Story 5: "Riding on a Lamb: Part 1"
I split this one up into two parts because it's a much longer story. (Also I'm still re-writing Part 2 for like the fifth time, lol.)
+0+0+0+0+0+
"I still don't like the idea," Mr. Cabot said pointedly, chewing on his pipe.
Mrs. Cabot looked up at her husband who was hovering above everyone in the enormous, dark attic of the mansion. "Oh, hush. It's for charity."
Mr. Cabot took the pipe out of his mouth to clearly express his hesitation to his wife. "That's fine, but, there will be people on the lawn."
Mrs. Cabot smirked and reached into yet another old, dusty box on the ground. "You mean the rabble of Midvale? On the lawn of the great Alexander Cabot the Second?"
Alexander, who somehow managed to completely wrap himself up in old Christmas lights, stumbled over to his parents. "That's right! The common men are thieves! Remember when a pair of crooks stole Dad's priceless marble collection when we opened our mansion for tours?"
Mr. Cabot growled. "Yes, I remember."
Mrs. Cabot laughed nervously. "Well, that was one incident, and we got the collection back."
Josie looked up from rummaging in a pile a short distance away with Alan. "When did this happen?"
Alexander looked pleased at her interest. "An exciting story for another time!"
"…Basically, my son here called the cops while Alexandra and Felicia followed them in her car. The police found the crooks beaten up, covered in paint, and their truck in the water filled with live chickens," Mr. Cabot summarized. "Don't bother to ask Felicia and Alexandra about it, though, they just look smug and say it's a secret."
"Oh, Alexandra told me that story!" Melody sang from her seat on the ground, playing with some old-looking toys. "It's funny!"
Mr. Cabot shook his head, dropping his pipe. "She told you?!" His face fell, looking almost sad. "…And not me?"
Alexander hopped over to Melody, attempting to eye her suspiciously through several wires wrapped around his face. "Why did she tell you?"
Melody shrugged innocently. "I don't know, I asked!" She giggled after saying that. "Have you asked lately? I'm sure she will tell you too!"
"Hmm," Valerie murmured, raising an eyebrow.
Josie turned to Valerie and whispered. "Oh hush with your theories, Valerie."
"She's up to something!" Valerie objected a bit too loudly.
Melody turned her head to Valerie, frowning, but didn't say anything. It was getting more and more difficult to keep herself from defending Alexandra to the others. Alexandra stopped her every time she tried, saying it wasn't worth it and it could endanger their secret relationship. Melody wished she didn't have to keep it a secret, but did it so Alexandra would be happy.
Mrs. Cabot laughed lightly. "My daughter is always up to something in that little brain of hers." She pulled out a bunch of books from the box. "Oh! Alex! It's your Rowdy Boys books!"
Valerie and Alan were now working together to untangle Alexander. Alexander turned his nose up and scoffed. "Ha! I am no longer a child, Mother. I am a man who does not indulge in such childish fancies any longer!"
Mrs. Cabot blew off dust on one of the old books and shrugged. "Well, I'm sure some little boy out there will be happy with these."
Alexander's eyes went wide. "Wait, are you going to just give them away?!" He hopped out of the last wires and rushed over, grabbing the book. "…T-they're collector's items! S-surely no one would appreciate that except for me…"
Mrs. Cabot smirked as everyone else laughed. "Of course, Baby." She picked up another one as Josie, Melody, Valerie, and Alan gathered around her. "I use to read these to Alex and Alexandra all the time. Alex liked the one about the Rowdy Boys solving the mystery of the buried skeleton."
Alexander looked up excitedly, a childish gleam in his eyes. "Actually, it was the mystery of the submerged skeleton who turned out to be the wife of-" He stopped when everyone turned to grin at him. "…N-not that I remember…or anything…"
Mr. Cabot was looking out the window towards the garage area. "Alexandra liked the one where they ran away and galloped around in the country. She tried to run away twice after that. Almost succeeded as well, clever girl."
Melody looked surprised. "Alexandra tried to run away?"
