Chapter 1
About Eva
Eva Cantrell got pregnant at 16, dropped out of high school, parents kicked her out and disowned her, baby's father rejected her completely. The one good thing about Eva's life is her son, Alex. He is the light of her life, and she could not imagine life without him in. Eva is now 22, and feels like life struggles are too much for her sometimes. She doesn't have friends, doesn't date, doesn't have money to go spoil herself as a way of escaping her minimal existence. She pours everything into making sure that Alex has all he could want and need.
Eva and Alex ended up in the small Arizona town of Olenda when Eva's transmission went out in her 1996 Pontiac. That thing lasted her longer than she thought it would. They were headed towards Nevada when the car died, which resulted in the unexpected change in plans. The first night in town, they pair slept in the car because it was dark and she didn't know where anything was. The next morning, they moved into the "pay by the week" motel in the middle of town. The first official day in town, Eva set Alex up to entertain himself so she could go scope out the job market, and got lucky when she was hired at the town's only diner. It works great because the diner is right next door to the motel that she and Alex now live at.
School starts back up in Olenda in a few days, so Eva keeps herself busy working at the diner, and when Alex is ready to eat, he walks over. Each day, Eva looks at Alex with amazement. She is super proud of the mature little 5 year old. The buzz got around on her first day at the diner, so lots of people come in just to meet "the new girl". Tips have been amazing, so much so that she will have enough money to get all of Alex's school uniforms and supplies he needs before starting school in a few days.
