Fort Lindell
Salem, Oregon
"Don't you have Where There is No One yet?"
The man dubbed Mr. Loudmouth by the bookstore staff rudely clucked his tongue and did an eye roll. Carrie hated the fact he was a regular, but he was a paying customer and even the jerkiest of people do add a little to her paycheck. She remained cool and professional behind the counter.
"Let me check if we have a copy," she replied with fake smile. She tapped the title on to the search engine of her computer screen. Meanwhile, Mr. Loudmouth fixated his gaze on her breasts. Her dirty pillows Momma referred to them as. And Eve loosed the raven upon the world. And that Raven was called sin. It was one of many Biblical verses Momma corrupted, to pervert some sense of control over her. Now Momma was dead and Carrie was free to be her own person.
She dyed her hair multiple times. She wore tight fitting clothes. And she experimented with different looks that would have made Momma label her as Jezebel's child. Yes, Carrieta White had change in her twenty-eight years of being on this Earth and she was not going to stop now.
"HAVE YOU FOUND IT ALREADY?"
Mr. Loudmouth was getting even more impatient. Carrie glared at the short, fat, balding man in glasses and a weird stain on his polyester pants. Part of her wanted to reach into her mind, push out her anger, and fling the poor excuse for a human being across the room and maybe through one of the front glass windows. However, that would mean exposing herself and bringing unwanted attention to her location. The Shop would find her in a heartbeat and lock her away. She did not want that. She had to keep her anger in check. For now.
The computer finally yielded some results.
"Where There is No One: Revisiting Maine's Tragic Black Prom." She read. Carrie swallowed hard. She had thought she had buried that part of her past. Apparently not. A new book was being released claiming new details concerning the infamous tragedy. She could not escape it. Carrie held her composure. "It looks like it's not being released until next month." She told Mr. Loudmouth. "Would you like us to pre-order it?"
Mr. Loudmouth shook his head in disapproval. "Damn, bookstores!" He snapped. "You never have things when I need them!" He slammed his stack of books for purchase on the counter. "Never mind! I'll take these!"
Carrie sighed. She began ringing up his collection of conservative, political literature and placed them inside his shopping bag before her eyes caught something among the stacks. Blue Nights in the City. A New York Times bestselling memoir about a Wall Street executive who moonlights as a dominatrix prostitute among the rich and powerful. Carrie had read it for fits and giggles, but she had to stop because the book was so poorly written that it made Danielle Steele look like a Pulitzer Prize winner. The reviews were so bad that it became an easy target to be ridiculed, except for the lonely, bored housewives who ate the novel up with a spoon and helped it sell millions for its publishing house. Carrie held her laughter inside as she finished ringing up Mr. Loudmouth's purchases.
"GIVE ME THAT!" Mr. Loudmouth snatched the embarrassing book from her hand. "QUIT BEING A STUPID BITCH AND RING UP MY SHIT!"
That did it. Her eyes saw red. She just needed a small incentive to push her power. No more hiding. No more pretending. She stared at the man. What would she do? Throw him up onto the ceiling like a ragdoll or maybe make the inside of his head explode? Well, she never tried doing that before but there is always a first time…
Someone tall tapped Mr. Loudmouth on the shoulder. He quickly turned around. "What the hell do you want?"
The tall man twisted his hands around the balding man's shirt and pulled him toward him, until they were touching noses. Mr. Loudmouth quivered while his assailant bellowed.
"PAY YOUR SHIT AND LEAVE!" The tall man shouted.
"Okay…okay…" Mr. Loudmouth whimpered. The tall man released him.
Carrie finished the transaction just as Mr. Loudmouth scrambled for his shopping bag and jetted to the entrance of the bookstore. Still, Carrie wanted to get the last word in. Mischievously, she concentrated on Loudmouth's belt buckle, button, and zipper of his pants and suddenly undid them. It took only a few second before the man had his stained, polyester trousers around his ankles while exposing all the patrons and employees to his gross tightey-whiteys.
Embarrassed and humiliated, Loudmouth pulled up his pants and ran out the door with his books in tow. The other people inside the store laughed at the spectacle before returning to their business. Carrie smiled and watched as her knight in shining armor moved up to her counter.