"Childish fantasies," Mr. Cabot scoffed.
"Everyone has tried or thought about it at least once as a kid," Mrs. Cabot said, the smile on her mouth hinting that she had tried several times.
Alan nodded. "I remember writing a note and everything. I didn't get off the porch before I started to cry and wanted to go home!"
Josie turned to Alan sweetly. "Oh Alan, you're so sensitive."
Alan laughed bashfully, rubbing his neck. Alexander rolled his eyes and stuck his nose back into the book.
"Everyone, turn away," came a voice accompanied by footsteps up the stairs.
Melody perked up at the sound of her girlfriend's voice. Alexandra emerged from the winding staircase leading up where everyone was. She was covered head to toe in grease, hair a giant mess even in the tight ponytail she had on her head. She wore a white tanktop and tight jeans, both even tighter on her curvy body thanks to the sheen of sweat on her body. It was a sight to behold considering Alexandra spent most of her days dressed in expensive dresses, skirts, and the occasional pantsuits. Melody bit her bottom lip, eyes almost glowing.
"And miss this sight?" Valerie laughed, looking Alexandra up and down.
Josie stifled her giggling. "Car problems?"
Alexandra huffed, wiping her forehead but only succeeding in smearing more grease across her skin. "Uck, you have no idea."
"Alexandra Cabot, did you track grease through this house?" Mrs. Cabot scolded.
Alexandra lifted her leg, revealing she had taken off her shoes. "Of course not, Mother-dearest. I have class."
Mr. Cabot scowled at his daughter. "I keep telling you to take it to a shop or use one of your other cars."
Alexandra sighed, looking out the window. "You don't understand. It's my beautiful, red, convertible baby."
Sebastian appeared at her feet, looking offended. "Mrowr!"
Alexandra looked down at her cat. "…My mechanical baby, Sebastian."
Sebastian seemed pleased and snickered loudly.
"I could help you," Alan suggested. "I know my way around cars."
Alexandra smirked when Josie's face twisted. "Why thank you, Alan, dear, but, I fixed it."
"That's what you said the last six times," Alexander snickered.
Alexandra walked over to him and calmly wiped one hand off down his silky green shirt, leaving a streak of grease and muck. Alexander yelped loudly and pulled away, looking down at the stain with great offense.
"Children…," Mr. Cabot warned.
Mrs. Cabot presented the book Mr. Cabot referenced – The Rowdy Boys in On the Run. "Alexandra, do you recognize this?"
Alexandra stared at it blankly. "…Uh…it's a book?"
"Alexandra Cabot! I'm shocked!" Mrs. Cabot gasped.
Alexandra jumped at the tone of her mother's voice. "What?" She looked helplessly at everyone else. "What?"
Mrs. Cabot sighed and thumbed through the book. "Well, Alexandra takes after her father in that they're both always looking ahead, what's past is past."
"Me too!" Alexander protested, though he was now seated on the floor reading through the pile of books.
"You tried to run away from home after reading that as a little girl," Melody reminded. She paused and put a finger to her chin. "…Although that would be easy because a house can't even move to chase after you."
Valerie sighed. "Melody – that's not what it means."
Mrs. Cabot laughed. "Here, Melody. You can read this book and learn what running away really means."
Alexander looked up. "But you have to give it back when you're done!" He gathered himself and added weakly. "…Because, you know, it's collectable."
Melody took the book into her hands and looked down at it. "Gee, thanks!" She flipped through it. "Oh, goody! It has pictures too!"
Josie and Valerie exchanged worried glances.
"Wait – I tried running away from home? This home?" Alexandra laughed, looking down at Mr. Cabot who was bent over to retrieve his pipe.
Melody looked at her. "Well, it is hard being rich."
Mr. Cabot nearly swallowed his pipe when he heard that, making a loud, surprised chocking sound combined with shocked laughter. "Come again?" Mr. Cabot now openly laughed as he relit his pipe. "I would like to hear this."
"…No you wouldn't…" Josie, Alan and Valerie whispered to themselves at the same time.
