Jim Thorn: Arrival: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller

“Come on, guys. We gotta go.”

Aiden and Laura continued to fumble around with their electronics and chargers, illustrating an epic fail of stalling while Page waited for them, tail wagging. As the kids had gotten older, the dynamic with their grandmother had changed. They loved her and enjoyed the time together, but at the same time, they hated leaving the comfort of their own house.

“Do we have to?” Aiden asked again as he made his way toward the door, stumbling along like a zombie.

“Yes. Nonna has fun stuff planned for you.”

“But I want to stay here with my PlayStation.”

“You’ve got your Nintendo thingy in your bag.”

“My 3DS? But that doesn’t have Horizon Zero Dawn on it. I’m so close to beating it!”

“Sorry, kiddo.” She rubbed his head. “You need to spend more time outside anyway. You can take a break from your games.” Maya wished he would take a permanent break from his sedentary, indoor lifestyle; her son had gained weight while beating video games and learning guitar solos off of Dookie . More time outside would be good for him.

“All right,” he said, shuffling past her and out the door.

“Laura!”

Maya’s daughter was silent as she came around the corner. Her head buried in her phone, she texted without looking up as she approached her mom.

“Hey,” Maya said, grabbing Laura by the arm.

Laura looked up, but still said nothing.

“You feeling better today?”

“I’m fine,” she said in a tone that told Maya she was anything but.

Maya wanted to prod, but she knew the problem—Gerald always seemed to be the problem. Maya herself hadn’t been able to fall asleep the previous night until an hour and a half after the argument she’d had with him on the phone.

So, instead of trying to talk to Laura, Maya nodded and patted her daughter on the back.

Elizabeth Talbot, Maya’s mother, lived north of Nashville in the town of Hendersonville, Tennessee. Maya’s parents had bought the house the year before Maya was born. It was the first and the last house they’d purchased. Maya’s mother had lived alone ever since a car crash had taken her father’s life in 2001. It had been a devastating time for the Talbots, but it had also been the first time Maya had considered becoming a paramedic.

At five-foot-nine and about 120 pounds, Elizabeth had made it a priority to “keep her figure” as she approached sixty years old, and Maya could only hope she’d resemble her mom when she got to be her age. She had let the silver streaks remain in her brown hair, which accentuated her green eyes, and if Elizabeth were any indication, the Talbot women would all age gracefully. But beyond appearances, Elizabeth was someone Maya knew her kids could look up to; the women at the church were among the many who appreciated Elizabeth’s warm heart, and she was always the first to volunteer with their annual fundraiser. Maya wanted her kids to have her as a role model, and have her in their lives, and that meant honoring weekends like this, however it might annoy Gerald.

When they pulled up to the two-story house, neither kid had spoken during the entire twenty-five-minute drive from their own house in East Nashville, even ignoring Page who darted from one partially open car window to the other.

Maya unbuckled her seatbelt. Laura sat in the passenger seat, still scrolling away on her phone. Aiden sat in the back playing his 3DS. Both children had headphones on.

Maya twisted in her seat and said, “Look, I know you guys don’t want to be here this weekend.”

“Then take us back home,” Laura said.

“No. Your grandmother has been looking forward to this. And if I take you back home now, I’ll end up being late for work.”

Laura rolled her eyes and went back to thumbing at her phone.

Maya ripped the phone out of her daughter’s hand and took her by the wrist.

“I’m tired of the attitude, Laura. Do you understand me? Do not roll your eyes at me. You can take your hands off your phone for a minute while we talk.”

“You can keep my stupid phone!” Laura said, tears popping up instantaneously at the thought of it. She did get out of the car, though, slamming the door behind her.

Maya took a deep breath. She looked at her daughter’s phone in her hand. She wanted to get out of the car, throw it onto the ground, and stomp on it. But she resisted.

“She’ll get over it, Mom,” Aiden said. “I didn’t really want to come either, but I get it. Grandma wants to see us, and you need some time to yourself.”

Her son’s smile almost made Maya cry. “Thanks, Aid.”

They stepped out of the car and Maya gave Aiden a big hug while Page ran into the backyard, chasing after a squirrel.

The front door opened and Maya’s mother stepped outside. She greeted Laura, who gave her a half-hearted hug before marching into the house. Maya met her mother in the yard, and Elizabeth thumbed at the house.

“She okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Maya said. “She’s had a rough couple of days.”

“Well, I’ll take her mind off that. Ain’t that right?” Elizabeth smiled and hugged Aiden.

“I’m going to go inside,” Aiden said.

“All right.” Maya kissed and hugged her son one more time, and then he went into the house.

“Don’t I get a hug?” Elizabeth asked.

Maya laughed and embraced her mother. When she pulled away, they held hands for another moment. “Sorry it’s taken me a few weeks to get over here.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t had the chance to come to your place, either. We all get busy. How’s work been going?”

“You know. It goes.”

“I saw that crazy accident on the news. The thing on Broadway where the woman ran off the road and hit those people? Were you involved in that?”

“I was the first one on the scene.”

“My God, Maya. Was it—”

“Mom…”

“Sorry,” her mother said, frowning.

Even though Elizabeth knew Maya didn’t like talking about the things she saw at work, she sometimes forgot. Maya understood. She had a job that piqued people’s curiosity, and her mother could be a little nosy.

“You excited about your date tonight?”

Maya shrugged. “Yeah. It should be fun.”

“I’m glad to see you going out. I know it’s hard being a single mom, but you’ve got to do things for yourself. You’ve got to try and move on.”

Since her divorce, Maya had only gone on a few dates. Instead of a love life, she’d focused on her job and her kids. Plus, Laura and Aiden still loved their father—and this was something Maya was grateful for even if it complicated matters whenever she considered bringing another man into their lives. Her mother constantly reminded her that Gerald had Cameron, but that was different.

The kids didn’t live with Gerald.

Maya looked at her watch. “I’ve got to get going. I want to try and make it over to the hospital a little later. Here’s Laura’s phone. You decide when she gets it back.”

“All right. Take care of yourself.”

“I will. And don’t worry about Laura. Like I said, it’s just been a rough few days for her.”

“ You don’t worry about Laura. She’ll be fine.”

Maya smiled. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow night.”

The two hugged again, and Maya went to the car. She waved at her mother as Elizabeth went inside to join the kids.

When her mother was out of sight, Maya pulled out her phone. She checked her texts and found the short string of messages she’d passed with Nick, her date for the night.