So, last night, someone had called me while I was in the shower. The number wasn’t recognized by my cell phone, but I called back anyway. AmRios answered. She needed a favor from me.
I never actually met AmRios in person. She lives in Lubbock, Texas. She was my contact for an account that I was responsible for back at Countrywide. We had a good working relationship, and she recommended me for the “Above and Beyond” award through the division. When I left the company, we kept in touch. She called every other month just to see how I was doing and tell me how things were going between her and TDang (her long-distance boyfriend whom she also met through Countrywide).
A lot has happened since my days at Countrywide. She and TDang were talking about marriage and her moving here to L.A. Her sister and her sister’s spouse both died in a car accident, leaving their son in AmRios’ care. That has affected her relationship with TDang, of course. Moreover, AmRios has quite a hostile mother. As I have taken care of her account, I suppose that I am now – last night in particular – taking care of her.
AmRios needed a place to stay. She left her mother’s house in such a hurry that she left her money behind. So, she was driving around town with her nephew, wondering what to do. Earlier in the day, yesterday, she got into an argument with her mother. The mother threw a glass cup at her feet and managed to cut some tendons in AmRios’ foot. She went to the hospital for surgery. However, when the police took the report, AmRios declined to say how she sustained her injuries. So, her mother claimed it was an attempted suicide. When she got out of the hospital, the argument continued. That’s when she got all her stuff and left the house.
Where was TDang? Apparently, they are currently at odds. They are not speaking to each other and she says that the relationship is winding down to an end. So, he was not there to support her in this trial.
“Everything’s going to be okay,” I said. “You have to be calm and strong for your nephew. If he sees you’re upset, he’ll be upset, too.”
She tried to stop crying.
“Find the nearest motel. Have them give me a call and I’ll pay for it through my credit card. Okay?”
When I hung up with her, I called 411 and asked for the Lubbock Police Station. I called and spoke with the officer there, asking for his advise.
“I’m sorry, but we can’t accept a report from third parties. Your friend has to come in and do it.”
“I understand, officer. Do you know of a place where she can stay? Like a hostel or something?”
The officer gave me the number to the local Woman’s Protection Center. Apparently, they do not just help wives being abused by their husbands, but simply any woman who is being abused in their domestic household.
I called AmRios back and gave her the two numbers for her to call. Within half an hour, she called me back to tell me that everything is good, now. She found an old friend who works at the Center. They can stay with her and her husband for the night. In fact, she was just meeting up with her friend’s husband at a gas station and he was going to take them to Wal-Mart to get the toiletries that were left behind.
Quite a drama so late in the evening. I was getting ready to go to bed when that happened. I felt very resourceful to be able to help her. AmRios was definitely grateful, and I’m glad that the Woman’s Protection Center is involved, now. They will eventually report the mother, so that she can’t try to get custody over AmRios’ nephew.