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Feb. 12th, 2023 at 9:15 PM
[An hour's drive outside of the flames of Virginia Beach finally returns them to solid pavement.]
Yes! Oh, fuck yes, finally.
[And Johnnie is sure glad to see it, as he cheers with a fist in the air. Now he can just sit back and let the bike carry them without having to dodge rocks and slide around in the occasional patch of mud. Those old roads are a fun challenge for a little while, no doubt, but they get old fast.
Relieved now, though, Johnnie leans back a little against Chrissy behind him, and looks around in the darkness at what he can make out of the countryside. Lights dot a lot more little plots of land now, the occasional car passes going north, and what was moments ago swamp and forest has definitely turned more toward farmland from what illumination he can get from the headlight of the bike. There's some song on the radio about a place called Margaritaville, which he sure doesn't recognize.]
You know this one?
[Might be more in her wheelhouse. He'll just keep watching for road signs or town names, anything to tell them if they're on a real highway or some shitty side road so he can work out how far they actually traveled in that last hour, and how much longer until they reach the coast.]
Yes! Oh, fuck yes, finally.
[And Johnnie is sure glad to see it, as he cheers with a fist in the air. Now he can just sit back and let the bike carry them without having to dodge rocks and slide around in the occasional patch of mud. Those old roads are a fun challenge for a little while, no doubt, but they get old fast.
Relieved now, though, Johnnie leans back a little against Chrissy behind him, and looks around in the darkness at what he can make out of the countryside. Lights dot a lot more little plots of land now, the occasional car passes going north, and what was moments ago swamp and forest has definitely turned more toward farmland from what illumination he can get from the headlight of the bike. There's some song on the radio about a place called Margaritaville, which he sure doesn't recognize.]
You know this one?
[Might be more in her wheelhouse. He'll just keep watching for road signs or town names, anything to tell them if they're on a real highway or some shitty side road so he can work out how far they actually traveled in that last hour, and how much longer until they reach the coast.]
Comments
I guess that's the one thing we have plenty of, right? Lots of time.
[She's grinning as her fingers lace with his, and she gives his hand a squeeze. Again, she's struck by how lucky she is. Not many people get a second chance at all, much less one like this.]
I doubt we'll get lucky and find any dresses like I found in New York.
[Sigh.
The 1950's had some cute dresses but definitely nothing as revealing as she's hoping. But surely there will be something that shows off her "tattoo" he's just given her.]
[That makes him laugh, as he guides her onto the bike and fires it up, and gets them onto the road toward downtown.]
Guess that's gonna be unlikely. They gotta have lingerie somewhere here though, right? What if you got a silky little top and a skirt?
[It's admittedly hard to know exactly what the options are. He remembers the fifties well enough as still being pretty conservative on the main streets even in his corner of the country, but also, he was a kid, and whatever adults bought back them for fun behind closed doors is something he's pretty much clueless about. Repression probably leads to weird shit, though, surely. Clothed all the way to the wrist and ankle in public must mean thongs and whips and shit when nobody's looking.]
[It's the 1950's and people would judge. Not that she cares about being judged as much as she used to. She just doesn't want anyone to think poorly of Johnnie because of how she's dressed, is all. Their love is pure and wonderful and no one is allowed to think he pays for her company.
Still, she holds onto him as they ride and she laughs about people mistaking her for something she isn't. People are so judgemental, and it's so stupid that they so easily buy into whatever they assume about others.]
Oh wait, look!
[As they drive into town they pass a few shops all in a row. She tugs at his sleeve and points back toward them, eager to try them out.]
Can we turn back and try those? I'll be able to hit all three and find something really cute.
She catches his attention and he glances over his shoulder at the shops, then pulls a u-turn in the street right in front of a car that's trying to pull onto the road from street parking. Why wait? They were going as slow as fucking molasses. He hears the driver honk, and he just gives him a middle finger back as he grins and shakes his head.]
Good eye. Here we go.
