Prologue

“Look, John,” Amanda Petes told her husband, glancing at him in tired exasperation, “you’ve got to take Amy to her track practice this week. I’ve got a presentation on Thursday. I also took her yesterday and to dance practice on Monday.”

John grunted unhappily, but Amanda knew he’d do what was needed. Their daughter, Amy, pretended they weren’t in the car, dismissing their presence as only a teenager can do to their parents. She was always more difficult when they brought her back from her father’s, and when she gave him attitude, John stopped speaking, so Amanda was left holding the conversation on her own.

Amanda was about to discuss Amy’s weekend plans—like most teenagers, she had a busy schedule and expected her parents to ferry her everywhere she needed to go—but Amanda lost her focus as her mind wandered.

There was something happening. She wasn’t sure what, yet something was different. It wasn’t just curiosity. She felt it was something she needed to be aware of, something essential. She glanced at the cars beside her and by the side of the road, not noticing anything unusual. Yet she couldn’t shake the feeling. Then, her eyes were drawn to the car ahead of them.

It was a nondescript 4-door passenger vehicle, definitely older, though it looked well-maintained. Despite there being nothing particular about it, she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. She couldn’t figure out why. No matter what John or Amy said, her eyes were drawn back. With nothing to account for why it captivated her, there was something about it which wouldn’t leave her alone.

Amanda wanted to tell her husband to edge closer, but wasn’t sure how to ask without explaining why, which she couldn’t do at the moment.

As traffic lessened, John eased their van into the faster left-hand lane and she could see more of the vehicle in question. It seemed to be a family of four with two adults in the front and two teenagers in the back.

She was busy analyzing every detail of the car, trying to determine what drew her, when she realized it wasn’t the car; it was the young man on the far side, someone she could barely make out. She wasn’t even sure it was a young man; just that he/she seemed to be young. Amanda wondered what it was about the person that kept...

“Are you even paying attention, Mom?” Amy demanded, breaking Amanda’s train of thought.

“Huh, what?” she asked, shifting her gaze away from the car to glance back at her daughter.

“She’s got a point,” John told her, “your mind is definitely drifting. What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about the coming week,” she lied, resisting glancing forward again, yet knowing it was only a matter of time before she would.

Amy leaned forward, observing her mother. Amanda found the close scrutiny disconcerting. As much as she tried to resist it, she couldn’t help but glance over, trying to see where the other car was.

“She keeps looking at that old car ahead of us,” Amy announced, confused why her mother—who’d been busy making arrangements for the coming week—suddenly disappeared into never-never land.

“Is that it Amanda?” Her husband asked. “Is that what keeps distracting you? You do seem to keep staring off in that direction and losing your train of thought.”

She resisted the temptation to look again and forced herself to focus on her husband.

“No, everything’s fine,” she insisted, tugging at her sleeve and picking imaginary lint off her blouse to distract herself, knowing it was all in vain. The attraction to that car, and the young man in the back seat, was just too strong to be denied. It wasn’t long before she found herself glancing there again, still trying to discern the attraction.

Amy eased forward, leaning between the seats and glanced through the windshield. “No, she’s watching that car. I can see her eyes from back here and she keeps looking at it for some reason.”

“Is it someone you know?” her husband asked, confused by her behavior. If it was, he didn’t understand why she wouldn’t just comment on it. But she was making too much of it for it to be idle curiosity. There was something going on, something she clearly didn’t want to reveal.

He had no reason to doubt his wife. Though she tended to have a million things constantly on her mind, she was good at sharing things. He wanted to get to the bottom of this; for his own peace of mind if nothing else.

“No, it’s ... damn it, I don’t really know what it is! I can’t keep my eyes off of the other car,” she confessed, still feeling the desire to glance over like the call of a cigarette she hadn’t tasted for the last five years. But just like the cigarette, she knew that as soon as she gave in, she’d be sucked in and have to quit all over again, the temptation was just as strong.

“Do I need to be worried about someone else?” John teased. When she didn’t respond, alarm bells rang in his head. Taking his eyes off the road, he glanced over and saw an anxious look in her eyes and a guilty look.

“It’s nothing like that,” Amanda assured him. “I can’t explain it, but there’s something about one of the people in the car; like it has my attention on a string and keep pulling, teasing me with it.”

“Really, I can’t possibly see why,” Amy responded dismissively, glancing at the unimpressive car. It wasn’t worth much, the people inside weren’t well-dressed or refined. They clearly weren’t famous, because no one who could afford it would drive a depressing vehicle like that! It was just some ordinary family driving somewhere, certainly no one she’d ever be concerned with she concluded with a disapproving roll of her eyes.

“Do you want me to get closer so you can have a look?” John asked, honestly curious what this fascination was. She didn’t seem to be lying, so he didn’t suspect a secret boyfriend, yet the occupants of the car held some fascination for her. He wouldn’t understand if it was something to be concerned with until he determined what it was.

Amanda thought the offer was particularly understanding of him, since she couldn’t even tell him why she was interested. She glanced out her window one more time, still unable to identify the attraction, now sure it was the figure in the back seat.

“Could you? I want to see whoever it is, though I can’t explain why.”

Shrugging, John pulled even on their right, giving Amanda a perfect view of the young girl and her mother, but only a partial view of the young man in the back. However, it was the closest they could manage. They were close enough she could finally identify him as a young man. The young girl turned, saw them looking and awkwardly waved. Amanda felt her face flush in embarrassment. Amy waved back, although Amanda had no idea how to respond, feeling like an idiot staring at a bunch of strangers for no discernible reason.

