About an hour later around five o'clock, their stomachs began to growl with a vengeance. Gordie was making up a song about his hunger.

"Damn fuck this fucking state," he groaned. "They have no fucking food and I'm going to barf."

"How are you going to throw up with an empty stomach?" Cale asked.

"I'll find a way," he promised.

"Me too, guys, I'm serious," Vern said from the backseat in a queasy voice. "I get car sick and I already felt like shit so I mean maybe you might want to roll down the window for me if I start to make heaving noises."

Claire sighed.

"Guys, here's a stop-n-go," Chris said patiently.

Gordie made a little victory cry and then began making a grocery list. "I want peanuts, ice cream, waffles, pizza, popcorn, cotton candy, some chicken, avocados, cookies, mustard, cherries dipped in chocolate, a sub, some salami--"

"You can probably find peanuts here," Chris told him, squeezing into a parking space and throwing the truck into park. "I don't know how much luck you'll have in finding your cherries though."

Inside the little convenience store, Teddy was browsing through the candy aisle with Cale. He called across the store, "Hey, Chris, you buying?"

"Not on your life," he replied.

Holding a pre-made sandwich, Claire looked up at him. "The least you could do is treat me to a meager supper. After all, you are holding me against my will."

He snickered. "I'm not holding you at all. Start walking."

"No thank you."

"Well then, you're here voluntarily, so just enjoy my company."

"Sigh," Cale said in a dispirited voice, coming up to them with a bag of Gummi Bears in one hand and a package of Twinkies in the other. "I can't decide which I want."

"Just get both then," Chris told her.

"I'm short thirty-eight cents. One or the other."

"I can loan you thirty-eight damn cents," he said, and fished through his pockets for some change. He placed a quarter, a dime and a nickel in her hand. "Don't spend that all in one place now."

She beamed at him. "Thanks! I love food." She quickly made her way to the front to pay for her findings.

"Ahh," Claire said, nodding.

"Ahhhh what?"

"You like her," she accused. "That's why you wanted this whole road trip thing."

"Eat shit, it is not," he protested. "You have no idea why I just kept on driving."

"Fine." She shrugged. "But you do like her."

"And what, you're a psychic?" he asked skeptically. "You're a Tessio, I don't have a lot of faith in your brain power. I don't like her, okay?"

"Oh yeah? How much change you got left?" She smirked. "I can count. You just gave her your last money, unless you have more in another pocket or something. You gave up your supper so that she could have some Twinkies, which by the way, my brother is just gonna eat when she's not looking anyway."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "So why can't you be thinking-challenged like your brother?"

She just shrugged. "I'm going to go pay for my sandwich now." Spying Vern walking up to pay, his arms loaded with Twinkies, pez, root beer, and ding-dongs, she cried, "Vern, you're already sick! If you puke on me, I swear to God, mister, you will no longer be able to call yourself a male--"

"I'll share!" he insisted.

Exhaling defeatedly, Chris stood, pretending to be studying the different kinds of drinks. He searched for some more change, but all he came up with was some pocket lint. As he walked to the door to go wait for everyone back in the truck, he prayed that no one would notice he wasn't eating anything.