It’s here, it’s here! Tuesday Teaser is here!

Today we have a tease from E. S. A’cor in the Tweet Hearts series !

Chapter 1

 

Sunday 11:00 a.m.

This was not how Marisol envisioned turning 55.

She always thought she’d be making these trips with her husband. She proceeded at a steady, careful pace along the peaks and curves of I-79, wending northward from Morgantown, West Virginia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Alone.

The wipers of her minivan swept away the occasional snowflakes and thumped in rhythm to her early December musings. Among the clouds in her mind were the double-fives. The “in-between birthday,” and “on the fives,” she called it. Not where you were, but not where you’re going. Occasion to take stock of the current decade. She was keenly aware her upended life left her without direction.

A menacing 55 mph sign taunted her about her midway milestone. She glanced at the speedometer and chugged along at 60. Feeling flushed, she cracked open the driver’s side window.

Out of nowhere, a Nissan Pathfinder swerved around her. Marisol jumped and narrowed her eyes at the car zooming off into the distance. Grrr…Pathfinder! Path. Finder. Path…Derm path…Hmm. Her mind wandered from anger to distraction as she daydreamed about the handsome dermatopathologist she followed on Twitter. She had received a morning email update about a new tweet from Dr. Greg Kaczmarek, but in her rush to leave the house she hadn’t checked the particulars. She made a mental note to look later, and her mind continued to putter from one notion to the next.

Her twin 21-year-old daughters occupied her more concrete thoughts. During every stretch of their final exams at Carnegie Mellon University, Marisol made it a tradition to stay in Pittsburgh for the week to feed them dinner and bring them snacks and coffee. When they were freshmen, they appreciated the doting. As seniors, they simply indulged their lonely mother.

Also among her thoughts were the nuts and bolts of a week away from home. I hope I have enough wiper fluid. Did I take my Paxil this morning? I think I forgot pajamas.

The fall semester finals week always coincided with Marisol’s birthday. Being able to celebrate with her girls warmed her heart. For nearly the past decade, the marking of another year had been low key. But for her daughters’ last holiday season of college, she wanted to do something more joyful.

Marisol pulled into the snow-dusted parking lot of Panera Bread at the proximal cusp of Oakland, the city’s academic corridor. Her fraternal twins climbed out of their car when they spied the familiar family vehicle approaching.

“How was the drive, Mama?” Rosalyn was the first to reach her mother. Marisol beheld her fashionista in a sweater dress, leather vest, and stiletto boots.

Helena, the taller of the two, bounded over in a peacoat and Chucks and squeezed the petite materfamilias, lifting her an inch off the ground.

Marisol let out a startled whoop. “What a welcome! I’m so glad to see you.” She embraced them both. Having her arms full of her grown children felt good after having driven an hour and half. “The road was slick in spots, but not too bad. I could use some caffeine.”

She locked arms with her daughters as they ambled toward the entrance.

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