CHAPTER 3 - Amon

I 'm driving the highway loop en route to meet up with my sisters and there's a little bit of traffic when I hit Disciple because tourists always show up on Friday nights, even though there's no Revival until tomorrow.

Everything comes to a stop and I find myself sitting still in my truck right just down the hill from Collin's house. Which is Lowyn's house. Which is actually Rosie's house now, and when I glance up, there she is. Coming down her walkway all dressed up in a Revival costume. Which, in this case, is a 1920's era flapper dress. Her long brown hair—which she likes to wear straight most of the time—is piled up on top of her head in one of those messy, sexy updos.

She looks hot as hell.

Rosie Harlow has always been cute, even pregnant. And for some reason, that's my image of her when she pops up in my memories. Probably because she went into labor at school—at lunchtime, in the cafeteria—and I was standing like ten feet away when her water broke. I will never forget that look on her face. It was… terror.

Normally I'm a jump-into-action kind of guy. And I was about to do that—not sure what exactly I had planned, but I was gonna at least go over to her and see if she was OK—but that look on her face stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't move. And by the time I snapped out of it, other people had rushed in—all the girls, actually. And I wasn't needed or necessary.

Then there was a crowd, and a commotion, and that was the last time I saw Rosie Harlow until the morning I bumped into her at the Rise and Shine coffee shop the day Collin bought the Edge compound.

I buzz my window down and call out, "Hey, Rosie!"

Collin's street isn't directly on the highway. It's one street up. But there are no houses here to block the view and when she looks down, she smiles and waves. "Hey, Amon. What's up?"

"Oh, I just wanted to tell ya that you look real nice in that dress."

She blushes. Actually fuckin' blushes. Which I really like and ups her hotness by a factor of eleven. "Well, thank you. You look pretty nice in that truck yourself."

The traffic starts moving a little, so I'm easing forward, but she skips down the gently sloping grass, passes right by the sidewalk, and comes out into the street holding out a newspaper. When she gets to my truck, she pushes it towards me and I take it.

"What's this?" I ask.

"Tomorrow's Revival paper, of course."

"I can see that, Rosie. But why are you giving it to me?"

"Because Jim Bob said I could put the Bishop Busybody inside as an insert. And since you took an interest in it, I thought you might like a copy."

I place the newspaper on the passenger seat and Rosie walks forward with me as we inch along the highway, waiting for people to turn into the Revival parking lot just up ahead. "Do you wanna go bowling with me tonight?"

Rosie smiles at me. And I've been turned down enough to recognize the smile. It's a no. "Well, I'm real busy right now, so I can't. But maybe some other time." She makes her smile bigger. "You have a nice night now, Amon. I've got to go. I'll see you around."

Then she leaves the highway and gets herself back on the sidewalk, heading towards the Revival grounds.

Of course she's busy. She's in costume. So this asking out thing I just did was a waste and I suddenly feel stupid. But also disappointed.

I like my sisters. I like bowling with the family—who doesn't? But Rosie Harlow has got my interest up and I think I would like to have a date with her.

I've got one strike now, though. So next time, I will plan it better.

The traffic clears and suddenly time speeds up again, the lag gone now. And a couple minutes later I'm pulling into the driveway where three of my sisters live.

I'm the oldest of five and all four of my siblings are girls. My mother was very young when she had me so there's an age gap between Eden and I. She was only twelve when I left for the marines. Angel was ten, Vangie was seven, and little Halo was only four. So when I first got back, I was expecting a sort of adjustment time.

And it was kind of a rude awakening. For me at least, not for them. Because in my head they were all still small and when I walked into my parents' house what I found was a bunch of grown women. Or nearly, in the case of Halo, since she's only sixteen.

It hit me then just how much I had missed. And there's a part of me that kinda wants to take all that time back.

I mean, not really. If I had stayed in West Virginia after high school I'd have ended up in Revenant. And I know we say it's all fake, but it's not. Not really. Just like the Revival is fake, but not. And Bishop is fake, but not.

How could anyone grow up in these places—these towns with such… personality and identity—and not be influenced by them?

So I would've ended up a biker. I would've ended up spending my days sleeping and my nights partying. I'd be playing a role in the Revival, but it wouldn't have been security. I'd have been in that gang that Lucas is running. Hell, if I was in Revenant all those years, maybe I would've been running that gang. Lucas is kinda young, after all.

So I know that leaving was the right decision for me. Collin and I would never have been friends if we weren't both in the same recruiting office that day back in senior year.

Anyway. Eden, Angel, and Vangie share a house across the street from the parents now. Halo still technically lives at home, but that's really only technically.

I don't bother knocking when I get to the door, just try the doorknob, find it unlocked, and walk in on an in-progress conversation about their business. They run all the social media marketing for the Revival. But they do more than that, too. They run marketing for all kinds of companies now.

