Big Yellow Taxi
Chapter 39
Daryl sat in the back of the bus, poking through the bag of mismatched socks and feeling dejected. They were out of gas. Out of money. Out of food after the dogs got into the jerky and fruit. And stranded at a gas station in the middle of what was not yet South Dakota. Aaron and Eric were walking the dogs nearby, chatting with each other as they tried to figure out their next move.
Finally finding a large men's tube sock in the mess, Daryl pulled off his left sock. The one that had a hole so big half his toes were poking out. And he prepared to pull the fresh sock over his foot. But there was something weird and lumpy inside. He reached inside the sock and pulled out a rolled up wad of cash wrapped in a small piece of paper and tied up with a rubber band. He released the band and thumbed through the cash. There was at least a few hundred dollars there. More than enough to get them to South Dakota and back. When he unraveled the paper, he saw that it had a note written on it.
Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.
Daryl shook his head and smiled. The old man that had given them the socks clearly hid this money inside. He must have intended for Daryl to find it when he really needed it. Which he had.
"Hey!," Daryl called over to Aaron and Eric, holding up the rolled up wad of cash. "That old cat guy left us some money."
Eric started jumping up and down, clapping his hands. Aaron drug Tank over and took the money from Daryl's hand to count it.
"What are we gonna do now?," Eric asked, glancing hopefully at the diner across the street.
"I know what I'm gonna do," Daryl announced. "I'm gonna fill this jalopy up with gas and then I'm gonna go across the street and get me a greasy ass burger!"
Between the three men, it was decided that they would get gas after their meal, so they wouldn't have to push the bus around more than necessary. They piled in through the door of the small local diner with both large dogs in tow. The waitress cast a suspicious glance at them, raising her eyebrows.
"They're my emotional support dogs," Aaron told her with a hopeful smile. The woman laughed. She certainly didn't believe his obvious lie but also didn't look overly interested in arguing with him. She pointed the group towards a table in the corner. Heading that way, they passed by a mother and daughter sitting across from each other in a booth. The woman had short gray hair and didn't react to the strange procession that passed her table. The little girl's eyes flew open wide, her face lighting up into a big grin when she saw the dogs.
"Mom!," she asked, "...Can I pet those dogs?" Her mother cast a suspicious glance at the large animals and shook her head.
"Maybe after you get done eating," she said, gesturing to the plate of chicken strips in front of the girl. Daryl noticed that while the girl had food in front of her, the woman only had a glass of water. Her eyes kept nervously darting around the small restaurant. At first Daryl thought it was the presence of the large dogs that had her on edge. But after she looked him and his strange entourage over, she went back to looking out the window and glancing towards the door, not paying them any more attention.
The three men ordered and dug into their food with enthusiasm. The only solid meal they had since they left was dinner back at Hershel's farmhouse. Aaron had a map out and was looking it over, trying to figure out the fastest way to get to the reservation. Daryl looked up when he heard the girl in the booth asking her mother for a piece of chocolate cake. Her mother told her no, that she didn't have money for that. Instead of begging her mom, like Daryl expected the young girl to do, she only gave a resigned nod of her head. Eric must have heard their conversation as well because he raised his hand, signaling the waitress over and ordering a piece of cake. When it arrived he walked it over to the booth.
"I ordered this cake but I'm really too full from lunch," he told the girl, giving her mother a wink. "Would you like it?" She was quick to snatch the plate from him. Her mother thanked Eric quietly and gave him a grateful smile. As he walked away, he could hear a buzzing vibration coming from their booth. The girl's mother must have noticed it too because as Eric sat back down at the table he heard her asking the girl to hand over her bag.
"What's that noise? Sophia, give me your backpack," she said. The girl handed the small pink bag across the table and her mother ripped it open, pawing through the contents and coming up with a small black cell phone. "Who's phone is this?," she asked. "Where did you get this?" The girl looked as shocked as her mother to see the unfamiliar device. Her little mouth dropped open as she stared at the phone like it was a snake ready to strike, the rest of her cake forgotten in front of her on the table.
