Lightning Strike Part two: chapter one

Part Two

Hope

           

Chapter One

 

            “Ms. Stewart?” the real estate agent asked as she turned to face the woman who was posted in front of the bay window as she looked out over the green hillside beyond the old farm house.  The woman’s small daughter was twirling around in the sunshine past the window. A crown of wildflowers danced in the wind on top of her dark curls. The puppy that chased after her had its own necklace of flowers around his neck.

            “Linda?” She asked as she stepped closer to the woman. No response. She had come to her this morning looking for a secluded home in the country. Normally Mary would have wanted to get to know the woman more. Taking her time to get to know exactly what she wanted and how much she could afford but Linda had insisted that she needed a place by the end of the night and most importantly that she could pay cash upfront.

            Mary’s heels clipped against the old floorboards in the home as she stepped beside Linda to stare out the window at the child and her playmate. Without thinking Linda reached her hand up to rest on the other woman’s shoulder. She didn’t think anything of it. In a small town like Abbott Kentucky close contact was nothing out of the ordinary. The town barely boasted a township of nine hundred people and with numbers in that area generally everyone knew everyone and claimed to have blood ties with just about everyone else.

            Mary didn’t know where the woman had come from and something about her made her not want to ask. She guessed that she had come from the city. New York perhaps or Chicago maybe. She didn’t have a strong accent or anything and Linda didn’t know why she assumed this but she figured it was the way the woman held herself. She stood strong and looked straight ahead where she was going.

            People from the country had a way of ambling along looking from person to person and giving a friendly wave here or there. Southern hospitality at its best and Mary was proud of this fact.

            As she rested her hand on Linda’s shoulder the woman jumped slightly and let out a small wavering breath. Her eyes cleared as if she had been lost in a far away thought.

            “It’s perfect.” Trisha spoke softly as her eyes met Mary’s. As she stared out the window at Emmy she had felt a bubble of happiness rise in her chest. The country would be good for her. The country had room for her to grow. In that moment she knew that what she had done had been for the best.

            She had to be more careful though. She was no longer Trisha. Linda Stewart was her new name and she would have to work on remembering that. The unconscious mind had ways of tricking her though. She had to second guess herself every time she signed her name or introduced herself to someone new.

            Emmy would remain Emmy just as Justin would remain Justin no matter how inappropriate the name.

            “Great!” Mary clapped her hand briskly in a sign of celebration and delight as she reached into her large leather handbag to retrieve a stack of papers.

            “I had a feeling you would fall in love with the property.” She continued to speak as she slammed he stack of papers onto the windowsill and then continued to rummage in her bag for a pen.

            “This place is perfect for your daughter and yourself. Sure, it needs a little bit of work but I’m sure when your husband gets here that he can-“

            “I don’t have a husband.” Trisha cut her off there. She didn’t know why she felt such a strong need to clarify that but she did. She was proud of the fact that it was just her and Amelia. They would both be strong and happy, of that much Trisha was sure of.

            “Well,” Mary looked up momentarily abashed before looking back down inside her bag.

            “I am sure that someone in town would be more then happy stop by and take care of the honey dos.” She said without skipping a beat and Trisha liked her even more for it.

            “We the people of Abbott Country are not afraid of work.” She smiled then. Trisha noticed that her skin was tan and soft. She secretly wished that she could gain the same healthy country sun kissed look as well.

            “Ah!” Mary exclaimed then. “Here it is. Let’s sign this deed and make you a home owner.” She smiled deeply as she held up the pen like a hard earned award.

            She didn’t hesitate to sign her new name to the paperwork then. She vowed to make sure that she wouldn’t give away anything about her old self. Trisha no longer existed. Like a snake shedding its skin to begin anew Trisha had done the same. She was Linda now, a strong and proud single parent who now owned a small farm house on the eastern edge of Abbott county, Kentucky where the closest neighbors where a ten minute drive down the road.

            With a grin Linda reached into her own purse and brought out a stack of currency. One hundred thousand dollars. The asking price on the worn down but charming home. Linda felt that it was a fair price and it didn’t hurt since she was technically spending the late James Spilling’s money. She had only made two pit stops along the way and one of them was to stop at her local bank and help herself to a generous withdrawal.

            Like a lady, Mary accepted the wrapped and bound bills without even the slightest of questioning looks. She simply put the bills along with the paperwork inside of the bag and held her hand out in front of her.

            “It has been a pleasure doing business with you Ms. Stewart.” She nodded cordially as Linda took her hand and shook to complete the deal.

            Linda followed Mary out the door and stood on her porch as she got into her small gold painted Lincoln and backed out of the drive. Linda followed the cloud of dust as it chased after Mary down the open dirt road for miles before she shrunk out of sight into the horizon.

            “Emmy” Linda yelled across the green yard to where the young girl chased after a butterfly and the puppy chased after its girl.

            “Come inside and look at your new home.” She said with a smile. The word tasted sweet on her tongue. As she inhaled the sweet aroma of grass and honeysuckle in the breeze she knew that this is where she belonged.

 

 

Reviews

[James Yelton]

I liked the imagery you created in this chapter. You did a very good job with your descriptive phrases and I liked the flow of your dialogue. The only thing I had an issue with was the payment being in cash. For someone trying to change her identity, this seemed to me like an awesome attention grabber in a small town especially with such a large sum. Also, I didn't really understand how accepting such a large amount of money without question would necessarily make Mary 'like a lady'.

[Marie]

Yes, you might explain this a bit more. Although she wouldn't have been able to pay by check or credit card, would she? And I understand that ladies do not ask questions about money.

[Craig2591]

You did well with this chapter. It's a nice transition from her old life to the new one. And you portrayed her sense of hope very well. I wonder,though, if it's all a build-up for bad events to come. It wouldn't be a story if there weren't storm clouds on the horizon, would it? : )

[Tabitha t]

my thoughts exactly friend. the calm before the storm

[Rob Santana]

wow, I really enjoyed that. Well put together,I really like the way you put your words together.

[T. Logan]

This is pretty good so far.

[Marie]

This is good. Trisha has a new life. But what surprises may be waiting in store for her?