“How far can you take us?” Mona inquired, hoping he’d say he soon had to turn off.
“Depends on where you wanna go. I’m stopping at Pensacola. Now, if you’re headed in a different direction, jes’ let me know where to let you out.” He sped up, jerked the wheel, and swerved around the car in front of him, barely missing its front bumper.
Gritting her teeth, Mona tried to think of what to say next. She had to reply quickly before Rob accepted. How could she let Rob know this man was stoned to the gills? They’d already been through too much to end up a statistic in highway fatalities. Mona wanted out of this truck.
Facing Rob, she stammered a reply, slurring syllables deliberately, hoping he’d get the hint. “Glad for the shride, mis-stuh. But all we need is to get to the bushtop — ha, ha, I mean the bus stop.” She winked her right eye at Rob and he caught on.
“Yessuh,” he added to her ruse, “Thas all we need, a shride to a buzzstop.”
At those words, the inebriated driver looked at them. “Hey, you two, I thought you wuz okay, even though you look shoddy as hell.” His voice sounded as if he were shocked sober. “What the hell? I ain’t giving you two drunks a ride no farther. Get out.” He motioned with his head. “I ain’t giving you no chance to rob me, neither.”
Pulling into a grocery store parking lot, the old man leaned over and opened the passenger side door. Without a word, he jerked back a thumb and motioned them out of the car.
“I said get out!”
The feeling was mutual between the driver and his passengers — all of them were glad to be rid of each other.
Across the street, a sign read Mobile Transportation Department. Right behind it was a McDonalds. The traffic light facing them changed and they crossed the street. The scent of food cooking made them realize they were both famished. Luckily, Mona had some cash. But when she pulled off her shoe, the bill she’d put there was gone.
“Damn,” she said aloud, remembering that on the last stretch through the woods her shoe had come off. “I guess when my shoe came off my money fell out. How’re we going to buy something to eat without any money, Rob?”
Rob looked at her. His dry throat and parched lips begged for relief. Would his pocket change suffice to pay for some small morsel for them both? He checked and found two dollars and fifty cents. They’d have to be satisfied with whatever that would buy.
At the counter, the smell of freshly brewed coffee reached their nostrils and a whiff of it took their breath away. With a longing for a cup, Rob turned to Mona, “I think I’ve got enough for a biscuit each.” He added in a whisper, “Coffee’s just a quarter for senior citizens. I look old enough to qualify.”
They stood studying the menu, adding up the tab. “We can get that special sausage and egg biscuit — with coffee, it’ll be two dollars and forty cents.” Rob shook his head. “We’ll have to split a cup of coffee. I don’t have enough for the sales tax. You don’t have a nickel or just four pennies, do you?”
Before Mona could answer, an overall clad male standing in line behind them tapped Rob on the shoulder and handed him a nickel. Rob’s face broke into a broad grin. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate that. You saved my life.”
Three minutes later, Rob and Mona sat in a booth and ate ravenously. The morning trade came and went, oblivious to the couple who’d been captives on space ships just a few short hours before.
“Look at these people,” Rob told Mona. “Like most of the citizenry of Mobile, Alabama, and the world, they know nothing of outer space activities that could change the course of humanity. Of course, neither did we, till recently. Oh well, maybe it doesn’t matter. How important space activities are, future generations will determine. Time will tell. Only time will tell.”
Something happened elsewhere that nobody knew about. After the explosion in the sky, two people crawled out of a ditch, battered and bruised. When Marcus took his last breath, Eric gently eased down his eyelids. He knelt beside his cohort and raised his eyes to heaven: “No immortality for us.” Then he looked at the body beside him. “You know I don’t give up easily, but I don’t think I have a choice this time. I’ll be joining you soon, my friend.” He let his head rest on Marcus’s chest. And waited, wondering when, if ever, they’d be found.
