Emma and Shalimar stepped out of the car onto the side of the road to investigate the noise they'd heard. Shalimar walked to the end of the car as she examined it. As she came to the back she let out a loud sigh of annoyance.
"What is it?" Emma asked as she made her way over to Shalimar.
"The tires have blown out," Shalimar answered as she pouted on the side of the road.
"Oh, great," Emma said in a sarcastic sigh. She threw her hands up and then rested them on her hips as she starred at the two rear flat tires. "This probably wouldn't have happened if we'd been flying to Paris."
"Emma," Shalimar said in a dragged out sigh that clearly showed she wasn't in the mood. Emma backed off by putting her hands up in defeat and took a step back.
"So what are we gonna do?"
"I think there's a garage around here somewhere," Shalimar said as she looked around the not too populated streets.
"Don't you have any spares in the back?"
"No," Shalimar replied, "I had to take them out to make room for the luggage."
"Oh, great," Emma huffed as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, you're the one who had to pack so much," Shalimar reminded the psionic.
"Well, I didn't know where we were going remember. But obviously," Emma paused as she looked around the neighborhood she could tell wasn't exactly high class, "it's not Paris."
"Thanks for your help, Emma," Shalimar snickered sarcastically. She headed back to the car and removed the keys and locked and shut the door.
"What are you doing?"
"Locking up so we can walk to the service garage."
"Why? Can't you just use your cell phone?"
"I forgot to charge it last night," the feral replied. Emma sighed again as she couldn't believe the irresponsibility of Shalimar. She couldn't understand how Shalimar would plan a whole vacation and not make sure everything was in place. Did Shalimar not put as much thought into this vacation as she had assumed she did? Didn't Shalimar think of everything that they might need? Wasn't her happiness important to Shalimar? Didn't their needs occur to her? Something about Shalimar being so irresponsible didn't seem to fit quite right. Emma quickly dismissed all her worries as she remembered she had other problems to think about right now.
"How could you not charge your phone before we left for a week long vacation?" Emma questioned not believing she was asking the words.
"If I remember correctly," Shalimar began as she checked the back doors to make sure they were locked, "I was about to until you came in the room and um, distracted me. Then I went to sleep and the phone wasn't really what was on my mind."
"Ok, so is there anything else I should know before we walk down dump street here?" Shalimar sighed at the psionic's question. "You didn't forget the money too did you?"
"No, now let's go. There's a gas station over there let's ask them if they know where we can get our car fixed."
"Ok," Emma agreed reluctantly and began to follow the feral down the street. They walked across the street and headed towards the station ahead.
"It could've been a lot worse," Shalimar began, "I mean we-" Shalimar cut herself off as she looked down beside her to notice Emma slipping to land on the hard curb.
"Ow!" Emma bite out as she fell to the concrete.
"Are you ok, honey?" Shalimar asked full of concern as she helped the fallen psionic up.
"Wonderful," Emma sarcastically replied as she slowly rose to her feet with the assistance of Shalimar. Shalimar helped Emma brush herself off and looked down to the mud puddle beside the curb.
"It was the mud," the feral informed her as Emma looked down to her feet.
"Damn," Emma groaned as she looked at her new shoes totally covered in mud. She turned to look behind her and saw she also had it on her new blue jeans Shalimar had just given her last week.
"It'll be ok, sweetie," Shalimar reassured as she whipped the mud from Emma's back side. Emma knocked her shoes against the curb to get some of the mud off them. Shalimar held Emma's arm and hands in her own and slowly helped her onto the curb.
"Ow," Emma let out a painful sigh as she stepped to the sidewalk.
"Can you walk?" Shalimar asked as she looked at Emma's somewhat altered stance.
"I think I sprained my ankle a little," Emma replied.
"I have some pain killers in the car. For now I'll help you walk," Shalimar smiled as to offer some comfort to the disgruntled psionic. She knew Emma had wanted to go on one of those romantic week long trips to a place liked France and she felt bad she hadn't planned one. She thought her trip would be a fun little getaway and she would have planed a Paris trip if she had more time. She was sure that one day she'd take Emma away to one of those places she knew the psionic dreamed about. She just wanted to do all she could now to make their trip a good and memorable one. All she ever wanted was to please Emma. Her main goal most of the time was to do things that would make the psionic happy. Everyday she'd think of and do so many new things for her but she never really felt like it was enough. She felt like she could never fully make the psionic understand just how much she loved her. None the less, everyday she tried harder to communicate her unconditional love for her.
She felt bad at seeing Emma in pain as she helped the hobbling psionic down the street and to the station. She felt responsible. Sometimes she felt like every little thing that bothered Emma had somehow gotten past her. She felt like she was the psionic's shield, and if anything harmed her then she had failed her in some way. She'd always know better than to let something like that bother her too much and she never dwelled on it, but seeing Emma like this and knowing she'd rather be somewhere else bothered the feral more than she would let on. She knew that Emma seeing her upset would upset her as well, and she wouldn't do anything that upset the psionic, especially in her now already bothered state.
Shalimar opened the doors to the gas station and helped the psionic through. They headed over to the counter to approach the dark haired, middle aged man waiting there. He smiled and greeted them as they approached.
"Good morning, ladies," he said with a smile, "what can I do for you?"
Shalimar broke her embrace with Emma as the psionic leaded on the counter ahead to brace herself.
