Free She Never Knew by CJ Simpson Page B

Connect’.
    Is it
coincidence, she
wondered , that perhaps I will dig deeper into my faith this week as I face
the past events of my life? As she tied the laces of her sneakers, Tyler sprinted
into her room.
    “I’m ready to
go, Mommy!” he piped.
    “Me too!” Kat
said. She stepped into her closet to retrieve a light sweater that she
sometimes used when she felt chilled. When she emerged a moment later, she said
to Tyler, “Let’s go on an adventure!”
    When Kat and
Tyler arrived at Piney Grove Baptist Church, there were parents and volunteers
milling around, exchanging pleasantries. An air of excitement could be felt
among the people. When Tyler got out of the car, he spied his Sunday school
teacher standing in the parking lot next to her car. He ran up to her and threw
his arms around her waist.
    “Well, hello
there, you two!” Blair laughed as Kat smiled at her. Blair looked down at Tyler
and lightly pinched his nose.
    “Can we go to
our classroom now?” Tyler piped, jumping up and down.
    “Soon, very
soon.” Blair replied. In her early 60s, Blair Campbell was a striking woman,
with stylish blond hair and blue eyes. She had lost her husband to cardiac
arrest the year before and being around children had helped her to cope with
her loss. Blair was one of the most unselfish women Kat ever met. She was
blessed to have her as her son’s teacher.
    “How are you,
Kat?” Blair asked.
    “I am just fine.
How about you?”
    “Marvelous.” She
drawled, pretending to fluff her hair that made Kat laugh. “I’ll go ahead and
take Tyler with me so you can get your classroom ready. That okay with you?”
    “That’s
perfect.” Kat answered. She turned toward Tyler and bent down to give him a
bear hug. “Be good for Miss Blair, okay?”
    “I will, Mommy.”
Tyler gave her a hug in return. Kat made her way through the crowd of people to
the Fellowship Hall entrance.
    Once inside, she
observed the boisterous activity taking place. Parents and children walked
around, admiring the decorations of The Big Apple Adventure theme. On one wall,
there were cardboard cutouts of street signs, indicating what direction
students needed to take to find their classrooms. Adjacent to the wall was a
registration table with a backdrop scene of the New York Harbor.
    Kat waved to the
volunteers manning the table as she walked around the opposite side of the
room, where ‘Midtown Snacks’ was located. The kitchen had been transformed to resemble
Midtown and Kat could hear excited chatter as she approached. She picked up her
pace and was almost at the Dutch door to greet her fellow parishioners when she
collided hard into someone.
    Kat was about to
lose her balance when she felt a pair of strong arms grip her shoulders,
steadying her on her feet. When she stepped back and looked up at the man
standing before her, she gasped in horror. For a fleeting moment, she had a
flashback of the night she was attacked.
    “I—I’m sorry.”
The man’s jaw fell when he saw her expression. He held up his hands in apology
and stared disbelievingly at Kat as though he recognized her from somewhere.
    Kat quickly
recovered and shrugged her shoulders. “No, it’s okay. Uh, I really should pay
more attention to where I’m going.” She looked at him warily, feeling very
uncomfortable with what just transpired.
    The man
continued to look at her strangely, making Kat nervous. She apologized again
and turned away, heading down the hall to where her Crafts classroom was.
    When Kat entered
her room, she stopped for a brief moment and breathed a deep sigh of relief. It’s
okay, it’s not a big deal , she comforted herself . Get a grip already, it
was just an accident. She made a mental note to find the man later so that
she could apologize for acting like such an idiot.
    Kat headed to
the front of her classroom where there was a small table. She set her purse on
it and draped her sweater over the chair sitting behind it. On the table was a
note from