The Road Home (21 page)

“But, Jonathan, I—”

“Look Jenny, I know you think that God is somehow leading you to do this. I'm afraid I don't have as much faith as you, so I have to go on what's real. You've got to promise me that when you see we've come to the end of possibilities, you'll take it to mean that God didn't really tell you to do this and let me bring you home.”

“But, Jonathan, what about us?”

“That's something we'll have to work out after you get this out of your system. Is it a deal?”

Jenny slowly nodded her head.

“Let's go then,” he said, gathering up his things and heading for the van. Jenny climbed in while Johnny went to the office, paid his bill, and dropped off the key. He came back, got in, then looked over at Jenny.

“Are you ready?”

Jenny looked out the window at the small village she had grown up in. She had never been farther than Wooster or Dalton in her whole life, and the idea of leaving gave her a chill.

“Let's go quickly, Jonathan. Please.”

Johnny started the van and drove out onto the main road, heading out of town. As he drove by Dutch's garage, Dutch was rolling up the front door. He watched the brightly colored van go by. He also noticed who was sitting in the passenger seat.

“That's interesting,” he said aloud to the old gray cat rubbing against his legs. “That was Jenny Springer with that boy.”

He thought about what he had seen, and then he walked into the shop and picked up the receiver from the phone sitting on a cluttered desk by the back wall.

C
HAPTER
E
IGHTEEN

Trouble

J
OHNNY HEADED EAST ON
H
IGHWAY
30 toward Canton, Ohio. When he got to Canton he turned north toward Akron, caught Interstate 70, and followed it until it intersected with Interstate 80. They had been driving for a couple of hours when he began to have some misgivings. What was he doing? The guys who were following him knew he was from Long Island. His roommates in San Francisco must have ratted him out. The gang had almost caught him once before. They would no doubt be on the Interstate somewhere looking for him.

He glanced over at Jenny. She was looking at him, and when their eyes met, she blushed and looked down. He knew he was putting her in danger, but he didn't know what else to do. The situation was crazy. Here he was with an Amish girl he had only known for a few days, headed for New York to find her mother, who was probably dead. What could they possibly do in New York? It was such a big town. How had all this happened? He broke the silence.

“Jenny?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you sure you're okay with all of this? I mean, it's kind of a
strange situation we're in. We've known each other for only a few days, and in that time you've been disciplined by your church, you've split with your parents, and you're heading to New York with a guy you barely know to find your mother, who you haven't seen for fifteen years. How are we going to do this?”

Jenny looked at Jonathan again. The muscle in his jaw was working, and his teeth were grinding on each other.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Doing what?”

“Grinding your teeth.”

Johnny realized his jaw was clenched, his shoulders were tight, and his hands were gripped on the wheel. He tried to relax. “I'm just a little uptight about all this.”

“Why should you be…uptight?”

Johnny stared out the window. Outside a light mist of rain sifted down onto the glass from a dull, gray sky. Johnny fumbled with the knob that turned on the wipers. It stuck as usual, and he had to twist it hard until the wipers went on. The slow swish, swish of the blades locked into the rhythm of his breathing. The weight of his secret suddenly became more than he could deal with. He looked back at her.

“Jenny, there's more to my story than you know. I probably should have told you, but I had no idea we would be running away together. I didn't know I would fall in love with you.”

Jenny turned on the seat to face him. “What didn't you tell me?”

Johnny took a deep breath. He looked out at the countryside that was sliding away behind them and then he spoke. “I'm in trouble, Jenny.”

“Trouble?”

“Yes. I…I got involved in some things back in San Francisco. I mean I didn't really do anything. I just drove a guy I know over to a place where he was going to do some business.”

“What kind of business?”

A hot flush crept up Johnny's neck. It puzzled him. He had been so free back in San Francisco. “Whatever turns you on” had been his mantra. But now, with this girl who had lived all her life in the simplicity of a world without drugs or rock music or pop philosophy, he felt laughable and foolish.

“I…well…”

“What kind of business, Jonathan?”

“Okay. Give me a chance here, because I feel really stupid telling you this. I was with a guy who was going to sell some acid to some other guys.”

“Acid?”

“LSD. It's a drug that makes you have hallucinations.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“Sell acid or have hallucinations?”

“Have hallucinations…well, both.”

“Well, back there, taking an acid trip seemed very hip and romantic and adventuresome. Now I think it was just a big waste of time. But let me finish. I drove this guy out to a town south of San Francisco to meet some guys who were going to buy the drugs. It was a way for me to make a couple hundred dollars. I didn't know there were guns involved.”

“Guns?”