"Thanks," she grinned. Her face looked up to get a better look at her hero. Her knight certainly was handsome with blue eyes and brown, wavy hair, not as light as her old crush Tommy Ross, but enough to compliment his dimples and square jaw. He had a nice physique, broad shoulders, and muscular arms, from the way the long sleeve gray t-shirt fit him perfectly to the manner of the blue denim jeans that he wore that molded his lower half. Carrie blushed with embarrassment at the sight of his beauty and attempted to hold her composure.
The tall stranger smirked. "Don't mention it. I just hate when people are bullies to other people." Don't I know it. Carrie thought to herself. Back at Ewan High school in Chamberlain, Maine, she was the constant scapegoat and object of bullying at her alma mater. She had first-hand knowledge of what it was like to be picked on. The knight put his book on the counter. Carrie read the title. How to Make Friends and Serve as an Inspiration to Others.
Carrie snickered. "I have trouble believing that you can't make any friends." She rang up his purchase.
His arms rested on her counter. "I'm a busy guy." He smiled. "It's hard for me to keep them." His voice purred. He studied the mysterious girl behind the counter ringing up his transaction. She was certainly pretty. Okay, unconventionally beautiful, not exotic, but exuded a certain type of enigmatic charm that he found alluring in women. Crimson red hair fell to her shoulders and her hypnotic, dark eyes accentuated the tiny freckles on her face and milky, cream skin. She wore a short, yellow, floral sundress with spaghetti straps underneath a white cardigan, which showed just enough of her cleavage to tease the boys but it was the small gold cross around her neck that made her even more appealing as she gave off an attractive "good girl" vibe.
Blushed with embarrassment, Carrie held herself together and finished the sale. "$15, please." He handed her a twenty. She opened her register and handed him his change. "You're new, here?" She found the courage to ask him.
He picked up his book and stood up. "How can you tell?" He wondered.
"I usually know our regulars." She stated. "I haven't seen you at Covers." She was referring to the corporate bookstore she was working at.
"I just moved here from the east coast," he explained. "I got the position as a new professor at the local university."
"Angellus-Gabri University?" Carrie asked, referring to the main college at Fort Lindell. Since moving to this college town near Salem, Oregon, she had kept up with the long history of this prestigious school of higher education. She even considered taking some classes there herself. "What do you teach?" She asked the professor.
"Science," he answered. "Particularly bio-chemistry and organic physics. As strange as it seems, there appears to be this direct correlation between the three sciences biology, chemistry, and physics. They tend to overlap."
Carrie nodded her head and feigned interest. "That's good to know." She tried to finish the conversation. "Hopefully, we'll see you back here in the bookstore."
The professor extended his hand. "Absolutely. I hope to see you around town. Miss…?"
She accepted his hand and shook it. "Francine." It was the false identity she currently forged for herself in this place. "Francine Berkowtiz."
"Please to meet you, Francine," he replied. "The name is Paul. Professor Paul Sandza." He corrected. His fingers released hers and shot her a smile. "Hopefully, real soon." His voice purred again like soft butter. Picking up his book, Paul spun around and exited through the main entrance. Carrie blushed the moment he left. She could not believe her own confidence in flirting. She never flirted. It was not in her nature but then again, many things weren't. She gave herself a pat on the back.
"Franny and her boyfriend…." her coworker Rhonda sang as she got behind the counter with her. "Sittin' in a tree…" A twenty-one-year-old African American graduate student at Angellus-Gabri, she trained the same time as Carrie when the two of them became employed at Covers.
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" She joined Rhonda in unison. The two women stopped and broke into laughter. Since working a year together, the two remained really, close friends on the job.
Rhonda curled her mouth in response and folded her arms. "Don't tell me you were picking up Mr. Mc-Hottie a few minutes ago?"
Carrie snorted. "Nothing happened. He's just being nice." She defended.
"Mm-hmm," Rhonda's eyebrow raised.
"Nothing!" She emphasized.
"You did tell him, you're taken?"
She hesitated. "Well…"
"Franny!" Rhonda gasped.
"It didn't come up," said Carrie.
"Franny! You're in a relationship!"
"I know."
"With a woman!"
Carrie shrugged. "Yeah."
"What would your girlfriend, Liz, say?" Rhonda asked.
