Midnight Struggle E-Book

Sherry Moss Walraven

• Herausgeber: Proisle Publishing Services
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 270

Beschreibung

When four fun-loving Southern ladies hit the road to attend a teaching conference in Savannah, Georgia, they hope that the week will be one to remember. It turns out they're right-but not for the reasons they all imagine. In their lives, most things they face are mundane-what to make for lunch, how to make the kids pay attention in class, and how to work with the school's budget committee. They all jumped at the chance to get away. For Debra, Ashley, Brianna, and Mary Sue, this is a working vacation, one where they'll all learn a little and laugh a lot. It's a chance to live the good life for a few days. They all love the luxury of their conference hotel-especially the view. So when one of them suggests an evening drive across that spectacular bridge they admire from their rooms, they hit the road again. But these teachers have missed the lesson about being prepared: they soon find themselves stranded on a dark country road. Debra offers to save the day, so she grabs a gas can and heads boldly into the darkness. But when Debra doesn't come back, the threesome must now work together to solve the mystery. Rich with local color, laughter, drama, and more, this thrilling adventure of everyday people trapped in an extraordinary experience is a little slice of lives lived loud and proud.

Leseprobe

SHERRY MOSS WALRAVEN

© Copyright 2024 by Sherry Walraven

ISBN: 978-1-963735-38-3 (Paperback)978-1-963735-39-0 (E-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher disclaims any responsibility for them.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Proisle Publishing Services LLC

39-67 58th Street, 1st floor

Woodside, NY 11377, USA

Phone: [phone])

[email protected]

For Vicki Dillard

Thanks for all the help.

Also, for Jason and Heath Walraven for

their support and encouragement.

Thanks to Sara Little.

Prologue

On a normal March evening, some might call this forest serene and worthy of notice with the quiet solitude of a midnight sky. A small breeze was blowing making the leaves lying on the thick branches seem as if they couldn’t wait for the morning sun to awaken them for the new day ahead. But on this lackluster night in the deep startling woods in South Carolina, four friends from North Georgia, who loved to have fun and laugh together, sat pondering how they ever got into this horrifying predicament. They knew they couldn’t laugh their way out of this. They didn’t even know if they would ever see their families again, or even have a normal life.

Not in their wildest dreams would they have thought something of this magnitude would ever happen to them, especially at a teacher conference. This was the sort of thing that only happened in the movies, not to real-life people with normal occupations. True, they all had their own personal issues that needed work, who didn’t, but they couldn’t let those issues hinder their ability to stay alive.

No movie producer or script writer could write them out of this stark situation. This was the real thing. The idea that they could only help themselves was becoming a fast reality. They could only pray that God would grant them the ability to be quick on their feet and think smart. They were sure that no one would ever find them in the middle of nowhere. It seemed so long ago that they were looking forward to this long-needed trip with a chance for some relaxation and fun with good friends when they saw a beautiful bridge that they just had to cross.

Chapter One

Ashley Wallace stared at the rose in the chipped bud vase that was sitting on top of the bookcase in her classroom as her students worked quietly at their individual desks. The rose reminded her of the one a good friend gave her on the day her divorce was final. It represented a future life and a new adventure. She could hear Tina’s words as if she had just said them yesterday: “Lord have mercy girl, get up off your butt and put on some lipstick or something. Your poor mama would be devastated if she saw you sitting here with your lips not painted and feeling sorry for yourself. I read a quote one time from that Thoreau dude about 'To be awake is to be alive’. Think about it. You know us little southern girls are made out of strong stuff. Whether it’s divorce or just burning the grits to the bottom of the pan, we can deal with it. You’ve been through worse than this.”

She smiled while thinking of her friend’s encouraging words. Life had indeed been one adventure after another with raising her son and daughter, and then the adventure of living alone after her philandering husband decided he would stray like an old hound dog.

Ashley thought of Tina’s words when she said she had been through worse. Being kidnapped when she was eight years old would definitely be up near the top of anyone’s list of bad adventures. Although she didn’t think about it anymore, it was still there in the back of her mind. Ashley had a loving set of parents and three older brothers to help the healing process making her luckier than most. Every now and then, Ashley thought of the events of that horrid night.

