Wayfaring Stranger--Chapter 2

Chapter 2

So here she was in a car about to die. Their mom was so sleep deprived that Mara wasn’t sure she realized she was talking out loud to herself.

“It’s going to be ok, little car. I know you’re burdened downed with stuff, but you can do it. I know you can. You’re a fighter. You are. We are both fighters. You’re going to make it. We are all going to make. I know we are,” her mom intoned.

“Mom,” Mara said. Her mother jumped. “Mom. You want to listen to some more Elton John?”

“Yes! I want to listen to Elton John.” Elton John was her mom’s favorite. She adored him. Mara was sick of him but if it kept her mom going . . . she’d keep listening. She loaded up Elton John’s greatest hits into the CD player. EJ was on the cover in a white suit and hat with ginormous glasses. “Your Song” started drifting through the speakers.

“Not Elton John,” came Cooper’s muffled protest from the back seat. He barely had any room in their Ford Focus because this was all they would have until they got their shipment from the army. 

“It won’t be much longer, Cooper,” their mom promised.

“Heard that before,” he replied crankily. 

“We’re seeing signs for San Angelo. Go back to sleep and when you wake up we’ll be there. Great, huh?”

Mara pulled down the visor and took a look at herself in the mirror. Pale skin, pale, blonde hair, gray-blue eyes, straight white teeth--thanks to braces, not too fat. Can you ever be too thin?  Maybe if it killed you, but Mara was too fond of pizza and chocolate to let that happen. Hollywood hadn’t come knocking, but she didn’t really like being the center of attention. 

The 23 hour trip had stretched to 27. Eating and rest stops had taken longer than anticipated. But they were almost there. They were on the last highway and would soon be in the town. The little clock in the car said it was almost 9AM. Or was it?  Did the time change between California and Texas? Perhaps her mom wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of 27 hours in the car with no shower or good sleep. She checked her cell phone. It was almost 10AM. 

Elton started singing, “Don't let the sun go down on me

Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see

I’d just allow a fragment of your life to wander free

But losing everything is like the sun going down on me.”

The sun was up and had been for a couple of hours, but it still felt like she’d lost everything. 

“I’m hungry,” Cooper complained.

“You’re in luck. I see a McDonalds,”  their mom said, “And I could use a coffee and a pee. Not in that order.”

They rolled into the McDonalds parking lot and the car coughed to a stop. Welcome to San Angelo.

“I hope it starts again,” her mother commented as she pulled herself out of the seat and stretched. Me too, thought Mara.

Their mom was so tired she could barely stay awake through breakfast, but it was only about 10:30 in the morning. No motels would be ready until after 1 o’clock. So they went to the library. Their mom slept in the car while Mara and Cooper read and used the computers. Mara took the opportunity to update her status online:  Made it to Texas--cold and brown. Missing CA already. After a couple of hours  their mom stumbled in looking like a homeless woman on the down side of a drinking binge. 

She got on a computer to see where to stay that night and where to live and where to work and where Mara and Cooper should go to school. Mara thought this is not what well planned looks like. 

“We should go look at some places to live before we find a hotel,”   their mom loudly whispered. 

“Mom, have you seen yourself or taken a sniff. We’ve been in a car for 24 hours. No one will rent to us looking like this. We need to clean up some first.”

Her mom gave her a grumpy, stubborn look. 

Mara did a turn around. “Let’s search on the computer and see what we find. Then see what we’re ready to do. How’s that sound?”

“All right.”

Together they studied prices and maps. 

“Wow,” said  their mom, “Everything is so much cheaper here. Rents are a third of what we paid in Monterey. I think we can get a 2 bedroom here. You and I can share and Cooper can have is own room.”

Yeah, thought Mara, no space to call my own. Awesome. They printed out information on the apartments. Their mom took a hard look in the mirror and agreed that cleaning up was a good idea. They found the cheap, cleanish motel. Check in wasn’t until 3, but they looked so pathetic that they said they could check in at 2. They went to lunch at not burger place. They found a grocery store and bought food for the next few days. Finally, they checked in and collapsed on the beds.

