Same plot, same characters, a bit of added detail and mostly new writing.
For those who didn't read the original:
This story was originally based off of Billy Currington's Good Directions and it spun off from there.
Chapters were originally based on Prompts found online and there are NO ZOMBIES.
Just a little bit o' romance.
Good Directions
X
It was a hot Southern day and Ellis had managed to remain diligent. Perched in a lawn chair on the side of the road, reclining in the dwindling shade near his pickup, he had sat for an entire five hours while managing to refrain from peeling off his damp t-shirt. He felt too warm, even in the shade, and had poured water over his head a number of times before replacing his hat. Selling his mother's garden produce wasn't exactly strenuous work, but doing anything in such humid heat was incredibly draining. His old lady had made a small fortune off of her produce and even on slow days she would make herself a pretty penny. The sandwich board on the side of the road only increased sales. The day's board featured turnip greens, fresh herbs, watermelon, and was accompanied by crude chalky doodles of the fruits and vegetables specified. Ellis flipped the page of his TRUCKS! Magazine and surveyed the looming clouds in the distance. They were thick and dark, promising rain and even more humidity.
Removing his hat Ellis huffed a sigh. He dragged his forearm over his sweaty brow then replaced the hat, the bill dipping down low over his eyes. Again, he flipped the page with a snap of his wrist. Another hour or so and he would call it a day. The rain would more than likely be setting in by then and after the rains came the heat would be too unbearable to leave the house. It had been that way all summer. The heat had been intense and cruel and the humidity had been even more so.
The sound of crackling gravel made the Southerner's eyes lift from the magazine. A red Honda Civic had pulled to a stop a few yards away. The outline of the driver was distinctly female. When the door opened and the figure stepped out Ellis instantly had butterflies fluttering in his stomach. A pair of form fitting jeans sat on lean hips, a loose white tank top draped over her torso. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail, most likely to keep her neck cool. As she walked the distance that separated them she tilted her head towards the ground. He could see her eyes squinting beneath the cheap wide rimmed sunglasses. When she looked up she slowed to a stop, sneakers scuffing into the gravel. The purple tint of the glasses covered most of her face, he could see the feint dusting of freckles over her nose.
"How 'er you today, ma'am?" Ellis stood, tossing the magazine to the ground. In a moment of nervousness he dried his palms on his hips – or tried to. It was much too hot, the moisture in the air ensuring that his palms stayed terribly moist. In the minute or so that she was outside, he could already see a sheen of sweat build on her forehead, her fingers plucking at the loose fabric of her tank top.
"Hot," she replied, offering a smile. It was a quirk of one of the corners of her lips and it was quickly gone. "Egh," she grunted, using her hand to fan at her face for a beat or two. "How can you just sit out here? This heat is insane!" She cocked her head, shading half of her face. Ellis could see her eyes squinting through the cheap lenses.
"Ah, y'get used to it," he told her. "Didja stop for something in particular? Some turnip greens maybe?"
"Eh? Oh, no. I was actually wondering," she looked down the abandoned road. "Would you be able to tell me how to get back on to the interstate? My phone can't get a good enough signal to tell me where I am."
Ellis offered his best smile. He shuffled a couple steps forward so he was standing right near the road and then he pointed.
"Alright, darlin', first thing yer gonna do is head down this way, past the caution light there. Y'see the store with the old Coke sign out front?"
The woman had moved to stand beside him, less than a foot separating their shoulders. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes further and then she nodded, pointing out the sign in acknowledgement, "Yep."
"Yer gonna have to stop there."
Without missing a beat, she turned to look at him, eyebrows cocked as she dropped her hand. Their closeness was enough for Ellis to figure out just how tall she was. She was the perfect height for him; he could tell that he would be able to rest his chin atop her head quite comfortably.
"Why am I stopping there?" her hand dropped to take a position at her hip.
"You gotta stop and ask Miss Belle for some of her famous sweet tea. There ain't no way that yer gonna go through town and not swing by t'see her. She'd never forgive me."
It wasn't a total lie. His mother's sweet tea was indeed famous – it was around town, at least. People would swing by his mother's corner store, others would blaze right on by. The ones that did stop, though, never left empty handed.
She smiled crookedly, arms crossing, "And what if I don't like sweet tea?"
"Whaaat? Darlin," he leaned in slightly, minimizing the distance between them. "You did not just say… that you don't like sweet tea!"
She laughed, "I've never had a taste for it."
"Well, Ma'am, you're in the South – you'd best get a taste for it."
Ellis enjoyed the playful banter, liked the way she smiled. When she uncrossed her arms she dragged the back of her hand over her forehead, still grinning as she went back to plucking at her shirt.
