On the Road

On the Road
By Summer Ross



“What happened to your hand?” Shirley asked as she turned the radio down.

“What do you mean?” Lanore looked at her left hand and saw nothing then to her right. There was a deep scratch, blood dried along the back of her hand. “Humph, I don’t know, must have been at the last stop when we gassed up.”

“Well, we’re almost to Greeley, see the mountains…beautiful, when we get there we’ll wash up before you see him.” Shirley turned the radio back up. Lanore smiled as Shirley sang to the music, she couldn’t sing at all, very tone def. Shirley smiled and turned to look out the window. Lanore kept her eyes on the road; the last thing she wanted was to be in a car wreck. At the thought, goose bumps made way down her arms. ~I hate driving~ Lanore thought then pulled into the next gas station. It was Greeley all right; the smell was very distinct, horse and cow manure.

“Yum” Lanore said to herself as she shut the door to her blue Jeep. Shirley came to the side to fill the tank. Lanore walked under the red and white sign into the Conoco and took a deep breathe. She looked to her right and found the little blue sign about waist high, bathrooms. She walked in and ran her hand under warm water in the sink. She splashed some on her face and looked at the reflection in the mirror. The droplets slid down her high cheekbones and dropped off at the point in her chin. Dark circles caressed her mahogany eyes behind black rimmed glasses and wild strands of her long brown hair flew out of the band that held the rest in a bun on the top of her head. Lanore undid her hair and refastened it then walked out to the cashier.

“Ten dollars and twenty cents please.” The young lady said from behind the counter. Lanore handed her the money then headed back to her jeep.

“So does he know we are in town yet?” Shirley asked as Lanore pulled the seat belt over her lap.

“No I’ll call him when we get to his house. It will be a good surprise. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Ah, no prob sweetie. It’s like the good old days when we used to spend so much time together. We’ve had the chance to talk a lot and I’ve missed you.” Shirley replied and twisted her shoulder length red hair to one side.

“I know, but hey at least we are still friends right?” Lanore asked. She figured Shirley would just leave the question unanswered. It wasn’t really meant as a question. They pulled out of the Conoco and headed the two blocks to Mike’s house. Lanore hadn’t seen him in months. He was on active duty in the reserves. They had been together for two years and she was still waiting for him to propose. He moved to Greeley to help his parents. She intended to move there also, but she was waiting for him to ask her.

The last time they saw each other it was a terrible goodbye. Mike wanted her to come with him, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t see herself lost on some army base like all the left behind wives. She wanted to stay in Casper. Lanore remembered the warmth of Mike’s embrace. His strong arms surrounded every inch of her back. He held her so tight she lost her breath. The air was crisp with winter, snow packed on the side of every road. A lot of hills, but, not much more to look at unless antelope count.

“I don’t want to let you go.” He said softly in her ear, and gently kissed her neck. Lanore held back tears and let go first. She looked up into Mikes green eyes; they held a sadness Lanore couldn’t bare. She had to be the strong one, always. Lanore bit her tongue and held her tears at bay.

“Is this it?” Shirley asked. “Nice house.” Her chin slightly pointed upwards.

“Yeah, it has three bedrooms inside. It’s alright I guess.” Lanore shrugged her shoulders

“Hey what happened to your glasses?” Shirley put her fingers so close she left a smudge.

Lanore took her glasses off and squinted down at the lenses. A scratch ripped through the plastic lens on the left side. She put them back on and looked around. How did she not notice that? Lanore bit her lower lip. She knew it would bug her the rest of the night. “I don’t know what happened. They weren’t like that earlier.”

“You’re gonna have to get them fixed when we get back.” Shirley said as she grabbed her pack from the back of the jeep.

“I know. But I’ll have to live with it for now.” Lanore swung her bag around her shoulder and headed to the front door. She watched her feet as she walked and saw the green blades of grass in the yard swiftly go by out of the corner of her eye. Lanore knocked on the wood door.

“Lanore, hello. Please come in. Michael’s at work. He should be home soon.” Mike’s mother Renee said. Her figure was just as Lanore last saw her, plump and short. She wore the same nurses’ uniform.

“Hi Renee. This is Shirley. Don’t worry we’ll only be here for the night. I just missed Mike so much I had to come see him as soon as he got back.” Lenore attempted an innocent smile, but feared it came off awkward.

“No big deal sweetheart. We love ya coming up. Michael’s room is right up these steps. I’ll pull the sofa bed out later for your friend.” Renee replied then sat down in the den to watch her movies.

