Opelika Opiate

By Vicki Kay Turpen

“Opiate” – to induce sleep; to stupefy; to hijack the brain and change its normal function.

Opelika, Alabama – where cars, men, and race collide to unhinge the life of a young woman. Piecing it back together will require figuring out the role she played, and who she really is – or wants to be.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781649799999

Vicki Kay Turpen

Vicki Kay Turpen lives with four of her five children on an intentional family farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley. She has an MA in education. Vicki co-founded the Durango Lively Arts Co. in Colorado. For over 20 years, she taught junior and high school drama, producing plays and musicals. She has published articles for The Christian Science Publishing Society. In 2019, Vicki published her first work of fiction, The Delicate Balance, co-authored with one of her daughters. She is a member of both Rotary del Sol and Southwest Writers in Albuquerque, NM.

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About the Author

Vicki Kay Turpen lives with four of her five children on an intentional family farm in Albuquerque’s South Valley. She has an MA in education. Vicki co-founded the Durango Lively Arts Co. in Colorado. For over 20 years, she taught junior and high school drama, producing plays and musicals. She has published articles for The Christian Science Publishing Society. In 2019, Vicki published her first work of fiction, The Delicate Balance, co-authored with one of her daughters. She is a member of both Rotary del Sol and Southwest Writers in Albuquerque, NM.

Dedication

To all the lovely women who have blessed my life these past 60 years – Kelly, Shannon, Elizabeth, Toni, Vanessa, Emily, Rachael, Christine, Casey, Maia – who know the power of never being a victim.

Copyright Information ©

Vicki Kay Turpen 2023

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Ordering Information

Quantity sales: Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Turpen, Vicki Kay

Opelika Opiate

ISBN 9781649799975 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781649799999 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781649799982 (Audiobook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023904552

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street 33rd Floor, Suite 3302

New York, NY 10005

USA

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Acknowledgment

To my daughters:

Kelly, for helping me put together the initial storyline.

Shannon, for helping with computer glitches and editing through to publishing.

And Toni, who copied all the sketches and came up with the cover idea for the technical team.

And to my friend, Betty Kilpatrick, for research and art ideas.

To all the women in my life who have inspired me and kept reminding me to remember that we are all created free and blessed.

I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.

–Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Opelika Opiate 2019

Foreword

Karla Sue had not thought about that week in Opelika for years. She had not needed to remember that incident until now. Now it hit her as a sudden wind from nowhere. She remembered her fear for Gabe and the bad dreams mixed with Spanish moss and the dirty wind shield. That was years ago, but it all came back because of the women in the media, the anger, and hatred, all the accusations concerning abuse and rape. It was due to the ugly details and rampage that the whole week reappeared in black and white across her memory.

The Psalmist wrote centuries ago: ‘I shall not fear what flesh can do unto me.’ Her life had been filled with the wonderful truths from literature, truths that encourage, renew, and expand life. There had been a successful career, a happy marriage, and oh, the children.

She had been determined to think better thoughts, to forge ahead into a bright knowledge of life. But in Opelika, there had been the handsome man and there had been Gabe. Yes, in Opelika, there had been Gabe.

How could she forget dear Gabe?

Carla Sue remembers how it felt to be fifteen.

Now she remembers,

Opelika Opiate 1954

Morning, Day Two

She wanted to feel safe in the automobile, but she didn’t. It was getting hot. She would feel safer if she could roll up the windows, except that would make the Nash Sedan even hotter. A tiny breeze brought with it the stink of rotting earth and then a wave of more heat.

Karla Sue began to perspire, and she felt embarrassing stains appear wherever her skin touched her blouse. The seat underneath her was wet, and moisture began creeping, so even her shorts felt clammy.

Other folks had gotten in their vehicles and left. Beyond where the car was parked, the woods were dark and thick except for the railroad tracks. The only sounds came from the katydids in the trees. The windshield was blotched with dried blood and bug guts from yesterday. Looking through it made the moss-covered trees and sky all crooked and twisted like scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Even the railroad tracks looked like they were jutted and curved at angles.

The windshield needed cleaning. When driving across Florida and Georgia, boys at Firestone Stations had spent time endlessly cleaning the windows and