The next few days were spent finding an apartment. The one they ended up with was kind of crappy, but affordable. They slept in sleeping bags until their household goods arrived a week later. It was nice to see their familiar, worn furniture. Cooper and Mara registered for school. Mara hated it all. The Texas kids were not like her friends in California in any way. She was far from them ideologically. She was anti-gun; they were anti-gay. She was pro Democrat; they were pro Republican. And don’t get her started on country music. It poured from every car radio and restaurant speaker. Her life had a new soundtrack. And she hated it.

Then there was Texas itself. San Angelo’s water was nasty. You had to buy water to drink and to cook with because it had something in it that made it smell bad and taste worse. Showers left Mara feeling that she hadn’t moved up the cleanliness scale. Their apartment was also home to ants. Little tiny ants that found every crumb. If a piece of toast fell on the floor there would shortly be parallel lines of ants dismantling it into to tiny pieces. They didn’t bite, though the fire ants did. A geeky boy in her science class had explained about fire ants and tarantulas. Mara had only seen the giant spiders in movies. One day while stretching before a run in gym class one had come crawling across the dusty field. Some boys started poking at it. It tilted itself into attack position with its front legs and mandibles waving menacingly. And then it jumped. In the flash of an eye it had moved a foot. They didn’t have creatures like that in California. Pacific Grove, where she had lived, was on the migration route of the Monarch Buttery. At certain times of the year beautiful orange and black butterflies would flutter by adding a Disney feel to the town. Here it was more The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Her mom talked to her about her attitude.

“Mara, you’re not making friends because you always walk around with a scowl on your face. To be a friend you must show yourself friendly. Smile at people.”

She said this as Mara was getting ready for school and was busy lining her eyes with black liner. Black made her pale skin glow. A girl in the bathroom at school had asked her if she was into vampires. When Mara shot her a question look, the girl had pointed out she dressed like one. Black was her favorite color. It represented her soul. Black with anger and hate at everyone and everything.

“Smile more. Got it, Mom. I’m sure my life will take an amazing turn for the better now.”

“Mara . . .” her mom sighed. “You’re not even trying.”

“Because I don’t give a shit,” she muttered under her breath. Her plan was survive till graduation and then head back to Monterey. She could stay with her friends and get a job. She would make it work somehow. She had three years to figure it out. She grabbed her books and called to her brother to hurry up. 

Her brother had already made friends at school and at the apartment. There was a boy about his age in one of the nearby apartments. They frequently played video games and ran around the neighborhood together. Mara hated his happiness. 

On their way down the stairs, Cooper spotted his friend and ran off. Mara walked slowly to the bus stop. She had about two weeks of school till Christmas break. The semester was almost done and most of her classes were preparing for finals and turning in big projects they had been working on all quarter. It was a weird situation. Teachers didn’t know whether to try and catch her up with everyone else or abandon her to her fate. Soon she would have two weeks off for the Christmas holidays. The thought of two weeks with nothing to do but hang around the crappy apartment made her feel bleak. Her life sucked. She leaned against the light pole and stared down at her feet. Her chest was tight and she wanted to cry, but her mascara and eyeliner would make her look like a raccoon, so she sucked it up.

She sensed someone walking up to the bus stop and stop slightly behind her. She continued to stare at her feet in a effort to fight back the tears that were crowding her eyes.

“Hey,” a male voice drawled, “I don’t know you, but I’ve seen you around. Are you new here?”

Mara remained still and silently stared at the ground. 