While dining with her family on vacation, she told her mom she was going to the restroom and reassured her mom she would be back in five minutes, which was her mom’s rule. As Ashley rounded the corner where the restrooms were located, a man that she later said looked a little like Howdy Doody was leaning against the wall. He put his arm around her, placed a dirty rag of some kind over her mouth, picked her up, and took her out a side door. After strapping her in his beat-up car, he quickly ran around to get in the driver’s side where two men grabbed him and put him on the ground. The two men just happened to be off-duty police officers who were eating in the diner. As they were leaving the diner, they heard Ashley kicking and groaning against the rag over her mouth. Luckily for Ashley and her family, the man was caught and prosecuted.

For around three years, nightmares overtook Ashley’s dreams, but she eventually learned to cope after much therapy and now, after all these years, she will tell you she feels as normal as the next person. Who can tell what’s normal nowadays anyway? She thought there was no use dwelling on it. It was over and not likely to occur again in this lifetime.

Ashley thought this trip she was going on after school today with three of her best friends would be just what she needed to get her out of her doldrums. They were going to a conference, but fully intended to have a little fun while they were there. They had all been to Savannah several times together, but never tired of going. She could never thank her friends enough for the celebratory divorce trip they took her on to Savannah the week after her divorce was final. These girls never needed a special occasion to celebrate. They just celebrated everything.

A familiar voice interrupted her musings, “Ms. Wallace, do you want us to pack up our things? It’s about five more minutes til goin’ home time.”

“Yes, Darlin’, go ahead. Everybody pack up and remember to do your homework tonight. I want everyone to be on their best behavior tomorrow for the substitute while I’m at my conference, and I better not have a bad note about any of you when I return. Bye.”

Ashley was mumbling under her breath as they left, “Why in the world would I think about things I haven’t thought of in years? Oh, well, I need to get packed myself and meet the others so we can leave for Savannah. We have a five-hour drive ahead of us from Calhoun to Savannah, Georgia.”

Mary Sue and Debra came bounding into Ashley’s classroom before she finished getting everything together. Mary Sue gave them a big smile and said, “Let’s get this show on the road! I really need this weekend away. My husband and kids are driving me crazy!” Ashley had already had a long talk with Mary Sue about her home situation. She was having doubts about her husband, and was thinking about ending the marriage. Maybe if she hadn’t gotten married at the ripe old age of seventeen, she wouldn’t be having these thoughts right now, but she’ll figure it all out someday soon.

“Hey, where’s Tennessee?” Debra could always be counted on to add spice to any pot with her colorful language and bravado attitude. They decided that Debra acted in this manner to get over the beatings from her stepfather when she was young. She told the girls about it one time but Would never speak of it again. She did tell them that she would never let anyone hit her again like that and get away with it.

“I’m sure Brianna will be here shortly. If not, we’ll go get her.” Brianna was born and raised in Tennessee but came to Georgia to teach about five years ago. She was the youngest of the group, and they just found out not long ago that she was married before she came to Georgia. She got a divorce after only two months of marriage because her husband didn’t think marriage meant giving up old girlfriends, but that didn’t keep her from trying to find Mr. Right.

“If she’s not here in ten minutes, I’m going after her. I’m ready, and she should be too!” Debra was probably the most impatient person in Calhoun. Mary Sue and Ashley mostly didn’t pay any attention to Debra’s restlessness.

“Why do y’all think Brianna wants to get away so badly this weekend? She’s sure acting strange. She volunteered to drive and everything. Normally, she’s the last one of us who wants to drive.”

“I don’t know, Ashley, but if she wants us to know, she’ll tell us, I’m sure.” Mary Sue was always the peacemaker of the group. She might be scared of everything that moved, but she had a heart of gold.

“I’m here. Y’all ready to go?” Brianna came in, out of breath and ready to ride.

“Hold on there, Tennessee. Before we go, we need to have a little chit-chat. Tell us why in the world you’re so eager to get out of town this weekend.” Debra wasn’t having any of this secret business.

“Oh, all right, y’all remember I told you I went out with this new guy a couple of times?”

“Yes.” Everyone replied in anticipation.

