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A greasy diner in the middle of Illinois. I
yawned as the gum-smacking waitress asked me for my order. "Coffee,
black," I said, "and a bagel." I didn't trust anything else to
be
edible. Hell, I didn't even trust the bagel to be edible, but
if I
didn't get something in my stomach, I wouldn't have anything to puke
up
when the nerves returned.
Seven hours of out Kansas City. I'd driven the
whole day before, leaving that godawful city behind just after rush
hour. There was nothing in my car but a couple of suitcases and
my CD
collection ... the only things worth salvaging. I was free.
I was scared half to death.
To take my mind off of my own predicament, I
began to scan the restaurant, taking in all the customers. A
fat old
man sat at the other end of the counter, reading a newspaper and
inhaling scrambled eggs. A mother sat at the corner booth with
her
three children, none of whom could be over seven - they were remarkably
well behaved. Probably not awake yet, I thought.
And, at another
booth on the other side of the room, a man. My gaze stopped on
him ...
he was definitely not from around here. Somehow, I doubted central
Illinois produced Hispanic men with tattoos - at least, not hick towns
like this. He had unruly black hair and a goatee, a well-defined
body
underneath the muscle shirt he wore, and somehow looked like he might
be
downright dangerous, if he wanted to be. But, the danger could
just
have been from the pissed off expression on his face. As I watched,
he
ran a hand through his hair and leaned his head back.
That's the kind of guy I would have been scared
of back in Kansas City, I thought to myself. I never wandered
out of my
little circle of safe friends. Suddenly, I snorted out loud.
Look
where my "safe" friends had gotten me.
On a whim, I grabbed my coffee and stood up. If
I was going to change my image, now would be a good time to start.
I walked over to his table, trying to will my
legs not to shake. "Hi," I said, a bit unsteadily. "You
look like you
might need a little bit of company."
The man looked up, fixing me with a stare. He
had intense brown eyes ... they seemed to see straight through my skin.
Finally, after a moment that seemed like an eternity, he smiled.
Funny,
how just that small thing changed his face from angry to handsome.
"Yeah, sure, have a seat."
I sat down gratefully. "Sorry to bother you,
but you just kind of looked like you needed a friend."
He shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. I'm AJ, by
the way."
He offered his hand, and I shook it. "I'm Tori,
nice to meet you."
Introducing myself made me smile. No one had
ever known me as Tori before. In Kansas City, I was always Victoria
-
nice Victoria, quiet Victoria, dependable Victoria. At the moment,
I
hated Victoria.
"Nice to meet you, too, Tori," AJ said.
"So," I continued boldly, "do you feel like
talking about whatever it is that's bugging you?"
He shook his head. "Not really ... I'd really
just like to forget about it. Let's talk about something else
- are you
from around here?"
"No, not exactly ... I'm traveling, kind of.
I'm from Kansas City. Where are you from?"
AJ grinned. "What, you don't think I'm from ...
where the hell are we, anyway?"
"Um ... Armstrong? I think? I don't know, I
was pretty tired when I drove in last night. And, no, I'm pretty
sure
you're from elsewhere."
"You're right. I'm from Florida, actually. I'm
traveling, too, kind of."
I giggled. "I think 'kind of' traveling is
probably something like being a little bit pregnant, but ... since
you
don't want to talk about your problems, and I certainly don't want
to
talk about mine, we'll leave it at that."
"You have problems, too? Must be the day for
it," AJ commented.
"It's my life for it," I muttered under my
breath.
"So, where are you headed, or is that part of
your problem?"
I shrugged. "I'm heading nowhere right now.
Just driving around, trying to clear my head. You?"
"Well ... I'm on a little vacation for the next
few days. We have to be in Philadelphia on Tuesday, but this
is just
Saturday morning ... I haven't had three days off in months.
I don't
really know what to do with myself, which is kind of sad. I mean,
I
could go home, but ..." He trailed off. I was curious now,
but this
was obviously what he didn't want to talk about. If his home
situation
was anywhere near as fucked up as mine was, I felt sorry for him.
"Maybe you could go to Chicago," I suggested.
"I haven't been there, but I hear there's lots to do."
"Yeah, that's where my friends are heading ... I
don't know, I'm just not in the mood to hang with them right now.
They're over across the street having breakfast."
AJ lit a cigarette as my bagel arrived. For a
few minutes, I munched silently as he smoked and drank his coffee.
For
some odd reason, I felt comfortable with him, more comfortable than
I'd
been with my friends in KC. I couldn't put my finger on it, but
I
wished I had more time to spend with him than just this breakfast.
The idea hit my brain and my mouth at the same
time. "Hey, why don't you come with me for the next couple of
days?
I'm sure we could drive to Philadelphia by Tuesday ..."
I trailed off. What was I, nuts? I'd just
invited a perfect stranger into my car for three days. What if
he was a
psycho or something? And how desperate and lonely did I look,
asking
him along? I wished I could take it back the minute I said it.
Surprised, he looked at me for a moment. I
froze, unable to say anything until he did. It was another long
moment
before his smile returned. "You know what? That sounds
like fun ... if
you don't mind."
"I don't mind," I said automatically.
His smile widened. "Cool! Let me grab a
suitcase off of the bus ... I'll be right back."
For the first time, I noticed the large bus
sitting outside. It looked like a tour bus, or something like
that ...
weird. For the first time, I wondered just who I'd just invited
to road
trip with me.
What had I gotten myself into?