Melody explained, "Well, all your life is spent working for more of those green pieces of paper, and trying to get people to like you even though they'll only like you for those funny green papers, and you'll only want to be their friends because of those green papers. And you live in a big house, but it's lonely in here. It's hard to find where everyone is sometimes!"
Mr. Cabot's face was bright red and smoke was spraying out of his pipe like a chimney. "W-well…what does it matter? Either it's living in a small home, working long hours at some minimum wage job, barely seeing your family, worried about if you'll have enough money to live on the next day, or, living life knowing you will have money as long as you keep up appearances…and business! As long as you live completely focused on making money!"
Melody didn't seem convinced. "But isn't it tiring doing those things? Day after day?"
Mr. Cabot exploded. "No! Not at all! Not one bit! We live in the lap of luxury and it is wonderful!" He marched past everyone, pride obviously wounded and head full of ideas he never wanted to think about. "Humph! I'm going downstairs to get something to drink!"
Mrs. Cabot shook her head, watching him disappear down the stairs, the smoke from his pipe streaming after him like smoke from an old locomotive. "Oh dear."
Alexander looked up at Melody, annoyed. "Why'd you have to go and say that, Melody?"
"I was just trying to figure out why Alexandra would want to run away," Melody answered, clueless.
Alexandra huffed, "Because I was a dumb kid, that's all, Melody! Who would want to run away from our life? It's the best!"
Melody looked down at the book in her hands thoughtfully.
"Whatever you say, Alexandra," Valerie replied, voice dripping with sarcasm as she tilted her head to one side and rolled her eyes.
Josie mitigated the situation before a yelling match began. "I guess either rich or poor, everyone's focused on making money at the end of the day."
Alexander stood up, waving one of the books in his hand. "Wrong, dear Josie, it's quite the opposite! Poor people focus on keeping their money – hoping everyday that they won't lose it and fearing they won't have enough." He waved his arms in a grand gesture. "We rich people focus on gaining and creating! Our minds are always ablaze with new ideas to make sure we'll never have to scrape by!"
The spine of the book promptly broke and the pages unceremoniously hit the ground with a thud, leaving Alexander with just the cover of the book.
"Nooooo! Rowdy Boys and the Mystery of the Lady with the Yellow Eyes!" Alexander moaned in a high-pitch voice, holding his head with his hands and dropping to his knees. "…Which turned out to be just a woman with a serious liver problem…"
"Riveting," Alexandra deadpanned.
Valerie chuckled, "You're rich – think of an idea to make a profit off this tragedy."
+0+0+0+0+0+
The boys scrambled back into their car and gunned the engines to get past the intersecting road in a hurry. They rode in silence for awhile, gazing at the scene ahead. The little-traveled road was winding, with enough room for two small cars to pass.
"Boy, it sure feels great now that we've finally escaped our little town," Franz remarked. "We'll drive and drive, free from all those gosh-darn expectations our stepparents had."
"Gee whiz, Franz, you said it," agreed Jim. "Home's not suppose to feel like a cage."
"Melody!"
Melody looked up from the Rowdy Boys and at Josie and Valerie who were watching her from the front of the small stage they had set-up in one of the Cabots' garages.
"How can you drum and read at the same time?" Valerie asked in an exasperated tone.
Melody grinned and whirled one drumstick around her fingers, her other hand holding the book. "I'm a very good drummer."
Josie laughed, taking off her guitar from around her shoulders. "I'll say!"
Valerie sat down on one of the speakers, eyeing the book in Melody's hand. "Why are you so into reading that kid's book anyway?"
"It's not a kid's book – it's Alexander's book," Melody said, then followed it with a laugh.
Valerie groaned, holding her forehead.
Melody looked back down at the page. "And I like it. Our teachers use to say books take you to another world, so I'm waiting for that part too!"
Josie laughed and sat down on a stool, turning in the seat to face Melody. "It was a figure of speech, Melody. Books don't actually take you physically to another world, but when you read, your imagination takes over and you feel like you're part of the characters' world. And sometimes…you wish you were in the book, and not part of the real world."
