Once Upon a Road Trip (29 page)

Angie cut her eyes from Scott to the phone. “Your prejudice is duly noted, but I think I’d rather see it for myself.” 

“I’ve been to North Carolina, does that count?” Scott offered.

Angie shook her head, quelling her exasperation. 

“Fine, be that way,” Elsie’s voice groused. “But if you hear one of those inbreeders play dueling banjos, you’d better get out in a hurry.” She gave the barest pause before shifting in tone and topic. “Hey, my mom said you called looking for me the other day. What’d you want?”

Angie flashed a glance to Scott and then took the phone from him, holding it out so he could still hear his cousin. “It was nothing. I just wanted to catch up.”

“Well if we’re all caught up, I need you to do me a favor—” Elsie said. “Get Scott to take you by a cross-dresser boutique. I need you to pick me out a decent pair of red pumps.”

“Do what, now?” Scott yelped.

“You heard me!” Elsie’s voice picked up fervor. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find decent women’s dress shoes in size thirteen!? I know they’ll at least have them wide enough—”

“Forget it.” Scott shook his head, adamant.

“Angie, would you kindly explain to my cousin that I have snowshoes for feet?” Elsie pressed on through the speaker. “You’ve seen them!”

“I’ll work on him,” Angie promised, chuckling in spite of herself. She turned off the speaker phone and handed the device back to Scott.

Scott slowed their pace as they emerged from the greenery back onto the Manhattan streets, spending several more minutes in good-humored argument with Elsie before the call ended. Muttering to himself, he tucked the phone into one of his pockets.

“So, aspirin and pretty clown shoes.” Angie prodded him, playfully. “Think we can round those up and still make it to dinner on time?”

Scott heaved a sigh of resignation and motioned ahead to a drug store they were approaching. “Let’s start with the pain killers.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While dinner with Martha was a pleasant experience, Scott’s complaints of his physical condition increased as the evening wore on. By the time they’d returned to the apartment he was guarding his neck, carrying himself with his shoulders hunched. It was clear to Angie that he wasn’t just being dramatic. Feeling somewhat guilty, she offered him a shoulder massage.

“If you’re sure you know what you’re doing,” Scott said, with some reluctance. “I mean, you can’t make it any worse—right?” Crossing the guest apartment, he eased himself onto the couch. He attempted a slow roll of his head and grimaced.

Angie trailed after him at a distance. Regardless of his condition, she was suddenly assailed with apprehension over the idea of being too close to him. “I never made my dad worse. He used to get sports injuries all the time when I was growing up, and I could always make him feel better,” she said. “I’ve taken a few massage workshops. I even thought about becoming a masseuse for a while, but the school I toured was too expensive.”

“Alright, you can give it a shot,” he agreed. “Where do you want me?”

Angie gnawed at the inside of her cheek in contemplation, rounding the pool table to survey the line of windows. “Can you make it onto the fire escape?”

Scott cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess so.” He got to his feet and joined her at the window. The warm night engulfed them with suffocating density as they eased out onto the metal grating of the small balcony. “What am I supposed to—”

“Sit with your legs through the railing.” Angie motioned toward the side that faced the river. When he complied, she sat behind him and splayed her fingertips along his taut shoulders. As she began to apply pressure, he leaned forward until his head rested against the rails. “You’re all knotted up.”

“You have that affect on me,” Scott said, humor seeping into his voice.

Angie frowned to herself, kneading the pads of her fingers deeper into his muscle bands. When he flinched she eased off, noting where she would have to use more care. After several minutes, the muscles warmed and yielded to her manipulation. “Thanks for everything,” she murmured as she worked, deciding it would be easier to say goodbye if she started early.

“I can’t do anything to convince you to stay a little longer?” Scott spoke up in a meditative tone. “Or…to let me go with you?”

Angie smirked faintly. “It’s tempting. I can’t think of a better way to prove I’d make a lousy girlfriend than for us to be trapped together in a car for hours.”

Scott made a throaty sound, but didn’t directly argue her theory. “So, who are all these other people you’re staying with?”

“People I’ve known for a few years,” she said, deliberately cryptic.

“You mean, people you know from online?”

