Hudson was becoming anxious as he handed her the helmet.
"My father doesn't let me ride... I don't know if this is a good idea."
"It's fine.I'll make sure you don't get hurt." Kinji cradled her wrists for a few seconds. "I've been riding for a while now, I know the ways of the road."
She smiled. She felt slightly more secure. "Where are we going?"
"Bentonville. They've got much more food down there. It's the only place in the state that has those shortbread cookies I like."
Hudson was on edge, her security faded. She was getting worried. They segregate Bentonville... Quite strictly. It's not like here... Not safe... "I don't know if it's a good idea... You know how they are."
"I do. But I usually get let in. I've been faithful to them. It's the only way I get those cookies, sweetheart. We'll be fine." He took himself one step further. He held her hands and kissed her on the cheek.
Her face immediately flushed a bright, rosy red. Early on, he seemed like the nervous one. Now, she was taking his place.
He was still quite fidgety. He tripped over the concrete as he tried to lead Hudson to his motorbike.
" Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Please... Put on your helmet." He was exposing his softer, more close side. He was growing close to her and was fully prepared to give her his trust. And his love.
Hudson buckled on her helmet as instructed and waited from him.
Kinji sat down on the motorcycle. "Just come sit behind me. Hold on tight and you'll be fine. Riding isn't as dangerous as you think."
She felt like she could trust him, so, she sat down on the soft, yet rugged leather seat of the motorcycle. She wrapped her arms around Kinji as if she was giving him a hug.
She held onto him for dear life.
"We're not even moving yet! Hold on! Relax!" Hudson only loosened her grip slightly. He revved up the engine and started the bicycle. "Now you can squeeze me. At first, it'll feel a little fast, but you'll get used to it."
"Fast?"
"You're so funny! But you're correct, we wouldn't be riding motorbikes if they were slow! Actin' like a snail's no fun, is it?"
Before Hudson could say no, they sped off. She pulled him even closer to her and screamed. The speed was unbelievable to her; she thought she was at the brink of death. Her ponytail beat the back of her neck quickly and flew in the air like a flag. Some of her hair was annoyingly sticking to her face.
"You're safe. Don't worry." If had he not been driving, he would have put his hand securely over hers. Alas, that would have killed them both. He had two lives to worry about. Both of which were valuable to him.
"We're going all the way to Bentonville, like this?"
"Yeah." He was too exhilarated by the wind, the open road, and Hudson herself to even respond to her reasonably.
"Well... It's gonna be a long ride." She sat her forehead softly on his shoulder and saw the asphalt underneath her feet. It wasn't moving a inch, yet it looked like it had rushed behind them.
For a while longer, they went on the highway. Being extremely careful of the traffic, Kinji didn't focus on his date. As much as he wanted to utter a word to her, he wanted to keep her safe. He had no intentions of crashing and dying that day.
Hudson finally got acclimated to the wind and frigid cold of riding the motorcycle. The warmth she felt on her chest, Kinji's body heat, made up for it. She thought maybe she'd like to go on a ride again.
The clouds were parting when they got to Bentonville. It was becoming warmer and brighter. They ended up parking in front of the Five and Dime, the local market in Bentonville.
"Well, we're here." Kinji tells her, as he unbuckled his helmet. "Can I have yours, please?" She handed him the helmet quietly, realizing he had went through with what he had said.
"The Five and Dime? Are you sure?"
"I'm positive."
"We better be quick then.." Her fright caused him to feel the same. On the way there, a big pit was opening in his stomach.
Maybe she's right..
They became slightly more distant and walked into the store. Hudson's money was still in her hidden pocket. I'm gonna have to pay for this, I just know it.
The store wasn't crowded at all by any means. It was quiet and every single step they took echoed into the air.
Kinji immediately rushed to grab the box, he clutched it in his hands tightly. Hudson knew, despite them only meeting the night before, he never acted like that. It wasn't normal for him to be in such a hurry.
The bell on the door rang. He took one glance behind him. He whispered a obscenity to himself before grabbing Hudson's wrist. While reaching for her, he almost dropped his box.
"What's happening?"
"You were right." He dragged her into another aisle in a effort to get her away from the new customer.
Hudson got a glimpse of the cane the old woman was using. "You mean that little old lady?"
"Yes. She curses like a sailor. She still thinks we're in the Confederacy. I heard she waves the flag proud in her yard."
He then dragged her back to the first aisle. They didn't want her to see them. For a long while, the shuffle went on. Back and forth, they went through aisles. After a while, the woman saw Hudson's shoes.
"Who goes there?" She raised her cane. This is it..
Hudson made a split decision and stood out for the woman to see her. "It's just me, ma'am. I'm just shopping."
"You're not from here... Are you?"
"No, I'm on my way home from... North Dakota."
"You're lyin' to me!" The woman wasn't messing around. "Bring the boy out. Come on. He's been here before."
Hudson was too scared to even move. "You don't have all day, little girl. I'm gonna wait right here. In this spot!"
Hudson felt sweat roll down her neck. "I'm all-" She was interrupted.
"You caught me again, Mrs. Wilson. I know I don't belong here." Kinji had saved Hudson in the nick of time.
"Of course you don't belong here! The colored side of town's that way!" Kinji crossed his arms.
"Maybe if Mr. Walton let other people stock these cookies in Jacksonville, I wouldn't have to come all the way out here for 'em. If I didn't have to come all the way out here, I wouldn't. I don't like dealing with you." He frowned. "I don't know how you always manage to be here at the exact same time as me. I can't ever go to the Five and Dime without little Mrs. Wilson in my tail!"
"I can smell trouble all the way from Little Rock! I know when you're comin'!"
Kinji pulled Hudson back towards him. "I'll see you later, . I wanna go to the drive-in. I can't stay here much longer."
"First, you steal our country. Then, you steal our cities. Then, you steal our grocery store. And now, you're stealing our girls!"
Kinji silently paid for the cookies. It was another dime in the store's pocket, so the man at the register had no complaints. However, when he spotted , he started to speak again.
"You've gotta leave, sir. It's whites only."
"Well, I was going to leave anyway."
Kinji felt that he had enough. He felt that he had no reason to be treated the way he had, as he had done the exact same thing the elderly woman had done.
"Scram! Go back to the east!"
Kinji was as Hudson was with ; scared. His mind had broken down to mush. He had no way to speak and let out his anger. He was done.
"So, mister, do you think that heritage defines us?" Hudson asked a off topic question, causing the cashier to take a step back.
"Yes, it does."
"Really? Huh?"
The cashier looked at the schoolgirl in confusion. "Of course! Why, It's the one thing that makes us.. Us."
"Alright. Define my friend then, define him. You've defined us. Define him."
The man became disgruntled and went silent. She expected a answer from him. Still, she continued.
"Why can't you come up with anything?"
"Well..."
"You're only thinking of bad things, aren't you?"
The only response was sulking shame. The man never felt guilty about being a racist, but he felt that way about disappointing the white girl standing in front of him.
"Heritage defines us, yes, but not by color. If defines our wins and our losses; our ups and our downs. His culture has done bad, but it has also done good. America has done good, but it has also done bad." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Heritage defines us humans as a whole. The fact that we have it alone. We're not stupid, we can think for ourselves. Go ahead and do that, but Kinji's good as he is."
She turned away from the man before he could respond. His eyes darted back from her to his hands. He was starting to realize the prejudice he felt.
He shook as they walked away. Mrs Wilson sat down a box of the same cookies on the register, along with a few other candies.
"That damn rascal!"