Big Love
Chapter One
It was a beautiful Monday morning in midtown Merrell, Minnesota. Most people hated Mondays. Nell Parker didn’t. Nell didn’t know why Mondays had gotten such a bad rap. It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t say they wanted to be the first day of the week; the day everybody had to stop their week-ending and go back to work. Even songs were written about how horrible Mondays were. But, to Nell, this Monday was wonderful: It was a beautiful spring day; birds were chirping; the sun was shining; the temperature was a perfect seventy degrees; and Nell was in love.
Nell walked down the busy street with a spring in her step that love had put there. She bounced down the sidewalk, head bowed over her phone, her thumbs texting love notes to her beloved. She stopped at a corner with a crowd of people, her thumbs paused, reading the latest received text. She frowned. She didn’t like what she was reading. Not at all.
Suddenly, Monday wasn’t looking so good anymore.
Then, once again, her thumbs furiously flew over the phone’s keyboard. She stepped off the curb and walked, oblivious to the fact that the little hand on the sign was red and giving the stop signal.
A woman screamed.
A horn honked.
A man yelled, “Hey, lady! Watch out for the manhole!”
But all this was lost on Nell. She was in text-land. All she knew was one moment she was typing to her one true love and the next she was falling.
Just like Alice through the rabbit hole.
Except she wasn’t Alice. And it wasn’t a rabbit hole. And she didn’t wake up in Wonderland.
She fell through the manhole… fell, fell, fell. At first everything was pitch black. Then gray. And then the gray lightened. Until she was floating in a sea of white.
She landed on her butt with a soft thud.
Nell blinked her eyes several times and looked around. Everything was a brilliant white. And she was sitting on giant, white marshmallows.
Suddenly, a red light flashed. A high-pitched alarm shrieked. Nell covered her ears as an electronic voice screeched, “Intruder! Intruder! Intruder!”
Nell managed to stand on the fluffy white marshmallow stuff. In the distance she saw two women running in her direction. Both women had white sheets wrapped around their bodies, toga-style. Gold Crocs were on their feet. One woman had long brown hair. The other was tall and had long, red, curly hair. They were both beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that it hurt Nell’s eyes to look at them.
They skidded to a stop before Nell. The brunette waved her arms in the air, saying, “Turn off the alarm! We found her!”
The flashing light and electronic voice stopped.
Nell uncovered her ears. She looked at the two women and blinked against their brightness. She didn’t bother with pleasantries. She was too confused to be pleasant. “Who are you? Where am I?”
The red haired woman spoke first. “I’m Zing. You’re at HQ.”
“HQ?”
The one called Zing nodded. “It’s short for Headquarters. Actually, you’re just outside HQ.”
Nell shaded her eyes. In the distance she saw a pair of tall golden gates. Beyond the gates were several industrial-looking buildings. “What am I doing here?” Nell asked.
The brunette woman answered, “That’s the thing. You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Who are you?” Nell asked.
“I’m Annabelle.”
Annabelle pulled a wand out of her white toga and waved it over and around Nell’s body like she was a TSA agent searching for contraband. The wand beeped and burped and binged. Annabelle shook her head and tucked the wand away.
The two women in white looked at each other. “I really mucked this one up, didn’t I?” Zing asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Annabelle said. “She definitely doesn’t belong here yet.”
“You’re sure?”
“The wand doesn’t lie,” Annabelle said.
Zing looked Nell up and down. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Well. . . I remember texting Dove. She’s my. . . She’s a woman. That I’m involved with. . .”
Zing made a hurry-up gesture with her hand. “Yes, yes, yes, we know all about Dove. But what do you remember?”
Nell shrugged. “I was walking. Texting Dove. I was crossing a street and. . . Omigod! I fell through an open manhole!”
Zing grimaced. She turned to Annabelle and said, “My bad. It’s all my fault. I wasn’t looking. Last I saw she was waiting at the corner with all the other people. I figured she was safe. I forgot to take my ADD meds today. How was I supposed to know she’d fall in a hole?”
Annabelle frowned and shook her finger at Zing. “You’re in deep doo-doo. Bertha isn’t going to like this.”