[There's another parking spot just a few seconds down the road. Thankfully the bike can fit just about anywhere between some of these parked cars. Downtown is filling up with people out for dinner and, apparently, some kind of stage show at a theater across the block.]
People really gotta fuckin' learn to drive. You notice that? Everyone in these small towns is slow as hell. Here, I gotcha.
[He takes her by the hand as she gets down from the bike, and watches with a raised eyebrow as that car slowly cruises past them, staring right back.]
Fuckers.
Maybe you could wait out here? I'll go in and look around and be back really soon.
[She starts to head off into the middle store first, then stops and hurries back over to him.]
Be ready to be the getaway car, okay?
[This is her first solo stealing mission, and she at least wants them to be able to run away into town easily if things go wrong.
As she makes her way inside, it seems like she can't be seen. That's a blessing. Really, it is. Because it takes her some time to find a pretty pastel pink dress. There's one that's a halter dress that goes low in the back, and it's absolutely perfect because it's only knee length. She thinks she might have to go to another store, but she lucks out in finding a cute pair of pink saddle shoes too. Little frilly white socks are easily found, and so is a pink scarf to tie into her hair.
She sneaks through the store and into the fitting rooms, so she can put on everything. All of the clothes she came in with are gathered up in her arms, and she bolts outside in a run. They're stuffed into the saddlebag, and she gives a couple of twirls so Johnnie can see her perfectly pink outfit.]
[He has, in fact, driven the getaway car plenty often. Probably more than she realizes as she's saying that. He just chuckles and waves, and lights himself a cigarette to occupy his time while he waits at the bike, keeping an eye on both the street and also the sidewalk for whenever she might return.
Which doesn't take very long, as it turns out. She's definitely looking more and more like her usual self now, after food and rest and comfort, but the pink dress and those shoes and everything else, that clinches it. He grins and nods his appreciation at that twirl with the butt of his cigarette in his teeth, then spits that out, deciding it's done, and offers her a hand in case she's done with her little crime spree and ready to go.]
You got a real winner there, huh? Perfect an' pink, like a strawberry milkshake.
But it isn't just any other night. It's his birthday, and she's finally back to her perfectly pink strawberry milkshake best. And nothing is going to ruin their night. She kisses the back of his neck before curling around him to kiss his cheek.]
Did you decide where you wanted to go listen to music tonight?
Feel like that first place still had the best odds of good food and good music, but if nothin' else we can start there, have dinner, an' if the music's shit we'll go to one of the others after we eat an' grab a drink. How's that sound?
[Might do that anyway, the nearest equivalent this place has to a bar crawl. He grins as they ride on down the road and around the block to the place that had offered crab cakes for lunch, and now shows a cod and chips special for dinner. Sounds pretty damn good to him.]
Hey, we can't make a deal of it bein' my birthday or they're gonna find some excuse to check IDs, all right? Hopefully they see us at all.
[But they've had pretty good luck in this town so far. There's really something weird about Wilmington.]
[She says it so dryly and sarcastically that it almost doesn't sound like her for a second, though the laughter that follows is bell like enough to definitely belong to her. Her sense of humor is still something that's developing over time, as she's allowed to say what she wants and express herself however she likes. Her joke about the world enders hadn't landed very well, but maybe this one will.
As he pulls into a parking spot along the street, she waits for him to help her off the bike so she doesn't hurt herself just leaping off. She keeps his hand in hers as he guides her into the restaurant, and she holds her breath until she knows if they'll be seen or not. They're in luck, because they're noticed and seated right away.]
You know, everywhere I've been with you in this town, we've been seen. I think this is the first time that's ever happened.
Yeah, I wonder what's up with that. There was one guy I remember seeing this entire time who didn't see me, back when I went out earlier to get gas an' food an' shit, the first time? You were asleep. Anyway, it was at the gas station so maybe he was just passing through, wasn't from here, hadn't been here long enough to have whatever happens.
