Chapter 15
Twenty minutes had passed since Rods truck had left the cul-de-sac. After a few minutes of navigating through the streets of the township, Tabby merged onto the main northbound interstate highway, quickly accelerating to highway speeds.
The early morning wakeup call had obviously taken it's toll on the vehicles occupants. In rear seat, Lindsay and Lee had managed to fall asleep, leaning their heads gently on the side windows as they did so. May, seated in the center was barely awake, attempting to keep her eyes open as her head continuously bobbed backward.
In the front of the vehicle, Tabby maintained two hands on the steering wheel, keeping her eyes completely focused on the road as she did so. She was not quite used to driving Rods truck, let alone with a trailer attached to it, and thus exhibited much more caution than she would if she were driving her civic. Marie sat next to her in the passenger seat, her eyes closed as she waved her to the rhythm of the classic rock music emanating from the radio; barely audible over the hiss of the cars air conditioning blower. The tune in question was "Watermelon and Easter Hay", a relaxing instrumental by Frank Zappa, from one of Rods many classic rock compilations.
After a few moments of listening, Tabby reached downward in an attempt to skip the CD to the next track. However, she was quickly interrupted by Marie.
"What are you doing!" yelled Marie, "Don't skip this one!"
"C'mon Annemarie, are you serious?" asked Tabby, "We all like Daddy's music, but you take it to an extreme with this stuff. When is the song even supposed to start?"
"It has," said Marie in a calm and playful manner , "You do have ears, right?"
"Yeah," said Tabby, "But I don't here any words!"
"It's an instrumental!" said Marie, "Besides, even if it did have words, they probably wouldn't make much sense. Frank Zappa was an artist, pretty much a modern day Mozart but with electric guitars and stuff."
Marie took hold of Tabby's hand in a playful manner
"Just relax," said Marie, "Take a deep breath. Listen to the tones."
Tabby turned towards Marie with a sarcastic expression.
"How in the hell did I manage to raise one of those goofy gronola girls?" asked Tabby.
Marie clicked her tongue as she sat back in her chair.
"I can't blame you for not understanding," said Marie, "Daddy's the biggest classic rock geek I know, and he doesn't get Zappa...or King Crimson, or Porcupine Tree."
Tabby sighed.
"Your right, I will never understand you artsy types," said Tabby, "But that's not to say I don't think being an artist is cool. I've always wished I could paint or play music...the only things I've ever managed to do that was creative was dance, but that never went anywhere."
"I think you are a great dancer for being self taught," said Marie, "And you've taught Lee well enough to win the talent show and compose her own choreography. That's a credit to your work."
Tabby paused for a few seconds prior to continuing.
"I guess," said Tabby, "I don't know if you girls realize how proud I am of you. You three have some awesome talents, and it's a shame you never got to nurture them to the fullest because of me and my unresolved issues. To think how different things could have been..."
Tabby squeezed the steering wheel tightly as a slight tear began to form in her eye. As she did so, she took note of a large billboard on the side of the road, acting as an advertisement for a rest stop. She quickly used the opportunity to change the subject.
"How about we stop for some lunch?" asked Tabby, "O'Donnells Burgers sound good?"
"O'DONNELLS!" yelled May as she suddenly sprung forward, scaring Lee and Lindsay out of their sound sleep in the process, "I can't wait, it's been more than a month a since we ate there, They have the best honey mustard sauce on the planet!"
Marie performed a hitchhikers thumb towards the rear of the vehicle.
"The connoisseur has spoken," said Marie, "I guess we are eating at O'Donnells."
"Fine by me," said Lee, "Let the spaz get it all out of her system now so we can enjoy the rest of the trip."
Tabby smiled as she activated the turn signal, and proceeded to change lanes in preparation for exit into the rest stop.
As these events unfolded, elsewhere on the highway a series of three vehicles,( a sedan, and two mid sized passenger vans), had just merged onto the main northbound interstate leading out of the city . All three vehicles were black in color, and appeared to have been recently waxed, their shiny surfaces and hubcaps reflecting the brilliant sunlight as they traveled at highway speeds in a single file line.
The lead vehicle, a 1999 BMW 735i, was piloted by a young woman who appeared to be in her twenties, dressed in a pair of blue jeans and pink designer coat. Seated next to her in the passenger seat was the much larger frame of the woman previously identified during the previous nights house raid as Gianna. She was currently displaying a grimace as she gazed out the passenger side window, staring at the road in silence.
