In Search of Lucy (13 page)

“Oh my gosh!” Anne screeched. Both girls busted out of the car and ran to meet Benny, Chad, and the old man.

“You girls alright?” Benny asked as Anne clung to him, hugging him with her head against his chest. “Who’s that guy?”

“Everything’s fine,” Lucy reassured. “Just some jerk saying he wanted to
help
us. What’s going on with you guys? And who’s your new friend?”

Anne looked up as if she hadn’t even noticed the man driving the truck until Lucy mentioned him.

“This is Leroy,” Benny said. “He owns a garage not too far from the place we were buying the parts.” Leroy gave a nod and a smile. “It was lucky he was there the same time we were.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Leroy,” Anne said. She walked over and shook his hand. “And thanks so much for coming to help us.”

“You can thank your young friend here for that.” Leroy gave Chad a pat on his back, which evoked a proud grin across Chad’s face. “He talked me into coming…said there were two young girls left all alone on the highway. Not sure how he knew I’m a sucker for ladies in distress.”

All eyes were fixed on Leroy as he stood with one hand on his hip and the other wiping his forehead. “Well, let’s get to it,” he said. “We only got about an hour or so more light to work with.”

They all walked to the front of the car, Chad and Leroy each carrying a bag. Lucy grabbed ahold of Chad’s shoulders as he walked and gave him a couple of shakes. “I knew you were going to come in handy on this trip, kid.” She stopped him just short of the front of the car and looked into his eyes. “Seriously, Chad…thanks.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal.” He flipped his hair back and walked around her to stand next to Leroy as Benny opened the hood. At first all three stood and stared at the engine as if waiting to see which one of them would make the first move.

Benny knew it wasn’t going to be him, so he made a different move instead. He got the girls out of the way and led them back to the truck where there were sandwiches and chips that they’d picked up after they met up with Leroy. It was actually Leroy’s idea based on his own experiences of having to keep women out of his hair when he was working. Benny watched as the girls sat on the tailgate and devoured the sandwiches, hoping they wouldn’t finish them all. Even though he ate his in the car on the way over, he was still hungry.

“That was just what we needed, Benny,” Anne mumbled as she chomped on some Doritos. Once she cleared her mouth, she added, “And thanks for taking such good care of us.”

They both instinctively looked at Lucy, waiting for her to finish chewing.

“Yeah, thanks Benny.” Lucy tried to hide her smirk behind her napkin, but Benny could sense her sarcasm.

“What?” Benny wondered.

Lucy wiped her mouth, cleaning a bit of mayo off along with her expression. “Nothing. It’s just…it’s so funny how Anne knows how to pump up your ego and you just eat it right up.”

Benny’s posture went from a straight arrow to a slumped-over sausage. He didn’t have a chance to respond.

“Hey,” Anne said defensively but with conviction. “I really meant that. Benny’s done a great job on this trip, and we should really appreciate everything he has done for us.” Feeling a little embarrassed by her display, she mellowed her tone. “Don’t you, Lucy?”

Lucy was taken aback by Anne’s reaction given that standing up to Lucy was not something she had done before. “You know I…I don’t know why I said that. Anne’s right. Benny, you’ve really been great on this trip, and…I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”

“Hey, it’s cool, Lucita. The funny thing is that even though it’s been kind of crazy, I’m actually having a good time.”

“Me too!” Anne chimed.

“But…I can’t accept your apology without a hug, girl.” Benny opened his arms wide and stared at Lucy.

“Uh, I didn’t apologize…I just said thanks.” Lucy tried to keep a straight face, but she couldn’t hold back a smile. She knew her friends were still trying to figure her out. “I’m kidding!” she added sharply. Lucy hopped off the tailgate and wrapped her arms around Benny’s neck. Benny’s arms almost doubled around her petite waist, and he tried not to lose himself in the pleasure of the moment.

“Hey, what about me?” Anne whined.

“Well, get your butt over here, girl.” Benny took an arm from Lucy and reached out to Anne, who joined the hug fest. He was big enough to hold both girls in his arms. “Now this is what I’m talkin’ about.”

“Hey,” Chad shouted from the front of the Durango. “Why do you get to have all the fun, while we’re over here doing all the work?”

“You guys are the experts!” Benny shouted back, laughing over Lucy’s shoulder.

