"Daniel would understand. I worked hard to convince myself of that. He would. He would listen, and he would help me
to figure everything out. He'd help me to work stuff out in my mind.
I fell back to sleep at some point, and when I woke up, it was just past sunrise. I stretched, folding the blanket that Mrs. Rose
had let me borrow. She was still sleeping, her knitting in her lap.
I tried to figure out where we were, and how far we'd come. There was a middle-aged man seated in the seat just in front of Mrs. Rose. He half-turned back
and smiled at me.
"Good morning," he said. "Looks as though we're the only two awake so far."
I nodded. "Looks like it," I said.
"Where are you headed to?" he asked.
I hesitated. He looked normal enough, but I didn't know him, and I was on my own here.
"Just traveling," I said vaguely.
He smiled, as though he wasn't bothered at all by my response.
"Nothing better than traveling," he said.
"What time is it?" I asked him. "Do you know?"
The man looked at the watch on his wrist. "Nearly seven."
Nearly halfway to Nashville. I sighed. Twelve more hours seemed so long.
"Where are we?" I asked him then.
"We're in Arizona," he said. "We should be stopping for breakfast soon."
I nodded, and went back to looking out of the window. He kept turned, watching me for a few minutes, and smiling at me
whenever I looked his way.
I was glad to see the bus pulling up into another restaurant parking lot. The driver said we'd be leaving again in 40 minutes. I
got off the bus, stretching my legs. The man who'd been talking to me on the bus fell into step beside me.
"I'll be glad to buy your breakfast," he said.
I gave him a look. Even I, at my dumbest, knew better than that. I was saved from answering by Mrs. Rose, who
appeared beside my elbow. "We're eating together," she told the man, and whisked me inside, and to a table.
"I hope I didn't overstep," she told me. "You didn't want to have breakfast with that gentleman, did you?"
"No, ma'm," I admitted. "Thank you."
"We girls have to stick together," she said, with a smile.
I ordered a big breakfast. What was it about riding on a bus that made me so hungry? I ate my eggs, and toast, and sausage, and
drank orange juice, and coffee.
"You have a healthy appetite," Mrs. Rose commented. "It's nice to see a girl eat well. Most of these young girls don't eat enough to keep
from blowing away."
"I don't know why I'm so hungry. I don't usually eat this much at home," I admitted.
"Well, you can stand to carry some more weight," she said, sounding grandma-ish like Marie. For a moment, my chest squeezed. I wondered
what Marie would say to me if she was sitting across from me right now.
"Where is home?" she asked me then.
Her eyes were kind, and I answered honestly. "Murphys." Then, since Murphys is such a small town, and she might not have heard
of it, I added, "California."
"Yes. Murphys," she nodded. "I've never been there. But I hear that it's beautiful."
"It is."
"Who's in Nashville that you're traveling to see?" she asked me.
"My brother."
"That's nice, that you're going to see him. I wasn't fortunate enough to have a brother."
"I have seven," I told her, and her eyes widened a bit like most people's do when they hear the size of our family.
"My goodness," she said. She asked a few questions, and soon I was talking. Talking about all my brothers, and Hannah and Clare, and
baby Isaac. When I talked about Isaac, and how he was starting to cut teeth, and how he would look at you and smile, and flap his
little hands, I felt the tightening in my chest again.
"Sweet baby," she said.
"Yes. He is," I said.
"None of your brothers could make the trip to Nashville with you?" she asked then. Somehow, her questions didn't seem intrusive or
over the top, so I found myself answering honestly again.
"They don't know, that I'm going, I mean," I said.
"Oh," she said, looking startled. "But your brother in Nashville? What's his name?"
"Daniel."
"Daniel knows that you're coming?" she asked.
I hesitated. "It's sort of a surprise," I said.
"Ah," she said, with a nod, looking as though she wanted to say something more.
After that, though, she didn't ask any more questions, or say anything more about it. We talked about other things mostly, and
finished our breakfast.
When it was time to board the bus again, I sank into my seat, feeling as though I'd been riding on a bus forever.
7
Nearly five hours later, we stopped for lunch. Again off of the bus. Into a fast food place. Then back onto the bus. I actually sighed
as we reboarded, weary thru and thru.
Mrs. Rose told me I could sit with her, and I did, and I watched her fingers fly over her knitting.
"Would you like to try?" she asked me.
"I'm not very crafty," I told her.
"No need to be," she said, brushing aside my concerns. "It will make the time go faster."
So she showed what to do, and I tried it. I wasn't very good at it, but she was right about the time passing faster.
"I'll be getting off soon," she told me.
"Oh," I said.
"My daughter's waiting for me in Enid."
I nodded. "It was nice to meet you. I want to thank you for being so kind to me."
For a long moment, the older woman looked at me. "You're not hard to be kind to. I hope you have a wonderful visit with your
brother."
"Me, too," I said, pushing back worrisome thoughts of Daniel flipping out at my sudden and unexpected arrival.