“He called me yesterday and said he had booked the church where he went as a child for us to get married in this weekend. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He won’t answer any of my calls. I don’t know what to do. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. He’s dull as day-old dishwater. The man could probably sit on the couch for three weeks and never speak at all, and to make it worse, when he does laugh, he sounds like a seal. I don’t know whether to throw him a ball to bounce on his nose or sell him to the circus.

Debra was ready, “Okay, then, let’s go. Sounds like a good idea to get you out of town for a weekend. You need some fun. Nothing’s going to happen in Savannah that will be as bad as marrying a man you don’t want. Come on, ladies.”

Chapter Two

Everyone got settled into Brianna’s Honda Element with Mary Sue riding shotgun because of her bouts of car sickness. No one wanted to be spewed on, so nobody complained about having to sit in the back seat. The azure sky was the bluest they had seen in a while, and the weather was cooperating for a good time.

“What do y’all want to do while we’re down there?” Ashley thought they should do something pertaining to the conference since the school was paying for it all.

Mary Sue is always the organized one of the group. “I think we should go to the conference in the mornings, and do our own thing after lunch.”

“I’m with you. My husband told me he would do the male bonding thing with our boys and for me to have some girl fun.” Debra had an excellent marriage, unlike Mary Sue, who would have to account for every waking minute that she was away.

“Okay, that’s settled. We’ve seen most of Savannah already, so why don’t we take one of those trolley tours?” Ashley suggested.

“There’s something I've always wanted to do, and we’ve never done it before.” Mary Sue said this with a huge smile on her glowing face.

“Spit it out, girlfriend,” Debra said.

“I’d like to get in the car after dark and ride across the Talmadge Bridge. Remember the last time we were there? Our room was on the corner, and the bridge had lights that reflected off the river below our window. I just think that would be so cool to ride across it.”

“Mary Sue, you’re sure you want to do that? I know you don’t care for the dark too much.” Ashley wanted to make sure this was going to be all right, knowing Mary Sue’s fear of the dark.

“We’ll be in the car. What could happen?”

“Okay. It sounds like a plan to me. Let’s do it.”

“Right now, I think we need to eat some supper. It’ll be too late to eat when we get to Savannah,” Debra said.

“All right, but let Brianna decide on the place to eat. You know how we are on deciding on where to eat?” Ashley knew better than to give everyone a chance to make the decision.

Brianna was right on top of it. “You’ve got that right. I’ll stop at the first place that I think looks decent. End of discussion. I hate to be this way, but I’ve been in the car with y’all crazies before, and it could take hours for you to decide where to eat. it’s like a life-threatening decision with you people. What does it really matter where we eat? We all complain about weighing too much and needing to lose weight, so food shouldn’t be that big of a deal. You remember telling me, Mary Sue, about your little boy last week asking you if you had butt injections. Enough said. I’ll find us a place.”

Around an hour later after much silly banter about various things including why with most southern men, deer hunting takes precedence over women, Brianna exited off Interstate sixteen. “This place doesn’t look too bad. Just look at all the cars. It must be good if this many people are here.” Brianna explained this while pulling into the wide expanse of asphalt that made up the parking lot of the Doodah Steak House.

The Doodah Steak House had bright green shutters with burnt orange double doors. Yellow rockers inhabited the front porch with old men in overalls and long beards rocking their little hearts out while whittling something out of wood.

“Now tell me, what kind of steaks could a place called Doodah have?” Debra was staring at the bright blinking green and orange neon Doodah sign as she said this.

Defending her choice of eating establishments, Brianna said, “Girls, how bad can it be? Just listen to the great music coming out of that colorful place. That’s Bob Seger singing Old Time Rock and Roll!”

“Look y’all. There’s a bumper sticker on that purple car that says ’Organism Donor’”. Mary Sue could hardly contain her excitement. She really didn’t get out much. Everyone looked at the car to which she was referring and noticed that it was one of those little Mini Coopers, and it had to be the brightest purple car in the universe. Actually, the owner must have had that custom painted because most people have never seen a purple car period. This was almost like a holiday being around this many bright colors.

Debra chimed in with her usual negative comment, “That purple car alone would be enough to drive women away. How many women are going to let someone pick them up in a car that purple and that bright? By the looks of this colorful place, I’d say it was the owner’s vehicle.”

