The Girl on the Road
Chapter Two: Budville
It is impossible to awaken a man who is pretending to be asleep
Navajo Proverb
The sleet had stopped hours ago, turning back to rain before it too had stopped; the storm had moved on, leaving behind an uneasiness Shaggy found hard to explain. There was nothing to see out the window except an inky blackness that blanketed every thing. He looked back at the unmoving curtain before he stretched out on the middle seat again in hopes of a few more hours of sleep before morning.
Later, he woke to the van rocking slightly as Kathie moved about behind the curtain. He heard the curtain being pulled back; he pretended to be asleep as she made her way forward, his muscles tensed. She opened the sliding door, stepped out into the early morning chill, sliding the door closed. Only then did he allow his muscles to relax.
Scooby walked up, his paws muffled by the carpeting.
"Rot Right" he lifted his eyebrows.
"Got that right, pal. Something is definitely not right" Shaggy agreed.
Dressed, Shaggy opened the door letting Scooby run free, Shaggy shivered in the stillness. They were standing by the van when Kathie returned.
"Where are we?" she inquired since she had been asleep when Shaggy parked to ride out the storm.
"One thing is certain; we aren't in Kansas anymore. Take a look" he nodded his head at several green plants when mature would become tumbleweeds and the desert floor covered in a blanket of pink, yellow, and blue flowers.
"So? The rain from the storm…" she attempted to explain.
"Listen"
"I don't hear anything…"
"That's the point…there is nothing to hear; no insects, no birds, nothing. There should be insects all over those flowers; I haven't even seen ants.
Let's get on the road. We'll find some place open and have some breakfast. Maybe we will feel better then." He sounded like he was trying hard to convince himself as well as her.
"We better fix that first" she pointed at the passenger side rear tire. At least it was only flat on the bottom! Shaggy realized she hadn't commented on the silence.
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It was as if the highway patrol officer was just waiting for them to fix the flat; less than ten miles later the flashing red lights lit up the rear view mirror.
"What next?!" an exasperated Shaggy mumbled as he pulled to the edge of the road.
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"Next town is Budville; you can see the Justice of the Peace and take care of the fine. Have a nice day." the officer had smiled as he handed Shaggy his copy of the ticket.
Speeding five miles over the limit, defective tail light and invalid driver's license about covered it. There had been talk of a kidnapping charge until Kathie had convinced the officer she was of age; was with Mr. Rogers of her own free will, and that Mr. Rogers had been kind enough to drive her to see her family in Arizona. At least she hadn't played the 'sick grandma' card.
Shaggy sat still, looking at the ticket while the patrolman pulled away. The resulting quiet was deafening.
"What's wrong?" Kathie asked, breaking into Shaggy's thoughts.
"Oh, nothing I guess" Shaggy stuffed the ticket into his pocket. "The officer said Budville was the next town; maybe it's big enough to have a café."
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Budville did have a café; 'Pat's Café', "Hottest Food and Coldest Beer on Route 66", or so the sign claimed. The town also boasted a town hall; the only two story building in town, the county jail taking up the second floor. A trading post (Jonas Black, Prop.) and the 'Desert Star' motel on one side of the road and a derelict looking garage with not one but two brand new shiny tow trucks sitting out front was one of two buildings on the other side of the road. The other building was appropriately a gas station. Shaggy glimpsed at a large fenced storage lot behind the garage; with some classic cars in various stages of disrepair and decomposition.
Adobe houses had grown from the desert soil around the businesses; some looked abandoned while others had children playing in the dirt yards. Shaggy saw the town sign read Pop. 350 but figured that number changed depending on how many coyotes drifted into town on any given day.
"Mind waiting a while, I'll go in and see if Scooby can come into the lobby, I don't want him out here in the heat" Shaggy asked.
"We'll be here, no telling how hot it's going to get" she offered.
Shaggy was back in a few minutes, "He can come in, if he doesn't make any trouble."
The air conditioner was working overtime already but at least the lobby was comfortably cool.
"There are a few people ahead of you; you'll have to wait your turn" the receptionist deadpanned. Taking a sip from a throwaway cup she ignored the couple and the dog.
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"You're up, through that door" the receptionist pointed.
Shaggy had sat uneasy for the past two hours, walking the lobby nervously. Kathie had sat down, crossed her legs and remained seated except for occasional trips to the bathroom, and taking Scooby outside a few times while Shaggy waited to be called.
She had also studied Shaggy as he paced in front of her.
"It'll be fine" Kathie reached over to squeeze his hand.
"I wish you hadn't said 'fine'" Shaggy smiled; she didn't smile back, only a slight curling of the corners of her mouth.
The courtroom was cool, but the large man behind the desk was perspiring, wiping his face with a large bandana. 'Paul "Bud" Rye' read the nameplate.
"Bud"…Budville? Well, we know who the Alpha dog is around here don't we?' Shaggy thought. The thought wasn't very comforting.
"You hungry?" Bud asked.
"We could use a bite…we missed breakfast" Shaggy answered in a friendly manner.
"We?" Bud questioned.
"A hitchhiker I picked up last night before the storm hit us and my dog" Shaggy felt he had just made a mistake but wasn't sure what the mistake had been.
"Son, we haven't had a storm in through these parts in a month! No rain either! The bailiff tells me your van is painted up pretty good, you some kind of hippy or belong to some gang?"
"No hippy, no 'gang' although my friends and I are known as 'the gang'."
"As long as 'the gang' doesn't cause any trouble we'll let it pass…for now. Son, it's getting close to lunch time and I'm hungry; try 'Pat's', its good food. Now about that light…"
"I had a chance to replace the bulb; you can have the bailiff check it out" Shaggy pulled the keys from his pocket, handing it to the bailiff who left the room.
"Let's call it $200.00 even; $80.00 for the speeding, $120.00 for the license" Bud looked up when the bailiff had nodded that indeed the light had been replaced.
Shaggy thought that it was a little high but Bud had only taken a cursory glance at the license before handing it back. "I wouldn't flash that license around too much, get my drift?" The Alpha dog was making a point in that smile.
Shaggy paid the $200.00; putting the receipt in his shirt pocket along with his license and the original ticket, leaving before anything else occurred to the Justice to call him back.
It was 11:30 AM when he, Kathie and Scooby stepped out into bright sunshine; the heat hitting them like a hammer.
When Shaggy left the court room, Bud reached for the phone.
"How about some $6.00 'burgers?" He smiled.
"Lunch is my treat…and something for Scooby…deal?" Kathie offered.
"Deal…but you don't know what you're letting yourself in for with Scooby!" he answered.