Leaving Nashville

Side by side. That’s what she heard. That’s what they said. He floated the lyric— she started composing the song.

But a month later, Nashville went on ahead. Not because he’d lied about side by side, but because he hadn’t yet reckoned with what staying alongside her would actually require. She remembered the words anyway—especially the part about not flinching.

And he did say it—he wouldn’t flinch. Grace heard that in her bones. She’d never known someone might not. But more than that, she needed someone who would stay—not always in the same place, but in the same story. Someone who saw the mess, shared the mess, added their own, and let the stew mingle in its own strange, beautiful way. Miles she could handle. Distance broke her.

She couldn’t keep translating other people’s promises into something safer than they were.

And Nashville didn’t make promises so much as think out loud. Grace had learned early to listen closely, but she mistook his words for load-bearing. She built something around them—quietly, carefully—until one day she was standing in the ashes of a structure that had only ever existed in someone else’s head.

She had to burn down buildings she thought he built: He’d say let’s do it—and she’d start drawing the floor plan. Then he’d circle, qualify, give way to imaginary obstacles, until she realized it wasn’t a promise at all. Better to torch the building than admit there was no foundation.

She never expected him to stay on the ground. That’s not what she wanted.

On again. Off again. China. The Dirty South. Fifty-two-card pickup. Walnut and crimini pâté at a white tablecloth or biscuits-n-gravy at the Cracker Barrel. Whirlwind weddings and even quicker divorces. It worked until it didn’t—because the foundation was quicksand. It always was. And she couldn’t hold it up alone any longer.

She hasn’t stopped believing in the words in songs. She’s just stopped mistaking them for shelter.

---

He must have landed by now.
His name lit up her phone.
She paused, considering the cost.

Here’s the mixtape.

Cover Me Up — Jason Isbell
Song for Zula — Phosphorescent
Kathleen — Townes Van Zandt
Speed Trap Town — Jason Isbell
Hold On — Tom Waits
Motion Picture Soundtrack (Reprise) — Radiohead

Here’s what you may have missed:

Every week, Stories from the Jukebox gives us a prompt. I haven’t always shared my submissions here — so here’s my most recent:

🎶 Sunday’s Jukebox:

📼 From the Jukebox Vault:

🪑 Southern Writers’ Guild:
If you haven’t visited MJ, Rick, and me over at the Guild yet, I’d love for you to check out this piece:

Raising Us Behind the Circle K

🎥 SWaG Feature of the Week:

Hank Cotton has released ten chapters of The Ugly Duckling. Only a few more chapters to go. Get your copy now or start reading Chapter One right here, before it’s no longer available as a free read:

The Ugly Duckling- Ch.1