The man in the black coat

      Who would have thought that Brenda Pratt would own such a classy boutique, definitely not her. Where she had grown up, the only things that mattered were high school sports and the price of beef. Being the self proclaimed "Queen of the Geeks", she had never been a jock, even if she had been, the male dominated sports were the more reviled. That had made her the low man on the totem pole. She had spent her school years as a social outcast. No one had been outrightly rude, they had just been oblivious to her existence, which had hurt so much more. Not that she had tried very hard to rectify the situation.

      Brena studied people hurrying back and forth in the pre-Christmas mob in the mall where she worked. The scurried about as if their lives depended on their swift movements. She watched as a solitary woman attempted to herd three children through the mall. Though she tried her best, the children were distracted and a little restless. All of the children appeared to be under the age of eight. The woman noticed Brena's attention and approached her, Brena walked a little closer to the woman and asked her if she needed assistence with any thing.

      The woman met her and said,"Hello, my name is Claudette and these are my three children Tamora, Tia, and Tommy. Some man has been following us through the mall, could you watch my children while I go to the restroom? I do not want to leave them unattended," she said with a weak smile.

      Brena wanted to help Claudette, who seemed so distraught,"Okay, we'll be waiting her until you come back," she said with a friendly smile. She watched as Claudette bent and hugged her children, instructing them to listen to Brenda and behave themselves.

      Claudette stood and faced Brena, she now had an extremely serious look on her face, as she said,"Please protect them when I cannot." Brena thought that the comment was a little dire but just nodded.

      Brena stood there withe the three small children, wondering what she should do with them. She glanced up to see Claudette retreating into the bathroom, followed closely by a much larger form. She saw, but did not really comprehend. She finally decided that it would be best for her to take the children into the shop. She sat the three of them on the loveseat and gave them each a cookie that she sold in the front of her store.

      She studied the children as they ate, they all looked similar in their face, that was where the similarities ended. The oldest girl seemed to be six or seven years old, and had light blonde hair that seemed to sweep across her face constantly.The younger girl, who seemed to be around four years old, had a strawberry blonde hair that would surely turn red as she grew. Both of the girls had blue eyes that were piercing in their clarity. The boy, who seemed to be two, had dark brown hair and eyes that were almost black.  All of the children were very well behaved and quiet now.

      The eldest girl started crying, though not loudly, but in body racking sobs. Brena became very concerned and walked over to comfort her, saying,"Sweeting, what is wrong?"

      The girl looked up at her and in the most grave voice Brena had ever heard, she said," My mommy isn't comming back."

      Brena was confused by this statement, but took it as a fear of a young child. "Sweeting, your mommy just went to the bathroom, she's comming right back."

      The girl just looked at her in a pitying way. "The man who was following us, is the same man who said he was going to kill my mommy. He told mommy that he was going to kill her infront of us, and then he would kill Tia, Tommy, and me."

      Brena got a cold chill as she realized that the words that Claudette had said had hinted at selfsacrification. Then she realized that she had promised to care for her children. She sent a worried glance down the corridor that sepereated the shops in the mall. She knew that if she did not distract them, the children would get anxious. She looked down at the oldest child, handed her the remote to the tv and said," Tamora, would you find something for the younger children to watch on tv." 

      Brena watched as the girl found a cartoon channel and the two younger children settled on the floor to watch the cartoon girl and monkey singing in spanish. She made the decision to look for Claudette. She called Tamora over and instructed," Stay in the store, if you see the man who has been following you, take your brother and sister to the back room and lock the door. I'll be right back."

      Brena started out the door and was about six feet from her store, when she heard gun shots and froze, she knew where the shots had come from and whom they had hit. She walked back to her store and pulled down the safety gate and locked all the doors. As she locked the final lock, she saw the man that had been following Claudette, she saw him wink at her salute as he walked by. The teasing treat, made her more terrified than anything else could.  She moved back and stood in front of the children, scared out of her mind.

      She did the only thing she could think to do, called her brother, because god help her, she felt for these kids and wanted to take care of them. She would keep her word.