“Okay, I’m ready. it’ll be fun to see if we can figure out who in the world belongs to that purple car. Let’s go!” Brianna shouted this with enthusiasm jumping out of the car and shaking her booty at the same time. Ashley didn’t think she had ever seen someone shaking her butt from seat to outside without missing a beat.

Ashley shook her head and said, “We might as well make the best of it, ladies. Brianna’s not going to change her mind. It probably won’t be that bad, and Brianna’s right about all the cars in the parking lot. That usually means it’s a good place to eat.”With that, they all took a deep breath and went through the orange double doors.

After being seated on a step-up platform on the left side of the restaurant, their waitress came to take their drink order. After she left, it was a unanimous decision that the waitress must have been a Georgia version of a French streetwalker. Maybe it was the small black beret on her head, the bleached blonde hair with black eyebrows, or the short sparkling spandex outfit that gave it away. To top off everything else, her hair under the beret was standing out like she had just been given an electric shock, but overall, she was a sweet girl and very friendly. Maybe she just had a strange sense of fashion.

“Let me get this straight. After the conference, we’re going to take a trolley tour and ride across a bridge after dark. Before we cross the bridge, why don’t we go to the Market Square and see what kind of band’s playing there? They usually have one on weekends.” Brianna said this while still shaking a bit to the music.

“It sounds okay to me. I have one other thing first. When we get to Savannah tonight, let’s go on River Street and walk around. Brianna, you can go to Wet Willie’s if you want to. It might make you forget all about your man problems, although I’ve got a solution to your problem in that department. Just take him out behind the woodshed and kick some serious butt. My granddaddy always said that everyone can learn a little something with a good ass whooping every now and then. Gee, I loved my granddaddy.” This was the same granddaddy who gave Debra’s step-dad an ass whooping when he found out the sorry son-of-a-gun had been beating Debra. Debra had a solution to everything, and it usually included a trip behind a woodshed.

“Mary Sue, are you sure you want to go after dark across the big bridge? You’re usually scared out of your britches of anything dark.” Ashley still was amazed that Mary Sue would want to go across that bridge or any bridge after dark.

“Oh come on, Ashley, I’m a big girl now. I’m not scared so much anymore. Y’all will all be with me. I just don’t like being outside in the dark by myself, that’s all. What harm can there be riding in a car across a big bridge with four people in the car? “ Mary Sue didn’t look as confident as she sounded, but she really was trying to overcome her fears.

Chapter Three

With the meal almost finished, the quartet received a visitor at their table. This humongous lady that was around six feet tall and must have weighed in at about 300 pounds, smelling like she might have just spent the past winter living in a cave snuggled up to something very furry, came over to their table and looked Mary Sue right in the eyes and said, “I saw you lookin’ at my man all night.” Mary Sue was sort of in a state of shock while the rest of the friends were hiding smiles behind their hands.

Mary Sue looked at this lady (lady’ being an iffy word here) right in her good eye and said, “Who are you, ma’am? I haven’t a clue what you are talking about.”

“Not that it‘s any of yor—never mind, but my name’s Bertha, and I don’t take a likin’ to anybody looking at my man the way you wus. I saw the look in yor eyes. My maw always told me that if’ ween I ever got me a man, to fight fer him. He’s mine and yor skinny ass can’t have him.” Bertha said all this with a vengeance with her one good eye wide open. it appeared her other eye had been clawed by some kind of small creature.

Mary Sue, who always tries to keep the peace, told this expansive person, “I can assure you Miss Bertha that I haven’t been looking at your man. I don’t even know where your man is. Where’s he sitting?”

What they saw next was almost beyond belief. Big Bertha pointed over to the bar and hollered in a boisterous voice, “Hey Luke, look this way, Baby.”

They saw a rather large specimen with a Michelin Man build outfitted in Liberty overalls and a bright orange doo rag on his balding head drinking a monstrous bottle of Miller Lite, although it didn’t seem that the Lite beer was going to help much at this point in his life. He had a cigarette in one hand and his beer in the other with smoke coming out his nose making it look like his brain was on fire. To top it off, when Bertha hollered at him, he gave her a winning smile complete with missing front tooth and all. Debra was staring with her mouth wide open when she whispered under her breath, “Oh my God. What is that?” Ashley reached over and backhanded her on the arm before she could say anything else.