Then it all became a bit too awkward for Lucy, and she was ready to break free. “All right, people, that’s enough.”

Chad and Leroy worked on the car for about another forty minutes. There were a few false starts when they thought they had everything in place, but Leroy didn’t feel confident that things were just right. Once he was satisfied and the engine roared with vitality, everyone got ready to move out. The sun was starting to set, and there was a beautiful orange glow floating towards them. Leroy commented on what a great job Chad had done and that he should definitely work with engines in his future. Benny offered to take Leroy out to dinner, but he declined, stating that his wife was expecting him. After many thanks and handshakes, they watched as Leroy climbed into his truck and drove off.

Back on the highway, the four passengers reviewed their options for the night as the sun slowly disappeared from their sight. Unfortunately, they had lost about three and a half hours back there on the highway, so sticking to the original plan would be more difficult.

“What do you think, guys?” Benny asked. “Should we still go for Midland? It’s at least four more hours. Or we could try El Paso.” No one spoke. “Tomorrow would be a longer drive though.”

They all looked around to see what the general consensus was.

For the first time, Anne was looking tired and far from her usual energetic self. “I know I could use a good night’s sleep after all that. What about you, Lucy?”

“I’m fine either way. You guys decide.”

“Any thoughts, Chad?” Benny said to the rearview mirror.

“Hey, I’m just along for the ride. Whatever everyone else wants is fine with me.”

“All right then,” Benny responded. “I guess I’ll make an executive decision. Let’s see what we can find in El Paso. Then we’ll get up early for the long haul to Fort Worth. Sound good?”

“Thanks, Benny.” Anne patted his shoulder, then slid down in her seat, resting her head and staring at the ceiling.

“Don’t thank me yet. Wait ’til we see what kind of rooms we can get.”

The door was wide open when Kyle arrived home that evening. Normally, his first instinct would be to walk in cautiously and take inventory of what was missing. But the way things had been going lately with his brother, he knew Alex was up to something. The moment he stepped in the doorway, he heard music and a blast of wind hit him in the face. That meant the back door was open too. His blood began to boil. As he walked past the front bathroom, the door opened, and he was about to let Alex have it, until he realized it wasn’t Alex.

“Hey, man,” an over-six-foot Asian man said. He was wearing loose jeans and no shirt. “You here to see Alex?”

“You could say that.” Kyle tried to hold back and not take out his frustrations on a total stranger.

“Come on back.” The man motioned for Kyle to follow and headed toward the living room.

Kyle could see the sliding back door was wide open and some people were sitting at the patio table in the back, three girls and one guy, and they all looked to be in their late twenties. There were drinks on the table, and everyone was dressed according to the hot weather of the day. Kyle wondered how many hours they had been there freely roaming around his home. Walking through the living room, he looked around to see if he could spot Alex. He noticed the refrigerator door open and immediately recognized the rear end sticking out of the side, so he stopped short of the unwanted houseguests and took a hard right to the kitchen. The Asian guy just kept walking toward the back as if he had forgotten that Kyle was even back there.

As if he sensed Kyle’s foot heading toward his butt, Alex popped up out of the fridge and slammed the door. “Bro!” Alex’s voice was surprised and nervous. He set the full beer he was holding down on the counter. “Thought you had that dinner thing tonight?”

“I decided to skip it.”

“Great! Now you can hang with us.”

“Are you kidding?” Kyle looked out to the patio, then back to his brother with a hard stare.

“What? These guys are great…and check out Jen in the green tank top.” Alex smiled and nodded in her direction. The tall guy joined the others outside but sat in a chair off to the side and began texting on his phone.

Trying not to sound like a parent, but knowing that it would come out that way anyway, Kyle lectured, “Alex, the front door was open.”

“Crap. John musta left it open. He just left a few minutes ago. I swear.”

“And you know I don’t want that back door left open either. I’ll be cleaning up dead flies for days.”

“Come on, man. What you need is a beer and some social interaction.” Alex pushed the beer over to Kyle. “Ever since you met that girl, whatsername, you’ve been dragging your ass around her like Cocoa right before we put her to sleep.”

“Sorry if I can’t be your big
frat
bro, but I just don’t like coming home to a bunch of strangers trashing my house.” Kyle picked up the beer and took a long drink. He knew he needed to relax, but at the same time he did want his brother to get serious about getting his life together.

