The Inhabitants of
Magnolia Park
The Inhabitants of
Magnolia Park
A Short Story Collection
Volume 1
Tracy James Jones
The Inhabitants of Magnolia Park
Tracy James Jones
Copyright 2012 by Tracy James Jones
Smashwords Edition
ISBN: 978-1-4661-4285-5
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in an retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine or journal.
“The Inhabitants of Magnolia Park” is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are a part of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To all my friends
~ Old and new ~
From The Author:
Dear Readers;
“The Inhabitants of Magnolia Park” was a wild and exciting writing experience for me. I lost so much of myself in respect to each character and the circumstances of their lives, and it is an absolute thrill for me to be able to share my imaginative views regarding the wonders of the human condition with you.
It is so true that we live in a world full of diversity, but we often overlook some of the things that are right in front of our faces. I guess it’s true that life happens when we’re not paying attention. The most intriguing parts are what we call secrets. Well, secrets, like truth, always come to light in the end. I found myself learning something new from all the stories here within, and I have to say that I have gained a deeper understanding to the conditions of the human spirit. In my literary pursuits, I hope you too, my faithful readers, will learn something about people as well.
From the bottom of my heart, I cannot thank you enough for granting me this time to entertain you in my efforts to fulfill my own personal dream. Thank you so much.
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The Inhabitants of
“Magnolia Park”
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A Short Story Collection
Foreword:
In the 21st century the undeniable enigma of being human has nothing left to be really taken by surprise. In a time of ongoing terroristic threats, economical shortages, holy wars and out of touch politics, and not to forget, mental disorders, internet predators, teen sex, drugs and Reality TV, the words shock value no longer have a hold over anyone past the age of three. We have all been conditioned, if not prepared, for just about anything that life has to put us through. But then again there may be something, and that something could simply be what we as humans attempt to keep to ourselves, which is better known to the world by what we call personal secrets.
The Inhabitants of Magnolia Park
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A Short Story Collection
Introduction:
Magnolia Park Apartments was a sprawling three story modern estate, located on the northwest side of Waxahachie, Texas, the heart of Ellis county and only twenty-seven miles south of Dallas.
On the site was twenty semi-connected buildings, with two separate section, each holding four, two-bedroom spaces on the first and second floors, and two, single efficiencies respectfully on the top. Next to the office, there was an Olympic size pool, a gym, and a fully functional office space. The complex was somewhat southern Louisiana in color and style, but its design and structure was pure Texas from the expansive manicured grounds up to the wrought iron entrance gate boasting the worldly known emblem of the Lone Star State.
The spot of land for which this wonder resided was of a triangular shape, giving three opulent overviews of the surrounding area and neighborhood. One view was of the new K thru 5 elementary school named for a prominent local Black-American educator, and another was of the magnificent and humbling building of the new Baptist church. Behind the church was a middle-class brick home residential district, and the view from the complex entrance gate, well, was the state railroad running tracks. Beyond the tracks was the Navarro College - Waxahachie Center campus. Many of Magnolia Park’s generation-x residents, as well as a lot of others from several surrounding cities, continue their educational pursuits at this local university.
There are thousands of interesting stories that could be written about people in a quaint little town. But here are a few enlightening tales from the Inhabitants of Magnolia Park. For some, the details of how their basic human conditionings could unexpectedly collide head on with their deepest darkest secrets and hidden desires, could be more than just a little unsettling for the strongest of analytical minds. The outcome from these personal and sometimes controversial situations could lead to just about anything…
“Peyton’s Playmate”
A Novella
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“Peyton’s Playmate”
“Peyton’s Playmate” is the story of a mysterious young woman’s adoration and mutual attraction with the devilishly wild and handsome boy next door. Though they come from different worlds, from the moment they met, their lives seemed destined to combine from the burning desires that ignite within every time they cross each other’s path. In the end, fate and the cold hard truth of their past and present human conditions hold the key to the outcome for the life & future they both dare to dream.
