by Rik Johnston
E P I L O G U E
SIXTEEN YEARS LATER
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1996
Megan Moxley-Downe stepped out of the door of her family’s home, hoping to catch her husband before he pulled away in his squad car for another day of work. She was dressed professionally, trying to wave him down, the diamond on her wedding ring glinting in the morning sunlight.
“Remember honey, Tuesday’s got her Autumn program tonight.” Megan called out to him, Douglas Downe waving in acknowledgment as he pulled away.
Fourteen-year-old Tuesday Downe burst through the front door and ran to her mother’s minivan, ready to face another day of school, her trusty pal Winston in tow. Walking down the sidewalk to carpool with them was Tuesday’s boyfriend Jason Alkali, his jacket open, which revealed a ring on a chain, which Megan had given Tuesday only weeks before.
Tuesday felt that the ring was a good fit for Jason, and knew that it would their love, along with the ring, would transcend both space and time.
As they drove to school, the sun was peeking through the clouds, as they discussed what their families would be doing a few weeks later for Thanksgiving. It wasn’t long before Megan had reached Cadence Falls High School where Tuesday and Jason got out of the car to go to class where they were greeted by their friends Jessica and Serina Jackson. After saying goodbye to the kids, Megan drove off to work at the Moxley Realty Agency she had established, to work another day selling homes to families who needed them. Tuesday and Jason waved back, and turned with their friends to walk into the school building.
Watching them walk together, hand in hand, Serina wished that she could find a love like Tuesday and Jason had, and placed them on a high pedestal to establish her own standards on what she would one day look for in a boyfriend. She would not settle for less than what Tuesday and Jason had together, and knew that he was out there, but she would have to wait to find him, but she was young and knew that there would be plenty of time to seek what she was longing for.
Jason gave Tuesday a quick kiss, telling her how much he loved her, and then headed off to his class, disappearing into the crowd. Tuesday watched him go, anticipating the plans that the two of them had made after school at the Cadence Falls Coffee Company at The Millwork Tavern.
On the way to class, Tuesday, Jessica and Serina bumped into Principal McCauley in the hallway, who had stopped to wish them all a very good day. He seemed relaxed and happy that another day of school was happening, and everything was going so well.
As the three of them entered their classroom, they took their seats and opened their history textbooks. They all moved forward throughout the years with adventures unforeseen ahead of them.
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GALLERY
This picture is a personal favorite of mine. I don’t know why but the standing up version perfectly captures the essence of Tuesday Moxley, alone and isolated. When Jerry Clement drew this, I felt that he really understood the character, even though hardly any of the screenplay had been written by that point.
This piece is called “The Fighting Foot Scene”. Jerry drew it based off Megan trying to calm Tuesday down after her initial nightmare in the story. While Tuesday is portrayed here a lot smaller than she is meant to be, everybody loved the foot coming right out of the picture at them. This was one of the most popular pieces Jerry did for the story.