Seated in the rear behind the driver was the petite, lady-like form of Edyta, displaying a sly smile as she ran her fingers through her brown bangs. She was dressed in her typical summer outfit of choice: a solid black, loose long sleeved dress, reaching to the area of her knees, and a pair of silver designer open heels. Seated next to her on the opposite side was the woman known as Mingxia, cradling her ever present ornamental staff in her hand as she sat with her legs crossed, staring forward as if she were meditating; dressed in traditional Chinese garb just as she was the previous night.
The interior if the vehicle was not completely silent, for the radio had been activated and tuned to the classical music station. For the last few minutes, the sweet sounds of the Holtz Classic, "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity" (a section of a larger composition known as "Planets") had been emanating through the speakers. The composition had reached the waltzing midsection, a slow emotionally moving piece in the key of e flat, played entirely by the string section.
As the sweet melodies played over the speakers, Edyta slowly closed her eyes, seemingly becoming lost in the music. She proceeded to tap her index finger against her knee, simultaneously adopting an uncharacteristically blissful smile. This action was quickly noticed by Mingxia, who turned towards her "boss" with a smile of her own.
"Goodness My Lady," said Mingxia, "I haven't seen you smile like that in weeks! What's gotten you in such high spirits?"
Edyta opened her eyes, maintaining her smile as she turned to face Mingxia.
"The approach," said Edyta, "Violin I...listen to music...such expression, and joy. You can tell musician enjoys their craft. Captures the piece quite well, no?"
"Absolutely, my lady," said Mingxia, "But I must confess, being an average listener and non-musician, I'm afraid I cannot properly comment on anything with regards to the theory. Though I will say, it's hard to tell the difference between this musician and yourself."
Edyta sighed.
"Your kind words are most appreciated," said Edyta, "It's shame...I was never able to gain full confidence due to embarrassment about my poor English."
Edyta turned towards Mingxia.
"I believe many people have same feeling when they try to speak with a proper English accent," said Edyta, "It's an often used metaphor that while teaching and learning the English, you should speak as if you have a mouth full of noodles."
Edyta snickered at the conclusion of her statement.
"It's joke from from long ago" said Edyta, "In fact, joke was made up by the person we seek while teaching the English to me. Pointless, but it's funny."
Edyta giggled slightly, after which she continued her small rant.
"I try hard over years to perfect manner of speaking like the movie stars of this country," said Edyta, "Like this...I try to do..."
Using her arms, Edyta adopted an upright posture, and cleared her throat. She then proceeded to deliver a surprisingly accurate attempt at imitating "valley girl speak", with a small touch of a Philadelphia accent.
"Look at me, I'm a TV Star!" said Edyta in a much higher pitched voice than usual, "Wanna ask me for a date, boys?"
Edyta laughed, after which she reverted to her natural, heavily accented, sultry sounding voice.
"Easier to understand, and appreciated on tv and in radio," said Edyta, "Sounds much more pleasing, no?"
"All due respect Noble Madam, I disagree," said Mingxia, "I believe you are easy to understand as you are, and very articulate for learning English at such a late age. Besides, you must not forget that building your self image and confidence is the cornerstone of your treatment."
Mingxia giggled as Edyta adopted a sarcastic expression.
"I must learn how to fix that wit of yours," said Edyta, "Thankfully I realize that your methods are best for my well being, or else I'd say be gone with you."
"Come now Noble Madam," said Mingxia, "You have to realize by now that that is simply not an option."
Edyta turned towards her assistant with a sarcastic glare, as Mingxia stroked her hair braid with a smile. Soon after, Edyta's expression transformed into a sly grin as she continued her monologue.
"For now let's just focus on task at hand," said Edyta, "Let's just hope all is not lost, and my dreams of witnessing a beautiful family reunion do not go up in flames..."
Edyta giggled sarcastically.
"Let us pray we find the one we seek," said Edyta, "The third piece of the original Kanker trium...triumver..."
"Triumvirate, my lady," said Mingxia.
Edyta sighed
"What in the world would I do without you?" said Edyta, gazing into Mingxia's eyes with a sly smile.