SOMEONE LIKE ME is still on schedule to be released next month. It seems like I've been dealing with this book forever, but that's because I wanted it to be just right. The story line is about women's empowerment and SOMEONE LIKE ME is the first in the Stillwaters Series trilogy. Each book will examine some extraordinary things that happen in the lives of three ordinary sisters and how this changes their lives. Melanie, the middle sister, is the protagonist in SOMEONE LIKE ME. Last month I provided readers with a SNEAK PREVIEW of the book's Prologue. Below is a sample of CHAPTER 1:
Ten Years Later
“If
you put one more hand on my sister I will stomp you into the ground!” Melanie
assured her sister’s ex-boyfriend.
“Wanda told you to get out of her house and you better get out!”
She
hoped this fool got the message, especially since she was standing in front of
the little shrimp holding a table lamp that she fully intended to use if he
didn’t comply. Her younger sister was
standing next to her holding a steel baseball bat, increasing the danger he was
in, and she didn’t mince words.
“Get
to steppin’, sucker, unless you want some of this.” Jolene was short and as
thin as a rail. At her best weight, she
barely tipped the scales at 110 pounds, but she was a fighter, and she was
about to bust this man upside his head.
She tightened her hold on the weapon fully prepared to swing. “I know you don’t think you can break into my
sister’s house and threaten her!”
In
case he needed more persuasion, Wanda stood by the screen door that he had
kicked off its hinges and she was breathing fire. She was ready to pounce on him too.
Wanda
was the exact opposite of her baby sister.
Although average in height, she was a large woman, whose round body
still displayed remnants of the shapely young girl she used to be. Unlike Jolene, Wanda was more mouth than anything
else, but there were times that she would spring into action and take care of
business. This was one of those
times.
Realizing
that he was outnumbered, the diminutive, Willie D, as he was known on the
street, backed down. Enraged, he tossed
a barrage of parting curses at the women as he weaved unsteadily out of the
house and down the cracked steps of the ramshackled house. The sisters watched as he tumbled into his
oversized sedan and drove away with tires screeching. It wasn’t until his vehicle was out of sight
that Melanie whirled on her sister.
“I’m
sick and tired of this, Wanda! Every
time you hook up with these no good men and things go wrong, you call me to
help you get out of a jam!”
“I
didn’t call you,” Wanda snapped. “Mama did.
We was on the phone talkin’ when she heard that idiot breaking down my
screen door and she panicked.” Her eyes
narrowed. “Anyway, don’t tell me, since
you goin’ to college and all, you too good to help family now.”
“You
mean since she’s sittin’ by that computer screen pretendin’ to go to
college.” Jolene sniggered, as she
returned the bat back to its usual spot behind the front door.
Melanie
had been taking online college courses for so many years that her efforts had
become the bunt of family jokes.
Jolene
continued. “Girl, I told her not to
waste her money on that computer. Them
things are a rip-off.” Wanda nodded in
agreement.
“I
guess you would know,” Melanie retorted sarcastically. Sadly, neither of her sisters had ever tried
to use one. The era of technology was
leaving them behind.
Ignoring
the snide remark, Jolene turned her criticism toward Wanda. “And Willie D’s actin’ a fool should be a
wakeup call to you. Get that landlord to install a security door in this
place.”
Wanda
sniffed. “That cheap ass man ain’t gonna
spend no money on somethin’ like that, but I do need one. On top of it he’s probably gonna charge an
arm and leg for that busted screen door even if it wasn’t my fault!”
Melanie
snatched her purse up and prepared to leave.
“Why don’t you get that good for nothin’ Willie D to buy one for
you? That’s the least he owes you after
all the hell you let him put you through.”
She
couldn’t count the number of times the volatile couple had fought during the
short time they’d been together and, unfortunately, she had heard about every
fight.
Wanda
didn’t appreciate her suggestion. “I
ain’t askin’ Willie D for nothin’. I’m
through with him.”
Melanie
shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’ll see you two. I’ve got to go.”
Moving
swiftly, she hoped that she could get out the door, down the walk and into her
car before her sister could say what she knew was coming next. It didn’t happen. She had reached the end of the walk when
Wanda called out to her.
“Hey,
Melanie, can I borrow a couple of dollars from you to get another screen door?”
Taking
a steadying breath, Melanie turned to Wanda.