"Well, Sir, I'm a 'Yankee'," she used air-quotes. "So I will stick with my iced tea and-"
"That explains it then: yer a Yankee!" Ellis wondered if he could flirt any harder. "Lookit you, poor thing. Wouldn't know good food if it came up and hit you. Now you listen here. You stop there, and tell Miss Belle that Ellis sent you. She'll give you a tea on the house – it'll change your life."
She was smiling ear to ear, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter.
"Now," he pointed back to the road, "You go to that following intersection. A left will take you to the interstate," he lowered his hand and began to meander back towards his chair in his dwindling patch of shade. "And a right is going to bring you right back here to me."
As he went to sit, she continued to stare out into the road, "Okay. Sweet tea, then a left and I am interstate bound," she nodded firmly, pivoted her toes in the gravel and began to walk back towards her car.
Mid-sit, Ellis changed direction and straightened out. He took a step after her, suddenly feeling giddy. This was all rather unlike him. Sure, he could be outgoing and friendly and polite, but flirting with a woman without knowing the general basics (such as her name) was something that he didn't often do…
"Ma'am?" She turned to look his way, her sunglasses in her hands. There were more freckles on her cheeks, he noticed. "If you wouldn't mind, can I get yer number?" At her hesitation he hastily added, "Just so I can make sure ya get outta town okay. Hell, if you break down I can come give you a tow or somethin' – I work for the autoshop just down the way, and-" He had to mentally tell himself to shut up before he rambled too far. His nerves went haywire when she gave him that questioning stare and he panicked. He was so glad that no one was there to witness any of this.
There was a stretch of silence and Ellis was sure that he had blown his chance.
"Yeah. Okay," she said with a nod. She closed the distance between them, putting her sunglasses back on. "You have a phone?"
Ellis quickly offered his cellphone, his giddiness returning ten-fold. This woman was willingly give him her number – after all of his awkward flirting and his panicked rambling. He watched, somewhat transfixed as she tapped at the screen. She brought up the New Contact page, tapping rapidly at the screen as she inserted her name and number.
Zoey
Ellis accepted the phone when she passed it back to him, smiling wide as he glanced at the screen. "Well, Zoey, you have a nice afternoon and I hope you enjoy yer sweet tea."
Zoey offered a smile in return, looking almost bashful as her hands slid behind her, into her back pockets. Her foot scuffed the gravel as she took a lingering step backwards.
"I'm sure I will…?"
"Ellis," he offered.
"Ellis," she echoed. "Don't get too hot, Ellis."
She turned and made her way back towards her car, the hands in her back pockets sliding out after a step or so to pluck at her shirt yet again. Ellis proceeded to stand as he watched Zoey get into her car, start the engine, and ease into the street. He proceeded to watch as the car drove down the road, eventually stopping in front of the store with the old Coke sign out front. Her distant figure wavered in the heat and it was only when she was out of sight did he allow himself to plop down into the chair.
"Good lord, I think I'm in love."
X
A rush of cool air met Zoey once she stepped inside the corner store. She felt goosebumps form on her arms and she allowed her body to give a little shiver before acclimating to the temperature change. After the cool air came the scent of freshly baked goods, of herbs and spices and sweets and it reminded her that she hadn't eaten lunch – or breakfast. For the past three days she had been eating cheap drive-thru food and it was definitely taking its toll. She was craving steak and vegetables, some fruit – all of which this store seemed to have in varying degrees of preparedness. She caught sight of an assortment of sandwiches and didn't hesitate to grab herself a wrapped sandwich that was labeled as a turkey on sun dried tomato bread.
"Hey there, sweetheart." Zoey turned to see an older woman, perhaps in her late fifties, standing just a few paces behind her. She was drying her hands on a dish cloth and her hair was tied back in a careful bun. She looked good for her age, though her hair was graying in some places it looked glossy and gorgeous. She was dressed casually, jeans and shirt with an apron that was splotched with flour. "You findin' everything you need?"
Zoey nodded her head, glancing at her sandwich as she said, "I was told to swing by and grab some sweet tea but," she shrugged, smiling shyly. "Everything in here just smells so good."
The woman laughed, gestured to a tall orange water cooler on the far side of the store. She crossed the room purposefully. Draping the towel over her shoulder she grabbed a wide-rimmed mason jar. Ice was shoveled into the glass from a bin beside the table, and then with a crank of a handle sweet tea was poured into the glass, followed by a few lemon slices shortly after.
"Y'said you were told to swing by, did Ellis send you?"
