Thank you for reading!
Major was relieved to wake up the next morning and still remember who he was. Lying in bed, he ran through a list of the most important people in his life. Liv, Ravi, Peyton … Blaine. Natalie. Yes. He knew them all. And his mother and … Dalia, yes. He was going to Walla Walla today to see them, to talk to his mother, a long, long overdue conversation, before it was too late.
He had his bag ready, so he grabbed it and shoved the envelope Liv had written his mother and Dalia's name on in his pocket. Maybe on the way he would come up with the words to say to fill that envelope, to bridge a gap of too many years and too much silence. He had never felt quite right about the way he had treated his mother—but his father had been so devastated when she left. She'd had Dalia, and his dad had only had Major. He couldn't regret those years too much. He and his dad had so much fun together, and he had seen his dad through all the tough times after the divorce—and vice versa, really. But he did wish he had been nicer to his mother, not closed the door between them so firmly.
He hoped when he showed up on her doorstep out of the blue, she would feel the same way. She'd be perfectly in her rights to slam the door in his face instead.
Well, nothing for it but to get there, he thought. He leaned back in his seat, meaning to think out what to say, but the miles slipping by beneath the bus's wheels lulled him to sleep.
He awoke, startled, having his arm shaken by a big man in a blue uniform. "Hey, man. You gotta wake up! We're here."
"Here? Where's—where are we?"
"Walla Walla."
Apparently that was supposed to mean something to him, but he had nothing. "And?"
"And you gotta get off the bus!"
Obediently, he got up. The man in the uniform moved aside to let him pass. That must be the bus driver, he realized. But where was Walla Walla and why was he here? Maybe it would come to him once he got off the bus.
He stepped out into the fresh air, filling his lungs with it. Man, it felt good to breathe deep. It was a beautiful day in … Walla Walla. What state was Walla Walla in, he wondered. Washington? That sounded right. So, he was in Walla Walla, Washington. That seemed like a good start.
Now, what was he doing here? He was kind of hungry. Maybe he came for breakfast? Or lunch. What did he like to eat?
Something honked loudly right behind him, and he realized he was standing right in front of a bus. He waved at the driver in apology and moved aside, letting the bus go by. Well, there was a question—had he meant to come to Walla Walla or had he intended to go on to somewhere else?
He dug around in his pockets for a ticket or his wallet or something, but all he seemed to have on him was an envelope. It said "Sue & Dalia, Walla Walla". Okay, so he was meant to be here. But who were Sue and Dalia, and how was he supposed to find them?
Maybe they were waiting for him. They might have planned to meet the bus. He looked around, but didn't recognize anyone. Of course, since he didn't know who Sue and Dalia were, he wouldn't recognize them, would he? And for all he knew, they might not know what he looked like, either.
He saw two women standing together and went up to them. "Hi, are you Sue and Dalia?"
One of them frowned, and the other one said loudly, "Get out of here, you creep!"
Apparently not, then.
He looked around again. He didn't see any other women standing together, no one who looked like they were waiting for someone on a bus, and no one who seemed to recognize him. So what now?
Maybe he would know something in the office. He went in and stood there for a while looking up at the list of destinations. None of them meant anything to him other than as places he had heard of at some point.
Outside, he could see the women he had spoken to talking to a man in a brown uniform. They pointed through the window at him, and the man nodded, coming into the office and heading straight for him.
"Sir, were you bothering those women?"
"What? No. I just asked them who they were."
"And who are you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what's your name?"
He thought about that one for a minute. "I'm … not sure."
"You're not sure what your name is."
"No."
"Where are you from?"
That one was a blank, too. He shrugged. "I don't know."
"Huh." The man frowned. "I'm going to need to see some I.D."
He searched his pockets for it again, but found nothing. "Sorry. I guess I must have left it somewhere."
"Uh-huh."
"I have this, though." He held out the envelope. "Maybe you know these people? I thought those women might be them, but I guess not."
The man took the envelope, reading it aloud. "Sue and Dalia, Walla Walla." He looked up at Major. "Sue and Dalia? You know them?"
"Do you know them?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I do." He considered for a moment, then jerked his head toward the door. "Come on, we're going to take a little ride, see what's going on here."
"Okay." He followed the man, glad that someone seemed to know what to do.