Two for the Road

Chapter 2

The next morning, Rebecca awoke nestled in Jaime's arms beneath the thin blanket. The sun shone in across them and basked them in a pale, warm glow. She gazed out the window for a moment, admiring the tall Birch trees that grew in Jaime’s yard. Their leaves rustled gently in a passing breeze. The sky was a velvety blue, dotted with white clouds that appeared to be painted on. The birds in the trees sang a melodious chorus. Rebecca closed her eyes and allowed herself to indulge in a listen. Suddenly, another sound broke her relaxation. A familiar sound. Footsteps. Footsteps that she could only guess were coming from Jaime’s father a she walked closer to the bedroom.

She scrambled off of the bed, and, realizing she was standing in the room in only a pair of turquoise underwear, threw on her tank top and dove behind the closet door, just in time. It was custom- it was better not to provoke any extra tension between Jaime and her parents, and them finding her lying across her daughter in the morning was not the best way to avoid it.

Jaime's dad waltzed in to the room dressed in a freshly-pressed business suit, and she heard him say simply "Honey, sorry I can't stay longer, but I have another convention tomorrow in Toronto. I have to leave right away; I barely had time to pack another suitcase because the guys from work kept me out most of the night."

"When’s mom getting back from her trip?" Jaime retorted bitterly, her tone making it painfully honest that she was not interested in her father's excuses for leaving her alone at home, once again. His explanation was not a rare one. In fact, he had used it upwards of a dozen times. What he really meant by “the guys” was “his mistress”. The fact that he had been carrying on an affair with one of his co-workers for months now was no secret, even to his wife. But Mrs. Bennet could have cared less that he chose to break their marriage vows, as it allowed her to have her own affairs with the younger men she met in clubs in foreign cities. Rebecca had seen quite clearly from the time she had spent in the house that the marriage was not a warm one, or a loving one, but served the purpose of convenience quite well to the both of them.

"Your mother says hello, but she's probably staying in Connecticut until the twentieth. I'll be back next week, unless something comes up, but I'll have my cell phone with me so you can call if you need anything. Just take my credit card if you need groceries or clothes." He paused and scanned the floor of the living room. "Jaime, how many times do I have to tell you not to leave your clothes on the floor? It’s your own room, but you could at least have the decorum to wear pajamas or to throw your clothes into the laundry room. Even if I'm not home, I'd like you to be decent. Ugh, we have to hire a housecleaner soon. The house is getting filthy, and without your mother ever home to clean it…"

“Well maybe if you were home more you could clean it,” Jaime mumbled under her breath. If her dad heard her, he chose to ignore it and waved one final time before leaving the room and walking to the front door.

Rebecca’s heart went out to poor Jaime, who was more of an orphan than anything. Her parents were virtually never home; business trips, affairs and leisure travel kept them away most of the time, and as much as Jaime tried to hide it, Rebecca could tell that the girl felt abandoned and hurt. She jumped out from behind the door with a smile on her face, deciding that now was not the time to get her girlfriend all riled up about it, but rather a time to be welcomed to an otherwise beautiful day. “Morning!”

"Morning yourself, sunshine! You have fun last night?" She smiled and waved off the silent hate she held for her parents, obviously knowing the answer to the question she asked.

Rebecca grinned back and slipped into her jeans. "I should get going. Mom wanted me back before noon.”

“Okay. Don’t forget our picnic tomorrow!"

"Got it.”

“I’m going to be on your doorstep at two exactly, so be ready!”

“I will!”

“Okay, two on the dot. Just reme-”

“Jaime, for God’s sake!”

Jaime laughed evilly and grabbed Rebecca, dipping and kissing her goodbye, then smacking her lightly on the behind as the girl skipped towards the door.

Monday hit faster than a jet streaking through the sky. Rebecca woke up in a leisurely way, stretching like a cat and enjoying her time in the sun that streaked directly across her bed. She ate some granola with yogurt, slipped on some old jeans and a blue-and-green tie-dyed tank top, and grabbed a small basket that held various snacks in it as the doorbell rang. She traipsed to the door, to find Jaime holding out a fresh daisy. She smiled and tucked it in her hair. “Ready, muffin?”

Jaime frowned. “Don’t call me that. And I’m ready if you are! It’s supposed to rain this afternoon, though, so we can’t be too, too long.”

Rebecca squinted in the glare of the sun as she looked to the sky. “What are you talking about? There’s not a cloud in the sky!”

“Well that’s what the weatherman said this morning. I only go by what he tells me, Becky!”

"Yeah, I mean you can totally tell what weather patterns are going to occur from a stupid balloon.”

