by Ian Withrow
Lauren turned to see Valerie’s slim fingers working to extricate a lacey, red and black thong from her left wing. A hundred things to say crossed Lauren’s mind, but none of them seemed quite right so she simply bit her lip and tried to cover a smile.
“Oh goodness, I’m mortified! It’s a proper English Woman's worst nightmare.”
Valerie was fumbling with the garment and blushing hard as she failed to untangle it. When she was finally able to get it clear of Lauren’s feather she balled it up and threw it back into the bed area. She fanned herself with her now free hand and smiled nervously.
“Well! It’s rather hot in here yes? Better get going!”
She didn’t wait for an answer, bouncing back into the driver’s seat and firing up the truck instead.
“You know, they were actually pretty cute.”
Lauren teased her friend, and got a playful shove on the shoulder for her efforts.
“You don’t strike me as the shy type.”
Valerie laughed and gave a grudging shrug.
“Generally love, I’m not. Doesn’t do to be overly proper in my line of work. That being said, there are things you pick up being a Brit, and they can be hard to shake.”
“And untangling your lingerie from a friend is…”
“Definitely one of them! How bout some music?”
She jammed at the console and a wild, raucous tune burst forth from the speakers. Lauren didn’t know what to call it, honestly. It certainly didn’t fit any genre she could identify, and the words were completely foreign to her as well. It was also incredibly loud.
“Valerie.”
Her companion didn’t hear her over the explosion of electronic polka madness blasting through the cab. The console was covered with too many buttons and knobs to try to adjust it herself, so she tried again.
“Valerie!”
She looked over, wearing a pained expression on her still-flushed cheeks.
“This is really, really bad music!”
She laughed and sheepishly turned the volume down to a more manageable level.
“It really, really is, isn’t it?”
They exchanged nervous laughter and Valerie pointed out a binder filled with CD’s for Lauren to choose from. In no time they were singing along to 90’s pop while the miles ticked by. Music took the place of conversation, and the awkward encounter faded into the comfortable afternoon.
“So, where to?”
Lauren was caught off guard by the question. After all, Valerie was driving, she’d assumed she had a destination in mind.
“Where to? Like, right now?”
“Well, yeah. Where to for the evening, and where to after that?”
Lauren hadn’t considered where she would sleep for the night. That wasn’t something she’d had to worry about in a very long time. The idea of finding a town with a hotel was attractive in that it meant a comfortable bed, but Lauren had no desire to be seen, recognized, and harassed. She hadn’t shaken the fear that Weyland might find her, either. The bed in the back of the truck wouldn’t make a bad option, it was big enough for both of them certainly, but she didn’t want to impose either.
“Well…”
Valerie cut her off.
“If you want, we could sleep in the truck tonight? It’ll be a tight squeeze perhaps but I’ve got running water, heat, even a camp shower for the morning?”
Lauren nodded gratefully.
“Yeah? Honestly I won’t be offended if you’d prefer a hotel or something.”
“I think this’ll be perfect.”
Every now and again they would pass through some small town, but Valerie was careful to avoid larger cities whenever she could. As the sun started to set, it filled the cab with a rosy glow that matched the warmth they felt within. Somehow, against all odds, in this giant metal behemoth Lauren was starting to feel like she was home again.
It was after nightfall when Valerie slowed the truck and turned off road. She flicked on floodlights and rumbled into an overgrown field, rolling to stop inside a small stand of trees.
“Aren’t you worried we’ll get in trouble? What if somebody owns this land?”
Valerie’s voice took on a conspiratorial whisper as she replied.
“We’ll be out by daybreak, and honestly in most of Eastern Europe there are a lot of gray areas if you catch my meaning.”
Lauren didn’t, but she nodded anyway. She turned the floodlights back off and plunged the clearing back into darkness. Valerie’s truck continued to surprise Lauren. Along with the tiny stove that Valerie had promised, it had a battery bank to provide light, music, and warmth throughout the night.