Melody looked up at Josie with wide, blue eyes. "Gee! Do you think that's why Alexandra and Alexander liked these books so much?"
Valerie scoffed, "Are you thinking about them again? Who cares! I don't think we'll ever understand anything about them…and frankly, I don't care to."
Melody bristled. "Oh, Val! You always talk about them like they're a couple of monsters!"
"That's because they are," Valerie said pointedly, with no room for argument. "Especially Alexandra."
Josie covered her mouth to hide her laugh. "She's not a monster…more like a witch."
Melody felt tears sting her eyes as her friends laughed, looking back down at her book.
"It'll be a fresh start! Nobody will know who we are, and that's a plummy life."
"Okay girls, I think we can call it a day. Who's up for a burger at the diner?" Josie asked brightly, standing up.
Melody got up from her drummer's seat, face buried in her book. "No thanks, I have to go home and read this."
Josie looked perplexed. "Oh, uh, okay Melody, have fun! Coming, Val?"
Valerie watched Melody open the garage door and walk across the yard towards the front gate. "…Yeah, sure." She turned back to Josie once Melody was out of earshot. "I hope that book isn't giving her any ideas."
Josie looked across the yard, no longer seeing Melody's figure because of the long, winding driveway down the hill. "I'm sure there's no reason to worry."
+0+0+0+0+0+
Alexandra stepped out of her large, private bathroom in her room, fresh from the shower. She wore a blue bathrobe and had her long hair bundled up in a royal purple towel. After three scrubbings in the shower, she had finally gotten all the grease and muck off of her. Alexandra was no greasy monkey by any means, but she had learned from fellow sports cars enthusiasts her family bought their cars from a thing or two. Still, she was no professional, and, as much as she hated to admit it, her brother was right about her repair work being temporary.
Sebastian looked up from lying across her bed and rolled over slightly, giving Alexandra barely enough room to lie down in her spot on the left side of the bed. Alexandra rolled her eyes at him and began to circle the bed to get to her spot. As she turned the bed's corner, her closet door swung open.
"YEEK!" Alexandra screeched, getting ready to pummel whoever or whatever was in her closet.
Sebastian joined her surprise, sitting up and arching his back while letting out a loud screech himself.
"I'm coming out of the closet!" Melody announced, still holding the book as she stepped out.
Alexandra held her heart and plopped down on her bed, making the frozen in place Sebastian tilt over onto the bed. "Melody! Sheesh! What are you doing in there?!"
She was interrupted by a backpack flying out of the closet and landing besides her. Alexandra picked it up and looked back towards the closet to see Melody grabbing a bunch of clothing and shoes before tossing them at Alexandra.
Alexandra, now buried in clothing and accessories, began to lose her patience. "Melody." Another bag flew out and landed at Alexandra's feet. "Darling." Several pairs of panties hit her face. "MELODY!"
Melody stepped out of the closet, looking annoyed. "Ssh! We have to be quiet! That's what the book says!"
Alexandra stared at her, dumbfounded. "…What?"
Melody put her hands on her hips. "We're running away, silly!"
Alexandra blinked. "…We are?"
Melody nodded and kneeled down infront of Alexandra, taking her hands. Sebastian climbed up on Alexandra's back and settled on her head to look down at Melody with similar confusion. "I'm tired of keeping us a secret. And I'm really tired about how everyone speaks about you! We need a new start! And according to this book on how to run away, the only way to find a new start is riding on a lamb!"
"…On the lam…" Alexandra corrected mostly to herself, knowing Melody would just talk over her when she was like this.
"Two bag-of-buns on the run!" Melody continued, eyes shining brightly.
"…Vagabonds…" Alexandra once again corrected, though she wasn't sure why.
"And I know you want to get out of this stuffy, ol' mansion! Don't you, Alexandra? That's why you're always traveling with us even though you don't like it!" Melody added.
Alexandra pulled her head back, her mouth twisting. "I-I don't…I…!" She shook her head. "Melody, think about this! Really think about this!"
