Staring outside the window, I realized Ohio was the complete opposite of Los Angeles. The greenery was nice and easier to deal with than city traffic or angry drivers flipping each other off. Fiery waves dwindled from the sky. A thin fog smothered the windows as trees swayed on both sides of the road. The town was at ease.
I stared at the back of Chris’s head, which was firmly nestled in the seat in front of me. His hair fluttered in the wind, in an effortless controlled way, and I wondered what the texture would feel like sliding between my fingers.
It wasn't long before we pulled into a shabby old gas station. Prices were scribbled on scraps of white cardboard. And the moment we neared a pump, Tre was the first one to get out.
“Need anything out of here, Coach?” he asked
“The usual’s fine.”
Blue and Kevin trailed shortly behind. “Hurry up.” She nudged him further out the door.
Seeing them together was like watching an action movie – James Bond, but not on purpose. They moved toward the dimly lit mini market in a hurry. As soon as they reached their target, an old man slugged toward the van and tapped on the glass as though he’d been sleepwalking.
“Who’s there? What are you kids doing around this part?” he asked.
Chris rolled down the window. “It’s me Sam.”
“Oh, hey Chris! How’ve you been? Ain’t seen you around since last February.” He turned to me with stretched eyes. “Oh look! What do we have here? You brought along a cute little penny, too. Ain’t she perty.”
Chris handed him a hundred dollar bill. “Thanks, Sam,” he replied and walked over to my window. “You should go get something to eat, Calise. You’ll be hungry later.”
Startled by those brown eyes, I almost forgot about the grumblings going on in my stomach. “Right,” I agreed and opened the door. “Want anything else?” I asked. “The least I can do is take care of you, after you've done so much for me already.”
He breathed slowly this time, and stepped closer. "They'll take care of it." The edge of his hand brushed against mine, taking me by surprise. Soon, our fingers slithered together in a natural tryst.
I had to admit: holding hands with him was nice. There was an undeniable charm about standing next to him and wildlife that made my heart petals open. Such a simple gesture seemed to trigger our own mysterious adventure. “So . . . this the place you were telling me about. It's refreshing. Do you stay here often?"
He peered around, wearing a look of satisfaction. "I feel more myself when I'm here . . . closer to everything. It's good for now. Things change.” He started pointing all around us.
I knew meeting him wasn't a mistake or a coincidence. He was my hero. So I tried making something up, anything to make him laugh again.
“Thanks for letting me into your world.”
That bit of gratitude was enough, and certainly made him smile for the first time since we landed. He stared off in front of him. “You're welcome.”
Before he could say another word, I climbed out of the van and grabbed the sliding door, snapping it shut. The others were already on their way back when our paths crossed in an awkward twine. They carried bags under their arms and a load of other stuff that was probably molded and gross from being locked inside the old Ohio cave; this store had to be at least a zillion years old.
Tre was talking to Kevin as they burst into laughter. I knew they were talking about me. Blue followed behind them with a pack of water bottles over her shoulder and seemed to be handling more weight than the guys.
Opening the front glass door, I observed a pile of orange baskets near the wall and grabbed one from the stack. Skimming over the food supply, I threw in candy bars, microwavable dinners, and every chip bag that was left on the shelf; the juice packs were out of my favorite flavor, so I didn't spend much time in the beverage isle. The lady at the register slowly scanned each item.
“Is that all?”
I noticed the van was pulled beside the curb, which was probably Chris’s subtle way of saying put a move on it. So I grabbed my bags from the register lady and hastened out. Climbing into the back, I already started shucking one of my candy bars.
“Can we enlighten your new friend here on the rules?” Kevin asked.
Everyone stared at me.
“No chocolate,” Kevin answered his own question.
Tre grabbed my packages and peeked inside. “Yeah, we don’t eat trash. AKA anything with sugar.”
After a moment’s hesitation, I relinquished the ‘bar of sin’ and watched Tre shoot my dinner straight through the window.
“Whoop there it is.”
Kevin looked up. “Nah man, you missed.”
Tre tossed me a bag of nut trail mix. “From now on, you eat like the rest of us. If that’s a problem...”
“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Blue added, finishing his sentence.
I frowned and nibbled on a raisin. This was going to be tougher than I thought. No candy? No rich, melted, chocolaty substance sliding down my throat? I’d have to start my whole life over and search for a new purpose.