On Their Way

Chapter 17

Lee and Amanda were now on their way to the village of Mayorita to identify informant number 4, a barber named Jorge Muñoz.

They travelled most of the night, only stopping once at a local farm. The farmer there was kind enough to offer a space near his cornfield for them to park and to catch some shut-eye. Once they had awakened, they quickly finished the two sweetbreads that had been gifted to them from their last stop, and then they continued on their way in the pre-dawn chill.

From the passenger side of the beat-up truck, Amanda looked out the side window and then wrapped her shawl closer to her body due to the coldness of the night.

It didn't escape Lee's notice, "Heyyy, feeling a bit cold?" he concernedly asked.

"No, not really," Amanda stated calmly, "Just ignore the frigid frost forming on my nose."

"Okay, I get the hint." He reached towards the console, turned a knob and then placed his hand in front of the heat vent, "Unfortunately, the heater in this truck doesn't seem to be working very well."

"That's alright, I'm fine," she stated while continuing to observe the bare and bleak countryside. She then turned her attention towards him, "How come you don't seem to feel the cold?"

"It's a simple case of mind over matter," he explained, "I tell myself to not think about the cold; to only think warm thoughts."

Amanda shrugged, "I'm thinking about a furnace right now, but in my mind, it seems to be located next to a glacier."

When Lee smiled, Amanda noticed his dimple, "That's because you're not applying it to a real-life situation," he advised, "Do you realize, Amanda, that if we continue driving west, beyond those mountains over there, we would eventually arrive in Acapulco? Imagine that!" his tone sounded dreamy now, "sunshine rays, warm sandy beaches, calm blue waters, shapely bodies strolling along t-...OW!"

He had yelped because Amanda had slapped his arm.

"What?" he responded, confused.

"Leave it up to you to turn a lovely beach setting into an act of ogling!" she complained.

"Is ogling even a word?" he asked, "Sounds like something you'd say if you had a cute stomachache!"

"Lee! You're off topic!"

"Okay, okay!" he acquiesced, "So... " he scrunched his face, "..what were we talking about again? Ow!" He yelped when she slapped him again, "Really, Amanda? Another hit at exactly the same spot? That's my gun-shooting arm!"

Even in the darkness, Lee knew she was probably rolling her eyes and he smiled to himself.

"Number one, I'm just tapping you, so it doesn't even hurt, and number two, that's not even your gun arm!" she noted, "You're left-handed!"

His smile became wider.

"So you've noticed I'm left-handed, eh?" he teased, "Well, now...I didn't think you would notice such a tiny detail about me—Do you often think about these little details about me? Am I that interesting to you?"

If only he knew, Amanda thought.

"Hmph, not really!" she grunted back, not wanting him to get the better of her, "I'm just an observant person. But, now that we are on the topic, do you really want to know what I think of you, Lee?"

"Actually, no-."

"-what I think of you is this. I think you'll have the rest of your life to be self-centered and arrogant...so, today, why don't you take the day off from them?"

Her comment caught him by surprise and his reaction was to laugh heartily. Soon she laughed alongside him.

They continued driving on and thanks to Lee, she had stop thinking about the chilly night.

After some time Amanda asked, "How much further is it to Mayortia?"

"I'm thinking around noontime," he told her, "so now would be a good time to pull over. I see a gas station coming up and I want to fill up this truck."

A gas station with two old-time gas tanks was up ahead. Lee pulled in and a 'ding-ding' could be heard. Instantly an old man wearing dirty overalls and wiping his hands on a rag came out. Amanda hopped out of the truck to use the facilities.

Brrrrrrr. It was even colder outside in the open than inside the truck, and it was still dreary and dark as well. She blew warm breath into both her hands and then wrapped her shawl even tighter around her body as she left.

By the time she came out, Lee had filled up the tank. She got in the passenger side of the truck as he got in the driver's side.

"Here, you might like this," he stated. When she turned his way, he had presented her with a styrofoam cup with a lid on top, "but be careful, it's hot."

