Disclaimer: Not mine.
Helpless 12
En route
Marron gripped the wheel of the unfamiliar car and squinted as a passing truck sent a waterfall cascading across the vast windshield. In spite of the rain, and the fact that it was Sunday, the freeway hummed with the heavy traffic.
The farthest north she'd ever been was Pisces. She'd never even seen Gemini, and they still had several miles to go before they reached that city.
Trunks had been fairly quiet for a while, content to stare out of the window for long stretches of time. She had no idea what he was looking at. The heavy rains prevented them from seeing much more than the saturated firs lining the freeway. Trunks pointed out the sites but Marron could see nothing more than heavy mist above the soaking fields.
"What do you usually do with your weekends?" Trunks asked suddenly, startling her out of her thoughts.
"Mostly I spend them finding my way around Pisces."
"That shouldn't take very long."
She sent him a reproachful look. "Pisces might not be a big city to you, but when you come from a small town, I can promise you, a city that size can be overwhelming."
"Have you seen the town in sunshine yet?"
She smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have. It doesn't rain all the time, you know."
"No, it just seems like it. Still, I guess it's better than the heavy snows they get in other parts."
She glanced at him. "Have you lived in Pisces all your life?"
"No. Just the last fifteen years. What did you do with your weekends in - where was it you said you came from? I forget."
"Aquarius." He'd changed the subject again, she noticed. She wondered again what it was he took such pains to forget. "I spent my weekends helping my mother take care of my brothers and sisters, mostly. With five of them there were always dance classes, ball games, swimming lessons, music lessons. You know how it goes."
He was silent, and she wondered if it was because he'd never done those things when he was small. Maybe he was an only child. She would have liked to ask him, but he'd made it clear that his past was not something he wanted to discuss.
"Anyway," she added, "it was a lot of fun, and there wasn't much else to do there, especially in the winter. Not like Pisces. There's always something going on here. I'm dying to go down and take a look at the Saturday market, it sounds really interesting. Have you been there?"
"No, it's not exactly my idea of a fun time."
He'd sounded slightly patronizing, and she felt a spurt of resentment. "Well," she murmured, "we can't all afford to fly off to the Islands for a week, or risk our necks on the ski slopes."
"I didn't mean it that way. I just meant that I don't like being around crowds."
Annoyed with herself for jumping to conclusions again, she went on the defensive. "I would think crowds would be tough to avoid considering your hectic lifestyle."
"I manage."
Now she felt ashamed for being so petty. Glancing at him again, she said quietly, "Are you comfortable? Do you need to stop and stretch out?"
"I'm fine. This is a roomy car."
She'd followed his instructions and rented the Lincoln he'd suggested. She'd never been inside such luxury, let alone actually driven it. The buttery-soft seats smelled of new leather, and the dashboard looked like it belonged to a space shuttle.
There were buttons for everything, as Trunks had demonstrated when he'd adjusted his seat in a dozen different ways, all by the touch of a button. Marron half expected an arm to come out the glove compartment, holding a bubbling glass of champagne.
The silver monster seemed to eat up the miles, effortlessly sweeping around the curves with just a light touch of her fingers. It was almost like flying, there was so little movement or sound inside the car. In fact, she found the silence a little unnerving.
As if reading her thoughts, Trunks turned on the radio, flipping through several stations before he found one he liked. The soft notes of a romantic song filtered into the car, making Marron feel uneasy again.
She cast around her mind for something to say that would break the tension crackling around her. Even Trunks seemed ill at ease, and she wondered if he regretted suggesting this trip now that they were actually on the way. He was probably wishing he'd asked one of his girlfriends, she thought wryly.
"You must have been to Taurus a lot," she said at last.
"I've been up there a few times. It's a great city. You'll like it."
"Is it difficult to drive around there? I'm not used to driving in big cities."
"You'll be fine. I'll tell you how to get to the hotel. It's pretty straightforward." He sounded amused. "Don't worry, I'm not taking abducting you to the back of beyond."
"Oh, I'm not worried." That wasn't the truth, of course. She worried about everything. Whether her clothes would look tacky and inappropriate. Whether she'd say the wrong thing to the wrong person and embarrass Trunks with her lack of sophistication.
What on earth had possessed her to agree to this crazy idea? She was totally out of her depth, and right now she would give anything to be heading back to her nice, safe and comfortable little apartment in the East Hills of Pisces.
Seated next to a dynamic, worldly entrepreneur in the warm, intimate atmosphere of a luxury sedan was neither comfortable nor particularly safe, in Marron's estimation.
She gritted her teeth and reminded herself why she came to the big city. If she was going to survive in the corporate world long enough to realize her dream, she would have to learn to deal with all kinds of situations.
Besides, if there was one thing she was certain of, it was that in a million years Trunks Briefs would not see plain, dumpy little Marron Chestnut as a potential conquest. She was perfectly safe on that score. With that thought firmly entrenched in her mind, she did her best to relax.
Just north of Gemini, Trunks asked her to pull into a roadside restaurant for a late lunch. Getting him in and out of the car proved to be a great deal easier than she would have imagined.
He was in excellent physical shape, she noticed, watching him swing his long legs effortlessly out of the seat. His energetic lifestyle had paid off in this case, at least.
Seated by a very attentive hostess in a quiet corner of the cozy dining room, Trunks brightened considerably. "This is more like it," he announced, beaming at Marron across the table. "I feel like I've just been released from prison."
Assuming that his spirits had been lifted by the pretty redhead, Marron stifled her resentment. "This is a very nice restaurant," she agreed. "There are even fresh flowers on the table."
