The Bus and the Stop

The Way Back Around: Chapter 7

Hanna was concentrated on her phone all through the fast food dinner as the TV played the news, one of only two channels, in the background. Her knees were up to her chest, tucked away in one of the threadbare chairs of the motel room. She hardly had opened her suitcase to unpack or change, and the last word I had heard from her was about wanting root beer with her meal at the drive-through.

After I changed into my sleep wear, I flipped off the TV and the ceiling light. Hanna glanced at me, then turned back to her phone. Some time before I began to doze off, it seemed as if she were getting ready for bed. After some ruffling through her own suitcase and a trip to the bathroom, I heard her shuffle into the bed at the opposite side of the room.

The next thing I remember was waking up to an empty bed beside me, the covers turned up at the corner. I rolled over and looked to the bathroom door, hoping to see a light coming from underneath it. The clock read 1 a.m. I sat up and looked about the empty room. Hanna’s suitcase was zipped up nicely in place, but she was nowhere to be seen. I jumped up and called her name. “Hanna?” I said lowly, slipping on my shoes over my bare feet.

I held tightly to the card key in my hand as I walked out into the hall, looking both ways down the empty hall. The dingy carpet was illuminated by the orange glow of old incandescents. I looked back into the room, noticing that Hanna’s shoes were also absent. The door clicked closed behind me as I began to march down in the direction of the lobby.

The young woman behind the counter looked up at me, hiding her tired eyes with a smile. “Anything I can help you with?”

“Did you see a girl head out here?” I blurted out, glancing out the glass of the front doors.

“Just about ten minutes ago, yes.” The receptionist replied.

“And you just let her go?”

The woman winced and bit her lip. “Well, she said she was told to head out to her car and get something.”

I grimaced and pulled myself away from the desk. “Thanks.” I said coldly, walking out into the darkness of the night.

The rental car beeped as I unlocked the car doors from the key fob, breaking the silence of the night. As I got in, I slung the belt over my shoulder and shoved the key into the ignition, staring it up. As I pulled out to the main street, I glanced both ways, wondering which direction Hanna might have headed. To the right was a continuous strip of light posts, leading the way deeper into the town. I pulled off and flipped on my headlights to the brightest setting, hugging the curb at a crawl.

The first buildings of the town’s main street came into view as I saw a dark figure marching along the sidewalk. I immediately shoved on the brakes, slowing the car to a craw not far behind the sole person. The long-haired, dainty figure glanced back, then picked up the pace. I lurched the car forward once again, before shoving it into park and jumping out.

Continue reading “The Bus and the Stop”

Under the Hood

The Way Back Around: Chapter 6

The remainder of the trip through the never-ending flatness of the fields and tiny god-fearing towns of the south was spent in silence. The final bit of our trip was spent sitting in traffic in the center of Memphis, pushed to a halt by the rush hour and several patches of construction. The few words I was able to exchange with Hanna were about where she wanted to eat, or if she need to use the bathroom.

After dinner, we spent the night at the motel, Hanna watching TV while I spaced out looking over my work emails and calling my bank to make sure my card wouldn’t get locked down, being so far away from home.

The TV movie that Hanna had selected decided to spontaneously show a scene of passion between a man and a woman, and just before their two folk’s lips could meet, the flat screen had drifted to another channel. I could see Hanna’s eyes turning my way from the other bed.

The following day started like most others. I ate a bagel that was slightly less than properly toasted, slathered in creme cheese and washed down with dirty tasting coffee. Hanna tiredly scooped soggy cereal into her mouth. The news station on the TV in the corner of the dining room mentioned a scorcher, with a good amount of humidity added to the mix. I dumped my Styrofoam and plastic dishes to urge Hanna along to accompany me before the heat of the day could creep upon us.

The roads leading out of Memphis had yet to become clogged with the morning traffic. The highway was once again a more or less straight shot, heading up into the mountains and forests of the area. “I think now, after today, we’ll be out of the heat.”

“Good.” Hanna replied softly, her voice once again short.

“And then-” I continued, glancing at her. “Probably only one more day until you’re back home. Then I’ll be out of your hair, and not on the road anymore.”

“Okay.” She said again, leaning back in the seat, her arms crossed over her chest. “The car… isn’t smoking, is it?”

I shook my head, then looked to the road, then to the white smoke leaking up from the edges of the hood to be yanked away by the wind. “Hold on, now.” I said, pulling into the right lane and then to the side of the road.

A herd of cows gathered around the fence down the roadside while I propped open the hood. Hanna joined me beside the open engine compartment, still smoking from underneath the plastic cowls. “You didn’t rent a good enough car, it seems.” She said.

“Damn it. Damn it.” I whispered under my breath. “Just great.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

I scowled at Hanna and pulled out my phone. “We’ll have to get a tow, I guess. I have no idea what could be wrong.”

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Texas and Further

The Way Back Around: Chapter 5

We departed some time late morning from the Barbecue restaurants, very full on meat and other accompaniments. The air was warm, not quite as hot as Phoenix, but still managed to leave a shine of sweat on my brow.