“They’re not strangers, they’re my friends. And you know they’re not
trashing
the house. We’re just chillin’, man.” Alex turned to the back counter and picked up his phone. “Check this out.” He maneuvered through his touch screen for about thirty seconds, looking up once to see Kyle take another long one off the beer. “Here,” he said, handing Kyle the phone.

“What’s this?”

“It’s my thank-you e-mail to BriarPort.” Alex smiled proudly and waited for Kyle’s response. A second later, they both froze and stared as one of the girls jogged past.

“Gotta pee.” She smiled and waved as she headed to the bathroom.

It took them both a second to turn their gaze from the flowing blonde hair whooshing by. “You got an interview?” Kyle snapped back.

“Yeah, today. And I remembered how important you always told me the follow-up thank-you was. I think I nailed it. Then I met some of these guys for lunch and came back here to celebrate.”

“Oh, man. Congratulations.” Kyle put his arm around his brother’s neck and gave a couple of quick jerks. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t sure I’d even get the interview. They just called me yesterday…and to tell you the truth, bro, I didn’t want to say anything until it was over. I was afraid you’d stress me out.” He looked down, feeling a bit of guilt for his honesty.

“I’m proud of you, man.”

“You’re not mad?” With a sudden burst of relief and energy, Alex went to the fridge and got his own beer, popping it open on the way back to his brother.

“You did the right thing. I have been kind of stressed lately…and on your case. I guess I just thought since you were here and not with the parents that I had somewhat of a responsibility to help you out…you know, keep you focused. But I guess you’re not as much of a
loser
as I thought!” Kyle laughed and held up his bottle. They clinked bottle tops, and each took a long swig, Kyle finishing his off.

Usually, Alex wouldn’t miss the chance to return a dig to his brother, but at that time he had more important things on his mind. His expression was serious. “Now it’s time for me to help
you
get focused. Let’s work on getting you back on track…starting with Jen over there.”

“Look, I know what you’re saying, but I’m not interested.”

“You haven’t been interested in anything lately. Does she really mean that much to you?”

Kyle smiled, but before he could answer, Alex continued with, “I mean, is she even your girlfriend or what?”

“To be honest, we left it kind of up in the air. We didn’t really have much of chance, but all I know is that I can’t stop thinking about her…and I miss her. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I just know that I’m not interested in hooking up with anyone else right now. I just have to wait it out, okay?”

“I get it, bro. But what if she doesn’t come back?”

“I’ll worry about that when or
if
it happens. Now I’ve got some calls to make, so why don’t you go ahead and get back to your friends. I think they’re starting to wonder what’s going on.”

“All right, but don’t worry, most of them have to work in the morning, so they’ll be gone soon.” Alex took his beer, grabbed a bag of chips from on top of the fridge, and headed toward the back door.

“Alex,” Kyle said abruptly.

Alex stopped just short of the door and turned to look at his brother. “Yeah?”

“Good job…”

Alex smiled a thank-you and stepped out back.

“And shut that door!”

Benny and Chad waited in the car while Anne and Lucy went into the office of the Coral Motel. Depending on the price, they’d either get one or two rooms. Ironically, none of the three adults had a credit card they could charge a room to, and cash was getting low. They’d all chipped in money to fix the Durango, even Chad, which just about wiped them out.

Even though the door said
push
, Anne pulled and the door jerked and stopped. They both giggled and said, “Push,” then pushed the door open. A jingle above their heads triggered the sound of a wooden chair dragging on a hard surface. From behind a doorway came a heavyset blonde woman with a large ponytail sticking out of the top of her head. Her makeup was gaudy, but she had a sweet smile.

“Good evening, ladies,” she said as she rested an elbow on the counter. “Can I get you a room?”

“How much?” Lucy asked.

“Seventy-five a night…includes free movie channels.”

“We just need one room…with two beds though.”

Back in the car, Chad and Benny listened to music and Chad tried to impress Benny with his knowledge of older music. He talked about playing the guitar back home and how he used to use his computer to play along with Van Halen, Slash, and Ace Freely. By the time the girls got back, the radio was cranking and they were both singing and playing air guitar like a couple of kids, which was probably fine for Chad.