“Yeah, guns. It turned out that the guys he was dealing with were big-time crooks. I think they were from the East Coast and were trying to move in on the scene out in San Francisco. They were real gangster types with suits and guns. And I also didn't know that Shub—that's the guy I was with—was going to try to rip them off.”

“Rip them off of what?”

Johnny had to smile. She was so innocent.

“What's so funny?”

“It's just that…well, it's like we live on the same planet, but we operate in two different universes. I guess I need a translator. ‘Rip them off' means that he was going to steal their money. He didn't really have any acid. It was just sugar.”

“But that's dishonest. How could you be part of that?”

“That's a good question, Jenny. I didn't know he was going to do what he did. I was just along for the ride.”

“Well then, why are you in trouble?”

He took another deep breath. “When he was in the motel doing the deal, they must have found out he was trying to rip them…trying to cheat them. I guess Shub pulled his gun and took their money. He tried to run back to the car so I could help him get away, but they shot him.”

“You mean, with their guns?”

“Yes, with their guns.”

“Did he get badly hurt?”

“Jenny, they killed him. He died right there where you're sitting.”

Jenny groaned. She looked down at the seat where Shub had fallen in those last moments.

“They…they
killed
him?”

“Yes. But that's not the end of the story. When Shub ran out to the car, he threw a bag into the van. The drug dealers were shooting at Shub and the van. They shot out your side mirror. They thought I was in on the rip-off, so they tried to kill me too. I managed to get away, but they chased me almost back to the place where I lived. I knew they would find me eventually, so I packed my bags and left town that night.

“I was headed back to Long Island to my mom's house, and after a few days on the road I stopped at a motel west of Cleveland. They showed up at the motel. They must have found out where I was going from my roommates because they had followed me all the way.”

“Why were they following you if you left town?”

“I have their money.” There, he said it.

“Their money?”

“Yeah. Before Shub died, he tossed a bag into the van. It had fifty thousand dollars in it.”

“Fifty thousand dollars!”

“Yes.”

The look in Jenny's eyes made Johnny feel sick. She looked away. After a few minutes she looked back at him.

“Can't you give it back and just be free of them?”

“Jenny, you don't understand. I saw them kill a man. I took their money, although I didn't know I did until later. They don't want to leave any witnesses to their crime. If they find me, they will kill me. I was going to the sheriff's office in Wooster when I almost ran over you. And then everything changed and I thought I'd go to jail if I told your uncle and I wanted to find out more about you and then everything happened with your dad and here we are.”

Jenny sat silent for a few moments looking out the window. When she finally spoke there was sadness in her voice. “If these men find you and kill you and I'm with you, won't they kill me too?”

Johnny stared straight ahead. Outside it had really clouded up and a few larger drops of rain began to slap down on the windshield. The worn-out wipers did their best to push them away. Jenny asked the question again. His spine felt like ice, and the muscles in his jaw started moving again.

“Probably.”

“Probably? You mean my chances of living are not very good, don't you? What were you going to do if they found us? How could you put me in danger? You're grinding your teeth again.”

“I'm sorry, Jenny. I didn't mean to put you in danger. All this happened so fast.”

“All this?”

“Yes, meeting you and falling in love with you and leaving Apple Creek.”

Jenny stared straight ahead and then spoke with measured words. “If you really loved me, you would never have put me in danger. I don't think you know what love is, Jonathan.”

Her words cut him like someone had laid a bullwhip on his back. He stared straight ahead as they drove on in silence. After a long time she spoke again.

“Jonathan, I think I've made a mistake. Not about loving you, because I know I can't change what I feel for you. My mother once told me that one day I would find a man who I would surrender my heart to. I didn't believe that could happen, but when I met you, it did. I can't do anything about that. But I made a mistake in not listening to my papa. This desire to know my birth mother has blinded me to everything I already have. I thought I could go with you and find the answer to my questions and everything would be all right.

“I was so angry with Papa, but now I know that I've hurt him terribly. He warned me that my quest would lead me into trouble, and he was right. Now I'm scared—scared because I love you so much, and scared because I don't know you and don't know if I can trust you. I want to be with you forever, but how can I? Can you tell me Jonathan? Can you tell me what I should do?”

With that Jenny put her face in her hands and burst into sobs.

Just outside of DuBois, Pennsylvania, a young man sat in an old Chevy truck in a gas station parking lot. He was facing the interstate and watching the cars. Suddenly he perked up. A garishly painted blue Volkswagen bus had just passed, headed east. The man climbed out of his truck and walked over to the bank of phone booths next to the station. He picked up the receiver and dialed the operator. When she
came on, he asked to make a collect call and then waited. In a moment someone came on the phone at the other end.