Melody looked hurt, hands leaving Alexandra's so she could hold her head of thick blonde hair. "I did think about this! For two whole hours! It was hard."
Alexandra didn't doubt that. "I appreciate that effort too, Darling, but listen to me: you're a rockstar! You're living the dream! You really want to give that all up just to be with me in some new town with nothing to our names?"
Melody stared into Alexandra's eyes and replied bluntly, honestly, and innocently, "Yes."
Alexandra felt her face go on fire and her heart go in her mouth. That answer was painfully honest, especially painful knowing Alexandra didn't quite know if she could do the same thing for Melody. She shook herself and resumed her arguments. "…B-but what about your mom and dad?"
"Oh, they're use to me wandering off! And my dad would probably be proud of me!" Melody sang.
Alexandra held back a groan. Melody was right; her father was the most stereotypical middle-aged hippie Alexandra had ever seen. He even had a nature and meditation show on the local channel. And from what she knew of Melody's high-strung mother, she would probably be relieved to have Melody out of the house for awhile.
Melody's face suddenly unbrightened. "Alexandra Sherry Cabot the First!"
"…That's not my middle name, Melody," Alexandra reminded with a sigh.
"You don't want to run away with me!" Melody concluded.
Alexandra felt sweat on her head. "No! No…it's just…uh…so sudden."
Melody put her hands on her hips. "Well, of course! Running away is like that!"
Alexandra rubbed her forehead with her fingers, feeling a migraine coming on. "Melody. That book isn't a guide for running away, it's a fantasy. Besides, running away, for women like us, isn't exactly good according to a lot of running away movies, tv, and books."
Melody cocked her head, looking at Alexandra with big, curious eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Well, our running away will either end in both of us driving off a cliff, one of us dead in some other horrible way, or we end up splitting up," Alexandra explained.
"Golly!" Melody gasped. "That stuff didn't happen in this book!"
Alexandra waved her off. "That's because all running away stories are fantasy. Real running away is scary, dirty, and poor."
"But it won't be any of those as long as we're together!" Melody objected. She took Alexandra's hands again. "Trust me, please?"
Alexandra looked into Melody's blue orbs, feeling her face turn red. She looked down at their hands intermingling before looking back up, eyes brightening with an idea. "Of course, Melody. How silly of me, let's go! Together!"
Sebastian let out a shocked, "Myrowr?!"
Alexandra reached up and covered his mouth to muffle the many more noises of protest. "Just wait outside my room so I can get changed and ready."
Melody shot up, clasping her hands together. "Yay! Don't worry, Alexandra! Our new life together will be plummy!"
She raced out the door to wait in the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"…Plummy?" Alexandra repeated to herself. She uncovered Sebastian's mouth and winced as he filled her ear with loud cries and high-pitched mumbling that almost sounded like speech. "Aw, shut it for a moment! Listen, Sebastian, we're not really going to run away. You know Melody, she'll change her mind once she gets bored! Let's just play along so she'll never try this again, okay?"
Sebastian hopped off her head and looked pensive, crossing his furry front paws.
"It'll be fun, Sebastian. Maybe we can stop off at a seafood place, huh?" Alexandra bribed.
Sebastian perked up and nodded anxiously, licking his lips. "Mrowyr!"
Alexandra got up, gathering her clothes. "We have to look convincing though. So pack up anything you really couldn't live without."
Once Alexandra and Sebastian packed and secretly left a note announcing they would be back later, they met Melody in the hallway and snuck outside to the garage.
"Let's see, which car should we take…" Alexandra thought outloud, eyeing her eight different cars lined up in her private garage.
"Oh that's easy! Let's take your baby!" Melody interrupted.
Alexandra winced, looking at the red convertible that had broken down on her three times within the past five days. "But-"
Melody eyed her suspiciously. "…Don't you really love that car, Alexandra?"
Sebastian shouldered Alexandra's legs frantically.
Alexandra fibbed. "Oh! You're right! I could never leave that car behind! …N-no matter how busted it is… I'm sure it'll be perfect for long distances…ha…ha…"'
Sebastian gulped audibly and made a whimpering noise.