“I’ve talked to them on the phone too. Just like you.” She shifted her focus to her thumbs as she worked at the back of his neck.

“Yeah, but that’s different. I started talking to you because of Elsie. What are you supposed to have in common with the rest of these people?”

“Writing.”

“What, like chatting?”

“No. Like… story writing.” Angie elaborated, though she wasn’t confident he would understand. “Short stories...text-based role play games. Stuff like that.”

“Nerd stuff.”

“Watch it.” She paused in her efforts to flick his ear. “I prefer the term ‘geek.’”

Scott ducked his head, snickering. “What’s the difference?”

“A few handy social skills and the lack of a pocket protector,” she answered. “And that first part is debatable.”

“Nah, you’re better with people than you think.” Scott gave a slow shake of his head, which he transitioned into a cautious stretching motion as he tested his flexibility. “You’re like me. Good, but stubborn.”

“Stubborn is an understatement.” Angie smirked to herself, smoothing her thumbs along his neck and across his shoulders. “‘Surly’ is probably the right term.”

“If you say so.” Scott was quiet at length before speaking up again on a more sober note. “I’ve been thinking about that personality test. Just because those people giving it were freakish doesn’t mean the test was wrong, does it? ”

Angie paused to consider. “No, I actually think the tests were fairly accurate—we do have a lot of similarities.” She patted his shoulder to indicate completion. “Feel better?”

“Yeah, way better. Thanks.” He rolled one shoulder and then the other, straightening up as he looked back at her. His pensive expression indicated his mind was still hard at work over something. “I thought the tests were pretty dead-on. I’ve never met anybody like you before. I guess that’s because I’ve never met anybody like me before.” He met her gaze and hesitated. “So…do you think that might make us soulmates or something?”

Angie cringed at the expression. The concept had always struck her as a vague and fanciful term, immune to verification. “I don’t think so,” she said, gentling her tone. “I think a soulmate is supposed to be someone who complements your personality. Their strengths would compensate for your weaknesses, and vice versa. We’re -too- much alike for that.”

That’s it, isn’t it? That’s why I don’t feel right about it?

Angie felt as though she’d had a revelation. A relationship with Scott wouldn’t work out because they weren’t different enough. They were both temperamental, obstinate, and brooding. Being together only seemed to amplify these traits to the point of dysfunction.  

The corners of Scott’s mouth twitched downward at her response. “You’re saying we don’t complement each other?”

“Something like that.”

“Well, I can fix that. You have amazing—” He paused to scan over her from head to toe and back up again, a roguish grin forming. “—eyes.”

Angie rolled her allegedly ‘amazing’ eyes at him, though she was relieved to see him in good humor. “Ha ha. You know what I mean.” She hoped he knew, at least.

In a sudden motion, Scott caught her arm and pulled her around to his side in a tight embrace. Awash in the disorienting sense of nearness, she had just enough presence of mind to turn her face away. The strength of his arms was inviting — she couldn’t deny that. The spiced scent of aftershave almost canceled out the trace of secondhand smoke that clung to his clothes.

“I still think I love you,” he murmured into her hair.

Angie sighed, swallowing anger with herself over failing to deter his attachment. “That’s just the backrub talking.”

“I don’t think so.” Scott nudged her temple with the side of his jaw, his soul patch scrubbing coarsely against her skin. “Since you’ve been here I’ve been…happier. Even my dad noticed. Thanks to you, we had our first decent talk in years.”

When Angie drew her head back to see his face, he looked away, staring down through the rails to the busy street far below. “Did you forgive him?”

Scott smirked and shook his head. “We didn’t really talk about that. He just wanted to know about you…and how I felt, I guess.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I’ve never felt like this before.” He shrugged, casting her a sidelong glance. “I asked if I could apply to a college in Minnesota, and he said it’d be alright with him. He could make sure I get set up nice—”

“Wait…you’re so opposed to taking money from him, but you’d accept his help to move to Minnesota?” Angie sensed a knot of agitation forming in her belly.

Scott’s dark brows lifted in surprise. “Well…yeah. Then at least we could be together.”

“You don’t want to do that.” She shook her head. “I can’t ask you to leave your friends and family. There’s nothing to do there, and you’d just end up resenting me.”

