Walking on Gravel

She's a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

10: 15PM May 24, 1971

Daisy lifted her mattress, swiped at the air to clear the dust, and grabbed her Pappy's beloved Smith & Wesson .38 Special. She let the mattress bounce back into place, turning her back to the dirt and dust exploding into the air. She hated this room. Over the years, and with no help from momma the room had turned from a little girls dream into a young woman's nightmare. Daisy starred at the stainless steel barrel of the revolver and thought about how her life had gotten here. How had she ended up cheated on, missing prom, and standing in her dust filled bedroom holding a revolver?

She blamed momma.

The truth was momma did not clean. She did not cook. She did not mend shirts. She did not gather eggs from the coop or milk Sally the cow. Momma slept. Momma drank. Momma ate cereal from huge bowls and watched her programs. Momma hollered, cussed, kicked up a storm and sometimes scared Daisy and Daddy so much the slept in the tobacco barn.

The weight of the .38 special in her hand pulled her back to the present. She turned the gun over in her hand, made sure the safety was on, and flicked open the cylinder. It was loaded. Nodding to herself she grabbed her bag and headed out towards the door.

10:15PM May 24, 1971

The crickets were still chirping and the mockingbirds had just got to singing as Daisy headed to town. She put 4 on the floor and pushed that Dotsun's horses as fast as they would take her. Daisy looked breathtaking behind the wheel of the Dotsun. The car was the color of clean copper with a large eagle spread across the hood. As she drove down the old dirt roads madness lit up her eyes and her golden hair smoldered in the moonlight.

Vernville, Kentucky wasn't a small town in acres, but it was small by means of economy. Daisy neared the town square she slowed down. Slowly, she drove by the Dairy Queen parking lot. She didn't see Amelia Sweet's pretty little Ford Pinto. The bitch had bragged at school about how it was painted a new Ford color called "grabber yellow." Daisy told Amelia it looked like piss. Bo had told her to be nice that day. Recalling this memory only made her madder. Fuck him. 

She checked The Crow's Nest. No Pinto in the lot. But, she got out and ran in. She decided to ask Earl if he'd seen them. Earl said "no," and reminded Daisy she had the closing shift tomorrow. Daisy thanked him and headed. Daisy could feel herself loosing control like fire chasing gasoline.  

"Fuck. Damn it all to hell." She yelled to herself. "What the fuck do I do now? I have to find Bo and Amelia. Think! Where would those idiots be?"

She thought for a moment and then it came to her. The Schmidt's barn. 

Mario Andretti would have sure been proud of the way she was moving that car. She covered the 10 miles in no time flat. The Schmidt kids had long since graduated Midnight Diamond High and no longer lived at home. Mr. Schmidt was too old to see the barn from the house and Mrs. Schmidt had long been 6 feet under. All in all the circumstances made the privacy of the barn the perfect place for some redneck kids to get up to no good.

Rolling up to the big red structure she killed the lights and rolled to a stop.

She put the .38 in her back waist band and walked to where the cars were parked. Sure enough she spotted Bo's truck and the Pinto. Her whole body topped off with rage. Daisy didn't hesitate she walked right through those barn doors and spotted the two of them. Amelia had her arm wrapped around Bo's waist while he was waiting his turn to shoot pool.

Without hesitation she walked up to the cooler and grabbed a Miller. She glared over at them. Bo, somehow had his mind erased. He'd seemingly forgotten about the promises he'd made to her a week ago. Sleeping along the Levisa Fork, he'd professed his love and intentions of marriage. "Fuck you." Daisy thought to herself.