LOST THAT LOVIN’ FEELING:
A SHORT PREQUEL
Bettye Griffin
Copyright Bettye-Lynn Griffin Underwood 2013
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Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
In this prequel to the upcoming novel Love Will Follow, author Bettye Griffin introduces readers to Tierney Simmons, a young wife and mother from Waukegan, Illinois, who has worked hard to support her husband, Steven, and their young daughter, Sienna, after Steven’s layoff. After years indulging his passion to write, Steven has hit the big time, selling a series he created to a cable network. But the stress of the long period of financial struggle has taken a toll on their relationship, and as they uncertainly stand on the threshold of a new life in California, Tierney and Steven take Sienna for a weekend with friends in an attempt to rediscover each other before it’s too late...
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
A Note From The Author
Lost That Lovin’ Feeling: A Short Prequel
A Note to the Reader
Excerpt, Love Will Follow by Bettye Griffin
Acknowledgments
My wonderful, Bunderful Team: Kimberly Rowe-Van Allen (editor) and Sean D. Young of Young Creations (cover designer). Working with the two of you is a dream! Thank you for all your hard work and your wonderful skills.
The Almighty, from whom all blessings flow.
A Note From the Author
Lost That Lovin’ Feeling is a short (approximately 25 pages) prequel to the upcoming novel Love Will Follow. It technically isn’t a short story, because rather than being a complete story with a defined ending, it provides background information and hints at trouble to come that will be addressed in my upcoming novel…in other words, to get readers to want to know what happens next!
I hope you will tell your friends about this prequel. Please note that it can be downloaded for free at Bunderful Books-dot-com-slash-freebies. The online retailers require a minimum purchase price of 99 cents, and they do not allow any mention of it being available for free, so if you paid 99 cents don’t get mad…get informed! Become a part of my network by “liking” my Bunderful Books Facebook page or joining my mailing list at www.bettyegriffin.com to be made aware of future freebies (and there will be more freebies!). The additional 20 or so pages represent a preview of the first two chapters of Love Will Follow. Please be sure to check it out!
B.
Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
A Short Prequel (to Love Will Follow)
Tierney removed the round, John Lennon-inspired shades she’d picked up at the dollar store from her purse and handed them to her four-year-old daughter, Sienna, who sat in the back seat. “Here you go, Punkin.”
The child promptly put them on. The youth-sized sunglasses fit her small face perfectly. Tierney remembered playing in the snow and sunshine as a child, then going inside, where it took about an hour before her vision darkened enough to see clearly. They’d had a recent snowfall, and the bright February sun reflected off the white snow. Tierney felt certain that glare couldn’t be good for Sienna’s eyes. Funny how people today were more concerned about this type of thing than they were back in the day. Not only had no one thought much of snow blindness, but nor was anyone particularly concerned about potato salad sitting for hours on a picnic table, or about protecting one’s knees and elbows with pads while skateboarding.
“Look at me, Daddy!” Sienna leaned forward eagerly in her booster seat.
Tierney found herself holding her breath. She told herself to relax, that the tension that reigned over their family was now a thing of the past. But while Steven was working feverishly on his script, his mood seemingly growing more desperate by the day, a simple query from Sienna could spark a brusque or absent-sounding response from him. Things had been a lot better now that he’d sold his script, but the fact that Tierney’s senses went on alert when Sienna piped up was a testament to just how strained relations in their household had become.
Steven, backing the car out of its parking space, looked over his right shoulder at his daughter wearing her new sunglasses. “Hey, look at you! Very cool.”
“Thank you,” she replied in a preening manner, obviously happy to have his approval.
“Now remember, Sienna, those sunglasses aren’t a toy. I want you to either wear them or not wear them, but don’t be taking them off and putting them back on, okay?” Steven spoke in a gentle tone that sounded more like coaxing than a warning.
“I’m gonna keep them on.”
“That’s a good girl.” Steven resumed backing out. He traded an amused glance with Tierney. “If she starts taking them off and putting them on, the arms will probably break off before we get to Cook County.”
The two of them laughed, and Tierney felt herself relaxing. Things hadn’t been too good in the Simmons household for quite a long time. Happy family times like this could only be good for Sienna, who probably had no memories of the tranquility that existed during the first two years of her life. It was true that they’d suffered a financial setback when the Chrysler plant across the Wisconsin border, where Steven worked as a machinist, began laying off people as they prepared to close permanently, but then he got a job as a production scheduler for an engineering firm. Tierney’s work history was more stable; she had worked for the largest employer in Lake County ever since she got her Associate degree, beginning as a low-level clerk and working her way up to administrative assistant to a vice president. They lived simply but comfortably in a two-bedroom-plus-den apartment in a modern complex in Waukegan, Illinois, and had actually started house hunting when the bottom fell out. The company Steven worked for went out of business, resulting in the loss of his job.
He then announced that instead of looking for another job, he wanted to concentrate on building a career as a writer. Tierney had been astounded. On one hand, she’d always known that Steven had an interest in writing…he spent most of his spare time either in front of the computer in the den—which he’d insisted their apartment include so he could have an office to work in—or poring over written notes. He’d actually sold a few stories to a mystery magazine. Still, Tierney knew that a few hundred dollars here and there would hardly take the place of his regular salary.
When she pointed that out to him, he asked her to believe in him, said he had an idea he was developing for a dramatic series that would be worth big money to a forward-thinking producer. That seemed like a huge long shot to Tierney, and when she suggested he get another job and continue to work on his project in his spare time, he told her he’d already made up his mind. She then suggested he look for something part-time, which he rejected as well. His unwillingness to compromise had set the stage for a resentment for which even the six-figure check he received had failed to compensate.
It only took a few minutes to reach the highway from their apartment. “And we’re off,” Steven said, his voice ringing with enthusiasm as he guided the car down the entrance ramp.