"Hi," Emma began, "we were sidetracked while on our way to Paris," she made a face over the Shalimar before turning back to the attendant, "do you know where we can get our car fixed?"
"Well, we used to fix 'em here but that stopped a few months ago. I'd say the closest place for repair is Joe's Auto Shop a few blocks over."
"A few blocks?" Emma echoed.
"Do you have a phone we could use?" Shalimar asked the man.
"There's a pay phone right out front there," he answered as he pointed through the doors. Shalimar turned back to Emma.
"Come on," Shalimar said as she helped brace Emma once again. She helped the psionic walk outside and eased her onto the bench near the door.
"Sit here and rest, I'll make the phone call." Shalimar smiled at Emma and turned to walk to the phone booth. She opened the phone book hanging from the chain and began to flip through the pages. Soon enough she picked up the receiver and began to dial. Within a few minutes she hung up and returned to sit beside Emma on the bench.
"They're sending someone to tow the car," she reassured. "He should be there in about ten minutes. I'll go and wait by the car ok, you just relax here." Shalimar smiled and placed her arm around the psionic's shoulder to grip her close. "I'm sorry about all this, honey." Emma turned to force a smile at the feral's soft words.
"I know. It's ok."
"We'll have a lot of fun I promise," Shalimar smiled at Emma and leaned to place a soft, sweet kiss on her cheek. She rubbed Emma's back to comfort her. "Hey, I'll be right back." Shalimar stood to her feet and headed back into the gas station.
Emma felt resentful as she sat on the bench. She knew none of this was really Shalimar's fault but couldn't help resenting her for it. She felt bad and guilty for it and was sure that things would pick up for them. She tried to push aside her doubts but they rang loudly in her head along with the headache she felt accumulating. She was grateful for Shalimar suggesting they go away together but she had an image of what it would be like and felt that anything less would take away from the experience. She had hoped everything would be perfect and now felt there was a taint on the vacation plans. She tried not to think about it and remember that she was away with Shalimar and this was supposed to be a happy time. She turned as Shalimar headed back out the doors and sat down beside her once more.
"Here, honey," Shalimar said as she handed a slushe to Emma. "And I got you some Doritos." Shalimar smiled and set the bag beside the psionic.
"Thank you," Emma replied and smiled at the feral's thoughtful gesture. Shalimar smiled and kissed her. She looked to her watch and sighed as she stood to her feet. "I better get down to the car to wait. I'll come back and get you soon ok?" Shalimar removed her small leather coat she'd been wearing and wrapped it around the psionic. She leaned down to kiss her once more.
"See ya soon, baby." Shalimar smiled and turned to make her way back to the car.
Soon after leaving the station Shalimar had returned to the car. She opened the door and searched through the compartment between the seats for the pain killers she had promised Emma. She reached in and pulled a few out to place them in her pocket. She closed the door and leaned against it to wait for the tow truck. Soon enough she saw it coming down the street and she waved to inform them of her location. The men placed the tow truck in position and one of them headed out to greet Shalimar as the other began to prepare for the tow.
"Hi, I'm Chuck from Joe's Auto Shop," the man said as he shook Shalimar's hand. "Just a couple flat tires, huh? We should have that fixed in no time."
"Great," Shalimar sighed in relief, "thanks a lot." She smiled as the man lead her over to the truck and gestured for her to get in. she did so and was followed by the other two workers. She looked around and sighed as she noticed there wasn't enough space for them to pick up Emma.
In no longer than a few minutes there were pulling into the auto shop. Shalimar and the men flowed out of the truck and onto the lot.
"We'll have this done for you in about ten minutes, ma'am," Chucks explained. "You can head on into the waiting room if ya want."
"Thanks." She smiled and made her way into the small room.
"Hi," a man called from behind a counter. "You the one with the tire damage?"
"Yeah," she said as she approached the desk, "I'm Shalimar I called about having my tires replaced." Shalimar began to pay her bill as she rushed herself. She felt like every moment she spent there was a waste because she was without Emma. She knew Emma didn't like the way the trip was turning out so far and she felt increasing worse about it. She hated being there when she really wanted to be beside Emma. Shalimar sat down in the car and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for her car to be done. With this set back she doubted they'd make their destination by the end of the day.
Emma sat on the bench almost frowning as she anxiously awaited Shalimar's return. She hoped she hadn't upset the feral with her words earlier. She sipped her slushe and pulled Shalimar's jacket closer around her to comfort herself. She knew Shalimar was doing her best to show her a good time. Emma couldn't ignore the nagging tension and worries that still sat in the pit of her stomach. She felt she had issues that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. Issues that involved her and Shalimar. She knew they had things to talk about but wasn't sure if it would be the right time on this vacation.
Emma sat contemplating a while longer and then looked up at the sound of a horn beeping. She turned to see Shalimar in the newly fixed car smiling out the window at her. Shalimar parked and made her way over to the psionic. She took her hand and helped her to her feet.
"All fixed," she said with a warm smile. "How are you?"
"Feeling better," the psionic replied.
"Here's your pills, honey," Shalimar said as she handed the pain killers to Emma. "Let's get back on the road we got some time to make up for. You can change your pants in the car."
"Yeah," Emma agreed as she took her pills and sat down in the car with the assistance of Shalimar. Shalimar turned and made her way to the drivers' seat and began to pull away in anticipation of getting back on the road to their destination.