Anna Manaville arrived back in her hometown of Jackson Field, Illinois from a twenty four hour road trip from Illinois to Indiana to Kentucky and back home again.
It was the morning of July fifth and just as she had done many times before, Anna spent her Fourth of July on the road with her sixteen year old daughter Ava Manaville.
Although she was forty something, Anna didn’t look a day over twenty five especially with her thick, waste length blonde hair, dark blue eyes and long legs on a slender body.
As for her daughter Ava, all one has to do was take one look at the sixteen year old and one could easily mistaken her for her mother Anna.
While very rare, this mother and daughter could easily be mistaken for twin sisters.
At around eight o’clock am, Anna pulled into Jackson Field and stopped in the Morgan Avenue Café for breakfast.
Shortly after entering the café, Ava and Anna enjoyed a delicious hot pancake and sausage breakfast with orange juice.
While eating, Anna noticed a familiar black pickup park in the parking lot. Immediately, Anna recognized the man getting out of the pickup. The man was her husband Kenny Manaville, but she didn’t recognize the young woman with him.
Who was she? More importantly why was she with him?
Anna got her answer the minute she saw them holding hands as they approached the entrance.
“Why that good for nothing, creep!” Anna scoffed under her breath.
Ava soon noticed her mother’s odd reaction and followed her look to find her father with another woman – a much younger woman.
To their relief, Kenny and the young woman took a table clear on the other side of the café.
Although deep down, Anna knew marrying a lazy drunk like Kenny would be a huge mistake, but she also knew her baby was gonna need a father since her former fiance had died in a freak grain elevator accident in which he got crushed when a door mechanically misfunctioned and caught him in its closing and her only alternative was to either marry a local drunk with a lot of money or a man with very low income.
After sharing a quizzical look, Anna and Ava finished their breakfast. Anna paid for their breakfast and left the waiter a nice tip. They got up and left the café.
In her car, Anna left the café and continued home to their house on Montgomery Lane.
Along the way, Ava closely watched her mother. Ava knew her mother had been hurt by her father’s betrayal.
Anna side glanced at her daughter from time to time and gave her daughter her usual motherly assurance wink and smile.
They soon arrived home and parked in the driveway of their luxurious two story white house, got out and entered the house.
To their surprise, the house was cleaned. No empty beer cans or leftover pizza lying around.
Ava and Anna checked the rest of the house. Everything was in order and cleaned.
Back in the living room, they sat down on the sofa a short distance from each other.
“I have a very important question to ask you.” Anna said.
“No, mother.” Ava answered.
“No, mother?”
“I’m not gonna stay with dad after what he had done to us.”
“You do realize I’m gonna be leaving Jackson Field for good.”
“Yes, mother.”
“You’re still willing to give up all this to be with me?”
“Absolutely.”
“If you come with me, you might not see your friends and relatives again.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Are you willing to accept it?”
“Yes, mother. When will we be leaving?”
“Soon as I get my next paycheck.”
“That will be when?”
“Wednesday.”
Judy Kaye 2 