“Will we be there soon, Daddy?” Sienna asked.
Tierney chuckled. It was a little too soon for Sienna to be asking the inevit
able question of are-we-there-yet. It would take about four-and-a-half hours to get to Springfield.
“No, baby girl, it’s gonna be a long drive,” Steven answered. “Why don’t you take a nap? I’m going to drive for an hour or two, and then we’ll stop and have a nice, big breakfast. How’s that sound?”
“I’m not hungry now. I had a banana.”
“That’s why we’re going to drive for awhile. By the time we stop, we’ll all be good and hungry. That makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Sienna thought for a moment, then said, “Yes.”
“Okay. You just close your eyes and take a nap, and we’ll wake you up when it’s time to eat breakfast, okay?”
Tierney leaned into the space between the driver and passenger seats. “You can cover yourself with the blanket, Sienna.” She smiled in satisfaction. Steven had been so casual about stopping for breakfast, and Sienna probably thought he meant McDonald’s. That was about the only place they ate at these days. But Steven probably had someplace like Perkins or Bob Evans in mind…now that they could afford it.
To his credit, he had worked diligently from his first day of unemployment, settling in his home office right after his morning run and spending most of his day developing his idea and a smaller portion working on short stories he could sell for a more immediate income. He made about half a dozen attempts to sell to a women’s magazine that published a short mystery story every week at the high rate of about a dollar a word. Finally, they bought a story from him…and then another…and then another. The checks he received periodically did help out—and he always turned them over to her, asking her to reserve just fifty dollars pocket money for him—but they were sporadic.
Steven’s first love, though, had always been movies. He’d always said he wished he had followed through on his interest in filmmaking as a young man, as Spike Lee had done. He’d been discouraged by his parents, who felt the odds of making it were against him, but he learned enough on his own to be able to point out things to her like how certain special effects were accomplished, or how shots changed and principals were replaced with stunt people in long shots, then back to the principals again.
He worked hard, but in the end the responsibility of providing for them fell on Tierney’s shoulders. It had been a struggle to get the rent and utilities paid every month—their rent was high because of the features it had, a washer and dryer, fireplace, and of course Steven’s office—plus keeping them fed and clothed. What was worse, Steven insisted she keep Sienna enrolled in daycare, just as she had been when they were both working. He said it was impossible to keep her entertained and write at the same time. He didn’t budge from his position when she pointed out how much of her net pay daycare took, and when she suggested that they take a smaller apartment without a den to compensate, with him working at the kitchen table, he balked. Their relationship deteriorated from there. Steven felt Tierney wasn’t being supportive, while Tierney felt annoyed at his unwillingness to do anything to help. They’d continued in that vein for two long years…
Sienna covered herself with the blanket. “Will I be able to play with baby Kylie when we get there?”
“I don’t see why not,” Tierney replied. “Of course, you’re a few years older than she is, but I think she’s big enough to do a few things with you.” The daughter of her friend and former co-worker was a toddler rather than a preschooler like Sienna. “It’s important that you realize, though, that she can’t talk yet.”
“That’s okay. Mika can’t talk, either.” Sienna hugged her doll to her chest, then laid her head back against the seat. Tierney couldn’t see her eyes through the dark lenses of the sunglasses, but she presumed her eyes were closed.
She reached out and lowered the volume of the radio, silently indicating to Steven that Sienna was going to sleep.
“Why don’t you catch a nap yourself?” he suggested softly. “You were up so late last night, packing for all of us. I had a good night’s sleep, so I’m fine to drive all the way there. Besides, I know that you and Tracy are going to want to gab and cackle when we get there.”
Tierney nodded. She’d missed her dear friend Tracy Norwood since she’d moved to the state capital, Springfield, after her husband, Keith, was elected governor. Tierney had confided much of her frustration of those early months of Steven’s unemployment to her friend on an almost daily basis. It was rough not having a close friend live locally. Her best friend since childhood, Nylah Taylor, still lived in Northwest Indiana. Nylah had been with her the night eight years ago when they went to a concert in Chicago, at which Tierney met a handsome man named Steven Simmons…
She gazed out the window, not really seeing the scenery of the North Chicago suburbs as they sped by. She thought about how Sienna looked so forward to playing with Kylie Norwood. Tierney had never planned for Sienna being an only child. She felt guilty, because she knew sometimes her daughter was lonely. If everything had gone the way she hoped, she would’ve had another baby at around the same time Tracy had little Kylie…but Steven’s layoff had changed everything. Another pregnancy would’ve been disastrous. In an almost desperate attempt to save a few dollars she’d gone off birth control pills in favor of a more economical diaphragm. Although inconvenient, she figured it was better for her health as well. As the tension between her and Steven increased, the frequency of their sex life decreased, and Tierney didn’t see much point in ingesting a pill every day when she and Steven had sex maybe eight days out of thirty…
Economics no longer ruled her life. Not only had Steven sold his concept and script for a six-figure sum, but there was potential to make much more, writing scripts for the series the cable network planned to produce. Truly big things could come from this for Steven, and consequently for her as well. Tierney couldn’t deny feeling relieved that the financial pressure was off, but whenever she tried to get excited about what the future held, she couldn’t do it. It was time to admit the cold, hard truth…that after two long years of struggle and resentment, her feelings for her husband weren’t anywhere near as strong as they’d been previously.
“You okay, Tierney?”
His voice brought her back to the present, and she turned at him. “Oh, yes, fine.” In spite of the hard times of the last two years, there was no denying that Steven knew her better than anyone, with the possible exception of her mother. He could always tell when she had something on her mind.
Who knew? Maybe this little weekend getaway was just what she and Steven needed to recapture what they’d lost…