Liz Harrington had been the false alias Carrie's girlfriend and companion, Charlie McGee, was using in Fort Lindell. So far, none of the residents knew their real identities.
"She'd say that it's okay to look but not touch," Carrie answered her worker bestie.
"Mm-hmm."
She hated it when Rhonda made that remark. Instead, she shrugged and debated her actions.
"Look, Liz and I have an understanding," she explained. "I mean we've both dated men in the past." That was partly true. Charlie had a colorful history when it came to dating the opposite sex, but Carrie, well, she did get to dance with Tommy Ross at her prom, the only other person that she ever dated in her lifetime. Emphasis on the ever part. "We're not perfect but we're both loyal and monogamous to one another. That doesn't mean we're looking elsewhere or thinking about cheating."
That seemed to appease Rhonda. "As long as my two good friends aren't going to break up over this, I guess I could trust you being around other strange men of the male species."
Carrie clucked her tongue. "Thanks." Her voice gave off a sarcastic tone. "It's good to know that you always have my back."
"I'm just kidding!" Rhonda giggled. "Now lighten up!" She gave the girl a hug. "All this weird talk is making me hungry. How about lunch at the new café across the street? My treat."
"You're on!" Carrie laughed. "I'm going to order the most expensive thing on the menu as a sign of revenge!" She joked.
"An $8 sandwich and soup?" Rhonda snickered. "Gee, I'm filing bankruptcy right now!"
Carrie scowled. "Oh hush. Come on, I'm starving."
The two women notified their coworkers they were going out to lunch together, leaving a line of people coming up to the register waiting to be rung up. Carrie stared back at the counter before exiting the store with Rhonda. Thank God, I'm not dealing with any more difficult customers right now. She thought to herself. She could not wait until her shift was over.
Juniper Blossom Café
Lunch was delicious. Rhonda went with a basic chicken Caesar salad while Carrie opted for a small club sandwich and tomato soup.
"Hey, Franny," her best friend addressed her. "Rainbows is doing a lesbian night this weekend. You and Liz should come."
Rainbows was the hottest gay bar in town. Whenever Fort Lindell hosted their annual pride week, the nightclub was always front and center.
"I don't know," Carrie paused. "Liz and I are pretty much homebodies. We're not the partying types."
Charlie was the more outgoing one. Bars and clubs were more her thing. Carrie tried a few with Charlie in the previous cities they lived at and discovered it was not for her.
Rhonda was not having it. "Oh, come on! It's going to be fun! A girls' night out!"
Carrie shrugged. "I'll ask her."
"Good." Rhonda smiled. "We're going to party like it's New Year's Eve!"
Carrie rolled her eyes. "We'll see."
"No, it's going to be fun," she reassured her. "You'll see." A ring vibrated on her phone. "Damn."
"What is it?" Carrie asked as she sipped her water glass.
"My parents," Rhonda replied. "They want to come visit at the end month. They're texting me to see how I'm doing at school. I'm a grown ass woman and they still treat me like a child."
Carrie smiled. "It's just their way of saying they love you." She sipped her water again.
"No," corrected Rhonda. "It's their way of instilling Jewish guilt."
Her lunch companion cocked her head surprise. "I didn't know you were Jewish!"
Rhonda reached over and stroked Carrie's gold cross with her fingers before withdrawing. "From my Dad's side." She explained. "My mother was southern Baptist, then met my Dad and converted to Judaism. It caused some family drama for a while, but everyone got over it." She stared at Carrie. "What about your family or Liz's? Since I've known you two, you gals never mentioned where you're from."
Carrie lowered her water glass back to table. She inhaled before coming up with a simple lie that she had used many times before. "Liz and I are orphans." She stated with a depressing tone in her voice.
Her bestie's eyes widened as she realized her mistake. "Oh, I'm sorry." Rhonda stammered. "I didn't mean to get too personal. If you don't want to talk about it, I'll drop the subject."