"The food isn't bad either. Not anywhere hear as good as you delicious home cooking, of course," Trunks said, flipping open the menu, "but the ambience is a definite improvement and I couldn't ask for more delightful and stimulating company."
Oh, how smoothly the compliments rolled of his tongue, Marron thought as she studied her own menu. All the practice he'd had made it all sound so genuine. Thank heaven she knew better than to take him seriously.
"My father would like this restaurant," she murmured. They serve liver and onions, his favorite meal. My mother won't have liver in the house, so the only time he gets to eat it is in a restaurant."
"He likes liver?" Trunks sounded impressed. "I admire anyone who can actually eat the stuff. He must be quite a man."
"He is." She smiled, feeling a bittersweet pang of nostalgia. "I think I miss him more than any of the others. He's a terrific man."
Trunks put down his menu. "He would have to be able to handle six kids."
"He could handle double that without any problem." Marron said with a little burst of pride. "He's a wonderful family man. He's wise and fair, hardworking and adores my mother. And us, of course. If I ever get married, it will be to someone just like him."
"Well, that's quite testimonial."
She looked at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic, but for a brief moment his face held that same wistful look she'd seen before when she'd mentioned her family. Taking advantage of the opportunity to press home her point, she added lightly, "He deserves it. He taught us all the importance of loyalty and sticking together when things go wrong. You can't have a close relationship with someone unless you're willing to make that kind of commitment."
"Not many people make a commitment these days. It's a cutthroat world, where you have to look out for number one if you want to stay on top."
"I think that's very sad. If everyone had that attitude there would be no more close relationships. Just people putting up with each other. What a bleak world that would be."
Trunks shrugged. "I guess everyone has their idea of what constitutes a good life."
"Well," Marron said defiantly, "I'm going to wait until I find someone with the same values and ideals as my father. I'd rather be poor and living in a shack with someone who truly loves me, than rich and lonely. That's why I've never had a relationship with anyone. There aren't too many men around like my father."
Trunks looked startled. "You've never been in love?"
Marron's cheeks grew warm. "I've never even had a steady boyfriend. Just the odd date now and again. I guess I've always been too busy taking care of my family to spend much time looking for a suitable husband."
"Then you've never. er."
"Never," Marron said firmly.
The waitress arrived at that moment to take their order, and spent the next few minutes exchanging witty remarks with Trunks, then almost left without taking Marron's order. Marron said nothing after the waitress left, but Trunks must have sensed her disapproval as he grinned at her, saying, "To each his own, I guess." Trunks could look very attractive when he grinned. It really was too bad he was such lousy husband material, Marron thought, smiling back at him in spite of herself. He spent the rest of the meal giving her his undivided attention, as if to make up for his earlier lapse. Not that Marron particularly minded him flirting with the waitress; of course, it was just that it was one more reminder of what a formidable task she'd set for herself.
They reached the border of Taurus just as it was getting dark. Marron gripped the wheel and peered at the road. "Is it still far?"
"Almost half an hour, depending on traffic. Don't worry you won't miss it."
She got her first glimpse of the city as she crossed a wide bridge. Dazzling lights in brilliant colors stretched in all directions, taking her breath away. She'd considered Pisces a big city. It would have been lost in one corner of the sprawling metropolis that spread out before her now. The hotel where Trunks directed her to was another revelation. It was built right on the bay, its white walls dotted with glistening windows towering high above the busy street. The front entrance swept around in a huge semicircle, with wide, curved steps leading up to several glass doors. Marron nervously watched as an impressive doorman in tails and a top hat stepped out into the street to open the car door with a flourish. "Thank you," she murmured as she slid out of the seat, feeling as if she should be in a glamorous evening gown instead of jeans. Never in her life had she experienced such treatment. It was all so breathtaking.
The doorman assisted Trunks out of the car and handed him his crutches. Marron accompanied him up the steps, marveling at how ha managed to look regally imposing in spite of his bandaged foot. In fact, she noticed glances in his direction from several young women, and she got the impression that it wasn't just curiosity about his injured ankle. There was no doubt about it. Trunks Briefs attracted a lot of attention. He seemed oblivious of it all, however, as they sailed up the escalators on their way to the magnificent lobby.
Water cascaded down the marble falls, storefront windows displayed diamonds and furs, while a silver-haired man dressed in a white tuxedo sat on a high platform playing a classical piece on a white grand piano. Marron craned her neck to see everything, breathless with excitement. In a daze she accepted the key to her room from a smiling receptionist, then followed Trunks into the elevator, where they were whisked up to the thirty- third floor. Her room was a few doors down from Trunks', and she left him to wait for his luggage while she went to take a look at it. The bed was enormous, and the windows overlooked the bay. She could see a mass of lights across the water, and traffic moving across a long bridge.
Tomorrow she'd get her first good look at the city in daylight, she thought, hugging herself. She could hardly wait. She was glad now that she'd agreed to come. She'd never done anything like this in her life. It was scary, and it was exciting, and she wouldn't have missed it for the world. For once Marron Chestnut was really living, and she liked it.
Ohayo minna-san! O-genki desu ka? Masaka! I have a Japanese proficiency with my org tomorrow. Wish me luck. I'm really gonna need it. Onegaishimasu?
It was Aerith Gainsborough's birthday yesterday! Omedetou gozaimsu o- tanjoubi!
Today is my mom's birthday! Of course, I'd die if she found out that I do this among other things with what little free time I have, but I'm feeling sweeter than usual today. :)
Thank you for the reviews!
Mata ne!