“What…” I began, my breath heavy from carrying around my full stomach. “What do you fee like doing now?” I asked Hanna as we returned to the even warmer air of the car.

Hanna toppled into the seat and grasped at the seatbelt. “Maybe… just a nap.”

“Good idea.” I sighed, pulling out my phone and placing it on the steering wheel for support. “Let’s see… check-in times for motels aren’t too far off, now. Let’s find one farther out of downtown.”

“Sure.”

After a short drive, we pulled up to the motel that my phone had led us too. Hanna abandon the car just behind me. On our walk up to the front desk, we passed the fenced-off pool area, where some kids were loudly splashing and stamping around the water. I caught sight of Hanna staring between the gaps in the bushes at the edge. “We can head in after we get our bags in, okay?”

Hanna had draped one of my Tshirts, fitting big atop her small frame, over her bathing suit as we made out way out of the room. “You’re not going to swim?” She asked as I shoved my phone into my shorts pocket on the way out of the door.

“Nah, I need to get a few emails out before the end of the work day. I hope to enjoy lounging around and digesting for a bit, though, first.

The noisy kids from before had cleared out, leaving only a couple of swimmers doing laps lazily in the pool or wading around in the shallow end. I found a seat at one of the sun-bleached lounge chairs, hiding partially under an umbrella. Hanna yanked off the Tee and tossed it on the bench beside me. She tested the temperature of the water with her toes at the edge first, before grabbing at her nose and jumping in feet first. “Wah!” She exclaimed, kicking back up to the surface from the bottom and tossing her hair back with her hands. “So warm!”

I stretched my back and double checked the time on my phone before putting it on my stomach and cradling my neck with my arms. “Just let me know when you get tired.”

Some time later, I was awoken by a nudging on my legs. I hastily grabbed at my phone which had fallen off to my side. The sun had crept up my body, past my waist, and the heat of the day had soaked my back and scalp with sweat. Hanna tugged at my bare shin once again. “Can we head back now?” She asked, wiping her front down with one of the fluffy towels provided to us.

“Sure.” I grumbled, shaking the tiredness from my face. “I had a nice nap.” I feigned, unsticking the shirt that had become glued to my back with sweat.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Hanna announced upon returning to the room.

“That’s fine.” I replied. “I’ll hop in after you’re done.” The bathroom door shut with a clack.

I avoided jumping up on the bed in my sweaty state, rather finding a perch on the office chair across from the foot of the bed. I propped my legs up on the comforter across from me to finally look to my work email. The air conditioning hummed and released a steady stream of cool air, and the bedding felt soothing as well with a soft coolness to it.

From beyond the bathroom door, I heard the water turn on, followed by a deafened yelp. I glanced up, but soon dismissed the yell as someone out in the hall. As I scanned the pointless emails that had arrived over the course of the first day of the work week, I felt the warmth start to radiate from my legs. I stared down at my toes and carefully wriggled them, then continued up my legs, to a point above my knee cap where there was a fine line going from pale to red. “Dang it.” I mumbled to myself.

“Dad!” The call came from the bathroom, unmistakably from Hanna.

“You okay?” I stood up and walked over to knock on the door.

“Come in.” She returned. She was turned, back to the mirror, with her shirt held up to her front. Upon her bare back, punctuated by a wide band of pale skin where her bathing suit had laid, was a similar striation of burnt skin. “Ugh, this sucks!”

“Yeah, we totally forgot about sunscreen, huh…” I sighed, pointing down to my feet.
“Can we… do something for it?” Hanna said, grasping at her shirt and looking over her shoulder and back to the mirror.

“There was a drugstore across the street a little ways down…” I said, recalling us driving up. “I’ll stop there after I take a shower and pick up some aloe vera.”

Continue reading “Texas and Further”

The Delivery

The Way Back Around: Chapter 4

The alarm woke me some time early that morning. Hannah stirred and rolled over, shuffling her pillow upon the bed across from my own. The air from the AC made the hair on my arms stand on end as I sat up and let the covers fall off me. With a light touch of the switch beside the headboard, the orange glow of the lamp spilled out across the floor. My eyes still heavy, I shuffled down to the floor and began to gather up the old clothes strew across the floor, some of mine, some of Hanna’s. I shoved them into their respective bags sitting on the luggage racks.

Hanna shuffled once again and sat up, shielding her eyes from the light. “Do we have to go now?” She said, voice raspy.

“We’ve still got time.” I replied, scratching my arms and shoulders, the fabric of my thin shirt bristling loudly in the silence of the morning. “I’m going to take a shower then check if they’re running breakfast yet.”

The bags laid packed in the room as we went down the hall of the single floored hotel to the lobby. The single lady working the breakfast nook that morning, in a wrinkled pink one piece, smiled at me as she laid out the first of the food: a basket of bagels and several sweeter bits of fare. Hanna hung behind me, gathering up some of the food in my wake.