The two were relishing each other’s companionship over a dinner of canned soup when Valerie fell quiet. Lauren looked up from her chicken and dumplings. Her friend had a strange, hesitant expression on her face.
“You ok?”
“Yeah… yeah I’m alright. I just. I’m not used to having company, that’s all. I’m really glad you’re here.”
Lauren flushed. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had expressed gratitude at her presence without actively trying to get something from her.
“I envy you, Valerie. You have this… this freedom. You go where you want, do what you want. This monster-truck, this home of yours; it’s a sanctuary you can take wherever you wish.”
Valerie’s cynical smile told Lauren that she had her own difficulties. Her own unrealized wishes and dreams. She set down what remained of her dinner and held a hand out to Lauren.
“Come with me, I want to show you something.”
Lauren obliged, setting her own soup can down in one of the cupholders and allowing herself to be led out of the cabin. Valerie brought her outside and motioned for her to wait a moment. She ducked back into the truck and emerged a moment later with a rolled up blanket and a small camera bag under one arm, and a wine bottle in her free hand.
Lauren eyed the wine bottle hungrily, feeling a familiar thirst well up inside her. She blinked and looked away, hoping Valerie hadn’t noticed.
“We’re sleeping outside?”
She laughed and shook her head.
“Come here, I think you’re gonna love this. It won’t take long.”
She walked around to the front of the truck and, using the cattle-pusher on the front as a ladder, she climbed onto the hood and started to spread the blanket out on the broad surface.
Lauren got the gist, but rather than help she caught herself admiring her host in the dim light of the crescent moon. Her khakis were snug already, and bending over to arrange the hood of the truck made them hug her body even closer.
“Distracted?”
Lauren jumped, her eyes flitting from Valerie’s shapely behind to her face, which was looking back over her shoulder with an amused grin.
“Sorry, just uh, wondering what you’re up to! Let me give you a hand.”
The two made short work of setting up the blanket. Valerie held her hand out and Lauren gripped it firmly, climbing onto the hood with her friend’s help. Valerie scooted back up against the windshield and laid back. She patted the blanket beside herself, indicating that Lauren should join her. The windshield and the hood formed a perfectly reclined seat.
“So…”
“Shh, look.”
Valerie pointed skyward. Lauren looked up and what she saw took her breath away. A billion stars filled the sky. The thin slice of moon couldn’t compete with the blazing pinpoints that filled her vision. Lauren was swept away, back to her childhood. She hadn’t seen the stars this clearly since camping in the Grand Canyon as a kid with her parents.
The spiral arm of the Milky Way was clearly visible against the vivid black night.
“Wow.”
What else was there to say?
The two sat in silence, lost in the splendor, for what must have been an hour. Lauren felt Valerie shift beside her. Her pulse quickened a bit when she brushed against her arm.
Was it an accident?
She didn
’t have to wait long for an answer. Valerie cautiously scooted closer until they were leaning against one another. Lauren risked a glance at her, and saw that Valerie was staring at her.
“W-what?”
“I’m sorry, I know it’s rude to stare. You’re just… beautiful, you know?”
Lauren looked back at the sky. She hadn’t felt beautiful in quite a while.
“Can I-”
“Yes?”
Lauren mentally reprimanded herself. Valerie hadn’t even finished the question before she blurted out the answer.
“I was going to ask if I can take your picture? Here, in the starlight.”
Valerie had surprised her again. Lauren gave a shy nod.
“Yeah? Ok, um… let me think. You sit here, on the hood.”
She jumped up and grabbed her camera bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she slid off of the vehicle. She fiddled with lenses and a tripod while Lauren fidgeted shyly.
When she was finally ready, Lauren looked obediently at the unblinking eye of the lens. This one was different. Older and worn, it looked more at home in some kind of museum than here in the 21st century.
“Won’t it be too dark?”