Melody brightened again. "Good!" She jumped and attached herself to Alexandra's neck. "Let's go! Two vegan-buns on the road!"
Alexandra was pale. "…Ha ha… Good times ahead…"
+0+0+0+0+0+
Midvale was a strange little town. It was both suburban and rural in that just past its borders was nothing but long stretches of dirt roads, little towns, beaches, and even a desert which Alexandra and Alexander have ended up stranded in numerous times thanks to their plots. Alexandra wasn't even sure how a desert could be only few hours away from a very green town full of lakes and close to the ocean, but she was never too interested in geography so she let it slide. Even Riverdale seemed to have a similar weird geography, so maybe it was normal.
For now, though, Alexandra avoided the desert by miles because she knew her car wouldn't be able to handle it. They stopped in a small town to fill up on gas and so Melody could go to the bathroom. Alexandra moved her eyes down to the check engine light shining brightly against her dash. Alexandra tried to ignore it for now, feeling sweat rolling down the back of her head and down her neck. Not only was she feeling nervous about the car, but also the steely death look Sebastian was currently giving her from his spot on the backseat.
"Look Sebastian, I know my plan isn't working yet, but we gotta give it some time! You know Melody - she'll change her mind sooner or later!" Alexandra argued with the glaring cat.
Sebastian huffed and made angry murmuring and yowling sounds before turning his nose up at his master. Alexandra turned in her seat to argue with her cat some more, but noticed a group of men staring at her from their spots leaning against the gas station's front wall. She quickly turned away and drummed her steeling wheel with her fingernails.
"I'm back!" Melody's sing-song voice pierced the air.
Alexandra turned her head just in time for Melody to leap over the car door and drop onto Alexandra's lap, arms wrapped around the surprised millionairess' neck. In one hand Melody held a full plastic shopping bag from the gas station, which was now pressed uncomfortably against Alexandra's back. "Gah! Melody!"
Melody began smothering Alexandra's face with kisses, earning a gagging noise from Sebastian in the backseat. Alexandra reached around Melody, picked her up by her sides, and plopped her down onto the passenger seat. Alexandra was blushing and covered in pink lipstick stains shaped like lips.
"Sheesh! I've never seen someone so happy to be out of a bathroom! …Gas station bathrooms are that bad, huh?" Alexandra joked.
Melody beamed, wiping the lipstick off Alexandra's face. "Oh no, I'm just happy that I'm with you!"
Alexandra smirked and reached over to Melody's lips that were also smeared with the pink lipstick. "You might want to touch yourself up." She paused and looked up nervously when she saw the group of men now openly staring at them, standing straight up from the wall they were once leaning on. Alexandra retreated back to her steering wheel and turned the key. "Well, time to go!"
Melody pulled out a compact mirror and lipstick from her backpack. "Okay!" Alexandra turned the key as Melody quickly fixed her lipstick. "Golly this is great!" The car sputtered and stuttered. "And look, Sebastian! I bought you some sushi from the gas station! It was only a dollar…I wonder why?"
She presented a plastic container of oddly colored and smelling sushi, the expiration date crossed off and replaced with a handwritten one, and then that one crossed off and replaced with another handwritten one. Sebastian yowled in fright and covered his mouth with one paw, waving his other paw frantically. Alexandra grunted out of frustration and turned the key again: more sputtering followed by a high-pitched squeaking sound. Alexandra glanced frantically towards the men who were now approaching the car at a slow, intimidating pace.
Melody seemed completely unaware as usual, putting down the sushi and pulling a pamphlet out of her bag. "Oh! And I got this pamphlet too! We can go sight-seeing! There's a museum of rocks shaped like movie stars closeby!" Melody turned happily to the now profusely sweating and mumbling Alexandra. "…Alexandra? Doesn't that sound like fun?"
"Of course it does, Baby, but my car disagrees," Alexandra growled, turning the key over and over with little response from the car.