“You know good and well I don’t have any money to loan you. I’ve got bills to pay.”
“I’ll
pay you back,” Wanda said testily.
“Yeah,
just like the hundreds of other times you didn’t. Besides, it’s the first of the month and you
just got your check for the twins.”
Wanda was the legal guardian of her daughter’s two children.
“That
little piece of change ain’t gonna get me far and I sure ain’t got no extra
money for a door. I’ve got to pay rent,
and buy food…”
“So
do I, “Melanie interjected. “Plus I’ve
got to send money to Myra at school.
College is expensive.”
“Oh,
Lord! Here we go with that college mess
again.” Jolene stood in the doorway
beside Wanda. “If Myra had kept her butt
in Bauer she wouldn’t need no money.
Damn, Melanie, all your kids are grown and out of the house, you can
loan her something!”
“Thanks
for your unwanted opinion,” Melanie hollered over the top of the car. “And since you’re so concerned, why don’t you
loan her some money? Or she can call Willie D!” Sliding
inside the car, she slammed the door and drove away.
Melanie
was seething. She was fed up with her
sisters’ snide remarks. It used to be
that the three Carson sisters stood together as a united front. Now it seemed that unless there was a fight
she was called to help referee it was two Carson sisters against one. Things had definitely changed, especially
since she had enrolled in college
As
she drove to her job at the discount store, she forced herself not to think
about them. Instead, she concentrated on
the final exam she had to take tomorrow.
Passing it would mean she would have achieved the goal toward which she
had worked for so long—a college education.
She smiled.
Pulling
into the parking lot of the strip mall where her job was located she thought
about how life would be so much better when she had that piece of paper hanging
on her wall. She hated her job. The pay was minimal. The hours were long
and the work was boring, but she had a plan that would make things better very
soon.
Her
cell phone rang just as she turned off the car ignition. Melanie didn’t have to look at caller
ID. It was her mother, again, calling about Wanda.
Laying
her head on the steering wheel, she took a deep breath to gather her
resolve. She knew that she would need it. Her family was so predictable. Reluctantly, she answered, trying not to
sound irritated, but she failed.
“Hey,
Mama, I’m getting ready to go into work.
What’s wrong now?”
As
usual, Faith Carson ignored her middle child’s impatience. “I want to know why you can’t loan your
sister a little bit of money to help her buy a new screen door?”
“What’s
wrong with Jolene? Why are you bugging
me?”
“Because
you’re the only one workin’ now…”
“Don’t
you mean ever,” Melanie shot
back. “I can’t afford to take care of
Wanda, Jolene and myself too! They’re
full grown and healthy as horses, let them get up off their behinds and get
jobs.”
“I
guess that goes for me too.” Faith
sounded offended.
Melanie
didn’t bother to address that statement.
Faith had never worked a day in her life. She never had to. When she was younger she had been a
stunningly beautiful woman. Her
daughters had heard people described her as resembling the great Lena Horne. There had always been men eager to help pay
her bills and do her bidding. Faith was
now in her sixties and still attractive, but lately she had
been between men. Her income came from babysitting and
contributions from her girls—mostly Melanie—who
decided to cut this conversation short.
“I’m
not loaning her a penny, Mama! End of
story. I’ve got to clock in now. Goodbye.”
Disconnecting
the call before her mother could say another word, she wanted to scream. She had worked so hard over the past ten
years with the hope that she would eventually get out from under this pressure,
both financial and familial. Would this
ever end?
She
had tried so hard to do everything right.
She had gone to night school to get her G.E.D. After that, she had commuted back and forth
from Bauer to the town of Anders, thirty miles away, traveling by car, by bus,
anyway she could get there, in order to attend the community college, so that
she could earn an Associate degree. When
she failed at that effort, she didn’t give up.
For the last six years she had been taking online college courses
working toward a Bachelor’s degree. No
matter the setbacks, personal or financial, in spite of the skepticism and
ridicule of her mother, her sisters, and her fellow employees, she had been
steadfast in her efforts. Only her
daughter Myra, and her mother’s best friend, Emma Owens, had been there for
support. Sometimes she felt as though
she was on a merry-go-round, spinning faster and faster out of control. There had to be that brass ring at the end of
this ride. There just had to be.
Steeling
herself to go inside to her job, Melanie repeated the mantra that had gotten
her through everything in life that she had endured: Soon—very soon—things will be better.