Seeing they’d been caught, John pulled away, figuring the game was up. “Well, does that help explain anything?” he asked.

“No. All I know is that he’s worth noting, although I have no clue why.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but this is our exit. We can’t stay and investigate any longer,” John informed her as he began moving into the exit lane. He watched his wife turn, tracing the motions of the other car even when she had to twist her body to see around obstructions. They’d have to talk about this, as now his curiosity was piqued and he was dying to know what was going on.

As they exited the highway, Amanda watched the car speed past, the object of her interest never once even glancing up. She knew she’d never see either the car or the strange man again, and wondered just what she missed. She knew, without any explanation, she’d remember this non-event for a long, long time, always feeling regret at what she’d missed, whatever it might have been.

Susan Baker was way behind schedule. She’d allotted herself so many miles per day and felt obligated to achieve them. It was a peculiarity of hers that once she set herself a goal, she needed to meet it, even when circumstances didn’t justify it. This was important to her, and she thought it was worth the effort.

She’d been pushing hard and wanted to be done, but knew she still had a ways to go before she could quit for the day. Still, she’d driven for too long and needed a break, so she started looking for the next exit. She’d been driving for hours and was exhausted, her eyes growing blurry, her butt falling asleep and she needed to pee.

Susan had a new job waiting for her in Texas and she was relocating there from Georgia. It was a long drive for her, made even longer by the car full of shit she had to carry. All her earthly possessions, as few as they were, were tightly packed behind her with nary an empty space to hide the trash accumulating on the floor beside her. Still, she wanted a few familiar things from her past as she began a new life, so she couldn’t complain. It would have been easier if she didn’t attempt the trip at once, but she didn’t have the extra funds to waste if she could avoid it. There were still a lot of hours of daylight left, aided by the early spring afternoon. Everything seemed brighter, greener and fuller of life than it had for a while. Even as far south as she lived, it was always nice when spring came and the trees came into bloom. It always felt magical to her, especially now when she could stand a little magic in her life. Her life hadn’t been going well lately, and she was hoping she could change her luck with this new job, especially since she was leaving so much of what hadn’t been working behind her.

She finally saw a sign announcing an exit three miles ahead. She was trying to move over when she felt the oddest sensation. Tilting her head, she considered it. There was something pulling her, something that riveted her attention and compelled her to investigate it. She’d never felt a compulsion like that, especially when there was no sign of anything of interest ahead, but she paid attention to it. Somehow it just felt right, like it was essential she follow her intuition.

Nearing the exit, she somehow knew there was something very important here at this insignificant stop that dwarfed her need to fill up or pee. There was something here that could clearly change her life, and not only that, she could feel a presence that was so important it was likely to affect a great many others as well. There was this impression of ‘immenseness’, like there was something so major it was like a heavenly body, drawing people and things into it, sucking her into its spinning vortex. She had no idea how she could possibly know this, it made no logical sense of any kind. She just knew that it was true, even without any evidence to support it.

She’d always been good at reading people. Unlike her sister who went after one sweet talking bad boy after another, Susan managed to find the good, kind men who proved to be dedicated workers. She’d always told her sister she simply had to watch the person to know what they were really like, but she just never got it. Susan herself wasn’t sure how she figured it out, as she could never identify what it was about their appearance which told her how they’d behave. She knew just by watching whether they were a decent person or a troubled soul or, like most people, were plagued by so many insecurity they’d waffle between the two extremes, never measuring up to much. Her girlfriends teased that if she could bottle what she seemed to be able to pick up so easily, she could easily retire on the proceeds. There were plenty of desperate women unsuccessfully managing the dating scene.

This feeling she was now experiencing was different, however. In judging people, she never knew what it was that was affecting her decision. Now she could feel it, and she felt it in such a way that there was absolutely no doubt about it being a purely physical presence, inasmuch as a feeling can ever be physical, she reminded herself.

As she pulled off at the exit and merged into the local traffic, she ignored the gas stations ahead of her, instead seeking where this feeling was directing her. She realized it was purely accidental that she’d pulled into this stop, on this route, and at this time. She couldn’t guarantee this odd confluence of events would continue working for her. She, like everyone else, liked to believe that God arranged things in her life, except she had to admit that most of the time the good things which happened had more to do with your role in life. Rich white people tended to do better than others. She had no illusions that she was any more favored by God than the poor blacks and Hispanics around her, yet she found herself in a position she couldn’t ignore. She realized it wasn’t due to another other than blind luck.

Abandoning that distracting thought, she discovered she knew where to find the source of these feelings. She wasn’t used to following her ‘feelings’. In the past, she always insisted that her ability to judge people was due to her capacity to somehow read their body language. Now she knew better. All she’d had before was a vague feeling and it now had a very real physical presence, one that she could follow. She knew to take the next right and discovered it was located in the McDonald’s on the corner. She was tempted to drive over the embankment to reach it, but knew she’d never be able to. She couldn’t justify what had motivated her if she got caught. Yet she felt time was of the essence.

How long does it take to make a pit stop in a McDonald’s? With luck, whoever or whatever she was following wouldn’t be making a quick break. If they had stopped for lunch they wouldn’t be likely to stop for more than ten or fifteen minutes. If they stopped for a cup of coffee it would be even less than that. She knew this was such a small opportunity she had been blessed with that she had to ensure she made the best of it.

Driving all the way around the restaurant, she cursed whoever had designed the intersection. She had to move completely around the building, then ease past the various cars farther from the restaurant until she could approach the storefront itself. As she did, she noticed there weren’t any spots immediately available and started looking for any nearby. She spotted one a row back that she quickly headed for.

Chapter 1 »