is no one able to help her to
tide through this crisis only she can help herself and her children. When she
found the job she hire a stay in nanny for her young children that’s already
cost her two hundred dollar not to say the nanny meals are provided too. Since
she been out of work force for the last ten years as a housewife, she manage to
negotiate for a monthly take home salary a thousand dollars consider it was a
good start but the work demand is also high, she started to work from early the
morning and reached home late at night. Every night she reach home feeling very
exhausted but when she look at her children she felt the comfort. Weekend she
feels like sleeping late but her children will jump on her bed and hug her so
will get up and tickle them. She spend the entire weekend with them, bringing
them out or even staying at home.
She was officially a single mother after her children’s
father, seven years ago walk out of the family. Her world fall apart, then she
was a full time housewife looking after her two young children age five and
three. After four years she applied for divorce to show that the marriage has
irretrievably broken down, due to the unreasonable behaviour of the other
spouse; Desertion by the other spouse after two years; she also provided a
police report and the debts that her ex-husband have incurred under her name to
the court. At the same time she purchase
the government housing under family nucleus scheme, for a two bedroom. Till
today she is still paying the mortgage that’s settle for the initial
worried.
But now her money are running out fast. She wonder what
should, she know the employment market is bad, too many employee but not enough
employer to hire them. She have been searching for jobs and sending out more
than one hundred resume for the last three month but till today there is no
reply. Out of interest she decided to be
a short story writer.