Alexandra looked back up at the men. Growing up as a Cabot, she was given self defense training most of her life. She could probably take out one or two of the men, but a pack like that? She had to get Melody out of there before…
"Car troubles, Miss?" a deep voice asked far too close for Alexandra's liking.
Alexandra snapped her head up to see the men now surrounding the car. The men looked like farmers, or at least, rural, with dirty jeans and shirts, boots caked with dirt. Their faces looked as if they were carved in stone thanks to working in the sun, and the older men had long beards.
Melody beamed up at the men, not intimidated thanks to the years of being surrounded by crowds of men in Midvale. "Alexandra's car doesn't want to go sight-seeing with us!"
Alexandra suddenly stood up in her seat and raised her fists protectively. "Back off, you creeps!" The men exchanged confused glances. "Go on, try to touch us, but I warn you, I know judo, chop suey, and Chinese checkers! And we have a vicious guard cat in the backseat!"
Alexandra turned and pointed to where Sebastian would be strapped in his car seat, but the straps were now torn off and Sebastian's quivering tail was the only thing sticking out from under Melody's seat.
"Relax, Little Storm Cloud!" the darker skinned man of the group laughed.
Alexandra let her arms drop to her sides. "…Little Storm Cloud?"
"She's not a storm cloud, she's a human!" Melody laughed.
The oldest man with a long, grey beard leaned over and grinned. "Don't you know where you are?"
Alexandra looked helplessly between the men. "Uh…?"
Melody presented her map and pointed to a large red 'X' with the words 'You Are Here' hovering over it. "Well, according to my map, we're in a town called 'X'!"
Alexandra sighed and pinched her forehead between her fingers. Sebastian, more amused than his master, responded with a muffled snicker under the seat.
The youngest man of the group laughed with the others and put his elbows on the car. "Close enough. Our little place has no name, but we call it the Organic Country."
The darker skinned man nodded, brushing back his long, black hair. "Here we live freely. We harvest our own food, make our own clothing, love whom we want or don't want, sit in the grass, run our own lives as our ancestors did in the past, and live under the authority of no Man!"
Melody looked puzzled. "…So you live under the authority of a woman?"
A man wearing a straw hat stepped away, looking happily across the road and out into a green, expansive field. He lifted his hands up into the sky and beamed. "Yes! Mother Nature!"
Alexandra paled. "…Oh no…"
Melody stood up excitedly. "Oh boy! She's my favorite!"
Alexandra found herself temporarily jealous that a feminine figment of humanity's collective imagination was Melody's favorite and not her, but quickly shook herself out of it, reaching out and taking Melody's shoulder. "Hold it, Melody! We don't know who these people are or-!"
The oldest man hooked his fingers under the straps of his overalls. "I know you're suspicious, Young Lady, but we're friendly folk! We believe we're all related – having you two over would be like having family over!"
The youngest one was now openly admiring the shiny, red convertible which was now smoking under the hood. "And we can fix your car! Wow! What a car! I'd hate to see this baby be put in the junkyard, wouldn't you?"
Melody turned and sat back down, grabbing Alexandra's shoulders excitedly. "Come on, Alexandra! They seem nice! And you said it yourself: this car is your baby!" Sebastian shot out from under the seat and meowed loudly at the two. Melody laughed. "Sorry, Sebastian! Your mechanical baby." She put on her best puppy dog look. "Please? The car is broken anyway; let's just stay for the night, okay?"
Alexandra's face was bright red, twisted from trying to resist the puppy dog look once again. "B-b-b-but…!"
Melody climbed out of the car. "Right! My butt hurts too from sitting in this car! Let's go explore like the Rowdy Boys would do!"
The youngest man helped her out of the car, looking excited. "Great! Let's get the tow truck, Grandpa!"
Alexandra watched them go walk over to a blue tow truck parked a few feet away. She held her head in her hands and sunk back into her seat, sliding all the way down to the pedals. "Sebastian…we're in hippy-ville! Now Melody will never want to leave!"
Sebastian imitated his master, holding his own furry head and sinking down into the back seat. "Myrowwwr!"
To Be Continued…