Amanda looked confused, "What is this?"

"In Mexico, it's called champurrado," he explained, "but we know it as hot chocolate," he explained.

Even in the dark, Lee knew Amanda's expression would've shown pure happiness, "Oh my gosh! What a wonderful gesture, Lee!" she gratefully exclaimed.

As he extended the cup to her and she reached to grasp the cup, their fingers inadvertently touched during the handover.

A sizzle went throughout their bodies at contact.

This had never happened to Lee before. In the darkness of the truck cab, he watched Amanda's eyes luminously glow as she watched him. She obviously felt it, too. His heart thundered wildly at that thought.

She never looked more attractive. And she was smart and brave in handling this mission like a pro. Yet, he had to remind himself, this was also a housewife who had two young boys and a house to maintain.

Lee broke eye contact with her and looked down at the floor mat, "Yeah, so I'm hoping this champurrado will keep you warm until we reach the town," he awkwardly stated, now looking out the front window. He forced himself not to look her way.

She observed him carefully. He was so hard to figure out, especially when it came to his emotions. He could be so thoughtful, like right now, when he gave her a warm drink. And he had a heart, though it seemed buried deep inside. For a second there, she thought he felt something for her. She knew her own feelings for Lee were growing. But whatever feelings he felt for her had dissipated. Right now, he couldn't even look at her.

"Thank you," she carefully stated, as she took a sip and felt the warmth streaming down her body. Her enthusiasm immediately reappeared, "Oh, Lee, this tastes wonderful It's like a nice warm hug for my insides!"

And Lee didn't know why, but he felt that sizzle again, without even looking at her.

#

They continued driving. The sky was brightening, signaling the beginning of dawn. It didn't take long for the sun to spread a golden light over the land.

Soon the cloudless night sky had turned an intense blue. They had reached Mayorita a little before noon, tired and hungry.

However, both were surprised at what they saw. Instead of another small village with one main inn and many open marketplaces, the road to town had broadened and they were driving down a tree-lined avenue with a few large hotels. This was followed by restaurants and a cafe, a post office, a bank, and more upscale shops.

"Oooo, this town seems larger and fancier!" Amanda said, almost pressing her nose to the window.

"Definitely more suited for tourists," Lee agreed, as he also looked about, "but the informant had been operating in an isolated area. We probably need to drive around a bit until we hit the older section where the villagers would reside."

Amanda agreed, but she looked disappointed as they drove past the posh area.

It wasn't long before they spotted the familiar adobe homes with the clusters of people in more traditional clothing strolling through the open dirt roads. Still, this town was much bigger and more developed than the previous others.

"What's the address of the informant again?" Lee asked.

From her memory, Amanda stated, "Jorge Muñoz works at the Avenue of the Hats," she paused, "It's rather funny, isn't it?"

"What is?" Lee asked, making a turn.

"Mr. Muñoz works with men's hair and his business is located on Hats Avenue!" Amanda noted with delight, "an ideal location for a barber, wouldn't you say?"

Even though Lee felt tired, he liked how Amanda never lost her enthusiasm for the mundane.

"Yeah, he's a real estate genius," Lee commented, as he turned into one of the smaller streets. It narrowed into an old alley, "I think it's best we park and walk the rest of the way in."

"If we're going to walk a ways, I think we should go back and dress as tourists," Amanda suggested, "it'll be really hard for us to blend into this crowd. And what if someone speaks Spanish to me? I've only had one year of Spanish in high school. That doesn't exactly make me fluid."

"That's a good idea," stated Lee.

As Lee parked the truck, Amanda got her suitcase out and removed her blue jeans and tennis shoes. She also pulled out a pink embroidered Mexican blouse she had purchased in Nexco.

While she was gone, Lee had spent his time looking for something for them to eat.

By the time Amanda had come out, Lee had presented her with two small tamales and a bottled water. She looked gratefully at the food and then at him, like he had given her a box of chocolates.

.

