Quantum Highway: Prologue Part Two
Note: This update is on the short side. I felt like I needed to expand on the prologue a bit before the story moves to the present. Transitions from this point in time and the present seemed kind of clunky, so I decided to leave this as it is. Chapter One is coming soon!
Prologue Part One
Buzz Grunt was haunted by the events of the night Lyla left. "Fine. Go. Don't ever come back." He heard his own words in his head as clearly as he had when he uttered them that night. Don't ever come back. She never did. And it was all his fault.
He had stood there for some time, in a state of disbelief regarding how things had turned out. He'd never expected her to run like she did. He'd never expected her defiance. The General started walking. Unlike Lyla, however, he had a specific destination in mind as soon as he stepped off his porch.
He wasn't sure how or why he'd gotten involved with Olive. He sometimes felt as though she'd cast some sort of spell over him. All he did know was that whenever he needed her, she was there for him. Olive, with her mystery, her beauty, and her utter self-confidence, was the type of woman Buzz might have married if he hadn't gotten Lyla pregnant. That's if she would have had him. Deep down, he knew he wasn't nearly rich enough for Olive to have considered him as husband material.
There was an undeniable chemistry, though. She wasn't like most women he knew. She never got emotional. She also never let Buzz, or anyone else, tell her what to do. It was odd, the way he was drawn to a woman who would never have put up with his ideas of propriety; Olive would never have acquiesced to his demands the way Lyla had.
"Come on inside," she had said to him that night. As always, he obeyed.
They sat down and Buzz told Olive what had happened.
"She'll come back," Olive assured him. "Where would she go? Buzz, you are all she's got. It isn't like shrinking violet Lyla could ever make her way in the world on her own. She doesn't have the strength or determination. The spineless get eaten by the world. You and I both know that."
"Maybe you're right. In some ways, I wish she would stay gone but then I think about the scandal; my reputation's on the line. I'm supposed to have the perfect family, you know."
Olive laughed. "Why is the perfect family man here instead of out looking for his AWOL wife? Don't answer that. We both know why you're here and why I let you in."
For Olive, it was the sex. She liked Buzz specifically because he wasn't available. No strings; no complications. She didn't love him. She didn't even particularly care whether he lived or died.
Once it became obvious he wasn't going to be able to perform, Olive disengaged from his embrace.
"Perhaps you should be going. Even though your wife has left you, I recall you do have children to look after. And Buzz? Weakness doesn't suit you."
How was he going to tell his boys their mother had run away? His feet felt weighted down as he made his way to the door. As he turned the knob, he heard Olive's parting words:
"There's no need for you to come back. I'm getting married."
For Buzz, the rest of that night was a blur--a series of images which visited him in his dreams and haunted his waking hours.
It was all his fault. He hadn't loved her enough to save her. But what was she doing here, of all places? Buzz thought she must have known about Olive and had probably followed him here. Buzz, broken and dejected, started the long walk home. He would have to tell the boys their mother was dead.