Bertha gazed over at us with a twinkle in her eye and said, “That, girls, is my Luke.”

When Luke looked at the table of women from Calhoun, what they saw was not someone they thought Mary Sue, or anybody else they knew, was likely to steal from Big Bertha. He had cut off the sleeves of his green plaid flannel shirt showing arms that looked like the trunks of an oak tree. It didn’t make good sense that someone with eyebrows that bushy could have a balding problem.

They all sat there trying not to crack a smile and waited to see how Mary Sue was going to get out of this. No one was looking at the others for fear of losing it right there on the spot, and nobody wanted to take the chance of making Big Bertha angry. Poor Mary Sue didn’t know exactly what to do. Not many people have come up with this kind of situation before. Her friends didn’t open their mouths to help because they were afraid they couldn’t keep a straight face, although this delightful subject was bound to come up later on in the evening.

Their little peacemaker, Mary Sue, seemed to be deep in thought wondering what in the world to say to Bertha. Finally, she looked first to Luke and then to Big Bertha and replied, “Miss Bertha, I truly see how you could be so jealous of such a fine specimen of a man as you have there, but I assure you there's no way he would take me over you, even if I didn’t already have a husband. I don’t feel you have anything to worry about because I can truly see in his eyes that he has the ’hots’ for you and only you. I don’t think he would ever look at another woman the way he does at you.” That’s where the others about lost it for sure. they couldn’t believe how Mary Sue kept a straight face while talking to Bertha about her man. This night kept getting better and better.

This seemed to satisfy Big Bertha and she said, “I’m right sorry I wronged ya. You just keep those eyes of yorn on yor steak and not on some good woman’s man.”

“Oh my goodness,” Debra again, but this time she moved over a bit before Ashley backhanded her.

Mary Sue told Bertha, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding, and I assure you, I was not trying to take your man. It won’t happen again.”

As Bertha was walking away, she turned her head, and with a big smile told Mary Sue, “You right. He’s right fetching, ain’t he? If yous lucky, maybe yous can find one jest as purdy someday.”

By the look in Mary Sue’s eyes, it was plain she didn’t know how to react to that insane statement, so she just gave Big Bertha a little finger wave and said, “I’m sure I will, ma’am. You have a good day, now.”

It was amazing to watch Big Bertha leave the girls’ table as she waddled over to Luke and put her beefy arm across his truck-wide shoulders. Those two were definitely a match made in Heaven.

Debra, never one to miss an opportunity to give her opinion said, “Wow, Mary Sue, I thought your new friend was going to snatch you bald-headed for sure.”

Brianna joined in the teasing, “Yeah, it looked pretty touch-and-go there for a while. We thought for sure we might have to take you to the hospital. Did you see the size of those hands? They probably could have pulled a lot of stuff out of your body and left you a vegetable.”

“We shouldn’t laugh or make fun, y’all. We should just be glad Miss Bertha found her a man, no matter who he is. My daddy would spank me good if he heard me making fun of somebody, although he says himself that second cousin, Leon, has a stomach like a washtub.” If Ashley was trying to stifle the laughs and giggles, it didn’t help one bit. They sure had a lot to remember about this trip already.

The meal was finished and paid for, and the girls decided they needed to get on the road before it got any later. As they were walking back to Brianna’s car, they kept their eyes wide open to make sure Bertha didn’t follow them to the car. They weren’t real convinced that she was finished with Mary Sue, who was double-timing it to the car. Apparently, she wanted to get away from the Doodah in a hurry.

After getting in the car, Debra said, “Where’s your camera when you really need it? That was definitely a Kodak moment. I just bet the car with the ’Organism Donor’ bumper sticker belonged to Luke. Big Bertha sure thought he was a real Casanova.” They all chuckled and Ashley thought about the bull her family had a few years back that her brother named ’Casanova’. In fact, the bull and Luke were similar in size.

“Hey, let’s just get to Savannah, do our conference duty, and ride across Mary Sue’s bridge.” Ashley thought it sounded like a quiet, restful plan.