Besides an old gentleman nursing a cup of black coffee from behind a newspaper, we were the only guests there.

I glanced at the screen of my phone as the bagel sat in the toaster. With a muted pop, it returned to me, slightly browner. “We’ve got to eat quick, Hanna,” I said as I sat down next to her.

“Kay…” She muttered, sleepily nibbling at a thick piece of toast coated in a liberal amount of reddish jelly.

The morning light had yet to meet the land as we shoved our mismatched bags into the back of my car once again. “Only a couple of hours,” I said, wrapping the seat belt around my lap. Hanna had already settled into her seat, already staring at her phone screen. I quickly maneuvered out of the parking lot and across to the opposite corner of the road to the quiet gas station. The lights above glared with a blinding white aura that had thrown the bugs of the night into a fervor. I filled up as quickly as the pump would suck money out of my card, and jumped back in to set the course towards Dallas.

About a half hour later, the light of the sun came upon us. The hasty traffic of the day before had yet to reach our particular stretch of highway, but I could already see on my phone that the jam of traffic inside of the city ahead had already begun to flow and add time to our arrival.

“Huh, Monday Mornings,” I sigh loudly, shifting myself back in the seat with one arm on the wheel. I glanced at Hanna for any sort of response, to no success. “So much for my weekend,” I added.

“We’re headed to Dallas, right?” Hanna spoke up.

“Yup.”

“They have a big airport here too.”

“I suppose they do,” I replied with a shrug, looking to the road before me.

Hanna sighed and re-illuminated the screen of her phone.

I glanced at her again. “Yeah, this probably sucks for you too. Hey, after I drop this flash drive off, we can take a slower pace. Maybe see the sights.”

“What’s in Dallas? Something with air conditioning preferably.”

“Hmm, good question.” I said, glancing to the highlighted road on my phone. “We can always ask around. Maybe you can have a look there on your phone since you’re awake for once.”

Hanna’s fingers swiped around the screen absentmindedly, obviously not attempting what I had suggested. “Maybe later.”

I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, hoping to come up with something to say. “I miss my summers out of school, being able to sleep in all day. We’ll take it easy from here on out.”

Continue reading “The Delivery”

Summer Heat

The Way Back Around: Chapter 3

Upon seeing the first familiarly-named family restaurant, I took to navigating back toward it from the nearest highway exit and around the side roads. The parking lot was conveniently placed between both a motel and the place I had spotted. Hanna watched the wide sign pass by as we pulled into one of the many spots outside the lobby.

The instant I opened the door of the car, the dry heat washed over me. I glanced to the passenger seat. Hanna had begun to step out as well before being blindsided by the departure from the air conditioning. “What the hell-”

“I hope your mother doesn’t condone you talking like that.” I spoke up, glaring at her from across the roof of my car. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around for the closest building with an entrance. I sighed and began to walk up the path to the sliding doors of the lobby, and Hanna made no complains in following. The entrance blasted us with chilly air, and the receptionist greeted us with a friendly smile.

After another quick duck outside to grab up the bags, we found our way to the room, where we both agreed to immediately get food. The walk across the parking lot was another sweat-inducing task. “Why is it so hot here?” Hanna asked, shoving her hand in the way of the sun.

“Well, some folks decided that they would take a nice desert and then lay a ton of asphalt and concrete on top so it can soak up even more heat.”

“Why… would anyone even live here?”

“Beats me. I dare say this place should never have been built in the first place.”

I heard a stifled giggle from behind me, and a peak revealed Hanna holding her mouth, hiding the first smile I had seen since her arrival.

The restaurant provided another oasis of air conditioning. I conceded myself to a simple burger and a beer to accompany it. Hanna mulled over the menu for longer than expected. “Are we in the south-west?”

“Yeah, this area is considered the south-west.”

“So they must be pretty good at making south-west food. They have a salad.  Southwest chicken.”

I glanced to my own menu for the dish Hanna was referring to. “Well…” I began. “Are you sure you just want a salad? We didn’t even stop to have lunch today.”

“It looks pretty big,” She said with a shrug.

I flipped back through my menu to look for the item she had described, somewhere lost in the multiple laminated and greasy finger-print covered pages. I gave up as soon as I saw the waitress coming our way. “Welcome, welcome, what’ll y’all have?”

To my surprise, although in a way I should have expected, Hanna spoke clearly and politely to the waitress while she ordered. After I offered up my own ordered, the waitress offered her thanks and her customer-service smile toward us and began to head off. “That beer will be right out for you.”

I looked at Hanna once again, who was looking over the water spots on her knife and fork. In my mind, I attempted to conjure up a few words to attempt a conversation with her. “So… tell me about that pita place you mentioned yesterday.”

“Pita?” Hanna looked up and pushed the hair back behind her ear. “Oh, Lyceé Pita. Well, you get to choose whatever goes into your sandwich, in a pita, like a round bread with a pocket, and they have stuff from the Medi- Mediter-Med-”

“Mediterranean.” I finished the word for her.

“Yeah-”

Continue reading “Summer Heat”