[Gotta be related to the fish monsters, and it's a reminder that as nice as it is to be seen, they need to get the fuck out of town once she's feeling ready for long hours on the road. Any minute, some new fucked-up thing could happen.
He looks around the restaurant. It's a decent place for sure, clearly popular, and the band is fashionably late at getting their instruments set up and sound check done, as to be expected. And based on those instruments, he's guessing country, but that's pretty much what he figured they'd find in a town like this. Folks looking to make it big enough to get to Nashville some day, in a timeline where the city wasn't wrecked by an astral storm that'll take them months, maybe years to recover from.]
There's probably a reason for it. But maybe I don't want to know the answer.
[At least not tonight, when she's definitely not mentioning it's his birthday to the waitress. She stops by the table and gets their drink order, and Chrissy decides on just a Coke for the time being.]
I think my being seen or not has a lot to do with you, actually.
[She says it after the waitress leaves, and her leg resumes bouncing as she watches the band set up.]
Yeah? Could be. What happened to you's pretty different from what happened to me. Wouldn't call either one normal, though. Dunno what the rules are, exactly, other than the obvious ones.
[Some of which he definitely broke, and that's why he's so willing to take the blame, if it could be called that. Being seen and having something like life is pretty good, though. So far, it's working out. And for all the dumb choices he's made, he can't honestly say he regrets them. It's just how things go. Would be real cool not to have been murdered by a couple boneheads with their hands on too much black void-shit but he doesn't like to sit around and think about what could have been, because it won't change anything.]
Anyway, you know what? I'm glad you found me, if it's 'cause of me you get to have somethin' like all this. You deserve all the good shit in life, an' now you get to have it. Don't let death tell you otherwise.
She reaches up to adjust the hair clip he gave her, making sure it's still in place after that motorcycle ride.]
We'll make good things happen for one another.
[It's a promise, one that's sealed with a kiss as she leans in to kiss him. Right as she's getting into it, the band's guitar player tests his instrument. The sound startles her and makes her jump, and she nearly bumps her head into his. Laughing at her clumsiness, she leans back and rubs at her forehead.]
I guess I'm a little jumpy tonight. Maybe I should get a drink too.
[He's laughing, while also very thankful she didn't somehow collide with his nose, still awfully swollen and sore just like her poor ribs. They must be quite the sight, the two of them. Honestly a wonder they're being seated and served so readily here. But this town is different and maybe some of that winds up being in their favor.]
Yeah, get yourself a drink. You want a smoke?
[They do a good job of steadying his nerves when he needs them for that, so, maybe it'll help her, who knows. Meanwhile, he'd better have a look at this menu. The fish and chips had been a good idea but the more he looks this over the more his eyes are drawn to the steak. He hasn't had one in ages. But then again, he's never had a whole lobster stuffed with crab meat, and some of the other lobster dishes he's never even heard of. The fuck's a thermidor?]
[She gets the attention of the waitress and orders a beer for herself. The waitress looks her over, skeptical. Then looks to Johnnie and back to Chrissy, like she wants to say something. Chrissy ignores her in favor of taking a cigarette as he offers it, and leaning in so he can light it for her.
That seems to be enough to satisfy the waitress, who shakes her head as she heads back toward the bar.]
What are you thinking about ordering? I think I might get lobster. And definitely some kind of fish.
[She's stabbing and eating the hell out of that fish as payback to the monsters.]
Luckily he doesn't have to make his point verbally, and so once Chrissy has her cigarette he gives her knee another squeeze below the table.]
Yeah? I keep changin' my mind. Steak sounds real good. Lobster sounds good too, I guess, never had one but they look cool. But then there's this king crab, too, which better be the fuckin' size of the whole table at that price. Might even be, shit gets huge in Alaska, right?
[Actually he has no idea if that's true and has no reason to suspect it is, but if it's a crab the same price as a steak, it better be a massive crab.]
