Spirits and Demons

Moving West

                                                           Part Forty Four

  Tasting freedom from all of the responsibilities forced upon Mike, he began to feel calm with every mile put behind him. His heart ached as he thought about the distance he was putting between himself and his newly born son Lance. He knew Lance and Terri were in good hands living with her parents even though he was still dumbstruck about his wife being in love with his brother. Concerns about Tommy and Kathy was a mixed bag of emotions. He knew their living with their dad was a positive thing compared to the way things were. They were finally able to live in an environment without the every day hassle of drugs and alcohol in their young lives. Mike could hardly wait to reach Winnie to see how his other three brothers were doing. His mind so full of family matters, thoughts of escaping the contract hit put on him by Dolly's dad was on the back burner as he and Dolly viewed a shooting star in the black, dark sky. Dolly was excited to be out from under her dad's domination for the first time in her life. Her mother had encouraged her to go since her dad was an alcoholic and had been beating on her and her mother. Dolly's eyes were full of curiousity as to where she and Mike were going to live and what life would be like in Texas. After three hours driving on US Hwy 165 South, Mike pulled over at a hotel for the night in Kinder, Louisiana. He and Dolly needed a place to rest, gather their thoughts and organize their belongings they'd packed in a hurry. Once inside the room, Mike called Jimmy Don for directions to his and Terri's house and related to him he and Dolly would arrive the next day.

  Bright sunshine streaming through the thin curtains woke Mike out of a hard sleep. Dolly was already awake and finishing her shower. Mike walked to the restaurant and brought back coffee for them both. He slowly sipped his steaming coffee while hot jets of water splashed him in the shower. Toweling off and putting on clean clothes, he caught up with Dolly at the restaurant where she'd went to order breakfast for them. Another cup of coffee apiece, they noticed the Louisiana State Police were writing ticket after ticket to travelers passing through town. After breakfast they went back to their room and watched through the window to see when the police would leave the area since Mike certainly didn't wish to receive a ticket. His inspection sticker was expired so he waited until the coast was clear, checked out, and got on Highway 12 West to Interstate 10 West. Another three hours and they'd be in Winnie, Texas.

  Arriving in Winnie, it was easy to follow Jimmy Don's directions. Passing oil field equipment through town, Mike took a left at the only redlight. Three miles and he reached Uncle Earl and Aunt Yvonne's small trailer park, the only trailer park in town that has a swimming pool. Dolly was elated and exclaimed she'd brought her swimming suit. Mike pulled in the shell driveway and drove to the back of the trailer park where Jimmy Don and Terri lived in a large, wooden house. It looked like a barn but once he and Dolly went inside they saw Terri had fixed it up rather nice. Daylight could be seen between gaps in the boards, Jimmy Don was working on replacing the old worn out boards with new ones. The large, one bedroom room house had sleeping bags and mattresses spread all over the living room floor. Ricky, Ronny, Cale, and Frenchman lived with them not to mention Mick, another friend from West Monroe. Mike immediately realized there was no way he and Dolly was going to move in with all of them. He and Dolly went to visit his Uncle Earl and Aunt Yvonne and was informed his cousin Dennis had recently separated from his wife Jana and they may possibly could share rent with him. Aunt Katie, Uncle John Edward and cousin Big John stopped by to visit Mike and meet Dolly when they heard he moved to town. It was great to see his relatives he hadn't seen in such a long time, and especially his brothers. Ricky and Ronny had grown into men the few years they'd been gone. Dennis got off of work and dropped by to see Mike and to tell him he and Dolly were more than welcome to move in with him since he lived alone in a two bedroom house across town. Mike and Dolly moved in later that evening and they were relieved they wouldn't be sleeping in the car. The next day Mike was hired at the local gas station, he was relieved to have found work to provide a way for him to pay his share of the rent. Mike had been counting on working with his Uncle Earl on the drilling rig he managed, yet Uncle Earl refused to hire any more family due to Mike's cousin Dewayne, Dennis's older brother had been killed in a recent drilling rig accident. Dolly wanted to work also though the job opportunities were few and far between in the small town of Winnie. After a couple of weeks on the job, Mike was able to get Dolly hired on to help wash cars and she was happy to have something to do other than to just sit around the house.