This flash fiction (1,000 words) piece is the fourth in a series of six. It works as a standalone with no additional context, but you may also appreciate reading the pieces chronologically for character references.
ยป 02 Where the Lovelight Gleams
A steel-toed boot rocketed over the kitchen table, knocking over a vase of dead flowers in moldy water. Grasping my flimsy guitar case, I tripped over a trash bag of fabric scraps.
โNewsflash, Keith: youโll never make it to California!โ Mama wailed over Bob Barker on the blaring TV. With a cigarette in one hand, she hurled a little red box with the other. It nicked my forehead on its way to a pile of cat poop.
A Ken doll smiled from the box, undisturbed by the chaos or the poop. New! Bendable legs! was his banner. Mama bought the doll when I was born but never let me open it, like all her other โcollectionsโ in the house.
โMama, I canโt live here like this. I gotta get out and make a home somewhere, see who I can be. And itโs gonna be with Shelley.โ
Mama settled, leaning on the edge of the brown couch. โSee who you can be away from me.โ After a long drag, a tap sent ashes fluttering. โYou wonโt be no musician. Youโre just a 19-year old hillbilly and youโre better off here with your people.โ Smoke twirled around her as her voice ratcheted into a laugh. โAnd she wonโt be no actress! Sheโll either leave you or make you stay in her podunk town just like I got stuck here!โ
At that, I kept towards the door. The chilly air refreshed my resolve to stick to my plan. As soon as I had Shelley with me, we were getting out of Appalachia.
I stole a last glance as Mama snuffed out the cigarette on the busted porchlight. โYou wonโt make it there!โ
โGuess weโll see!โ I called back. The Plymouth started after some complaining. Slush and gravel churned underneath my car.
As I neared the end of our holler, I ached knowing Dad would come home from the night shift to find out Iโd left without a goodbye. But had I waited, I wouldnโt have moved on. Never understood how he stayed, always bending towards her.
Driving the country roads, singing with Johnny and Hank cleared my head of the morningโs chaos. At the state line truck stop I bought an Ohio map and scrounged up some quarters for the payphone.
โSorry I kept you waiting, Shells. Took a while to get on.โ
โDid she freak out?โ
โYeah.โ
โShe doesnโt wanna lose you. But itโs good you got out.โ
โGuess so.โ I sighed. โIโm lookinโ at the spot where I first saw you, in all your hitchhiker glory.โ
ย โYou were all scruffy and handsome in that green flannel. I think the guitar is what got me, though.โ
โThank God Iโm a Country Boy.โ I smiled, realizing I was wearing said flannel.
She giggled. โNot for long. Youโll be singing Going to California soon enough.โ
โThatโs the plan.โ I dragged my thumbnail through the phone cord ridges.
โActually, could we meet at my parentsโ church instead of my house? Itโs the little one just inside the city limit sign.โ
โAlready have the route circled on the map, so that shouldnโt be a problem. Iโll be hugging you in an hour or so, baby!โ
The lower mountains shrank into rugged foothills. Factories, painted quilt barns, blink-and-miss-em towns, and sleeping fields repeated in a soothing pattern. Each bend and slope in the road renewed my anticipation for my new life.
A cardinal swooped by my windshield, landing on the sign:
Welcome to Hackberry, Ohio!
Founded 1772
Population 1,320
The church appeared with the roadโs curve. The parking lot crackled like my driveway. Stained glass panels flanked a red door. The weathered steeple pointed up to a silvery sky.
From the empty foyer, my eyes were immediately drawn to a pretty quilt hanging on the wall behind the preacherโs stand. Floorboards creaked as I moved towards it, studying the colorful mosaic of squares arranged as a starburst around a large cross. The only decoration in the sanctuary, it was stunning. A name was stitched in the corner along a cluster of roses: Dottie. Shelleyโs mom.ย ย
My mom had a sewing machineโthree, actually. Never once saw her sew or make anything, though I did see her hand stitch repairs and replace buttons. I wondered if she could make something pretty if she tried. Maybe she could now that I was gone.
โWell, arenโt you a vision?โ Shelley called from the doorway. She hurried into my arms and settled into my chest. We silently swayed for a moment. Then she looked up at me, her forehead set into a wrinkle.
โWhatโs wrong?โ I asked.
She moved my hair, grazing the nick on my forehead.
โWhat would you think of just getting married here before we go?โ
My mind started spinning.
She started pacing. โWe were going to eventually, so we might as well do it here. Itโll save money and honestly weโll need every bit if we plan to be starving artists anyway.โ
With this surprise hurled at me, my mind tripped over various scenarios. My plans were already fraying. But I looked around the empty church and imagined Shelley, crowned with fresh flowers, floating towards me between neat rows of calm people. We could still cross the melting winter Rockies and find the spring air of the coast. We would have each otherโs hands to hold while we stretched our legs, reaching for whatever we wanted to. The plan could still go on, just with a different order.
โYeah, why not? Letโs get married here.โ I reached for her hands. โTomorrow?โ
She licked her lips. โWe still need to plan and get some things together. Shouldnโt keep us here too long though.โ
โGuess weโll see.โ
Itโs never been clear to me whether the right choice is bending towards people or bending towards best-laid plans.
Has any day gone by when a man has kept himself perfectly balanced between the two?
Well I decided which way to bend and collected a driverโs license that says Iโm a resident of Hackberry, OH. Iโve yet to get west of the Mississippi.
.
Read next: 05 Wild and Weary
Or read: 5 Ways Flash Fiction Enriches My Writing
Songs Keith and Shelley reference:
โThank God Iโm a Country Boy,โ written by J. Summers and performed by John Denver.
โGoing to California,โ written and performed by Led Zeppelin.
I love your writing, Alexis! Beautiful piece!
You are a beautiful writer! I love your vivid details!