“No, I can set my camera for a long exposure time. It means it’ll stay open for an extended time so you have to be very, very still. Ok?”
Lauren had no real choice but to trust her.
“How do you want me?”
Lauren regretted her word choice.
“Uh, to sit I mean. How do you need me to sit.”
“You’re perfect. Just like you are now.”
Lauren sat up, her wings half-folded and her legs crossed. She stared at the camera while Valerie adjusted some final setting.
“Ready?”
Click.
Lauren wasn’t sure how long she had to stay put so she sat as still as she could. As if to spite her, a light breeze struck up and her ebony hair waved in the wind. After what felt like ages, she heard a soft whirring noise and another click.
Valerie didn’t move, she just stood there staring at Lauren and smiling.
“Oh shit, I forgot to smile! I’m so sorry Valerie.”
Seriously? How do you not smile for a photo.
“I… Can we redo it?”
Valerie shook her head.
“Sadly my dear that’s not how film works, and this isn’t a digital camera. We’ll just have to see how it turns out.”
Valerie climbed back onto the truck, this time settling in against Lauren right away. Lauren did her best to act naturally, and it seemed Valerie was determined to do the same.
“Would you like a drink?”
Valerie sat up and leaned across her companion, reaching past her to pick the bottle up. Sparks flew between them as their chests nearly met.
“S-sure.”
Valerie smiled and started to unscrew the cap on the bottle. She got the cap off and moved to take a swig, but paused. she set the bottle down in her lap and scooted around to face Lauren directly.
“Come to London with me,” Valerie blurted out.
Chapter Five
London.
Valerie had immediately laughed the request off, but Lauren couldn’t shake the idea. The two spent the rest of the night making small talk, drinking wine, and staring at the stars. But something had changed. Their delicate ballet across safe topics did nothing to stem the deep undercurrents of the evening.
Even now, when she should be sleeping, Lauren’s mind was abuzz with energy. Should she go? London was huge, there was no way she would be able to hide her presence. Not unless she was willing to live the rest of her life inside, anyway. There were other problems, dozens of them. Lauren wrestled with them silently, unwilling to disturb Valerie’s slumber.
In the near-total darkness Lauren couldn’t see well enough to make out the details of Valerie’s face, but if she squinted hard she could see the vague outline of her sleeping form. Restless, as if she knew she had Lauren’s attention, Valerie shifted in her sleep. She unconsciously snuggled closer, resting against Lauren’s side and tucking her head against her shoulder.
Valerie’s body was warm and light and soft. It was as though Lauren had taken a muscle relaxant. Valerie’s touch drained tension from her shoulders and temple and she found herself breathing easier. Lauren let out a sigh, listening to Valerie’s heartbeat beside her own. The innocent, intimate act distracted Lauren from her worries. suddenly the obstacles in her path, in their path, seemed more conquerable.
Her mind at ease, the fogginess of sleep crept up on Lauren. She returned Valerie’s sleepy embrace, wrapping her arm around her and lightly rubbing her back as she drifted off.
Alright then, London.
Lauren woke to a gentle shaking. She cracked her eyes, squinting in the early morning sun. Valerie’s face was just a few inches away, relaxed in deep slumber. Lauren stifled a laugh when she noted the light snoring of her companion. Her arm, still under Valerie, had long since fallen asleep and was a mass of pins and needles. Her discomfort was offset by the adorable line of drool from Valerie’s slack jaw.
Lauren blinked blearily, maybe she had imagined the shaking. She was nearly convinced when it happened again. The whole truck was shaking. The revelation brought her to full wakefulness. She jerked upright, her thoughts turning immediately to what had happened in Athens.
Her forehead met the unyielding roof of the truck with a resounding bang.
“Ouch, damnit!”
Lauren glanced down at Valerie, who showed no signs of waking. Lauren wiped a circle in the fogged-over window of the truck and peered outward. Her vision was immediately obscured by a massive bovine head and a huge pink tongue.