“Don’t you talk?  Maybe you’re deaf?” the voice continued in its heavy Texas twang. “I bet that’s it. You aren’t looking at me so you can’t read my lips. It must be sad to be deaf. I would miss music the most I think. I really like music. I like Mumford and Sons. Patty Griffin. She is really raw and out there. I like that. Being deaf you probably don’t have a favorite singer or group. Maybe you would choose someone by how they look. So you’re probably a big Justin Beeber fan. He’s cute. Like a puppy. Or a girl. It’s not really gratifying to make fun of him because he’s an easy target and everyone makes fun of him. I don’t really follow the crowd. Well, except when it comes to making fun of Justin Beeber. I can be outrageous in the things I say. Shocking people makes me happy. But you wouldn’t really appreciate that being deaf.”

Cooper and his friend, Mark maybe, came up. 

“Hey,” said the voice, “I’m talking to this new deaf girl.”

Mark started laughing. Cooper piped up, “She’s not deaf. She’s my sister. She hates everyone. That’s why she’s not talking to you. She hates you.”

“Isn’t that racist to hate people you’ve never even met?  Are you a bigot? What’s your sister’s name?” the voice questioned.

“Mara,” Cooper said helpfully. “She’s Mara and I’m Cooper. We live here now. We’re from California. My mom and dad are getting divorced.”

“Cooper! Shut up!” She turned to the voice, “It’s not racism if you hate everyone,” Mara defended, “only if you hate a people group.”  She looked into the laughing eyes of a cowboy. Really. He had boots, a hat, jeans, one of those corduroy jackets that kind of look like a padded shirt. His eyes were blue and they were laughing at her. 

“Not sure you’re right there, Mara. Pretty sure hating people sight unseen is bigotry. But you being from California are probably much smarter than anyone from Texas.”

Mara struggled to come up with a witty, zinging reply. The bus choose that moment to roll up. Cooper and Mark clambered on. The cowboy graciously bowed for Mara to go first. She tried to haughtily step onto the bus, but tripped going up the stairs and her purse spilled on the steps. The cowboy helped her pick its contents up including the feminine pads. Mara felt her pale face flame red as he handed them to her. She hurried to the back and threw herself in the first empty seat. He sauntered back and sat in the seat behind her. 

“My name is Boaz,” he said leaning forward, “I felt you should probably know it since I’ve handled your feminine protection products. I always wonder at why they are called ‘feminine protection’. What exactly are they protecting you from?  Being feminine? Are they protection from those who are feminine?”  He leaned back shaking his head, “It’s a mystery.”

Mara couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing. Boaz leaned in and whispered, “Have you ever been more embarrassed in your life?”

Mara thought and started laughing again, “Not even close.”  She turned and leaned her back against the window so she could look at Boaz. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a little nutty. The whole deaf speech was just crazy. Is that your idea of a pick-up line?”

Boaz gave a lazy smile and pushed his hat up. “My pick-up lines are much more sophisticated than that. I have to be careful with them because they are so entirely irresistible.”

“I’ll be on my guard,”  Mara replied. Then she smiled and made her first Texas friend. Damn if her mom wasn’t right.

I have a new story for the holidays. It is a Christmas story. I am excited to share it with you. 

Wayfaring Stranger©

by Barbara Pruitt

Chapter 1

The car wasn’t doing well. It coughed like it had something deeply wrong inside. Every time they came to a stop sign it would shudder like a wet dog. Their family held their breath until it was able to lurch forward once again. The car was really their only fortress against the outside world. They had left their apartment in California and were moving to Texas. It would be cheaper to live there and they could get a fresh start. Or so Mara’s mom, Allison, thought. Mara stared out the window watching the green of northern California give way to the brown dessert of Arizona, New Mexico and eventuallyTexas. Mara, the oldest, had been the navigator because she wasn’t old enough to drive. She offered, but her mom had said not till she was 16 and had her license. Her mom had been so excited to have a plan. It was one of Mara’s chief complaints about her family: no one ever had a plan.

“Mara, it’s a 23 hour drive. I think we can do it all at once only stopping for gas and food,”  her mom chirped. She was making dinner. Her little brother, Cooper’s,  favorite boxed macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. Gag. Mara was setting the table. 

Mara replied, “That’s a long time to drive. How are you going to stay awake that long?”  

