Page 3 of Starting Over

Making the rounds at the bar, I said goodbye to the men my husband worked for, the men who worked for him, and the wives of both. I was saying goodbye to everything I had ever known and starting over.

In Diamond Creek, Nebraska.

Chapter One

Maureen

“Goddammit, not now!” I shouted. “Come on, Betty. We’re almost there. You can make it,” I pleaded with her to give me just a little more.

My beloved car sputtered before her engine gave out as I turned the wheel and slowly maneuvered her to the side of the road. I guess I was lucky she still had enough juice to keep the lights on. Without them, I doubt anyone would see me on this road.

I was on a highway road. However, the highways in Nebraska differed significantly from the highways in Massachusetts. For one, they were simply a two-lane road, and there were no trees along the side of the road. More than once, I thought Betty was having trouble before I realized it was just windy.

Back home, if your car started to move one way or the other, you looked at the trees lining the road. Once you saw how much they were moving, you could adjust your driving for the conditions.

Out here, there was nothing to indicate the wind. Until I saw an actual tumbleweed roll across the road in front of me.

I grew up reading historical romance novels. Loved stories from the wild, wild west that described the large balls of twigs and debris that strolled across the road in front of horse-drawn buggies.

I thought they were a myth.

Living my entire life in the city of Boston, I was pretty sheltered when it came to nature and wildlife, but I was ready to learn.

Another difference between highways here and in the city.

No streetlights. Climbing out of my car, I looked up and down the road. If it had been daytime, I would have been able to see for miles over the flat expanse of land. But in the darkness, I could barely see a hundred feet ahead or behind me.

I looked up at the sky, and the moon was a slim crescent. Not much light from the man who lived up there.

But the stars! I had never seen the sky filled with so many stars. I remembered in grade school learning about the Milky Way. Never in my life did I believe I would be in a place to see it.

It was magnificent.

There was no light pollution in the Midwest. No skyscrapers lighting up the night, blinding you from seeing the sky. The tiny dots that shimmered like diamonds mesmerized me.

Of course, that made me think of the Beatles’ song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” I had once heard the song was about a picture drawn by John Lennon’s son, Julian. As a child, he had drawn a picture at school of his friend Lucy, among a sea of diamonds in the sky.

I pulled the latch, releasing the hood, then walked to the front of the car. Once it was secure enough that it wouldn’t fall on my head, I grabbed the flashlight I kept in the glove box.

Even a city girl knew to be prepared for anything.

Shining the light on the engine, I looked it over as if I would somehow know what was wrong with my girl.

“Ok, Betty, help me out here. Tell me where it hurts so I can fix it. I’ve got no idea what I’m even looking for.”

Yes, I was talking to my car.

Sighing heavily, I thought about Duane. He would know what was wrong. He would know how to fix it, or he would get one of the guys to do it. He couldn’t bail me out anymore.

I had to take care of myself.

Out here, I was alone.

For the first time in my life, I was in a place where no one knew who I was, and I was both excited and terrified.

Maybe my daughter was right. Maybe I was stupid thinking I could live on my own. Aside from the last year, I had never been on my own. Even then, I was never really alone. Not when I was part of the Mob.

Okay, I wasn’t part of the Mob, but I was married to the Mob.

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