Zoey nodded, "Yes ma'am. He said that your tea was famous."
Another smile and the mason jar was offered to Zoey, a bendy straw sticking out of the lid. With a quiet thank you, Zoey lingered to look at the row of pre-packaged chips, grabbing a standard potato flavor before approaching the register, Miss Belle trailing right along behind her. Zoey placed her sandwich, the chips and the tea next to the register then dipped her hand into her pocket to grab her cash but the older woman made no move to ring up her potential purchases.
"You don't look like yer from around here, sweetheart. Where you from?" The woman leaned forward on her arms as she spoke, fingers lacing together. Zoey eyed her nails, carefully shaped and perfectly painted with some kind of glossy red. She wondered what the color was.
"Pennsylvania," Zoey replied, counting out her bills. She pulled out a ten and a five, just to be on the safe side. "I was down here checking out some campuses and I was supposed to be heading back tonight. I stopped and asked Ellis for directions and-"
"You ain't thinkin' of drivin' around out here by yourself? Not with this storm blowin' in!" The worry in the woman's voice was genuine. No longer was she relaxed and leaning forward, but now she was standing tall, rounding the counter quickly. "No, ma'am," she said, cool hands gripping Zoey's wrist. "Young lady, you head right back over to Ellis and you tell him to take you to a nearby hotel, you hear me?"
Zoey choked on air for a moment, shaking her head as she gathered her thoughts. Another hotel stay wasn't exactly in the budget. Not that she didn't have the money – numerous summer jobs throughout the years ensured that she had plenty of money in her bank account but she had carefully budgeted the trip, down to gas prices and meals.
"I can't do that, I don't wanna bug him-"
"Nonsense. Go on, tell him his mama told him to take good care of you, ya hear?"
It was then that she heard the distant roaring of thunder. Maybe she was right, maybe bedding down for the night would be the best option. With a defeated nod of her head, she turned and gestured to her selected food stuffs.
"Okay, but how much do I owe you?"
"No, just go on – it's on the house, baby. Go talk to Ellis."
"Yes ma'am."
X
When he saw her again it was already beginning to rain. The first explosion of thunder had got him moving about, securing the crates in the bed of his truck and putting the lids on each of them. He would be able to swing by the store, drop these off for the night and then head on home to enjoy the rest of his day off. Every couple seconds, he would cast a glance down the road, seeing Zoey getting into her car, his mother standing on the sidewalk. The sandwich board was covered and placed into the back of the truck, followed by his lawn chair. When he looked again, the little red vehicle was slowing to a stop just behind his truck and Zoey, beautiful Zoey, was stepping into the rain. Her sunglasses were in the car and with the sun being rapidly covered with thick clouds, he could finally get an unobscured view of her face. The freckles weren't nearly as prominent as they were in direct sunlight. Her eyes were a wonderful brown with flecks of green near the pupil.
"Hey," she called as she closed the distance between them. "I don't mean to bother you, but-"
"Noo, not at all, Darlin'! Whaddaya need?"
"Miss Belle – or uh, your mom – " she leaned forward, lifted her eyebrows accusingly, "Is, um," she glanced down to the road and Ellis followed her gaze, seeing his mother still on the sidewalk, waving at the two before rushing inside. "I think she was watching me. That aside, she is taking a very firm stand on you showing me to the closest hotel so I don't have to drive through this storm." She shifted awkwardly, hands finding her hips and then drifting back to her back pockets. "I told her it would be fine but she insisted and, well…" she shrugged.
Another crack of thunder made her flinch slightly.
"Gimme another second to pack everything up and I will show you the way, alright?" The ice chest he had packed with water was lifted and pushed into the rear of his pickup with a hard shove. There was a loud scoff from behind him and he turned to watch her as he closed the tailgate.
"Even the rain is warm."
"Y'get used to it," Ellis said on a laugh. When he gestured to her car, she took a step back. "Ya wanna follow me?"
Zoey nodded, "Lead the way."
"M'kay, it shouldn't take too long." He approached the front of his truck, hopping into the warm cab. After starting the engine he took a moment to look back at her through the rearview mirror. She was getting her seatbelt on. He smiled helplessly, getting the truck into gear just as his phone vibrated. With a twist of his hips he managed to pull the phone from his pocket.
2 New Messages from 'Mama'
I sent a sweet one your way, sugar.
You can thank me later.
With a helpless laugh he drummed his hands against the wheel, feeling excited and giddy. When he got onto the street he couldn't help but look into the rearview mirror, seeing that Red Civic following steadily right behind him as the weather worsened.
Thank God for good directions.