"You could call him at the next rest stop," she said. "So it won't be such a surprise."
"I probably should," I agreed.
At Enid, Oklahoma, Mrs. Rose gathered up her knitting, and her bag, and gave me a pat.
"Here," I told her, remembering the afghan that she'd let me borrow the night before.
"Keep it," she told me. "I must have a hundred of them that I've made over the years."
"Thank you," I said.
"Take care, dear," she said, and with a smile, she was gone. And I was truly sorry to see her go.
7
After Enid, the bus continued what seemed to be an endless drive. When we stopped for an early supper at a steakhouse, I didn't really have
anybody to sit with. I hadn't talked to any of the other bus riders, besides Mrs. Rose and the overly friendly man.
I ordered a salad, and some kind of fruit plate. Everything on the menu was so expensive. I only had about twenty dollars left. It was shocking
how fast I'd gone thru my money from Rick. After buying the ticket, and the gas for Lori, and then all of the meals, well, it seemed it had
gone fast.
When I finished my meal, I walked outside the restaurant. There was a telephone booth to the side. I looked at it, considering. Maybe
I should try calling Daniel now, as Mrs. Rose had suggested. I actually started walking that direction, but then at the door of the phone booth,
I lost my nerve. It'd be better, I told myself, to wait until I was actually in Nashville. Safe and sound. Then Daniel wouldn't have as much reason
to be upset. If I called him now, he'd just be worried until I got there.
When we were loading back up onto the bus, I asked the driver if we were due to arrive at the scheduled time in Nashville.
He gave me a toothy grin. "Right on schedule," he said proudly.
I went back to find my seat, where I'd left my bag, and afghan. I was settling in, when the man who'd tried to chat me up before, came to
stand at the end of the seat in the aisle.
"How are you doing?" he asked me.
"Fine," I said, feeling uncomfortable at his scrutiny.
"The time might go faster if we talk," he said then.
I was trying to think of the words to discourage him, when he sat down next to me, without even a do you mind.
I gathered my afghan and bag up to my chest.
"I always say that one of the best parts of traveling is getting to know your fellow passengers," he said.
I looked at him, but didn't say anything.
For the next while, I don't know how long exactly, he sat by me, and talked. And talked. And talked some more.
About places he'd been, and things that he'd seen, and jobs that he'd had. I was so desperate for him to shut up, that I sighed
out loud.'
"Something wrong?" he asked me.
"I'm getting a headache," I told him, hoping he would take the hint to stop talking and go back to his own seat.
"Ah, yes," he said, and reached up to turn off the little light above my head. "Maybe some quiet and dark will help."
At first I was relieved, but then he just sat there, not moving. He laid his arm across the back of the high bus seat.
"You're young to be traveling alone," he said, in a quieter voice.
I thought it wouldn't do for him to think I was a kid, so I spoke without thinking.
"I'm older than I look," I said.
I knew I'd made a mistake when he smiled again. It wasn't a nice smile. It made my skin crawl.
"I think you look fine," he said, in a slow way, and he let the tips of his fingers rub against my shoulder. "I can tell you're all grown up."
I leaned forward, trying to shake his hand off, but it stayed put. I began to feel panic rising in my throat.
"Who are you meeting up with?" he asked.
"I'm meeting my dad," I lied. "He's a Marine, and he's waiting for me."
"Yeah?" he asked, sounding unsure. "Where at?"
"At the next stop," I continued with my lie. I wasn't even sure where the next stop was at.
"I think I want to stretch out and go to sleep," I said, trying to sound firm.
I don't know if it was my tone, or the fact that he was tired of playing games, or the belief that I had a tough Marine father,
who would be waiting for me, but he moved back across the aisle, and I sighed in relief. I did stretch my feet out, and cover up with Mrs. Rose's afghan, all the way up to my chin, and kept my eyes on the man. I didn't think I would fall asleep at all, but I must have, because I was awakened by the driver, who was shaking my shoulder.
"Miss, this is your stop."
I sat up, trying to get my bearings. "We're in Nashville?" I asked.
"We surely are."
He moved on back down the aisle. I looked out the window, but it was dark, and all I could see was other buses, and a big Greyhound sign under
the lights.
I gathered up my bag, and blanket, and got up, working my way up the aisle. The man was still sleeping, and I hoped that he would stay that
way. I didn't want to have to deal with him anymore.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped off the bus was how cold it was. The temperature difference between here and home was unbelievable.
It was raining, too. A light rain, and when I wasn't watching, I stepped into a puddle to the right of the bus. It soaked
my shoes and right thru to my socks. I went into the bus station, which was a little warmer.
I sat down on a bench, setting my bag and blanket to the side. The big clock on the wall said it was nearly 7:25. There was a pay phone
on the wall. I fumbled in my pockets for change. Then I gathered my nerve, and stood up. It was time to call Daniel.
7