“What the heck!” Lucy stared in the open door of room 118 at the single king-size bed in the room.

“I thought you said two beds,” Benny replied. He walked in and dropped his bag on a table that was in the corner under a hanging lamp.

“We did,” Anne said and walked over and sat down on the bed. She picked up the phone. “I can call over?”

“Better not,” Lucy interrupted. “They may not have it, and we said it was just us two.” Lucy entered with Chad right behind, closing the door. “They charge extra for more people.”

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Chad said.

Benny added, “Yeah, it’s all good. The Chadster and I will take the floor, and you girls can cuddle up in the bed.” He sported a naughty smile that made Chad laugh and then turn away, pretending to look in his backpack.

Anne hung up the phone. “All right, let’s make the best of it.”

All four instinctively spread out to the corners of the room to get settled, trying to maintain personal space. It was a little after eight, which meant there would be some time to kill. Anne went through her bag on the bed, pulling out a book and a brush to tidy her hair. Benny sat in the chair at the table and leafed through the motel binder, pretending to be interested in whether or not they had room service.

“Hey, Benny, is there a TV guide in that stuff?” Anne asked.

“Uh…” Benny looked through the pile on the table and tossed her a folded cardboard directory.

“Thanks!” Anne said, delighted. She scanned down the listings for a few seconds. “Oh,
Shrek
’s on the free channel. Anyone want to watch it? I love that movie!” She grabbed the remote off the nightstand and stared at it for a moment, trying to make out which button was the power button.

“I’m in,” Chad said as he dove across the room and landed on the bed.

“I think I’ll go outside for a while,” Lucy announced casually. “Get some air, maybe make some calls.”

Forty minutes had passed, and Benny could still see Lucy on the phone through the crack of the curtains. He watched her as he pretended to be going through the Southwest-themed magazine that was in the room. The sound of
Shrek
hummed in the background and only became noticeable when accompanied by bursts of laughter from Chad and Anne. A few times Lucy paced back and forth, and from her side view, he could see she was not happy. When she was finally done, Benny hesitated to give her some time alone. He sent a few texts out to family, checking in with his mother and cousins, then headed outside.

“Hey, guys,” Benny said to Chad and Anne. “I saw a vending machine downstairs. You want a soda?” Benny was amazed that they both ignored him like little kids tuning out their parents and zoning in on the television screen. Walking between them and
Shrek
, Benny headed outside, and neither acknowledged his exit.

“How ’bout a soda, Lucita?”

Between the thin crescent moon and the poorly lit motel lights, there was barely enough light to see each other.

“Sure, thanks,” Lucy called to Benny, who was already halfway down the steps.

The night air was still, and the only sounds to be heard were the sporadic cackles from inside their room.

“We have to share,” Benny said. He set the soda on the railing. “This cheap-ass motel! Damn machine stole my money.”

Lucy was leaning forward, staring into the empty courtyard. She didn’t say a word.

Benny popped open the can, but he set it back down without taking a drink. “Can you believe we’re going to be there tomorrow? Seems like we’ve been on this trip forever.” He looked at Lucy, waiting for a response, but when she didn’t answer, he slapped a hand to his cheek and replied for her in his best girly voice: “Yeah, Benny, I’m so excited!”

With the poor lighting, he hadn’t noticed it before. Lucy was crying. He wondered if it was something he’d said or if it was due to one of the calls she’d made. Usually he didn’t press Lucy when she was upset, but this time he felt differently. He wanted to help her, and he knew that would mean getting her to talk. He brushed her hair back gently and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “What’s wrong? Are you nervous about tomorrow? Or…did something happen?”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“I always keep it together. I always have. But these last few weeks I just seemed to lose it.”

“You don’t have to be so strong all the time.” Benny put his arm around her shoulders. “Maybe you had no choice before. But now you have us. You have me.”

“Yeah, that’s just what you want. Someone blubbering around you all the time.” Lucy wiped her tears with the back of her shirt.

“Hey, you’re just going through a tough time right now. Anyone would be like this. Well…not me.”

Lucy let out a tiny giggle and shoved her body against his. She looked up into Benny’s eyes like a lost puppy looking for safety, for comfort. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Benny didn’t know if she kissed him or he kissed her. Either way, something happened to join them together, both being lost in each other. After a few seconds, one of the two nearby lights popped and went out.