“That’s why God made coffee and energy drinks,” she said shaking her blonde hair away from her face. “I looked up the route online. We just go south until we hit I-10 and then head east. I’ve stayed up more than 24 hours before. I’ll be fine.”

Her mom tilted her head to the side and gave her wide smile as she stirred gloopy cheese from the packet into the macaroni. For someone who had worked at restaurants and diners most of her life she didn’t really get food. Most of her meals came from a box, can or freezer. Her floppy blonde hair and eager blue eyes made her seem younger than she was. She was 35, but looked like she was in her 20’s--late twenties, but still twenties. People were always amazed she had a teenage daughter. Her mother’s constant twitchiness as well as rarely stopping to eat kept her girlishly thin.

“Texas will be great, Mara, you’ll see.” Her mom was working hard to convince her.

So many objections crowded into Mara’s mouth it was difficult to spit them out. “We’ve never lived any where, but here. In Monterey. Here are all the people we know. Here is dad. Here are all my friends. And school. Does dad know what you’re planning?  Don’t we have to stay in the same state as him?  Just because you’re divorced doesn’t mean we can leave. What about Cooper?  His school and friends are here. I don’t think it would be good for him to leave. Where would we live in Texas?  Where would we go to school?  Have you really thought about this?”

“Take a breath, Mara,”  her mom chided, “You are such a fun-sucker.” Not the first time she’d been called that by her mother. “Let your self imagine a different world. I’m not making it financially here since the divorce. Monterey is a really expensive place to live as you know. To answer some of your questions:  yes, you’re dad knows. The army is moving him to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. From there he will probably be deployed to Afghanistan.”

“What? When did this happen?”

“He’s been meaning to tell you,” she put the pot of macaroni and cheese on the table and started pulling hot dogs of frying pan and stuffing them into the buns. “Cooper,” she called, “Dinner’s ready.”

Mara looked at the table, “Mom, where’s the vegetable?”

“Oh right,” Allison pulled open a cabinet, “Green beans. No need to heat them up. Hand me the can opener from the drawer, Mara.”

Mara fished in the drawer among the odd kitchen utensils. Garlic press. No. Vegetable peeler. No. There it was: can opener. “Dad knows? And he’s okay with being in a different state than us?”

Her mom nodded as she took the opener.

Mara wanted to explode her anger at her dad on her mom, but since the divorce her mom no longer defended her dad’s . . . absences, neglect, distractions, whatever it was. Strangely, Mara was now her dad’s chief defender. 

“Why do we have to move?”

“We can’t afford to live here without help from you’re dad. He’s can’t be relied on. Landlord’s are big on reliability. A friend at the diner was telling me how cheap it is to live in Texas. If we go to San Angelo there’s an Air Force Base where we can use the commissary and get medical care. See, great idea. Well thought out. Surprise!”

Mara now had two big things trying to make sense in her brain. They were moving to Texas and her dad was moving to Kentucky. This was not good. In fact, this was a disaster. 

“When is all this going to happen?” Mara questioned with suspicion. Hopefully not for awhile.

“Beginning of December when our lease is up,” replied her mom. “or maybe end of November if I can get it together. Cooper, dinner! I’ve got to get to work.”

“Before Christmas?”  Mara wailed.

“After Thanksgiving,” her mom replied with a smile, “you’ll have a last Thanksgiving with your dad. We’ll pack and clean after that. We have to leave the apartment by the end of November. So it’s off to Texas for us. It will be a great time to get there because people will hiring for the holidays. We’ll get off to a great start.”

Her little brother showed up and they sat down to their family dinner of hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, and lukewarm green beans. Mara picked at her food while her mom explained to Cooper the exciting adventure their family was going to take in less than three weeks.

