Even though it was a brisk fall day,
Billie Joe staggered out of the hotel room with sunglasses on and
blanket wrapped over his shoulders like a Soviet refugee staggering from a gulag. He straightened up as much as he could and looked
around. Sadie was settling up their tab with his money, per his
suggestion. The trees that lined whatever highway they were on were
bursting apart with color. Billie Joe wasn't fooled, in a month, the
leaves would be down and the whole thing would reveal itself to be
cold grey apocalypse it really was. Him and his Nubian queen needed
to get on the road before the fucking Klan showed up. He looked down
the row of rooms left and right and caught a tiny housekeeper next to
her cart staring at him, mouth agape. He brought a hand out from
under his makeshift poncho, waved and said “Hidey.” She wasn't
having any of it and hauled ass back into the room she was changing.
Sadie crunched over the parking lot
briskly, the heels of the cowboy boots he'd loaned her digging into
the gravel. He'd given them to her because they were much warmer than
anything she'd brought along and even though her foot was at least
three sizes smaller than his, they seemed to fit perfectly. Good
cowboy boots were like that, he thought. He also thought she looked
mighty fine in them.
“Okay let's go,” she said “You
think people around here never saw a black woman before.”
“Uh, you don't exactly carry yourself
like most women, black or not.” he said
“I guess I'll take that as a
compliment.” she said, opening up her side of the Toronado. “You
ready?”
“Yes ma'am.” and climbed aboard.
The Toronado roared immediately to life as if it had been waiting
impatiently to eat up the road again. She had already loaded his
duffle in the trunk. He thought the smell of the car was comforting,
and slid down the seat into it, creating a cocoon with the blanket
between him and reality. Behind the wheel, she had her chin up like
she always, maybe a little more than usual, half a sneer in place,
slid it into drive and they poured back onto the highway like a fast
moving oil slick, leaving crush and run somewhat airborne behind
them.
He dozed some, head against the window,
watching the slowly flattening earth roll away beside him like a
song. He figured they'd be wading through the corn belt before too long.
“Pretty sure I'll be able to
drive soon.” he said.
“Okay. I'm good for now.” she said
“How much was the hotel room?” he
asked, mostly just to make conversation
“You don't want to know.”
“Huh? Why not?”
She turned to him “You were asleep
for two days.”
“Wow.” he said, nodding. “Yeah,
you're right, I don't want to know.”
“Who's Selene?” she asked.
A spear of grief shot through his
chest. “Fiance.” he said. “Why do you ask?”
“You moaned her name a few times in
your sleep.” she said “I think you had a fever, I got pretty
freaked out, couldn't wake you up.”
“Damn,” said Billie Joe
“Yeah, I wiped you down with a cold
washcloth wrapped around some ice. That's what my momma always did
for us.”
Billie Joe considered this. “Wow.
Thank you.” he said
“I guess it didn't work out with you
and Selene?”
The image of her in the high window,
breasts barely covered by her thin white shirt crossed his mind.
“No. It didn't.” he said. More crippling grief and remorse. He could tell this one would hurt for a
good long while. They were quiet again for a bit.