Lauren let out a tiny scream, clutching her chest to still her pounding heart.
“What? What’s wrong? Are you ok?”
Valerie woke at the sound and was rubbing the sleep from her eyes and looking around with concern. Lauren took a moment to calm herself before she was able to speak.
“Yes, sorry. Holy crap. This freakin’ cow just scared the hell out of me!”
“Cow? What cow?”
A low mooing sound vibrated the truck walls and the women shared a confused look.
“Hang on. I’ll open the sunroof.”
Valerie clambered over the seat and up to the front of the vehicle. Lauren appreciated her friend’s decision, not least because it afforded an unobstructed view of her in a tiny pink camisole and a pair of short blue shorts. Valerie toggled a switch and the sunroof slowly rolled itself open. She stood in the center seat and poked her head out of the top of the vehicle.
Lauren was surprised to hear Valerie start laughing hysterically.
“What? What’s going on?”
“Come here, you’re not going to believe this.”
Lauren climbed over to her friend and squeezed herself up through the sunroof beside her. It was tight quarters, and they were squished against one another, but she made it through without embarrassing herself too much. As Lauren’s eyes adjusted to the brightness, she couldn’t help but laugh as well. The truck, which Lauren had thought of as so massive up until this point, was a tiny island in a sea of cattle. At some point in the night, or perhaps this morning, their resting place had become the gathering point for what must be one hundred cows or more.
“I told you so,” Lauren teased.
“You certainly did not!”
“I did! I told you we’d get in trouble barging into someone’s field. Here we have it, Karma.”
Valerie scowled at her, but had no retort.
A distant, shouting voice interrupted their fun. A farmer, silhouetted against the sky, was yelling something at them from a nearby hill.
“Shit!”
They both tried to duck back into the cab at the same time and wound up jammed together. Valerie’s face was buried in Lauren’s chest, her hair was tickling Lauren’s nose.
“Oh, sorry! I’m just - let me, uh”
Valerie’s auburn cu
rls kept catching Lauren’s mouth as she tried to speak. Valerie pushed back upwards, her head catching Lauren’s chin as she simultaneously made another attempt to go down. Lauren reflexively moved her hand to cover her freshly-bitten lip, but it got caught, trapped between her side and her wings.
Both women were laughing too hard to speak. Time was running out, the man on the hill was working his way towards them. Valerie took charge, she grabbed Lauren’s waist and abruptly moved to sit down.
They plummeted through the sunroof at last, loose feathers falling all around them. Lauren was straddling Valerie’s lap, who had yet to remove her hands from around her companion. Both women were flushed and laughing hysterically. They settled into silence with wide, loopy smiles on their faces. Valerie had a stray strand of hair hanging down in her face. Her smile broadened when Lauren tucked it behind her ear.
The women were interrupted by a loud thump. They both flinched as a fist sized rock impacted the metal siding.
“We gotta go, Valerie!”
Lauren scooted back as Valerie scrambled into the front seat and fired up the truck.
“I can’t believe that asshole threw a rock at my truck!
Valerie jammed the horn, sending the cattle into a startled rush to get away from them. She rumbled off towards the road as quickly as the herd would allow, leaving the farmer angrily pelting them with stones behind.
It wasn’t until they were several miles down the road that they had finally stopped laughing enough to carry on a normal conversation.
“So, where are we headed next? Perhaps a hen house this time?”
Lauren’s companion was an encyclopedia on this part of the world and soon they were laughing and smiling again. Valerie regaled her with everything from local folklore to impromptu history lessons.
“Eventually, this route will take us through Kosovo and Montenegro and then it’s up to Sarajevo-”
Lauren tensed at the name.
“Sarajevo? Why are we going to Sarajevo?”
Valerie seemed confused.
“Well, Bosnia and Herzegovina is on our way back to Central and then Western Europe. All of the major highways run through and from the capitol. Not going through Sarajevo would add hours and hours to our trip.”