Kendall and her siblings\u2019 lives had been restricted to going to school during the week and going to church on Sundays, and like any other teen, she\u2019d started to rebel. She wanted to go to the movies and wear pretty clothes and lipstick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kendall looked up at a tall woman with a friendly smile. She was wearing a brightly colored flowery apron and he was carrying pruning sheers in one hand and a bunch of roses in the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m\u2026OK\u2026\u201d Kendall sniffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman shook her head and sat down next to Kendall. \u201cNo, honey, you\u2019re not,\u201d she said. \u201cBut you know you can tell me. I don\u2019t judge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So Kendall poured out her whole miserable story and said, \u201cSo I have no money, no job, nowhere to go, and a baby to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll give you a job,\u201d Mila said calmly. \u201cAnd I have a little place you can stay but you gonna have to take care of the baby yourself!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll give me a job?\u201d gasped Kendall. \u201cReally\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Mila said. \u201cI have a flower stand at this end of the park, but I\u2019ve been wanting to open another close to the business district. I\u2019ll teach you how to do the flower arrangements and we\u2019ll see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kendall was smiling through her tears. \u201cI can do that! I love flowers!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell then,\u201d Mila said. \u201cCome along and see the little apartment I can set you up in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The apartment wasn\u2019t far away. It was tiny but very clean and cozy and Kendall couldn\u2019t believe her luck. Maybe her guardian angel was watching out for her after all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the next few months, things got better and better. The flower stand in the business district was a huge success, and Mila was very pleased with Kendall. The doctor Mila took her to declared that both she and the baby were healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five months later, Kendall gave birth to a lovely baby boy she named Michael. Mila gave Kendall three months\u2019 leave before she had to go back to work, and adapting to a newborn was really hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Micahel cried all the time, and Kendall was constantly changing his diapers. He seemed to never sleep more than ten minutes at a time and Kendall was utterly exhausted. Then one morning, she woke up with the sun streaming into her bedroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMichael!\u201d she cried and ran over to her baby\u2019s tiny room. Michael was fast asleep, his tiny fists under his chin, looking like an absolute angel. Kendall couldn\u2019t believe her son had slept all night without feeding or wetting his diaper!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then she noticed that the bottle she\u2019d prepared for his night feed was empty and that his diaper was clean and dry. \u201cThat\u2019s so weird!\u201d she said to herself. \u201cDid I feed and change him in my sleep?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night, Michael didn\u2019t cry again and when Kendall woke up in the morning he was fed and dry and sleeping peacefully. \u201cThis is getting really creepy!\u201d Kendall thought. \u201cMaybe I\u2019m sleepwalking or something. Tonight I\u2019m not sleeping!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kendall lay awake waiting for the slightest sound from Michael\u2019s room, and at three in the morning, she heard a soft cry followed by hushed sounds. There was someone in Michael\u2019s room!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kendall peeked into the room. There was a woman bending over Michael\u2019s crib talking to him softly and changing his diaper. Kendall hit the light switch. \u201cWho are you?\u201d she screamed. \u201cGet away from my baby!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman gasped and Michael started screaming. Then the woman picked up Michael and started soothing him. \u201cHello Kendall,\u201d she said calmly. \u201cI\u2019m Martha Douglas and I\u2019m your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martha told Kendall her story. Like Kendall, Martha had fallen pregnant very young, at sixteen. \u201cMy mother wanted me to have an abortion but I refused,\u201d Martha explained. \u201cSo she kicked me out, and I had to give you up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was the hardest thing I ever did and it broke my heart. I was determined to stay in your life, Kendall, so I saw you as often as I could and I sent you birthday presents and Christmas treats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLater I finished high school and started my own business. I have a series of flower shops in the city \u2014 over thirty \u2014 so it was easy to get one of my employees, Mila, to offer you a job. This house was my late mother\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut why didn\u2019t you say something? Why were you hiding?\u201d Kendall asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martha shrugged. \u201cI was ashamed,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI know what you must think of me, especially since you\u2019re keeping your baby\u2026 I didn\u2019t mean for you to find out, I just wanted you to get a few good night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m lucky,\u201d Kendall said hugging Martha. \u201cI have you and Mila helping me, otherwise I\u2019d have to give Michael up too! How could I think badly of you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martha had her daughter back and her grandson too, and the two of them moved into her beautiful house. Finally, Kendall had a loving and understanding mother who loved and supported her unconditionally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"For](\"https:\/\/cdn.amomama.com\/ae0f66ba08473a77a5cfa87730113fdf.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n