Chapter Four

The next morning the clock radio between the two beds beeped sounding like a half-dead bird caught in a barbed wire fence. “Somebody kill that thing and put it out of its misery.” Brianna never was a morning person.

Slowly but surely, everyone managed to open their eyes and look somewhat alive after getting in bed around 2:00 that morning. Debra hadn’t forgotten to remind everybody that they had promised to take a walk on River Street after they arrived the night before.

Everyone thought Brianna was still asleep when she grumbled, “Debra, I’m going to kill you for making us go out after we got here last night.”

“Oh come on, Tennessee. You enjoyed it and you know it. Don’t go telling lies now, ya hear? My granddaddy used to tell us grandkids that a lie was a lie no matter how big or little it was. There were no little white lies and if you didn’t want to go straight to hell, you better not tell one.”

“Well, I sure don’t want to go straight to hell, so I guess I had a good time.” Brianna was waking up some now and was gradually opening her eyes.

Ashley debated sharing her nightmare from the night before. Knowing how everything scared Mary Sue, she didn’t want to add fuel to the fire, but she decided to share. What harm could it do? “Y’all, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed I was lost in the woods somewhere and somebody was chasing me, and when someone grabbed my shoulder, it looked like the Devil himself, and he was smiling at me with the most evil expression on his face you could ever imagine. He had evil-looking eyes and pointed teeth. I woke up shaking so hard, I thought I would pass out.” The others could tell this was upsetting Ashley. It was probably because of her near kidnapping when she was small.

Brianna put her hand on Ashley’s trembling arm and said, “It’s just a dream, Sweetie. Shake it off.”

“You’re right. Let’s go get this day started and have some fun.” Ashley was back to normal quickly.

“You’re safe. I didn’t see any woods around the Hyatt.” Leave it to Debra to come up with a solution to any problem.

Mary Sue came out of the shower and said, “It couldn't have been as weird as sitting down on that bench by the river last night after we left Wet Willie’s. That time of night made the river look kind of murky, and then again it was pretty with the lights shining on it from the lights on the bridge. It made me think of a vampire movie. All it needed was a fog horn blowing and a caped figure.”

Ashley smiled and said, “Speaking of Wet Willie’s, did y'all happen to notice the man standing at the door checking everybody? He reminded me of the boy I was to have my first date with, only a lot younger of course, but it didn’t actually turn out too well.” Just thinking about it made Ashley laugh.

“What do you mean when you say, 'I was to have'? Did you have the date with him or not? Clarify, girl.” Debra asked.

“He did get to the house, but I was still up in my bedroom getting ready when he rang the doorbell, so one of my big brothers answered it. Big mistake! My brothers started talking to him and decided he wasn’t good enough for their little sister, so they took him out in the woods behind our house, stripped him down to his underwear and ran off, and left him there without his clothes. They threw his clothes in our garbage can out back by the shed. I could tell my daddy was trying not to smile, and that he didn’t particularly want to punish them too much, but I guess when he saw the considerable amount of tears running down my face, he thought he should do a little something. I thought they got off pretty light considering I never heard from that boy again. I just knew my whole life was going to hell in a handbasket at the ripe old age of fifteen. I thought no other boy would ever want to go out with somebody who had three brothers who met my dates at the door. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. I heard a few years later that the boy joined a commune somewhere in Texas.”

After breakfast, the Calhoun ladies did their thing at the conference and decided that after lunch, they would take a trolley tour and see some more sights of Savannah. There was so much to see in that beautiful historic city. Unless someone has never been to Savannah in the spring, they can’t begin to imagine the beauty and old Southern charm that surrounds the Historical District. One could conjure up images in their mind of Southern Bells sitting on the porch in their hooped dresses drinking Mint Juleps and fanning themselves while batting their eyes at a handsome beau. Man, Women’s Lib has come a long way since then. Today they would probably sit around on the front porch in their shorts and t-shirts with bare feet propped up on the railing drinking wine from a paper cup. The women back then would get the vapors for sure just thinking about such a deplorable state.

After the tour and listening to the band in the Market Square, they decided it was time for their trek across Mary Sue’s bridge. They arrived at the hotel and had the valet bring around Brianna’s car