The Way Back Home

Chapter Ten: Poison & Wine

WARNING: This chapter contains some description of child abuse. Read at your own risk!

CHAPTER SONG: "Poison & Wine" by The Civil Wars

March 20th, 2020

Richmond, Virginia

"Mom, if I don't go now while I have the chance, I'll never get to see what's out there in the world." Emmanuelle Hunterson threw the last of her selected clothes in the suitcase, forcing the zipper to clasp the two divided ends together.

Dust particles floated in the air of her bedroom as she adjusted the suitcase on her bed, reminding the young woman how little she had truly gone anywhere meaningful and how sheltered she had been all her life.

Her education, her job, the friends she had drifted away from and most of all, the family dramatics...

She had her mother on speaker-phone as she packed her things. Tomorrow morning, she'd be up bright and early for the airport and on her way to England. And away from her cramped apartment and its smothering confines...

"Baby, I know Davy's wanted to meet you. Why don't you come to California and stay with us for awhile?" Her mother again reminded her of her latest's boyfriend's existence, whom she still had yet to see in person.

And over the last few months, it was clear to Emmy that her mother considered Davy and his family as her own now.

Emmy understood why her mother was so attached, having been hurt so many times in the past...

And she was a grown woman now, she needed to stand by herself and be independent.

"Mom, I'm not even going to be in the country tomorrow. And you already made your decision by moving as far away from Virginia as possible, away from all your family." Emmy's frustration increased at her mother not even acknowledging that she was taking such a huge step. "But, I'm happy that you've found a new one."

"Emmanuelle, please, just listen..." Her mom began, but Emmy interrupted.

"No, Mom!" She asserted, feeling the weight of the years release her at last. "I'm not letting you drag me down anymore! I'm done with you forcing your boyfriends' company on me and the fact that you're never satisfied when you have something good in your life! I just...I can't do it anymore."

A long pause on the speaker-phone, Emmy almost thought her mother had disconnected. But, she was proven wrong.

"You should be grateful for everything I've done for you. I may not have been a perfect mother, but at least I never hurt you like your father did." The flighty, half-tipsy tone of her mother completely disappeared as she spoke those sharp words. "Have a good time on your trip, Emmanuelle."

The young woman sat down on her bed by the suitcase as the dial tone emanated from her phone. She blinked back tears, reaching for her phone and ending the call.

Her hands began to shake as she laid out flat on her bed covers, her legs hanging off the edge. She stared at her phone, exiting the call page and back onto the home screen before pressing the button on its side and setting it into "LOCKED" mode.

Her mother's words buzzed like a ringing tone in her eardrums, not having even thought about that man in years...

She didn't even know if he was still alive. And she didn't care to find out...

As far as Emmy was concerned, all she could rely on was herself to make things right in her life. The few friends she had in college and her well-to-do job as a librarian at the Richmond Public Library were in and out of her life as they either moved away to different cities or became occupied with family matters.