Carrie shook her head. "No, it's okay." She reassured her. "Liz and my parents died when we were really young." She began. Again, this was an elaborate lie but a necessary one. How does one explain to another that she murdered her fanatical mother with her psychic powers while her companion's family was killed by a corrupt underground group known as The Shop? How does one even reveal to a total stranger that the two of them have been on the run from the law ever since? How does one even begin to make another understand the fear of always being watched? She doesn't. Instead, she creates a false identity and a fake life. "We were shuffled through the foster care system until we became adults and left to fend for ourselves in the real world. Me and Liz are the only family we have. Each other." Carrie finished.
Rhonda listened intently as a wave of guilt overtook her. "I apologize. I shouldn't have brought it up."
Carrie attempted a smile. "It's all right, Rhonda. You didn't know. Liz and I have been doing fine for years. We're good, I assure you."
Just at that moment, their handsome server began picking up their finished plates. Exotic and possibly Latin, Rhonda shot the attractive waiter a come-hither look.
"Is there anything else, I can get you ladies?" He asked them; although, his eyes were fixated on Rhonda.
"Just the check please," she said, trying to play it cool.
The waiter disappeared for a few minutes and returned with the bill. He set down next to the college student, nodded to her with a wink, and vanished back into the café kitchen.
Rhonda's eyes glanced down at the credit card slip.
"Oh, hellooo!"
"What is it?" Carrie asked.
Her lunch partner giggled. "He jotted down his phone number!" Whipping out her phone, Rhonda took down his information on her contact menu.
Carrie laughed. "I hope you're leaving him a big tip!"
Rhonda winked in reply. "I hope he has a big tip."
"Rhonda!" Carrie gasped at friend's audaciousness.
"What?" Rhonda clucked. "I'm single!" She raised her brows. "Franny, you got a man!" She paused at her error. "Well, a wo-man! Me, I'm thirsty! Can you blame me?"
Carrie laughed again. Rhonda payed their bill, along with a nice tip and headed back to the bookstore.
It was certainly going to be an interesting day.
Alexie Elms Apartment Complex
With her feet aching and her body tired, Carrie arrived home exactly at eight in the evening ready for a hot shower and hot meal. She wondered what Charlie was cooking for dinner tonight. She turned the key to the front door, slid through, dropped off her handbag on to the floor, as she kicked off her shoes while she closed and locked the front entrance behind her.
The apartment was dimly lit as a row of scented candles led her into the path of the kitchen.
Charlene "Charlie" McGee stood in a red, silk robe as she set two plates down on their small dining table filled with something that smelled divine. Her long blonde hair that she currently had dyed a dark brunette fell across her back as her blue eyes smiled at Carrie to greet her.
"What's all this?" Carrie asked bewildered.
"Your birthday." Charlie grinned. She went inside their kitchen to grab an open bottle of wine and poured the contents into two separate glasses. She handed one to her girlfriend.
Carrie took a sip of the grape. She looked puzzled. "Wait, my birthday was three months ago."
"Your real birthday." Charlie corrected. "The one we didn't have time to celebrate but according to your fake birth certificate, your birthday is today!" She clinked Carrie's glass. "Cheers and Happy Birthday!"
Carrie always forgot all the important details from false social security numbers to fake birthdates that she and Charlie had to make up. Keeping up the charade from town to town, city to city certainly made it more difficult to keep up appearances each time. She constantly was concern she might slip up.
She watched Charlie cross to the dining table. "In celebration of your un-birthday, I stopped by your favorite Italian place in town and got you some carbonara pasta that you love so much."
"Figurati?" Carrie's mouth watered. She smiled at Charlie. "You are the greatest!"
Charlie slowly sauntered over to her. "No, you are." She slipped her arms around her girlfriend's neck and planted a kiss on her lips. The energy between them surged as Charlie withdrew. "Dinner later. Let's take this elsewhere first." She grabbed Carrie's hand and pulled her toward their bedroom. Their mouths connected again as they shared an even more intimate evening in celebration.
An hour of lovemaking transpired between them. Yet, their hunger called out to them. Turning back on the lights, the pair had a late dinner in front of the television screen as they wolfed down their pasta on the couch while sharing a glass of wine and listening to the endless political rhetoric being spewed on CNN.
Charlie, still in her silk robe, but with her dark hair in a ponytail slurped some of her carbonara while her lover, Carrie, wore her red hair in pigtails and put on an oversize college t-shirt and a pair of men's boxers. The two women enjoyed their meal as they chatted about their day.