The front living space has a corporate break room look about it, since the house doesn't have an extra room for an office. Desks everywhere, stacks of paper, whiteboards, and all kinds of other shit that lets people know that this side hustle of theirs has gone serious.

As soon as they notice I'm here, they all get up from their desks and come running at me like a gang of girl-bosses, which is only slightly terrifying, since they are my relations and all. But had I been a stranger, I'd be considering a duck-and-cover move right about now.

"Amon!" Halo exclaims, practically jumping into my arms. "You're back!"

I don't pick her up—though I do allow myself a moment of sadness here that I was gone all those years that I could've picked her up—and just hug her back.

Vangie and Eden join in, making it a group hug.

"You guys do realize I've been back for months now, right?" Angel's the one I'm looking at when I say this because she's not a hugger.

She's got her arms crossed and she's scowling at me as she answers back. "They think it's the last time they'll ever see you, Amon. That's why they're hugging you like that."

I walk forward towards her, little sisters hanging off me like fruit, and Angel backs up.

"Don't, Amon. I'm serious."

"Don't what? Don't hug you, Angel?"

We lock eyes for a moment, that spaghetti western showdown music playing in both our heads. She breaks first, trying to run. But I tackle her, making her squeal and sending her flyin' sideways onto the couch like we're little kids again.

She fights back as I use my considerable weight advantage to keep her down, and then all the girls join in—taking her side, of course—and pull me off.

Angel's got every right to be mad at me for leaving so long. Because I missed it. I missed all those years of them growing up. And I'm sorry about that, but it's done now and there's no way to change it. Still, my tactical move worked because while Angel hasn't given up cursing me, she's doing it with a smile now.

I flop down in a chair and sigh, looking around their house, wondering how so much could've changed in just twelve years. "We goin' bowlin' or what?"

There's a chorus of yeses, then a bunch of talk about work and whatever. Halo disappears, goin' across the street to the parents' house to grab whatever she needs, and the rest of them migrate upstairs to get ready.

Which leaves me time to spy something interesting. I lean over and grab a piece of paper off a side table. Well, look at that. The Bishop Busybody .

It's just copy paper, of course. But it's yellowed, like it's old. And it's nicely designed, like it's vintage. The publication title, as well as the contributors, is all printed in an old-timey font reminiscent of Colonial times, but with better readability.

I stare at Rosie Harlow's name for a moment, thinking about her all dressed up in Bishop yesterday. She looked… pretty. Frilly and feminine, for sure. Which I am not used to because since I've been back, I've mostly seen her in those bell bottoms and halter tops, looking all retro sexy. Which is a weird thing to be thinking about the mother of a twelve-year-old boy, but there is it.

But I like the dress and it looks natural on her. Like she fits in down there in Bishop.

My eyes scan down to the first article—which, of course, isn't an article, it's a personal ad—and I start to read it.

To the esteemed ladies of refinement and courage, I am a robust and hearty young man of twenty-four, carving out a life in the untamed wilderness of West Virginia. My days are filled with the pioneering tasks of building, hunting, and tending to the land I am striving to tame.

I seek a courageous and resilient woman, one who finds excitement in the prospect of a life amidst the wild beauty of West Virginia. A partner who is undaunted by the challenges of pioneer life and who can stand beside me as we forge a future in these uncharted lands. She should be spirited, resourceful, and ready to embrace the thrills and trials of a life less ordinary.

I'm still reading, smiling big, when Halo comes back, interrupting my happy vibes.

Rosie Harlow can write. Because I'm kinda jealous of this robust, hearty young man of twenty-four. And also, I like his taste in women.

"What are you doin'?"

I look up at Halo and hold up the paper. "Rosie Harlow writes this."

"Yeah, so?"

"It's… fun."

Halo smiles. "Yeah, it is. I always read them. Every single week." She sighs. "When the grumpy Mr. Stanton finally proposed to the widow Smith, I about fainted to the floor. His letter was so beautiful. They're expecting this October, ya know. Twins!" Her eyes are bright with excitement.

I just shake my head and stand up, reaching out to mess up Halo's hair while she backs off, squealing. A moment later all the sisters are there, ready for a night of bowling. So we leave and walk down the road together, ready for a night of sibling fun.

I love it here.

I'm so glad I'm back.

But as I walk, I can't help writing my own ‘desperately seeking somebody' ad in my head.

After bowling is over and it's well past midnight, I find myself thinking about Rosie Harlow again as I pull my truck out onto the highway that runs through town.

And then her house is right there. Most of it is dark, but there is a light on upstairs.

She's awake.

I slow the truck, wondering maybe if I should stop by, but then speed up again, because knocking on a single woman's door in the middle of the night isn't something one does.

And then I'm thinking about what Rosie said to me yesterday. Time is something you make for things you like doing .

And I promise myself that tomorrow, I will make time for Rosie Harlow.