Brooksy's Short Story Essay: Return To Oak County

Brooksy lowered her head onto the crook of her arm and watched the scenery go past. Usually, she enjoyed the trip though the hills and forests, but this time, the tall pines, oaks and sweet gums looked as dark as she felt and the crispness of late spring could not overtake her foreboding feeling. She could barely stay awake as the bus made its way over one hill and then another to the little village she never intended to return to. She had done plenty of thinking since she boarded the bus in the big city and headed back to Arkansas. She never dreamed her life would turn out as it had. She and Ron Neal had been high school sweethearts. A year out of high school they got married and she dropped out of college after only one year. She worked full time while he studied hard and got his law degree. After school, he got a job in a well known firm, but insisted Brooksy stay home and enjoy her friends and social clubs. She wanted children, but again, Ron insisted on waiting. Now, twenty years later, he had a new, younger wife, and Brooksy was on a bus going back to the small town in the hills where she was raised. She was, forty, divorced, no family, no job and lonely. Returning to Oak Grove had never been in her plans, but now, going back seemed her only option. Where had she gone wrong?
"How foolish do I look running back home? A fool at forty is a fool indeed," was her last thought as she drifted between restless slumber and frightful wakefulness. "Oak Grove!" the driver called, breaking the silence and waking Brooksy from her half sleep. Only a handful of passengers were on the bus, and Brooksy didn't bother to look around to see if anyone other than herself was off getting off. The driver jumped off ahead of her and opened the side of the bus. As if knowing the largest suitcases were hers, he pointed to them and she nodded. "I'll get these Miss." he added as he lifted them to the curb and stood looking for an