Chapter 10
WHEN THEY FINISHED EATING, Mona felt refreshed and light-headed. Rob didn’t feel quite as much at ease. Going hot and cold with worrying about the implant, he voiced his fears. “Hell, Mona, there’s no use in trying to find a doctor. It’s useless. We’re just kidding ourselves. No doctor’s — ”
Putting her finger to his lips, she stopped his negative outburst. With an uncanny, unexplainable wave of communication between them, they let the moment pass without another word. Giving the silence time to calm Rob’s nerves, Mona waited. In a relaxed gesture, she stood, moved an empty chair from a nearby table out of her way and said, “It’s time to go.”
As they left McDonald’s, an idea formed in Mona’s mind as to how they could get at least part of the way to Pensacola. The long-haired youth who’d given them the nickel was about to leave with a girl and another couple. And they weren’t drunk. Mona might be able to finagle a ride.
With her special knack for being able to engage people in conversation, especially oddballs, Mona quickened her pace to catch up with them before they got out of the door. In this case, she decided that a direct approach would be the most effective. There was no time to let Rob in on the act, so she moved ahead while he trailed behind.
Catching up with the foursome, she held the door open for them. The tall blonde girl with blue eyes looked over her shoulder and eyed Mona suspiciously. She turned to look back at her boyfriend as if to say, “Now what does she want?”
Her appraisal was absolutely accurate; Mona did want something. She wanted a ride. The timing was right, so Mona took the chance, telling herself, this may not work. That girl doesn’t seem too friendly. Nevertheless, she sidled up to the girl and asked, “Say, is there any chance that you’re going our way — toward Pensacola?” She pointed her index finger at the girl’s male companion. “He knows we’re broke. He lent us a nickel so we could get breakfast. We don’t have any wheels. So, if you’re going in that direction, we sure could use a ride — even part of the way. Who wants to get stuck here in this dead city?”
She waited for a reaction and when none was forthcoming, Mona decided to take a different tack. Maybe they liked Mobile. “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with Mobile, but there’s more action in Pensy.”
Her jivey talk made a hit. Long hair cracked a smile, and the others followed suit. He seemed to be the leader of the group. As if on cue, they all laughed, even the somber blonde. She turned to the other brown-haired leader, who had holes in the knees and the backside of his jeans and said, “Hey, Mr. D, she’s cool.”
Seizing the opportunity to draw them into friendly conversation, Mona introduced Rob. She did not use his real name. The first thing that came to mind was a comic strip character named Slingo, so that’s who Rob became.
“And I’m Peppy,” she said. It was the only name she could think of, and she didn’t mind having the same name as her dog at all.
The tall blonde held out her hand. “I’m Ta.” She pointed to the girl beside her with a halter and cut off jeans. “She’s Shawn,” and then toward a chubby round-faced teenager who looked like he didn’t belong with the rest of them and rumpled his curly hair. “He’s Bubba. You’ve already met Mr. D, right?” Last names were omitted entirely.
Rapport had been established. Ta tightened the band around her ponytail. “Say, Mr. D, we’re going that way, aren’t we? Let’s take them along. They’re with it and we’ve got room. We could use some new blood. How ’bout it?” She put an arm around his lanky shoulders and batted mascara covered eyelashes in his direction.
That was all it took. Mona and Rob followed them to their old van, and the six set out together on Eastbound I-10. Even before they got to the car, th
ey bantered back and forth about what direction to take.
“Let’s go down to the ships and play a few slots first,” Bubba suggested.
Mona was awed. Could he be talking about Biloxi? How crazy. That’s the opposite direction, and they’d decided on Pensacola.
“Naw,” Ta said, much to Mona’s relief. “We gotta take our friends here to Pensacola.”
Mr. D piped in. “Listen up. I’m the one who’s driving and I’ll say where we’re going.” But he didn’t.
That bothered Mona and so did what Ta might have meant about needing “new blood” and the fact that they’d probably hooked up with “users.” Under normal circumstances, she would have shied away from such people, but nothing about her circumstances was normal. She’d found herself doing many things out of the ordinary. Nothing surprised her. Not even the unpredictability of her companions. She just hoped they’d get her and Rob to Pensacola without incident. They didn’t need a confrontation with the police.