The girls walked hand-in-hand down to the walking trails near her house, and held their picnic on the soft grass alongside the river bank. With the sound of the river tumbling over rocks and sticks, Jaime sat back and relaxed at the surrounding beauty. The nice weather had held out, and there was an ocean of clear, blue sky matched by a heat that was stronger than usual for this time of year. Jaime was lying on her back, with her eyes closed, when Rebecca stood abruptly.

"What's wrong?"

Rebecca looked around to ensure a lack of any other people on the trails that surrounded the area, and cannon-balled into the water. "What are you doing?" She looked up at Jaime from the river with a pleading shine in her eyes, biting her lower lip.

"Uh-uh. You're insane. That water is, like, minus twenty!"

Rebecca stuck out her tongue. “Ugh, fine, party-pooper. Help me out, then.” Jaime reached out her hands, and Rebecca took them in her own.

At first, she appeared to be attempting to get out of the rushing water. Then, she suddenly cried out “Oh no!” and quite purposely pulled Jaime in with her.

"Ah! Cold! Cold! What the hell is wrong with you?! These are new clothes, you bitch!" She shivered and pulled herself against the shore to avoid dying of shock.

"And they look good," Rebecca said. "But they'd look better over there on the grass."

“I don’t think so.”

“I do.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“No fucking way, you psycho!”

“I can do this all day, you know.”

Jaime smirked. “If you take yours off first, then,” she offered, not expecting any response.

But the other girl casually answered “Okay,” and within seconds, all of her clothes lay in a soaked pile near the edge of the river. “Your turn.”

~*~*~

A pale yellow sun dried and warmed the two bodies that lay together on the woven picnic blanket. Rebecca was curled against her girlfriend, her long chestnut hair being gently played with.

“What do you want to do, now that you’re graduated?” Jaime asked out of the blue.

“What? Why?”

“I don’t know what you want now. I mean, I know so much about you, but I don’t know that. I’m curious.”

There was a long pause before either spoke. Unhurriedly, Rebecca finally answered “I want to travel. South America.”

“South America?”

“It’s so beautiful, and the people are so warm. I like the culture. I like how green it is. It’d give me a chance to update my Spanish. I don’t know what I like, actually. But I want to go.”

Chickadees and finches sung from the tall trees each time a breeze swept through the branches. “That’s cool. Have you planned anything?”

Rebecca scoffed. “Please, like I’ll ever get out of this damn town.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know…I have no real money saved up, mom wants me to go to college.” She rolled over onto her stomach, dipping her finger into the stream. “I hate it here.” The cool river water glided over her index finger and lapped against the surrounding grass. “What do you want to do?”

“I want to paint. I think I’d like to have a studio and an apartment in the city, and wander the streets late at night, and go out a lot.” It was simple enough. Jaime was a talented artist, and had even received a scholarship from it the year before. But after six months in college, she dropped out, discovering that the classroom was not for her.

Rebecca wondered how they would ever be able to fulfill their dreams. Or if they would manage to fulfill them and stay together.

“Hey, Becky?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“Are you cold?” The breeze had turned into wind, and a couple of rain clouds threatened to cover the sun.

“I mean Foxwood.”

“Like…for how long? Because I have to be here on Tuesday for a dentist thing.”

“No, I mean get out of here. Like, leave. For good.”

Rebecca rolled onto her back to face Jaime, who was now sitting straight up and looking expectantly at her. “Are you serious?”

“Well, why not? I hate my folks. You hate Foxwood. We have things we want that we won’t get here.”

It was true. But it couldn’t be that simple. “What about my mom?”

“What about her? You practically live at my house when my parents are out, which is the majority of the time. You’re done school.”

“You’re serious.” Rebecca propped herself up on her elbows.

“Why not?”

“Where would we go?”

“I don’t know.”

Rebecca frowned. “How would we get there?”

“I don’t know.” Jaime casually picked a blade of grass and tucked it between her lips, chewing the end. Somehow, it didn’t seem like a big deal around her. Nothing did. Nothing needed deep investigation or thought. What happened happened, and that was that.

“Jaime, I…” I what? What excuse did she have? What reason did she have to stay in this dead-end town and rot? No, no. This was beyond crazy. You cannot make a snap decision on a topic that required such consideration and planning. It would be nuts, not to mention dangerous. It was too unrealistic.

“What?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s go for it.”

“You sure, babe?”

Rebecca grinned. “Fuck yes.”

Jaime smiled even wider than the other girl and after a moment of judging by her face whether or not she was joking, pulled her close with her right arm. The two hadn’t even noticed that tiny pellets of rain had begun to drip from the sky. They quickly gathered their possessions and, taking one another’s hand, began their journeys to what would be their homes for only a short while longer/