#Hidden Valley Trailer Park Verse

[colleenmurphy]

"Yaaa!"

"Mammaaaa!"

"Mar Bear!"

"Saint Mary!"

The cacophony of sound that hit Mary Flannery as she walked up her small patch of lawn and up the gravel path towards home startled her nearly to her wits end. Her head buzzed as she staggered for a second before catching herself and leaning against the hood of Frank's blocked up clunker he tinkered on. Being hit by a wall of sound from your loved ones at 2AM after being put through the emotional wringer washer of life sets one on edge. Frank was in the drunk tank again but not before he'd been booked for battery and assault, his third strike and would be headed Up River to the lock up in the morning once he'd slept off the whiskey anger, rum strength and the possible concussion she'd given him. Her lip was busted, her left cheek sported twelve stitches as her head was ringing and her left eye was a dusky shade of blue black. She felt a cold shiver of satisfaction knowing she'd fought back this time. She'd given him hell and managed to gouge out his eye and make him swallow two of his own teeth. The back window of her Monte Carlo was busted out, her driver's side scraped and dented and smeared with her own blood. She'd left nail scratches in the paint. It had been one hell of a night tracking down Francis Patrick Flannery.

"I'm gonna fucking kill-

"Shut up, Mike. He's locked up. I've got a protective order filed. He's going up River a while."

Her feet had carried her back into the trailer and the tattered pieces of the life before he'd stormed out. She had just gotten it set to rights after Frank's last temper tantrum. There was a her sized hole in the sheetrock and she felt her head spin. The shelves that had stood the very test of time and many of Frank's emotional tornadoes was smashed to pieces. The dainty carnival glass figurines her Granny Delaney had gifted her as a child and the ashes of her first best friend, the former junkyard pup, Elvis lay scattered and wet. The hope chest her grandfather had built for her lay amongst the rubble, the baby blankets their daughters had been brought home in that her great granny had made for her before she passed away covered in the remains of the bleeding heart flower she kept in Great Granny's memory ground in all over the burnt orange shag carpet. The framed photos that lined the tidy little hallway leading to the bedrooms were smashed and their wedding photos were ripped apart. Her gown, made by her own two hands because they were young and in love and broke..and because it was what her Mama had done before her lay scattered on the back side lawn as the backdoor was left wide open. Ironically her mother-in-law's dog, Buck was currently taking a wicked piss on what looked like the back panel; this she knew because of the embroidered Claddagh she'd spent two months making.

The reality of her situation hit her full force as she felt her blood pressure spike as she grabbed the bat she'd defended herself with only five hours before and marched out onto the back porch.

"CYBIL GRACE FLANNERY GET YOUR GODDAMN DOG OFF MY FUCKING LAWN!"

Buck was a trashy mange covered mutt with a bad attitude much like his mistress these days. Cybil's head popped out the back window of her mobile home, a pastel Easter egg nightmare just behind Mary's own place. Frank had absolutely insisted on setting up their family home right next door to his beloved Mammy.

"Don't you got go hurting my dog! Bad enough you got my son locked up!"

Making a swift move passed the would be guard dog he let out a low growl to which Mary matched him look for look. Bucked backed away with a whimper for the shelter of his kennel a few yards away. Mary kept her pace as she marched put to Cybil's front door and knocked politely.

'1...2...3'

The thwack of the bat met the cheap plastic covered metal sheeting leaving a horrid dent and scrape. Followed swiftly by two more.

"Open your door you fucking coward! Look at what your son did!"

Dead silence from inside. A plan was wheeling away inside her mind as she came to the conclusion that she'd never get the apology she was owed. If she had known what a monster Cybil had managed to bring into the world she never would have accepted his marriage proposal.

"Boys! I need your help."

Her collective herd of half siblings, or half of them, looked at her seriously.

"Anyone know someone with a dolly system and a valid CDL?"

Denny casually raised his hand and looked at her through those impossibly thick eye glasses he needed.

"Yep! He's only a call away and he's home for the next two weeks. Cost ya a case of beer and an ounce of weed."

Mary raised an eyebrow and winced remembering the scratch at eye level. She hadn't thought it was going to be this easy.

"I'll throw in some shrooms and $150 out of the Squirrel fund if he can take her over the county line and dump her trailer and all."

Looking towards the elder of the Flaherty brothers she sighed.

"Mike..I'm calling it in."

"No. No you're not."

Studying her over the rim of his beer bottle Mike shook his head. He knew about fifty people that wanted Frank's tool collection and not to mention his pride and joy of a truck he treated better than his wife and kids.

"I want you to take that stupid fucking truck apart and sell it piece by piece for the highest bidder for cash only. If anyone has a problem they can talk to me."

Mary was well and truly apocalyptically pissed the hell off and fed up, this much her brothers Mike and Denny knew. Her mother could feel it rolling off her daughter in waves so she ended up taking Dawn and Fawn for the evening just to give Mary a moment to herself.

"Even if you can't cry yet Mar Bear...let yourself. You've got to get some of the poison out."

"I plan on it, Ma. I plan on it."

Pouring herself a few fingers of Yukon Jack she hunted down her smoking box and rolled the largest joint she could as her hands shook. He had very nearly killed her tonight. She couldn't allow him the satisfaction of knowing he had scared her. She'd also ensure he never saw her girls ever again. Fawn and Dawn were Mary's entire being and reason for living. His influence on them would be washed away, she'd ensure that.

"I'll get you Frank Flannery...and you're going to rue the day you set eyes on me."

Just before dawn the roar of a diesel rig woke up the Hidden Hills trailer park, well everyone except Cybil Flannery who slept like the dead through any manner of biblically loud events due to her use of an eye mask, ear plugs and prescription sleep aid along with a tipple of three of Scotch each night. She and her Easter egg colored nightmare trailer were hauled away over into Gallow's Ridge in Vermeer County right into American territory.

'Well, it's half on half out. So it'll cost her either way to get back to anywhere she needs or wants to be.'

Roddy MacLeod had told her. He was one of Denny's friends and back in town for the summer. They had gone to school together back in the day before he and his mom had moved away. Neither of them brought up the fact that they had been absolutely smitten with each other and had a spark as it was so long ago.

'Thank you...I can add on another ounce if you want."

"How about I take all three of you out?"

"Three?"

"You and your girls?"

"They're three...and not very...people-y."

"Like you said they're three and that's ok. I'm 36 and not very people-y either. How's about dinner at my place?"

"Where are you these days?"

"My Mom's old place actually. Just around the lane on the right."

"I remember."

A very small non wincing smile graced her face as she accepted the invitation.

"We'll bring dessert."