But from the tone and tempo of their conversation, Mona wasn’t sure they even knew what they were going to do next. It seemed that they’d just met up with each other and nobody knew what was what.
Leaning on his shoulder as he drove, Ta said, “I jes’ met Mr. D this morning. Seems like he’s the impulsive type.” She looked at Mona. “You said Pensacola and here we are — on our way there.” She snuggled closer to Mr. D. Without warning, she yelled, “Ouch! What’d I say? Why’d you pinch me?” She rubbed her upper arm.
“Don’t mouth off,” was his only reply.
But that didn’t stop Ta from chatting away. She climbed over the seat and plopped herself between Mona and Rob in the back. The conversation went from disconnected sentences to Ta’s expounding on the benefits of modern psychology. She spouted vulgarities and expletives that would make a sailor blush. Nobody tried to hush her, but after Mr. D passed around some little red pills and she took one, her talking ceased. Instead, she leaned against Rob’s shoulder and fell asleep. Mona and Rob managed to spit out the pills and put them in their pockets.
Mr. D took his turn talking. Even though he’d pretended that he had impulsively decided to go to Pensacola, Mona discerned from his erratic conversation that was where he was headed in the first place. He also revealed that they were all high on a new hallucinogenic drug unknown to any but the heaviest users. She found out that Mr. D had discovered a dealer who would supply them with an unlimited quantity in return for their transporting huge amounts of drugs to ships leaving the Port of Mobile. Currently, they were furnishing a supplier in Pensacola some stuff to take to the Keys. From there, it would be transported to ports unknown. Once again, Mona wanted out, but this time she couldn’t find a way to escape the situation. It wasn’t far to Pensacola now. She crossed her fingers and decided to just take a chance on not getting pulled over by the police.
Since all the others were asleep, Mr. D told Mona and Rob. “Hey, you guys must really be into this if those pills didn’t knock you out.” He chuckled. “Look at those wimps — blown away already. They don’t know nothin’ ’bout what I jus’ tole you.” He turned and stared at them. “You better keep your mouth shut, too.” He got back on the road just in time to swerve back into his own lane and miss an eighteen-wheeler headed straight for them. “I don’ know much, neither — jes’ who my contact is; but that’s all I need to know. Okay?” He looked in the rearview mirror. “You guys want in on the ground floor, jus’ say the word.”
It was unexplainable to Mona that Mr. D trusted two strangers so completely. Even now, though, he didn’t insist on an answer, she thought it would be wise to give one.
“Naw, man. We got other contacts and they don’t like double-dippin’ o’ no kind. Have to pass.”
Mr. D nodded and didn’t question her. The others stirred and he quit talking. The six people traveled together the rest of the way just as if they’d been lifelong friends.
Mona and Rob had one fright, though. When they reached Pensacola and asked to get out in the middle of downtown, Mr. D pulled over and let them out. He reached out of the window and held out his hand.
“That’ll be twenty each,” he said with a very straight face.
Rob paled. But before he had time to get too excited, Mr. D let out a big horse laugh.
“Har, har. I know you ain’t got no money, man. But I gotcha that time, didn’t I?”
He and his companions wheeled off, leaving Rob and Mona standing on the curb with their mouths wide open.
Rob let out a sigh. “Now those were some strange characters.”
“Yeah,” Mona pulled on her ear. “But you know what? I’ve got some neighbors in the apartment across from me who are almost that bad.” She straightened up and looked at him. “Want to hear a funny story?”
Without waiting for an answer, she began. “This couple’s like the jet set, except they don’t have the money to live the high life they’d like. Their last name’s Duke, but his first name is Solon. When I told him I never heard that name before, he guffawed. ‘My parents wanted me to be a politician,’ he said. ‘I guess I disappointed them by being a personal trainer.’”
Mona turned to face Rob. “You know what? He’s got the physique for it and he looks fit, but boy can he put away the booze. They both can. We call her Lee, but she claims her real name is Lemonjelo. Her explanation is bizarre. She says her mother craved lemon jello when she was pregnant and that’s why she got stuck with that name. But I don’t really believe that. Who knows?”
