Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

MIA

“So much for the scenic route,” I muttered, kicking the tire of my smoking car. The Blue Ridge Parkway was supposed to be a fresh start, a breath of life into my tired soul after everything fell apart. But instead, I was stuck here, miles from anywhere, just me and the view. At least North Carolina never let me down, even if my car did. I had three hours to go until I reached Blue Ridge, but now I’m stuck between two podunk towns called Duketown and Ashleigh. The only mechanic around apparently also ran a morgue. I was fucked!

There was a wreck on I40, so I ignored the GPS and went around the chaos. It worked when I lived in Tennessee and Georgia, but that wasn’t the case in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina. Something went boom in my car, and now it was smoking! It was just great!

Everything was supposed to happen in threes, right? First, I caught my fiancé, Milton, sleeping with my best friend, Helene. Then, my boss Kirk told me I needed to expand my arts and find something more than photography and freelance writing. He wanted me to write about the grieving process of a breakup and betrayal. He called it investigative journalism. That was six weeks ago. Since then, I’d written maybe three paragraphs, but I was stuck now.

I’d spoken with several therapists, psychologists, and other specialists who helped put a spin on the investigation process. Every time I talked with one, it brought me more healing. And I was mostly over everything until I walked in on Milton and Helene in a dressing room in a mall in Savannah, Tennessee. The last time I saw them, they were in Georgia about to buy a new house. I never thought they’d follow me to Tennessee. I finally built up the confidence to buy a new dress and go out on a date. However, when I saw them, I went into hiding and everything reverted. I was almost like a young child who had regressed to old childish ways. All of the progress I made turned to dust. I was back to square one. Even though I had everything I needed, I was at a standstill. So, my work-wife, Debbie, set up a mini vacation, so I could refresh my brain and mind. Turned out, she was also sleeping with Milton. Milton was going around with all the women, and they were taking him for everything he had. He was just too much of an idiot to realize it. And now, my car was breaking down. Wouldn’t that make it four? Or was I starting over now?

A few weeks after I walked in on Milton and Helene, Kirk left us high and dry for another company. Since I had already started, I couldn’t walk away from it this late into the project. One thing about me is that I never leave anything unfinished.

Now, I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, waiting for a stranger who laughed about chilling corpses. I didn’t see the humor, so when he said something, it made me cry more. Forgive me for having a heart, or whatever I had that was in a bazillion-and-six pieces. Milton destroyed me. I paid for our schooling and spent the better half of my childhood, teenage years, and early twenties making sure we were cared for. Once we finished school, I went to work to pay off our loans and pay for my house, and I bought us new vehicles. Luckily, I was smart enough to keep everything in my name.

On our tenth anniversary, we went to Belize, and he proposed. Sadly, that was eleven months ago. Twenty-four days later, I walked in on him and my best friend in his office. Everything changed after that. I packed his stuff and dropped it off at his mama’s house. Changed all of the locks and alarm codes on the house and begged someone to change the keys to the cars. I never realized how hard it would be to change the locks on a vehicle, but it was quite a struggle.

My best friend gained my fiancé. I lost my fiancé but gained another car. He became homeless and lost a vehicle all in the same day. Sometimes, I wondered why I didn’t go for a military man or someone with morals. I guessed that was an oxymoron, too.

While on the way to my vacation cabin, I passed several deer in the woods, and I thought they were majestic. At one point, I pulled over, and they ate fresh bananas out of my hand. It was an experience I never thought I’d witness. I took photos of the deer and her little fawns. I had plenty of fruit in my car until I could reach a grocery store. I didn’t mind sharing.

I realized I was in trouble when my temp gauge was warming up. The further up the mountains I went, the more my car heated. I wasn’t sure what was causing this, but I did pull over to add more water and give the car a break. That’s when Bambi and her family came out to see me. A few little bunnies and maybe an opossum came out to see what the commotion was about, but the further into the darkness I got, the more scared I got.

That was about five o’clock this morning. I think I was somewhere in the Red Mountains—honestly, I wasn’t sure where I was then. After taking a short nap in the car, I sat beside my car and then started back into the mountains. I had ten hours to go. At first, my car didn’t give me any more trouble. But, once I was a few miles out, I felt the car slacking up on each turn.

Then the smoke started; my car was running hot, but then it stopped. I cried for a few hours before calling a mechanic. One after another, I was rejected, denied, or had the wrong phone number. The cellular service wasn’t that great out here, either. I failed no matter how hard I tried to get someone out here. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, halfway on a hill, open bait for any bear, lion, or tiger. But, I’d rather be here with the bears than ever be alone with a stranger or man. I’d choose the bear over Milton any day. At least when the bear ripped my heart out, he would eat it and finish me off, instead of what Miltion did when he shattered me into pieces and left me to recover and rebuild my life.

At least I had a house and cars, and I was doing good for myself alone. My intrusive thoughts would battle themselves, and at any given point, I would have entire conversations in my mind .

What was the one lesson I learned on this trip? Well, I learned two lessons… Never take a car previously owned by a man who never did the oil changes and how to drop a location pin in a text message.

When the mechanic asked me to drop a pin, I picked up a ballpoint pen and dropped it. That was the wrong pen.

You might have the materialistic things, Mia Lynn, but you didn’t have a man to love you and talk to at night.

My call to the mechanic was about an hour ago. I guess that was the third lesson—never take long trips at night. The roads weren’t as clear as you’d think, and nobody was open for twenty-four hours after the plague happened in the world.

At some point, I took a nap, and everything faded away. I wasn’t sure why I was forced to stay in the car, but I waited for the engine to cool off. Then, I moved the car further onto a gravel road that was cleared off so I wasn’t left in the middle of the road with a target on my back.

It was a good call. I resent the pin in case he couldn’t find me. I didn’t want to be left here any longer than I needed. I just wanted to be in the warm cabin, finish my little series, then move on to something more fun. I wasn’t sure what the ‘more fun’ thing was, but I wanted it. I wanted all of it.

While I waited for the mechanic, I took various shots of nature around me, including different trees, birds, and butterflies. I was flattered that the wildlife had come to see me.

Lesson number three: Never go to the middle of nowhere with a car that might not make it. It was a 1993 Mazda standard, a beautiful bumblebee yellow. I bought it when I was sixteen. I had yet to learn how it lasted this long, but that car lasted longer than most of my friendships.

Lesson number four: vehicles were more reliable than most friends and family.