Forsaking Lilly

Chapter One

The drive to Texas was a very quiet drive. Heat radiated through the car as if we were driving through an oven. The scene outside had been the same for the past fifty miles or so: flat land, the blue sky, grass and occasionally a passing car or two. My mother tried to converse with me a few times,but after my continuous lack of response she gave up. Wiping the sweat of my face, I thought about our home in Maine and about the friends I would leave behind. I hadn't gotten to say goodbye to any of them, and I ended up leaving my phone behind while we packed. I wondered how they would react when they noticed that I wasn't coming to school. Would they become worried and go to my home to check on me, or would they be glad I was gone and take the opportunity to gossip and tell rumors about me? The second guess was more likely.

I thought about Texas, and I wondered if it was a friendly place or not. Were the people really country, and redneck like Texans are on T.V, or were they genuine, and intelligent people?  I sighed, seeing that I wouldn't get any answers out of guessing. I scooted down into the passenger seat and tried to close my eyes but I couldn't. Every time my eyes shut, I saw the smile my father had given me as he left for the bar. And, that just wasn't something I wanted to see now.

" Look, Calla. I know you're upset with me, but don't you think a fresh start would be what's best for us?"  Now, that got me to respond to her.

" Mom, most families try a fresh start after they grieve. Not before they get a chance to." I had meant that to shut her up, but of course my mother wouldn't stop there.

" I've told you that I am sorry, but this is what your father would have wanted us to do." She reached over and turned the A.C on, blasting cold air in through the vents.

" My father would never had wanted us to leave our home, and you know it!" I couldn't help but raise my voice. She knew how proud he was of our home. I remember him saying how he'd always wanted to live in a suburban cul-de-sac in a Victorian styled home, and he made that wish reality. How dare she say that he would have wanted us to leave, it was possibly the most outrageous thing I'd ever heard in my life.

" Please, Lilly. Don't be melodramatic."  Lilly. The nickname flew so quickly from her mouth that I almost hadn't heard it. Lilly had been a pet name that my father had given me at birth. At this point, she had no right using it.

" It's Calla, mom. " Her eyes caught mine for a moment before they drifted back to the road. She'd probably ignore my correction and think nothing of it, how very much like her. She sighed and gave me a little smile, turning up the music to fill the little black Buick.

" You'll only hate me for a while honey," she said," but you'll be grateful later. " Maybe in another dimension, I thought bitterly as I returned my gaze out the window.

I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I felt the car stop. Automatically, my eyes fluttered open. My first fear was that we had made it to Texas but then I thought the better of it. We hadn't been driving long enough. We probably were about as far as, Arkansas, big sigh there. Wiping my eyes, I turned to ask my mom exactly where we were only to find that she was gone. Instinctively, I sat up and turned around and tried to check out exactly where we were.

In the window, I could make out a Denny's and instantly found my mouth watering.God knew how hungry I was, and I couldn't help but press my face against the window longingly. In the next moment, the car door on the driver's side opened and the most delightful smell was in the car with me.

" You're up, I see," my mother cooed. She slid into the car and placed the big bag of food in her lap.

" Yeah. Did you get me a ham and cheese omelet?" Without asking, I reached over and took the Denny's take-out bag off her lap and began hunting for food. She laughed heartily at me and started the car.

" Of course, Calla. I know how you love your omelets." Her words were like a foreign language to me. My eyes were glued on the fluffy, ham and cheese stuffed, cloud of egg in the take-out box. In what seemed like only a few blinks, I had devoured the entire omelet. Satisfied with my meal, I closed the box and put it in the back seat with the rest of the food.

" So, where are we now," I mumbled. I wasn't exactly the happiest with my mother, but after the omelet, I wasn't the angriest either. I pulled the lever beneath my seat and let the seat down. Now that it was dark outside, the air was much cooler. I reached in the back seat, pulled my jacket off the floor and wrapped it around myself.

" We're in Texarkana, we've got about four hours left.  " My mother spoke matter-of-factly as if we were discussing a show on television, not moving. I turned to face her, a sudden question crossing my mind.

" Where will we stay?" When her dark eyes only stared at me, I continued. "I mean, we haven't really bought a house or anything." My mother's dull expression turned humorous and I tried not to get upset over it. 

 She started the car and pulled out of the parking space, looking over her shoulder as she did so. "My grandmother left me some property down in Mineral Wells when she died. There's a farm-house and about five acres of land. Seems like a place to stay to me."  I eyed her for a moment before I remembered she was my mother and turned back around in my seat. I let the information sink in as the drive continued on.

Secretly, I'd been hoping that at some point, my mother would break down into hysterics and turn the car around back to Maine. But we were less than 5 hours away now, and it was plain to see that she was serious about this. Feeling hopeless, I closed my eyes and accepted the image of my father's face. Emotions rushed to me all at once,but the only one I could make sense of was loss. I set my head back in my seat and accepted the fact that my father was really dead. And no matter how I fel about it, maybe this was my mother's way of coping.