Mara seethed over the craptastic turn her life was taking. Not that it had been great so far. Her family lived in Monterey, California--really Pacific Grove right next to Monterey. She could see the Pacific Ocean everyday if she made the effort. It was also down the road from Carmel home of Clint Eastwood and this great hotel where stars went to get away. Mara wanted to work there eventually while she got her degree. The ocean was free, but everything else was so expensive:  food, rent, clothes. Her dad was a soldier in the army. He came here to learn Arabic at the Defense Language Institute. He met her mom who was from Maryland, but wanted to live in California. Her mom and her boyfriend came here when she was 17. The boyfriend soon moved on but her mom stayed here scraping by holding two or three low paying jobs. Her parents met at a diner where she waitressed. He saw her again later a bar where she worked--later that same day. Roughly ten months later Mara was born. That was fifteen years ago. When Mara was 5 her brother Cooper was born. The two of them had their mom’s blue eyes and their dad’s curly hair. They were all blondes. But not the blondes who tan; the kind that burn. Luckily the temperature where they lived was usually 68 degrees or cooler. 

Life had always been tumultuous between her parents. It could have been a cute romantic comedy of free spirited girl loves responsible military man. They both expand their minds and become better people who raise loved, secure children. That was not the case. Her dad struggled with alcohol. It was weird. He worked and was a good soldier, but come Friday and Saturday he became a drunk. He would come home in the early hours of the morning staggering up the apartment stairs yelling for his wife. She was usually waitressing. It would be Mara and Cooper who helped their dad up the stairs and into bed. He would be so apologetic and ashamed. It was hard to be mad at him. Mara knew she didn’t have the best dad, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays were good days to do things with her dad. He would help with homework and make dinner. He would ask about her life and Cooper’s. It was almost like having a real dad. She could tell he really wanted to do better. He was a man of good intentions. 

They had moved several times into different apartments because of her dad’s habit of waking people up at 2 AM. That and the epic fights her parents would get into over stupid shit. Plates would be broken. Ugly words were said. Finally her mom made him move out and they eventually divorced. He went to live in the barracks. Mara and Cooper saw him rarely. His weekends were swallowed by beer and he wasn’t there during the week. Now he would be gone altogether. Kentucky. 

And we would be in Texas. Away from my father and my friends in a strange place. With only my mother and my little brother. At Christmas. Sounds like the plot of some totally messed-up Christmas movie. 

Cooper and Mara ate Thanksgiving dinner with their dad at the Monterey Cookhouse. Their mom worked at a catering job trying to get as much cash as possible before they left. Dinner with their dad was awkward because of Mara’s attitude. Cooper and dad joked together about it. How she was grumpy bear. Dad told a story of how when she was a baby she only wanted her mom. He said it was because she didn’t trust him to care of her. Mara thought to herself you got that right. Toward the end of the meal Mara softened toward him and asked about his travel plans to Kentucky. He said he was leaving day after tomorrow.

“Will I see you again before you leave?” she asked.

Her dad squirmed in his seat. He didn’t like disappointing her. “I might be able to. When are you guys leaving?”

“Tomorrow.” The apartment had already been packed by the movers. The army was going to pay to move their furniture and stuff to Texas. It might arrive before Christmas. Maybe not. “Will you come see us leave? Please.”

“Yeah, Dad, come see us one last time,” chimed in Cooper.

Her dad looked away and took a sip of his beer. “I think your mom is wanting to leave really early. She doesn’t want to be waiting on me to show up. And I’ll see you again. This isn’t forever. Promise.”

Dad dropped them off at the apartment. Their mother was still at work. Most everything was gone. They turned on the glaring overhead light because their lamps were on there way to Texas. 

“Do you think we’ll see dad again,” asked Cooper.

Time to be an adult like her dad and lie too, “Sure, Cooper,” she assured him, “He is going to miss us even more than we’ll miss him because we have each other and mom. He’ll be all alone.” They got their phones, a good-bye present from their dad, and played games till their mom came home and made them get ready for bed.

“Leaving bright an early tomorrow. We need some shut eye.” Her voice harshly cheerful. As she fell asleep Mara's last thoughts were this is going to suck.