Maybe I gotta do that, just 'cause I've never had one. I can get steak anywhere. I wanna pull apart a huge fuckin' crab to whatever she's singin'.
[Because, well. He nods at the stage as the band starts up. Guitar, stand-up bass, drums, and a singer in a dress and cowgirl boots. She's got a pretty good voice, actually.]
[She sounds completely perplexed and amused by that, her mind blown that maybe a crab could be that big. Her jaw drops as her mouth forms a perfect o-shape, as she ponders all the possibilities of a crab that size. They could tear off the claws and use them as weapons. She could put the shell on Johnnie's head like a hat and they could laugh and laugh, and then she could tell him he has to shower because he'd smell like seafood.]
I'll get the crab! And you can get the steak. And then we'll share.
[A gesture back and forth between them signals that she's definitely in the mood for a steak and crab meal. And now that the idea is out in the open, she's finally able to actually appreciate the singer on stage. She turns in her chair as the song really gets going, and finds herself enjoying the music even if it's not really her thing.]
Yeah? Perfect. Best of both worlds.
[That settled, he passes their order on to the waitress when she comes back around, then slouches comfortably in his seat with his beer and enjoys the music. He has to admit gaining some appreciation for country in his time hanging around shitty desert bars. It's not all bad. Some of it's pretty soulful, actually. Even so, though,]
Might be like I'd said. We hang out here, have dinner, then go down the block an' see who else is playin' what tonight. Hope this town doesn't completely shut down at 10 pm.
[And probably the kind that doesn't involve setting the town on fire. Maybe. It is Johnnie's birthday, and she has no willpower to say no to him on a regular day. If he wants to set the town on fire, who is she to say no?
Her beer is brought by just as she's thinking that, and she gladly takes a drink as she watches the stage.]
Do you know what we should do sometime? [She looks back to him now, all eager about getting him to do something new.] We should go line dancing.
[Give him a second, as he drums his fingers on his glass... Nope. No, he's not quite sure what she's referring to. Maybe it's not called that in his time, maybe it's something new. Man, he hopes it's something new considering how she was saying nobody in her time likes to dance anymore. Let them have invented at least something of their own.]
What's that like?
Oh, it's just...a dance people like to do to country music in the 80's. It's not anything like we've danced to before.
[It's better because it's so funny, and yet somehow worse because there's absolutely no grinding against one another in line dancing. Or really all that much touching at all, really.]
You've heard of square dancing, right?
[He's not opposed, anything can become a good time if you want it to be. Square dancing involves a bunch of people though, right? At least, definitely more than two, so they'd have to find a group. Unless she's about to say it's like a square dance but done with only two people. His lips press into an uncertain line as he tries to picture this, but then raises an eyebrow and waits for her explanation rather than just assuming things.]
[Especially if they get all dressed up in their cowboy finest. She's already excited to find someplace they can do it.]
Usually there's places that are just for line dancing. So there's lots of people there and you all just stand in lines and dance together. I guess it's kind of like cheerleading or drill team if you think about it.
[He doesn't seem opposed to the idea, so she's optimistic they'll get to go and she can be the one to teach him something for a change.]
[Whatever he was about to say, he pauses, then just about loses it in a cascade of laughter as he puts his hand over his face. That slides to the table as he continues snickering. She's going to ask, so he might as well explain.]
Fuckin'... Dumb thought, tryin' to picture a bunch of my crew all standing in lines doin' the same steps together. Fuck. I can tell you right now, that ain't ever gonna happen, but sure, I'm in. You keep a watch for a line dancing place.
[He shakes his head, grinning at that extremely good mental image.]
They might! Maybe we'll get back home and they'll all think I'm cute and amazing and won't be able to say no when I ask them to do it with me.
[Her giggles are nearly uncontrollable now, and she winds up coughing on her beer as she takes a drink mid-laugh. Both hands cover her mouth as it happens, and her head shakes as she tries to shake it off.]
I bet we could get your brothers to do it, at least. You're the baby, right? They can't say no to you.