Lanore hoofed it up the steps two at a time and into Mike’s room. The bed sat almost in the middle of the room. The dresser was right beside it and on the top was a picture of her and him. Lanore walked over to the small frame and lifted it from its dusty space. She remembered that picture. Renee had taken it about a year ago when Mike and Lanore celebrated their one-year anniversary. They had gone out to eat dinner at Bottecelli’s Italiano and then to see “Intolerable Cruelty”. When they got back to his house, Renee snapped the shot as they walked through the door. They both had the oddest look. Mike’s green eyes were wide open and his round mouth hung open. Lanore couldn’t remember if he was surprised or just trying to talk when the flash went off. She had closed her eyes and almost tripped coming through the door, she looked like a midget against Mike’s broad frame. Lanore heard Shirley’s pack drop on the floor.

“Am I interrupting?” Shirley asked amusement rung through the words.

“Nope. Just a memory.” Lanore sighed. “I’m going to take a shower. Make yourself comfortable. You can keep your things up here with mine if you want,” she said then headed to Mike’s private bathroom. She closed the door behind her and leaned back against the light brown wood. She looked around at the small space. Mike had decorated it with a maroon floor mat and towels. On the sink counter was a black panther in glass. Lanore pulled the maroon shower curtain over and turned the faucet to a warm temperature.

She stripped her clothes, stepped in, and embraced the steam that surrounded her small form. She let the water cascade over her back, tipped her head back and let the warm rush of water run through her long hair down to her scalp. Her back muscles loosened a little as she took a deep breath of hot air. Lanore looked down at her hand and traced the scratch. She could have done it on anything. Even with her nails. It looked almost like a piece of glass had scraped down the back of her hand. It was jagged and rough to touch.

“Are you enjoying yourself in here and am I allowed to peek?” Mikes soft voice said behind the shower curtain. Lanore jumped and almost slipped. She managed to grab the end of the curtain before she fell. Mike pulled it a little to see in. He gave her a smirk then stepped in with her.

“What are you doing scaring me like that?” She asked.

“I thought you may want someone to wash your back…side.” He replied grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to be amused with himself.

“Alright, I can handle that.” Lanore said then turned her face to the faucet, let the water pound sternly down her neck and drift over her breasts.

“Lanore?”

“Yes Micheal”

“What happened to your back?”

“What do you mean what happened to my back? Nothing. Why?” She tried to cock her head back to see him but he stood to close. She felt his rough hands gently run down the left side of her shoulder and winced. Maybe it was sore muscles.

“Did you get into a fight with someone?”

“No why?”

“Your back, it looks like someone has been pounding on it with a sledge hammer.”

“What? I haven’t done anything, maybe it’s the lighting.”

“Lanore. I’m not kidding.” Mike turned her to look at him. She winced with the firm grip on her shoulders. A sting flew down her arm.

“Micheal, you’re hurting me,” her eyes squeezed tightly shut from the pain.

“I’m sorry,” he said and let her go. He tripped over his feet out of the shower. Lanore turned the water off and pulled the curtain over.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Look at yourself Lan, Look in the mirror.” Lanore did. She saw a dark bruise on her rib cage, fresh, almost black and blue. She looked down at herself and ran her hand lightly over it. She moved her hand quickly away. The soft touch hurt. She turned slightly to see her back; there was a bruise that covered almost half her back. It was black and purple, darker near her shoulder. She looked in the full view mirror, cracks webbed there way from the middle of the mirror to edge of the frame. Lanore closed her eyes and saw a semi’s front end right in her face, steam came from under the hood of her jeep. A loud siren rang in her ears. She opened her eyes and the steam from the shower had fogged up the mirror.

“I don’t know what happened. Honestly.” Her voice sounded soft and astonished even to herself.

“Maybe we should get you to a hospital?” Mike finished drying off, pulled his blue shirt over his head and slid his black shorts up his legs.

“I don’t feel like I need to go to the hospital. Nothing’s broken.”

“Well if you don’t know what happened, how do you know if anything is broken?” Mikes voice came out irritable and harsh.

“I didn’t come to fight with you Michael. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine. It’s just a bruise. Maybe I was sleep walking into walls last night, or fell off the bed from a bad dream.” Lanore pulled a towel around her body and opened the door. She was met by a cool breeze. She embraced the soft towel and stood there for just a second with her eyes closed. She saw a man in uniform walking around her. The breeze felt just a little cooler than an indoor temperature. She opened her eyes and saw her bag. She walked to her bag to get some fresh clothes, a pair of blue shorts and a white tank top. She slid them on and watched Mike come out of the bathroom. He had brushed his short brown hair back. His eyes stared at her, the scrutinizing look made her feel like a liar. Lanore didn’t care. She wasn’t lying to him. She didn’t know what happened, and until a few minutes ago, hadn’t realized she had bruises on her body.