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“Peyton’s Playmate”
When it came to being blissfully reclusive in a fast paced modern world, Peyton Henderson was without question that very kind of young woman. She tended to her work, she did her shopping and then she was home. No real social life, not yet anyway, and no close friends, just the way she liked it. She had only been in town for a few months. Dallas had simply grown too much for her taste. She had a history there she did not intend to repeat. It wasn’t time to let people into her personal space and her solitude was as important as her life. She didn’t have need of anyone. Then there was him…
On the second level of their building, he lived in the apartment directly across from her. Most times he stood out in the center courtyard below her patio floor. More specifically, he was there nearly every night. He was tall and thin, with long curly dark hair, and a handsome face. On closer inspection, she discovered his eyes were pale green and there was a fledgling goatee nesting over his strong young chin. From the looks of him, she thought he was a bad seed, always wearing jeans and dark colored tees. She quickly grew accustomed to his quiet amorous stares from the distant courtyard. Sometimes he was with a girl. Likely a different one every time. Sometimes there was another boy. After a while, she figured she knew his game just as sure as she knew his name. She was intrigued. Sometimes she would stand right in the front of her glass door so he could see her too.
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Jared Davy
was his name but everybody called him J.D. He hated that nickname. He
thought it made him sound like he was from the country or some shit.
He was an L.A. boy, born and raised. The only thing he thought
remotely country about himself was his small selective taste in the
music, and that was only the old stuff. His new tunes were of a
totally different genre altogether. Waxahachie, Texas was a different
genre for him too. He had lived there nearly two years and still
wasn’t sure why he even bothered to stay. After he met her, he
forgot about any good reason to leave.
The woman he only knew as Peyton wasn’t like any of the people in the city he had come into contact with. On the surface, he thought she was hot, seeing as she was near his height, not too thin, with long reddish brown hair and looked like a freaking model. Still there was something about her that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Though she didn’t appear to be unkind, she did seem distant, cold, snobbish, and for the lack of a better word, a bitch. Sometimes being a bitch, he heard or read somewhere is all a woman has to hold on to. Whatever the reason, he thought she was cool. By the way that she stared at him, he figured she felt something was cool about him too.
Since the first day she had moved in, Peyton adored her place at Magnolia Park. The apartment was ideal for her home based Internet Company, and she enjoyed the free business services the front office allowed. The pool and gym were perfect for social gatherings, but being as she was she never ventured near. She found her immediate neighbors were nice, and even dared to smile, speak, and/or wave to them, granted they made the motion of greeting her first. At most, she thought she couldn’t have dreamed up a better escape.
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At Magnolia Park, Jared lived with his older brother Jefferson, “Jeff” to all who knew better, and his on again-off again future Texas bride, Sara James. Long before he arrived in Texas, he had learned that Sara was a local girl Jeff had met a few years before during Spring Break at Padre`. When she was drunk, she had a mouth on her according to his brother and local folklore, she could be meaner than a wet snake in the hot Texas sun. With little provocation, he knew personally, Jeff wasn’t much better either. Hence the reason behind their on again-off again relationship. They were like two peas in a pod and still as different as night and day. Jared eventually realized he had come to live with his big brother during the time the off button was blinking on their revolving relationship. How they managed to come together again, let alone get engaged, he didn’t know. Overall, and given time, he thought Jeff and Sara were just as good for each other as anybody else was because they were equally off the page. In their defense, he never believed there was any such thing as a perfect relationship, which by no means could possibly describe the difficult but lasting union of his brother and his someday to be, foul-mouthed bride. When his turn came to pick an enduring mate, he thought he would likely wait for a closer match.
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Relocating
to Texas to stay was a life-altering move for Jared. Once he was
settled in, and after he got to know the town and found new friends,
the decision for him to go to college, or else, was made. By second
term he was a popular addition to Navarro U. After nearly two years
in studies, and with two and half semesters of basic classes
complete, he declined to choose any specific degree plan.
Academically, in the coming year, he was bound to earn an associate’s
degree in English, but he was yet to commit to the dotted line. With
his constant indecision, he became the kind of advance student that
could provoke his determined counselor to pulling out their hair
after a session with him, before running to the school parking lot
for anything to smoke. Jared was very well aware of this effect, and
it made him laugh to know he held a tiny bit of usurping authority
over the usual powers that be.
To all appearances, Jared was very seriously concerned about his life and future but only because that was what was expected of him. His parents, his brother and even Sara had extreme prospects for his journey as a grownup into the real world. His greatest weakness was that he didn’t really want to let any one of them down. Privately, he didn’t give a big rat’s ass about college degrees or the real world. He thought eventually, the trials and tribulations of adulthood would land on him like a loose brick falling from a ten-story building’s roof, and for that, he could wait. For now, he simply wanted to experience all the struggles, joys, and triumphs his life allowed, at least while he was still young enough to pursue them. He wasn’t yet ready to make any permanent decisions. He wasn’t exactly sure when he ever would.