Magnolia Meadows

Prologue - "Should I Stay or Should I go"

  The bright grey Honda sped down Highway 64. The driver, young for a father of two, was attempting to make his seven-year-old son and five-year-old daughter laugh at him. He banged his fingers to the beat of the too loud 70's playlist blaring through the speakers. They both had been in a heavy-hearted mood since the separation began, now that the divorce was finalized both had been upset at him and their mother. He got majority custody, so he got the brunt of the mood swings as well. The music was sort of working, his daughter, Sarah, was trying her best not to grin. The Clash's famous song had always made her smile ear to ear. His youngest, Davey, wasn't so easily becoming to his attempt to lighten up of the mood. He had told his father he didn't want to go to his mom's house, but custody rules are custody rules. Besides it was important for them to see their mom.

Thinking of their mother, he hadn't seen her since the divorce was finalized. They had known each other all of their lives. Best friends, to lovers, to pregnant-at-sixteen. They had gotten married on his 18th birthday, and as the years went, they both lost the attraction and the want to be together. Sure he loved her, but in the end she was just the mother to his children, and vise versa for her. They weren't meant to be, at least that was what she said. She moved to Nashville after a long talk, an hour and a half away from where they were raised in Fayetteville. She seemed happy there, apparently she had started dating, she had her job, and she was going to school again. She got to see the kids every other weekend, even though she was hoping that she would get more time with them. This weekend was the first of those weekends. She called three nights a week, they talked everytime after the Sarah talked to her, Davey still wouldn't talk to her over the phone. The couple had always been best friends, and they decided that they didn't want anything, including the divorce, to change that.

Looking down at his smartphone, Johnny read that they were 4.8 miles to the meeting place. It was exactly midway, a little truck stop with a restaurant, gas station, and small motel. He twisted the knob to turn the music down.

"Alright kiddos. We'll be there in just a few more minutes. We're a couple minutes late so your mom is probably already there. I expect that you'll be on your best behavior while you're with her this weekend, if you get in trouble there you're in trouble here too." Johnny glanced back through the rear-view mirror at the two. Sarah was listening attentively, but his son had his arms crossed and was looking out the window. "I think you'll both have a lot of fun! She said that you're going to go shopping tonight to get some new stuff for your new rooms. You need to treat her just as you always have alright?" His daughter answered with a eager yes, while his son simply gave a quick nod. They rolled into the small stop.

Just as he had guessed his ex-wife had arrived before them. Catherine had always been on time. Her SUV was parked at the gas station, and she was coming out the doors as they rolled to a stop beside her car. The hellos and goodbyes were quick since she wanted to get home before traffic hit. Johnny watched her car rolled away before turning on his car and moving it to the closest gas pump. Just then, a baby blue 2014 Subaru zoomed into the gas station.

The Turtles' "Happy Together" blared through the open windows. The driver was singing along at the top of her lungs. Johnny got out of his car to put the gas pump into his car. With the sun beginning to set he could see her clearly. She was young, probably 8 years his younger. She had a soft, light sepia colored skin. Her fine, natural, shoulder-length curls held a crisp black color, that was pushed back by a patterned head scarf. She had large umber-brown eyes, full lips, and a short rounded nose. She was wearing at what looked like a dark crimson Harvard sweatshirt. She was rather pretty, he thought. She was also vaguely familiar looking.

The young female driver backed up to park at the gas pump in front of him. Car stickers, from cities across the US, were meticulously placed across the back of her car. She turned her car off to fill the car up. He couldn't stop looking at her, she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. After a few moments, she looked, uneasily, over at him.

"Can I help you?" She asked. Right then it hit him.

"Magnolia Meadows! You're Magnolia Meadows right?" The girl gave a small smile at his familiar thick southern accent, her eyes remained wide as though she was surprised. I continued. "We grew up going to church together. I was in your cousin's class at Riverside!"

"Yeah. I remember you." She said, nodding. "I'll be sure to tell Tyson I ran into you."

"Oh! Yeah, tell him I said hi. It really is great to see you. It's been years hasn't it?" She nodded her head. "Last time I saw you, you must have still been living with your grandparents, right?" He didn't stop for an answer. "Hey, how's that sister of yours?" Her small smile dropped for just a moment.

"Amelia is, " She took a deep breath. "Doing good. She's finishing school, happy as can be. How's the wife? You married Catherine, right?" He held up his left hand.

"Ex-wife now." She grimaced. He continued after dropping his hand. "No it's fine. We're on good terms. She actually just picked up the kids." He pointed towards the direction of where I had last seen her car pull off.

"I'm sorry. Divorce is never an easy thing." She patted his shoulder. Before dropping her arm back to her side.

"Anyways," He said. "I really need to be off! Big game on tonight. It was really great to see you, Mags."

"Yeah I need to head off too. I'm visiting family, and I really shouldn't keep my grandma waiting." She started to twist the cap off her gas cap. She looked back at him when he started to talk.

"Yeah. It's definietly not a good idea to make Mae Meadows wait!" Johnny pulled his hat off his head. "You be sure to tell everyone I said hi. I really should go visit sometime."

"Yeah I'm sure everyone would enjoy that." They shared a smile, before a quick hug. Johnny, then, quickly pulled the gas pump out of his car, paid the bill, and was off. Sliding his phone out of his pocket, he called Catherine to tell her about meeting up with the old friend. She would get a kick out of this. Magnolia used to follow Cathy's every step when they were teens. She answered after a few rings.

"You'll never guess who I just ran into Cathy! Magnolia Meadows! You remember her?"

"Of course I remember her. But that can't be right, Johnny. You couldn't have run into Magnolia.."

Johnny couldn't tell the police anymore than that. He was already on his way back to his home, his playlist at full volume. He didn't hear her screeching scream. He didn't see the gas pump fall out of her hand. He never saw the bright yellow flash of light that enveloped the young woman before she vanished out of thin air. 

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Thanks for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed. This is my first book so criticisms are welcome! If you find any grammar mistakes please let me know. I'm a bit of a stickler, but I make mistakes too. This book is active, but it might take a minute before updating. I want to put up the first five chapters as I write them, but the rest of the book I will finish writing before posting beyond that.

❤️❤️ Have a great day. Thanks again for reading. ❤️❤️