"I don't know," Sophia said, her voice quivering, "I didn't put it in there mommy, I swear." As they stared at each other, the phone started vibrating again. The woman dropped it onto the table with a clatter. She stared at it for a moment before picking it up again and answering the call. The man on the other end immediately began screaming. He was so loud that Daryl could hear what the man was saying even though he wasn't on speaker. You think you're so smart. But I know where you are, you bitch! You think you can just take off with my fucking daughter? When I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk for a month! The gray haired woman stood. Her hands were shaking so bad it took her a few swipes to end the call. Then she dropped the phone to the ground and stomped down hard on it, shattering the screen. She stomped on it one more time before she grabbed her daughter and pulled the girl from the booth.
"Time to go," she told the girl. The waitress stopped them on their way to the door, asking if everything was alright and if the woman wanted her to call the police. The woman shook her head and hurried out. But Daryl saw the waitress heading for the phone anyway.
"I think it's time for us to go too," he hissed. Aaron nodded his agreement. Aside from whatever personal criminal history Daryl might be worried about, the bus wasn't registered or insured. Neither where their giant unleashed dogs. And there was a large baggie of pot in the glove box. Aaron tossed enough money down on the table to cover their bill and the three of them headed for the exit. They quickly pushed the bus over to an open pump. Aaron darted inside to pay while Daryl corralled the dogs into the bus and shut the door. He had just finished filling up the van with gas when he heard the woman scream.
A large stocky man with a crew cut had her by the arm and was dragging her towards a car. The little girl was crying, following them with a small doll clutched tightly in her arms. The woman started struggling when the man opened the car door. He cocked his hand back and slapped her hard across the face. Daryl cursed under his breath when he realized that both Eric and Aaron were already halfway across the parking lot.
Carol braced herself. She could already taste her own blood from the first slap and she knew there was another one coming. When she wasn't immediately slapped again, she slit her eyes open. A tall man with short curly hair and a tie dye t-shirt on had a firm grip on her husband's arm. Another man, clad in a matching shirt was standing behind the first with his arm around Sophia. Carol realized they were the men from the diner. The ones with the large dogs that bought Sophia a slice of cake.
"This ain't none of your business," Ed hollered, "so take yer faggot asses outta here." He yanked his arm from Aaron's grip and shoved him back, elbowing him hard in the ribs. Then he slapped his wife again. Aaron darted forward, putting himself in between them and forcing the man to release his grip on the woman. Then he shoved the much heavier man, sending him into the side of the car. Aaron didn't even have time to brace himself when the man's large meaty fist came flying at his face. His head rocked to the side and he could hear Eric's screams mixing with those of the little girl he was pulling back and away from the fight to keep her from being hit.
Before the man could swing at Aaron again, Daryl seized him by the collar of his shirt like he weighed no more than a naughty kitten and tossed him down hard onto the pavement. He leaped on top of the man, punching him hard in the face. At first Aaron was relieved. But then Daryl grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and hit him again. And again. After the third punch, Aaron moved. He grabbed Daryl's arm with one hand and wrapped his other arm around the man's chest. Daryl was much stronger but Eric moved in to help and between them they were able to pull him away from the wife beater on the ground.
"He's not worth it," Aaron said. He encouraged Daryl to look at him instead of the man on the ground, who he was still clearly thinking about taking another swing at. "Look at me," Aaron coaxed. "He's not worth it. Let it go." Finally, Daryl was able to focus on the man that had his hands braced against his chest. His body relaxed and he slumped back against the side of the car.
"They already called the cops," Eric told the woman, gesturing towards the diner, "They should be here any minute." He expected the woman to be relieved by this news but her facial expressions said differently. She wasn't any more eager to see the cops than Daryl was.
"His uncle is the chief of police," she said quietly, nodding her head towards the man that attacked her. "When they get here, they'll arrest me, not him." The little girl darted towards her mother. She wrapped her little arms around the woman and began to weep.
"Please don't let them take my mommy away again," she sobbed. Aaron and Eric made eye contact with each other first. Then they both turned and looked at Daryl. He was wiping the blood off his knuckles with a rag from his back pocket.
"If yer comin' with us then ya better get in that bus," he informed the woman and her daughter, "Cause we're leavin' now."