“Come here.” Lanore did as she was told. She braced herself on his hard chest and leaned her head over his heart to hear it beat.

“I wanted to surprise you.” Lanore closed her eyes and let Mike’s arms engulf her.

“You did sweetheart. I’m glad you came. I’m sorry. I’ll leave things alone, ok?”

“Alright.” Lanore left his arms and sat on the bed. The brown and black comforter felt lumpy but cushioned enough. She laid back and closed her eyes. “I missed you Michael.”

“I got you something.” Lanore could feel Michael above her. She opened her eyes and his hand held a small brown teddy bear that said bear hugs on a small red shirt. She put her fingers around its tummy. The bear was so soft. “I was waiting to go down and get the saying changed on the shirt to `Mike’s Hugs`. But you are here now.”

“Oh Michael, He’s so cute.” Lanore hugged the little bear. ”Thank you.”

“Why don’t you take a nap, and I’ll wake you for dinner. You look awfully tired sweetheart.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Lanore pulled herself further up on the bed and laid her head on the firm pillow. Mike covered her with the comforter then kissed her lips gently.

“I love you, Lan,” he said softly against her lips.

“I love you too.” Lanore looked into his eyes. She knew he was sincere. She knew he loved her. Lanore watched him walk out the door. She closed her eyes and let sleep have its way with her.

Lanore couldn’t get comfortable. There was something hard, like cement along her back. She opened her eyes just a little, blue and red lights made her shut them again. Her chest was tight. She tried to take a deep breath but it hurt too much. She felt warm tears run down her cheek. She opened her left eye just a little. She could see the bear Mike gave her. She wanted to reach for it, but couldn’t feel her hands. Her body felt so limp.

“Ma’am, can you hear me?” A distant male voice said. Lanore couldn’t move, she tried to talk but her lips never parted to say the words. She let both eyes come open. “We need someone over here now!” The man said.

Lanore felt her body being rolled over. She looked at the sky. There were so many stars in the black blanket. Two hands fumbled around her legs. Lanore winced as a sharp pain stabbed through her right leg. Hands moved up her ribs and back. Everywhere they touched it was like being stabbed a hundred times with a knife.

“Stop!” A voice said. It was cracked. It was Lanore’s voice. She tried to move again, she wanted the bear. Her arm moved only a little. The pain in her arm was too unbearable to go on. Lanore rolled her head to look at the bear. There was blood on the little shirt. Was it her blood? Someone else’s? Lanore didn’t know. She felt the drum of her heart beat so fast in her ears she feared it would burst. There was a darkness that shaded her vision. It grew until it consumed her sight, until she saw nothing. Her body jerked and than Mikes pleasant face came into view. He smiled, Shirley was there too. She saw her parents; they sat beside each other on a mauve couch. They looked happy as they held each other. Lanore realized the images were all memories of happier times.

The bear came into vision with mike holding it above her head. Lanore remembered Mike had kissed her. They had a wonderful dinner that night, spaghetti, the taste still lingered in her mouth. They even made love before sleep took them both to a dreamland. She had woke the next morning with Mike’s strong arms around her. She had left earlier than planned. Shirley had wanted to come home. Then there was a semi, she couldn’t stop. She pressed the brakes as hard as she could, but nothing seemed to happen. The squeal of tires and sound of bending metal echoed in her ears, she had opened her eyes and saw it coming. A last breath escaped her lips as she realized she was in a car wreck. She felt her body give up, than nothing…

Mike walked under the police tape. The Highway patrol had called him two hours ago concerning a car wreck right out of Wheatland, Wyoming. He knew who it was but hoped for the best. Then, he saw her body curled into a fetal position. The bear he gave her just a few inches from her bloody hand.

“Sir, you can’t be here.” A man stepped into his way. Mike pushed him and ran to Lanore. Her face was shredded from the broken windshield. They had pried her out of the Jeep. He looked at the wreck, Shirley wasn’t there. His eyes searched the scene. Shirley was at the ambulance sitting up watching him. Her face looked in total shock, just a pale plain look, almost empty. He let a shaking hand touch Lanore’s face. She didn’t move. He pulled his hand back, her blood stuck to him. He tried to hold her, but her body was too heavy to lift. He felt tears sting his eyes and didn’t bother to hold them back. He sobbed over her limp body. He reached for the bear and pulled it in close to both of them. Mike remembered her smile when he held the bear above her head in his bedroom. Two police officers pulled him off of her. He didn’t fight them. How could he? She was gone and fighting with them wouldn’t bring her back. They sat him on the side of the road. Rocks dug into his rear and it didn’t matter, nothing mattered. Nothing but the small bear he held in his hands. Mike knew this night would haunt him for the rest of his life as he looked at the small shirt painted with the blood of his love.