Looking stung by her avid disapproval, Scott’s shoulders hunched forward. “But isn’t that what you have to decide when you love somebody—if you’d be willing to leave everything for them?”

“It’s a nice thought, but you don’t know me well enough to make a decision like that.” Angie twisted aside to grip one of the painted metal bars of the fire escape railing. Her mind sifted through a range of arguments. “Where do you see yourself five years from now? Do you even know what you want to major in?” As much as she hated sounding like a guidance counselor, she felt a need to weigh Scott’s response to the pressure she was so familiar with. She couldn’t recall him mentioning any dreams or aspirations he might have for his life. That bothered her.

Scott’s jaw slackened. “I guess…graduated and traveling the world? I dunno, I just figured I’d take a few classes first and see what I liked.” His certainty seemed to crumble into bewilderment. “I just take stuff one day at a time, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Angie said. Somehow, she’d known all along that he was just as lost over the future as she was. Satisfied that she’d gotten him thinking in broader terms, she leaned forward out of his grasp to peer between the railing bars.

“Would you wait for me?” Scott asked, on the heels of a long pause. “Give me a chance to grow up...or whatever it is you want?”

“Please don’t hold out hope on me,” Angie pleaded. “That’s not fair to you.” She turned her face toward him at last. “I’ve been thinking about it—praying about it. And this just doesn’t feel quite...right.” Seeing his expression dim, she knew she’d won the battle of wills.

Scott released a gruff sigh. “But, you’ve never given a guy a chance before. How do you know what it’s supposed to feel like?”

“I know it’s an important enough decision to me that I should feel at peace about it,” Angie said. “And I don’t.”

I just wish I could explain -why- I don’t.

“Not now? Or…not ever?”

“I don’t know.” She took in a deep breath, sensing her resolve begin to waver. “But right now, I need you to respect my decision.”

Scott worked his jaw for a long while before finally nodding once. “Alright. I can do that.” He formed a morose half-smile, raising his voice to a positive note. “Still friends, at least?” 

Angie managed a smile of certainty. “Still friends.”

June 30
,

Scott and I spent yesterday just hanging out. He took me to “John’s”, a great pizza place that still uses the old brick ovens that are totally against modern fire codes. I’ve never tasted a better pizza. After a quick tour of the Sony building (and yes, I played with all of the displays), we went to see Lilo and Stitch. This was possibly the best Disney movie I’ve ever seen. And so, it was actually a nice day. I had to rearrange the last portion of my trip, so right now I’m planning to come back up the East coast and stay in D.C. for a few days before heading back home. I think I’m kind of winging it now.

We went to Central Park today. It was nice to see that there can be real green in New York. I tried to teach Scott some Aikido, and then he tried to teach me a little Kendo. In the end though, we were basically reduced to beating the ever-loving crap out of each other. I’d call it a draw, as I was left with a welt on my wrist and bruised knee, and Scott ended up with what might be a mild concussion. Oops.

This evening Scott’s stepmother took us out to “Café Paris. ” It was such a beautiful night, we decided to eat on the patio and do some stargazing, (which, in this city, means keeping an eye out for passing celebrities.) I could have sworn I saw Jackie Chan crossing the street, but I didn’t get to my camera in time. Oh well.

While we were out yesterday, I noticed Scott was still treating me like a girlfriend. We had a talk about it, and he backed off. But then tonight we ended up talking things over again until almost dawn. He thinks...he’s in love with me. And he doesn’t understand why I can’t reciprocate. Maybe I don’t understand, either. I just can’t ignore my instincts. I asked him to respect my judgment, and he says he will. I think he’s still hopeful I might change my mind, but I’m praying my absence will drain those feelings from him. I hate seeing him hurt.

Tomorrow, I move on.

~Ang

Chapter 17

Two hours of driving brought Angie through the rolling green hills of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The relatively short drive seemed agonizing, as she couldn’t help but use the time to review her visit with Scott. Before she left he had kissed her beside her car, seeing her off with an air of gloom. In addition to a nagging sense of guilt over causing him pain, she’d begun to doubt that she was capable of being in love at all.