“Oh, man,” Benny whispered, pulling back. “How wrong was that? I’m so sorry, Lucy.”

“It’s okay, really. We just got…carried away in the moment.”

“Yeah…right.” Benny’s face fell, and he turned away.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just care about you so much…and I don’t want you to think I’m trying to take advantage of you or whatever.”

“No way. You’ve done so much for me, and I know I don’t show it, but I really appreciate it.” She grabbed his arm and turned him to her. “I honestly don’t know how I can make it through this without you. You’re a great…friend.” Lucy put her arms around him, and they hugged silently until Benny pushed back.

“Okay, then talk to me. Tell me what was going on with those calls out here.”

Feeling a combination of defeat and obligation, Lucy realized she would have to spill it. Benny needed to be reassured that she would confide in him.

“Well, first I was talking with Kyle…and that one didn’t go so well.” She turned and leaned her back against the railing. “I think that was my fault though.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. This situation is just so impossible, and I think he feels I’m shutting him out.”

“Huh, I wonder why,” Benny interrupted sarcastically.

“Seriously, how can you get close to someone you barely know when you’re hundreds of miles away? And he wasn’t too happy to hear about Chad and all the other stuff that’s been going on.”

“Yeah, it has been pretty crazy.”

“Then I talked to Rick, and my sister had sort of an episode. She’s going to be okay, but it doesn’t always work out that way.”

“I’m sorry, Lucy. But at least you’ll see her tomorrow.” Benny searched Lucy’s eyes to see if something else was bothering her. He was getting proficient at reading the signs. “What else did he say?”

“He asked if I called the hospital to check on Katie.”

“So you feel bad that you didn’t?”

“No, I didn’t even know she was there, so I couldn’t have called. The nurse said a woman called asking about Katie. Said she was family.”

“Who do you think it was?”

“I really don’t know, but…I hope it wasn’t my mother.”

“You don’t want her there? I mean, maybe it would help Katie, having more family there.”

“That woman’s never helped Katie, or anybody but herself. All she—” Lucy stopped herself before she said too much. She was tired and really didn’t want to get into it. Benny knew enough, and maybe that woman who called the hospital, whoever it was, was just someone from Rick’s family. She hoped that would be the case because there was no way she could deal with her mother on top of everything else. “Can we go inside now? I’m really tired.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Great,” Lucy complained as Benny opened the door.

“Should we wake them up?” he asked.

“No, just let them sleep there. I’m fine with the floor if you are.” Lucy set her bag down on the floor while Benny quietly closed the door. Chad was on his back with his head propped up on a pillow, mouth hanging wide open. Anne was flat on her stomach with her feet to the head of the bed. One of them had slid over and landed right next to Chad’s open mouth. The movie hadn’t even ended yet, but the sound was turned way down.

“Hey,” Benny whispered. “I can just kick it in this chair right here, so you can have more space on the floor. Use this blanket.” He pointed to the comforter on the bed that had been pushed to the very edge and was about to fall off. Lucy wouldn’t have to worry about being cold with four bodies in one room.

“Don’t be a martyr. We can sleep together on the floor.”

Benny smiled and cocked his head with a raised eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” she shot back.

While Lucy was in the bathroom, Benny had pulled the comforter off the bed and spread it out across the floor.

Lying in the dark next to each other was not something either of them had planned on this trip. At first, Benny was on his side and crammed up against the side of the bed. He didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable.

“Stop being dumb,” Lucy whispered, yanking on Benny’s shoulder. “C’mon and get comfortable. Just sleep regular and stop acting like I’m so fragile or something. I trust you, Benny.”

Benny turned on his back, and Lucy scooted in and put her head on his shoulder.

“Benny?”

“Yes, Lucita?”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime, girl.”

There was a part of Lucy that felt like she had betrayed Kyle by kissing Benny. She felt guilty, but she tried to convince herself that she shouldn’t. After all, what was Kyle to her anyway? Not a boyfriend. They weren’t committed. Then why was she so concerned? Lucy definitely didn’t need any more drama at this point and fought hard to forget about it. As much as she cared about Kyle and didn’t want to hurt him, Benny was there for her and she needed him too. She closed her eyes, and after a few minutes, she fell asleep. Benny lay awake long after, staring at the ceiling and listening to her breathe.