It was a beautiful Monday morning in midtown Merrell, Minnesota. Most people hated Mondays. Nell Parker didn’t. Nell didn’t know why Mondays had gotten such a bad rap. It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t say they wanted to be the first day of the week; the day everybody had to stop their week-ending and go back to work. Even songs were written about how horrible Mondays were. But, to Nell, this Monday was wonderful: It was a beautiful spring day; birds were chirping; the sun was shining; the temperature was a perfect seventy degrees; and Nell was in love.
Nell walked down the busy street with a spring in her step that love had put there. She bounced down the sidewalk, head bowed over her phone, her thumbs texting love notes to her beloved. She stopped at a corner with a crowd of people, her thumbs paused, reading the latest received text. She frowned. She didn’t like what she was reading. Not at all.
Suddenly, Monday wasn’t looking so good anymore.
Then, once again, her thumbs furiously flew over the phone’s keyboard. She stepped off the curb and walked, oblivious to the fact that the little hand on the sign was red and giving the stop signal.
A woman screamed.
A horn honked.
A man yelled, “Hey, lady! Watch out for the manhole!”
But all this was lost on Nell. She was in text-land. All she knew was one moment she was typing to her one true love and the next she was falling.
Just like Alice through the rabbit hole.
Except she wasn’t Alice. And it wasn’t a rabbit hole. And she didn’t wake up in Wonderland.
She fell through the manhole… fell, fell, fell. At first everything was pitch black. Then gray. And then the gray lightened. Until she was floating in a sea of white.
She landed on her butt with a soft thud.
Nell blinked her eyes several times and looked around. Everything was a brilliant white. And she was sitting on giant, white marshmallows.
Suddenly, a red light flashed. A high-pitched alarm shrieked. Nell covered her ears as an electronic voice screeched, “Intruder! Intruder! Intruder!”
Nell managed to stand on the fluffy white marshmallow stuff. In the distance she saw two women running in her direction. Both women had white sheets wrapped around their bodies, toga-style. Gold Crocs were on their feet. One woman had long brown hair. The other was tall and had long, red, curly hair. They were both beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that it hurt Nell’s eyes to look at them.
They skidded to a stop before Nell. The brunette waved her arms in the air, saying, “Turn off the alarm! We found her!”
The flashing light and electronic voice stopped.
Nell uncovered her ears. She looked at the two women and blinked against their brightness. She didn’t bother with pleasantries. She was too confused to be pleasant. “Who are you? Where am I?”
The red haired woman spoke first. “I’m Zing. You’re at HQ.”
“HQ?”
The one called Zing nodded. “It’s short for Headquarters. Actually, you’re just outside HQ.”
Nell shaded her eyes. In the distance she saw a pair of tall golden gates. Beyond the gates were several industrial-looking buildings. “What am I doing here?” Nell asked.
The brunette woman answered, “That’s the thing. You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Who are you?” Nell asked.
“I’m Annabelle.”
Annabelle pulled a wand out of her white toga and waved it over and around Nell’s body like she was a TSA agent searching for contraband. The wand beeped and burped and binged. Annabelle shook her head and tucked the wand away.
The two women in white looked at each other. “I really mucked this one up, didn’t I?” Zing asked.
“I’m afraid so,” Annabelle said. “She definitely doesn’t belong here yet.”
“You’re sure?”
“The wand doesn’t lie,” Annabelle said.
Zing looked Nell up and down. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Well. . . I remember texting Dove. She’s my. . . She’s a woman. That I’m involved with. . .”
Zing made a hurry-up gesture with her hand. “Yes, yes, yes, we know all about Dove. But what do you remember?”
Nell shrugged. “I was walking. Texting Dove. I was crossing a street and. . . Omigod! I fell through an open manhole!”
Zing grimaced. She turned to Annabelle and said, “My bad. It’s all my fault. I wasn’t looking. Last I saw she was waiting at the corner with all the other people. I figured she was safe. I forgot to take my ADD meds today. How was I supposed to know she’d fall in a hole?”
Annabelle frowned and shook her finger at Zing. “You’re in deep doo-doo. Bertha isn’t going to like this.”