At last, they entered the dusty square that was framed by flat-roofed open stalls. The market stalls held crates of fruits or vegetables, candies, clothing, shoes and even small trinkets.

"Look, I need to find the equivalent of a men's room to change and I also need to ask for directions to the Avenue of the Hats," Lee told her, patting his backpack, as he looked around the square, "Wait for me here, don't move."

She nodded, "I'll stay right here and won't move."

Lee teasingly questioned, "Just like the many times I've asked you before to wait in the car?"

She indignantly put her hands on her hips, "For heaven's sake, Lee, I won't move!" she pointed to what looked to be an abandoned well, "look, I'll sit over there and just watch the town's activities."

"Okay, I'll be right back. You just sit there...and don't fall in!"

"Won't fall in…" she promised.

She watched as he went to ask directions of one of the locals and then vanished down an alley. Meanwhile she went to sit at the low wall of the well.

It wasn't too long before three children surrounded her, thrusting out their hands right into her face while speaking very fast Spanish; they were obviously begging for money.

Before Amanda could react, a man from one of the nearby booths ran over and angrily shooed them away. The three kids scattered and once she could see beyond them, she noted a young Mexican girl standing alone, quietly watching her.

There was something about this little girl that tugged at Amanda's heart. The girl's brown eyes were huge on her small, heart-shaped face. She was as thin as a stick, her plain dirtied dress at least two sizes too large.

This girl probably needed the money as much as the other children, yet she hadn't begged. She just kept observing Amanda with open curiosity.

Forcing her gaze away from the solitary girl, Amanda reached into her large embroidered bag and withdrew 16 pesos, which was roughly 75 cents. Even though it was important Amanda save her pesos, she felt the girl probably needed this tiny amount of money more than her.

Meeting the girl's eyes again, Amanda put her index finger to her lips in a 'shush' gesture. Then she conspicuously placed the money next to her and pretended that something caught her attention and she looked the other way.

By now, Lee had walked out of the alley with his change of clothes. He was pleasantly surprised when Amanda was exactly where she had promised to be. He stood awhile watching her, wondering what she was doing.

Lee witnessed a little girl running towards Amanda. Perhaps Amanda was playing a game with the girl. Except Amanda would not turn the girl's way, but continued to look the opposite way. When the girl had finally reached her, Amanda still had not acknowledged the girl's presence and did not react when the little girl quietly snatched the money that was laying next to Amanda.

Still watching, Lee saw that the little girl did not run away but stood next to Amanda. Then she touched Amanda's cheek. When Amanda finally turned towards the girl, she was greeted by a dazzling smile from the tiny girl before she swiftly dashed away. Then before the girl ran between two adobe buildings, she turned around and blew Amanda a quick kiss before disappearing.

Lee shook his head, always amazed at how Amanda could touch people's hearts. He always felt he had to fight his way to gain respect whereas she merely had to be herself.

As he ran these thoughts through his head, she happened to turn his way and their gazes met. Lee had just left her, but his body seemed to stop functioning with how attractive Amanda looked, sitting on the bricked wall. A breeze came up and blew softly through her hair as she sent a slight smile his way. Lee felt his heart had dropped to his knees.

He needed to stop with these thoughts of her. Clearing his throat, he determinedly walked towards her, wondering why his legs felt a bit wobbly.

"I don't believe it," he stated, trying to not make his voice tremor, "no sooner do I leave you and I come back, that I witness you smiling and giving money away to someone else!"

Amanda smiled as he sat down next to her. She felt a prickly sensation in the pit of her stomach at his closeness. How could a man look so handsome in a simple light denim shirt and dark jeans?

"That's why you shouldn't leave me alone for very long," she teasingly answered back.

"I'll have to remember that," he noted, "In the meantime, are you about ready to officially identify Señor Jorge Muñoz?"

Actually, Amanda couldn't wait.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be!" Amanda stated, as they both immediately stood.

"I just hope this identification will be a fast in and out, with no hassles in-between," Lee stated, as they began walking towards the barbershop.

He could not have been more wrong.

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