Rob gave a sideways grin and Mona continued. “Anyhow, one evening they invited me over to meet their nephew who was visiting. When Lee answered the door, juggling a glass of wine and a plate piled high with sandwiches, the husky teenager right behind her said, ‘I’m Donny.’
“Donny took the plate of sandwiches from Lee and headed for a lounge chair in front of the TV. Now this is what’s funny: He put the plate on the end table beside him, took a huge bite of one of them, then looked straight at his aunt. ‘Gee, Aunt Lee,’ he said with his mouth full. ‘I love ham. These are really good. Why didn’t you fix some for yourself?’”
Rob laughed hard and so did Mona. But the incident was quickly dismissed when a car ran a traffic light and Rob had to swerve to dodge it.
So much had happened. Mona couldn’t even believe she was on Palafox Street. Yet, here she was, less than four blocks from Rosie O’Grady’s, a place where she’d always had fun, with a yesterday nobody would believe and a tomorrow nobody would expect. Rosie O’Grady’s — the look into the past from Seville Square, the Bourbon Street of Pensacola minus exotic dancers — was the place Mona frequented most when she and Lee Black were dating. That, along with Lee Black, was gone forever.
But to believe she was here, so near and yet so far from it, was mind-boggling. Mona was surprised that a fun city could exist amidst the confusion of her mind and being. Why not long ago, she and a group of her friends had visited the quaint section noted for its cheap drinks and piano players. Had they really watched the silent movies and heard the jazz songs played by musicians who were retired engineers and pros at the art of capturing the interest of their fans? Did Rosie O’Grady’s and all the other interesting restaurants and bars really occupy the city’s old quarter? Or was it an alleyway Mona had imagined, an unreal place dreamed up to satisfy her yearning for a spot of history preserved? Right now, everything seemed like a fabrication of her imagination.
Mona gritted her teeth. Was she losing her grip on reality? Of course it was real. Maybe everything else was unreal, but Seville Square was real. She was convinced that despite the space people and the druggies who got them here, one thing that was real was Rosie O’Grady’s.
“Mona, Mona. Where are you, Mona?” Rob tugged on her arm.
That brought her back to reality. “Rob, oh Rob. I can’t believe it.”
At the moment, Rob didn’t really know what it was that Mona didn’t believe, but he suspected it was the things they’d been through together. He didn�
�t realize that she referred to everything that happened. The culmination of everything had affected her, a female, more that it had Rob. Although Rob expressed no concern for those drug users, they made a big impact on Mona. To her, they were individual human beings with problems and fears, people she should have been able to help. Their viewpoints were different from hers, but that was all.
But she didn’t — maybe she couldn’t — help them. Now, she and Rob were back to facing their own difficulties. The past was past and they’d do well to forget it. Solving humanities problems was out of their realm. Time was moving on — with or without them.
The midmorning traffic was light on the city’s thoroughfare, but the two Times reporters felt considerably more comfortable in Pensacola than they would have in Mobile where they were known. It seemed ironic. At this time of year, people flocked to Mobile to visit the battleship Alabama or to see the beautiful flowers of Bellingrath Gardens with its thousands of plants. Yet, Mona and Rob left for the safety of a Florida city. Again, Frank Dees’s words came to mind.
She deepened her voice and said, “You know what I just thought about? One of Frank’s idiosyncrasies about the South. ‘Mona, I do not care what the English books say or what the professors at the University of Alabama told you — when you refer to the Azalea Trail and its being in Mobile, spell South with a capital S.’” She laughed. “I don’t know why I thought of that. Homesick, I guess. Frank has his rules and if you want to keep your job you don’t violate them, do you?”
Rob put his arm around her, but she shied away. All Mona could think of was that if they ever wanted to get back to Mobile and The Times, they’d better get treatment for Rob.
“Let’s find a pay phone,” she said.
Time Will Tell Page 13