"How's life as a grease monkey?" Carrie asked her lover as twirled some noodles on her plate.
"Same old," Charlie responded. "Plenty of male chauvinism at the garage. Men can't get it through their thick skulls that a woman can be a good auto mechanic like them. They even try to overcharge the female customers because they believe that women don't know that much about cars."
When arriving at Fort Lindell, Charlie took a job at one of the local auto garages. Her know-how of cars really impressed the owner that he gave her a huge increase in pay for all the repeat business she brought in. This didn't sit well with her male counterparts who made homophobic and sexist comments in her direction. Still, she remained unfazed as she kept herself busy with a steady string of customers that appreciated her honest feedback.
"The boys still giving you grief because of their jealousies?" Carrie asked her lover.
"Yeah," Charlie nodded. "But I can handle them. I've been in tougher situations. Besides, I think it gets their goats when they have a lesbian mechanic who is outshining them. Thank God, my Dad was a car lover and taught me everything I know about engines and car parts!" She took a sip of wine. "Enough about me, how was your day?"
"Good." Carrie answered. "I mean I did have an asshole customer today, but this cute guy defended me from him."
Her girlfriend was intrigued. "Cute guy, huh? Should I be afraid of a little competition?"
Carrie planted a playful peck to her lips. "Relax. Remember, our only look but no touching rule?"
Charlie kissed her back. "Of course, I was only playing." She giggled. "So, he's good looking, I see?"
Carrie's lifted an eyebrow. "Don't be jealous. Besides, you have more experience in the guy department than I ever did. He happens be the new science professor at the university."
"Interesting," Charlie remarked. "But you flirted with him?"
Her girlfriend rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease. I'm hopeless when it comes to flirting. You know me, Charlie. I'm the shy one. I'm the person that doesn't really do much of anything."
Charlie laughed. "Well, you learned to do a lot of things when you met me!"
Carrie playfully slapped her shoulder. Charlie winced. She listened as her red headed lover let out a sigh.
"What is it?"
"What?" Charlie could tell when Carrie was deep in thought.
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
Nothing!"
Charlie didn't believe her. Finally, she confessed.
"Okay," she said as placed her nearly empty plate of pasta on the coffee table in front. "Charlie, we've been in Fort Lindell for a year now, right?"
"Yeah." Charlie was not sure where she was going with this.
"And we haven't had anyone chasing us?"
"Sure," said her dark-haired girlfriend. "We've been pretty lucky so far."
"I was thinking," Carrie started. "That I could start considering taking classes at the university…"
Charlie quickly put her wine glass and plate down next to her girlfriend's on the coffee table as well. Then she stood up. "Carrie, we've talked about this!"
"It wouldn't be a lot. Maybe one or two…"
Charlie shook her head. "No, Carrie. We're trying to keep a low profile. What if the Shop finds us? We're going to have to pack up and run again! We can't get too comfortable!"
"But the longest we've ever stayed anywhere was six months!" Carrie defended. "It's been a year. The Shop hasn't found us, and I really don't think they will. I really think we're safe this time. Please, Charlie, I want to try get a real education since I've never had one. This could be my chance!"
"And then what happens if they do find us?" Charlie argued. "All that schooling goes to waste!"
"But I know I did something good in my life than simply learning things off a television screen," Carrie added. "I want to be a more knowledgeable and well-rounded individual. The Shop can't take that away from me!"
Charlie exhaled and really absorbed what her girlfriend was saying. Carrie deserved a real education and a real normal life. She never experienced it living with a religious, fanatical mother. She never experienced it when she was bullied and turned into the school outcast. She never experienced it while living on the run. This was her opportunity now. Something that was solely for her and she needed it to fulfill her own sense of self-worth. She sat down next to her on the couch.
"Okay," I said quietly. "I guess we can try this out."
Excitement exploded out of Carrie. She leaped forward and embraced her lover as they fell back on to the couch and cuddled.
"I'm so happy," she whispered to Charlie. She kissed her girlfriend's cheek. "I love you, Charlie McGee."
Carrie smiled as they held each other tight. "I love you, Carrie White."
They settled in the fabric of the furniture and allowed the atmosphere of calmness overtake them before selecting to let sleep take over their bodies.
It was truly a good day.