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FINN
“Mom, I just stopped to fill up my gas tank, and then I’m headed toward Magnolia. It shouldn’t be more than a few hours until I get there.” I throw back the last bit of my disgusting gas station coffee before tossing the cup into the trash can and throwing my leg over my bike.
“You should’ve been here by now,” she snaps back, causing me to roll my eyes.
Leaving almost an hour later than I planned is the least of my concerns. I wasn’t surprised to wake up in bed alone this morning, but it still stung when I rolled over and knew there was no chance of me going another round or two with Marissa.
I threw the sheets to the side, climbed out of the bed, and began searching. The room was small, but I’d hoped she was in the bathroom, taking a shower or even using the restroom, but deep down, I knew she wasn’t there. She had slipped away while I was sleeping. The question is why.
“Ma, I’ll be there as soon as possible. You don’t need another man in your life lying in a hospital bed.” I wince as I realize what I said. My mother has dealt with it enough over the last month. The last thing she needs to do is deal with my smart-ass comments. “Momma…”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” Her voice drops to barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry, Finn. I’m just eager to get your father’s appointment over with.”
“It’s okay, Momma,” I respond, wishing that my mom didn’t have to deal with any of this right now, let alone ever. “I promise I’ll be home when you get back from his appointment. I’m getting a later start than I had planned.”
“You really should have flown, as I suggested.”
“Ma,” I say her name in warning, starting up my bike to let her know I don’t want to have this conversation again.
“All right. All right. Just please, take your time on the way here. You’re right, I don’t want to visit the hospital again for a long time. See you soon. Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you, too, Momma,” I say before ending the call, shoving the phone into my pocket, and then pulling away from the gas pump.
When my mom called me, letting me know my father had had a stroke, it was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. My dad is the strongest man I know. He would still run three times a week and go fishing on the weekends. Everything changed for me at that moment. For years, I’ve stayed away from Magnolia, wanting to protect myself from the pain of seeing Marissa and Campbell. My parents came to visit me, but I was so wrapped up in my own life that I didn’t notice that I was missing out on time with them.
Now I’m on my way back home to help my mom take care of Pops and run Tallywackers for the foreseeable future. Although my dad is out of the woods, he still has a long road to recovery ahead of him. It could be months, years, or possibly never. There’s no telling when my pops will be well enough to do anything on his own, let alone take care of our family business.
I always wondered what life would’ve been like if I hadn’t gone away to college or if I returned home after graduation. I never dreamed of being an aerospace engineer. It kind of just fell into my lap. I’ve always been good with numbers, and my original plan was to come home and help my father run the business. But one of my professors noticed my abilities and pointed me in a new direction. Aside from having both of my parents back in Magnolia, there was nothing forcing me to come home. So, I took an internship with NASA, and the rest is history.
It seems the traffic gods are shining down on me because I make it back to Magnolia in record time. I drive down Main Street, taking in the sights of my hometown. It seems nothing has changed. Even after being away for years, everything looks the same.
I drive past the 365 Diner, nestled close to the center of town, near the fountain. Our small, local post office is a few blocks down, sitting right next to the bookshop, Twice Read Tales, where Sutton and I spent more time than anywhere else. As I continue down the street, there are a few businesses that have different names or have replaced old ones, but mostly, nothing has really changed. That’s the one thing I can always count on in Magnolia. Nothing really changes. People come and go, moving on to the bigger city, but the look and feel of the town never changes.
I turn right and head toward my childhood home. It doesn’t take too long before I’m pulling into the driveway. The outside looks exactly as it did the day I left for college, aside from for the wooden wheelchair ramp covering the front stairs for my father. He isn’t paralyzed, thankfully, but he still doesn’t have full use of his arm and leg on his left side. Other than that, my parents took the time to revamp the kitchen and add hardwood flooring throughout the living areas, new tile in the bathrooms and kitchen, and fresh paint on all the walls. My dad said it was a waste, but we both knew it would make my mother happy, so we made it happen.
“Home sweet home,” I mumble to myself as I shut off the engine.
I never really thought about what it would be like when I pulled up in front of my parents’ house for the first time in years. My mother would probably have come running out the door with my father hot on her heels, yelling at her to be careful on the stairs. She’d shush him before throwing her arms around my neck and giving me a big hug, telling me how much she missed me. Pops would come down the stairs, giving my hand a hard shake before telling me we were headed to the river for a fishing trip with his buddies this weekend. But not this time. This time, my mom is at the hospital with my dad, waiting to hear from the doctors about whether he’s ever going to walk again.
I grip my helmet, pulling it off my head and placing it on my seat. “Everything is the same but so different.” My hushed tones startle me as I reach up and rub the ache in my chest, willing it to disappear as I climb off my bike and head toward my parents’ front door.
Taking the stairs two at a time, I grab the handle and turn, but it doesn’t open. “What the hell?” I mumble before reaching for the potted plant sitting next to the door and lifting it to find the spare key for the front door.
I didn’t think to bring my keys because my parents have never locked their front door. My mom always claimed that she had an open-door policy, but it also helped that they had the county sheriff on speed dial.
Having found the key, I slide it into the lock. Just as I’m pushing the door open, a police siren rings through my parents’ house. I turn and scan the street, looking for approaching sheriff vehicles but see nothing.
“Where the hell is that noise coming from?” I question as I kick the door shut, noticing a large white box affixed to the wall in the entryway just above the thermostat controls.
My parents hate anything with too many bells and whistles, so I’m surprised to find the control panel for a home security system that my mother seemed to have forgotten to warn me about. If I was a burglar, I’d be worried, but since everyone in town knows me, this should be easy to explain away. But first, I need to shut this damn alarm off.
I punch numbers into the keypad, trying desperately to stop the sound from ringing in my ears. I tried both my parents’ birthdays, my birthday, and even their anniversary to shut off the alarm, but nothing worked. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember that someone from the alarm company sometimes calls, just in case the owner of the alarm cannot shut it off in a certain period of time. To ensure the police aren’t called, each owner is given a password to notify the police that there’s no threat to their homes or well-being. The only problem is I don’t know what that code could even be.
“Can today get any worse?” I chuckle as I hear the house phone ringing in the kitchen.
CHAPTERSEVEN
MARISSA
