Though much had changed in Huntsville since Mary left thirteen years before, the small town in the heart of Tennessee still retained its verdancy and the usual quiet despite the fact that the population of the town had grown quite significantly in the last decade. But Mary never liked the quiet. It was ominous and reminded her of the loneliness she felt after her mother's death. A bored stiff teenage Mary would sit by the window of her room watching the sun as it slowly set in the sky, daydreaming of flying away from the town that seemed to be cursed with a never-ending boredom. And her wish did come true when she eloped with the love of her life whom she met in college thirteen years ago. Since her relationship with her father was far from being a smooth one, she never for once gave it a thought to visit. Not until she received a mail from Reverend Thomas, the priest of the town's local church last week. The mail had read that her now repentant father was dying and would love to see her and his grandchildren before passing. So here she was, a single mother driving herself and her kids back to the hometown she hated, trying to fulfill the dying wish of a man, her estranged father.
"Jesus! Can't you both go an hour without quarrelling?" She sighed in frustration as she reprimanded her two kids who were arguing in the backseat as she drove past the WELCOME TO HUNTSVILLE signpost at the entrance of the town.
"You should ask Kelvin, mom. He's the one who won't stop bothering me," protested Maddy, her twelve-year-old daughter, apparently annoyed.
"Liar, you almost broke Superman!" the little boy retorted as he picked up from the car's floor his Superman action figure which had mistakenly fallen from the car seat when Maddy tried to stretch her legs and arms out of fatigue of hours of travelling from Nashville.
"That's not Superman, you dummy," the still annoyed sister fired back at him.
"Hey, watch it, girl," Mary took her eyes off the road for a second as she turned back to scold her daughter. "Call your brother such name again and I'll have you grounded."
"Coming to this stupid town is worse than getting grounded anyway." Maddy muttered, a part of her wishing her mom didn't hear her.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, ma'am." That ended the conversation until Mary pulled up at a house built in the heart of an orchard. It was her childhood home. A gust of nostalgia overshadowed her as she looked around the garden recalling herself and her late playing hide and seek. She used to be happy here until her mother's death changed everything. Her father was never the same again as he took to drinking and blaming Mary.
"Oh, Mary, you made it!" cried out her father who had stepped out of the house to find out who was pulling up in his compound. "Welcome home, my little girl," he greeted as he threw his arms around her trying to hug her. Mary smiled lightly, unsure whether to be confused about seeing her supposedly dying father looking so agile and healthy or that he called her his little girl.
"But in the mail, it says you were dying?" A puzzled Mary queried her father who had now gone to the other side of the parked vehicle to embrace his grandchildren.
"Oh, come on now, this isn't the time for questions. Let's all go inside and have a meal first. Shall we?" responded the excited old man, leading little Kelvin by the hand as he made towards the door.
As they entered into the house, Mary felt a tinge of fright as her father bolted the door behind them and gave an ominous smile.
To be continued.
I wonder why female children don't feel safe with their father once the mother passed away.
I think Mary's father missed her, that's why he had to put up that lie to ensure she came back home.
I came back to the beginning seeing the third part of the post.