“Hannah, you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m just getting something,” she replied, then I heard her feet slamming against the floor as she ran my way. “Ready. I was getting some stuff.”
I noticed how much fatter that Barbie backpack was as she slung it over her shoulder. “What the heck? How many rolls of toilet paper did you take?”
“I took stuff, that’s all.”
I shook my head and opened the door. When I did, Hannah giggled.
“Well, ain’t that just true love,” she said.
Sarcastic as her comment was, I knew what she meant.
Leah had found us. I don’t know if she knew, or stopped because of the Curt and friend buffet in the yard. But she dropped a severed arm and tilted her head when she saw us.
I waited a moment, thinking Leah was going to attack, but she didn’t. So with Hannah’s help, we lowered the wagon to the ground and we were on our way.
It was a good day for walking. The weather cooperated. It wasn’t too hot or too cold, in fact it was perfect. There were a lot of hills and slopes to climb, I wondered how Hannah talked so much and didn’t lose her breath.
For the first twenty minutes she wouldn’t shut up about how Curt was a twitcher and how I just left him there.
My attitude was, “oh well,” because after thinking about it all night, I was out of sympathetic feelings.
Leah followed. She lagged behind farther and farther until we stopped for a break and then she caught up.
“I want to do about ten miles today,” I said. “Maybe more before we stop for the night. Somewhere around Windsor Falls, I want to start looking for a place to stay.”
Hannah didn’t reply.
“Are you listening to me?” I glanced over to her and saw she kept looking back at Leah. “Are you worried she’s gonna attack?”
“No, she’s good for a while. She ate on Curt. I’m just… she keeps coming. Keeps following like a puppy dog. So sad. Or like Torina.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Who is Torina?”
“When I was in the second grade, there was a new girl named Torina. She didn’t speak English very well. It was odd because not many people in West Virginia don’t speak English. I was nice to her and she kept following me and following me.”
“Until you stopped and played with her?”
“No. I couldn’t. I didn’t understand her. How was I supposed to be friends if I didn’t understand a word she said? Anyhow, you think she knows?”
“Torina?”
“No, silly, Leah,” Hannah said. “You think she knows you?”
“I think it’s possible. I mean, if a piece of the brain is functioning enough to move the body, maybe a tiny piece remembers. Or at least I like to think she remembers me instead of looking at me like a McDonald’s menu.”
“If you think she remembers you, then that it isn’t right what you’re doing.”
“You mean not putting her down?” I asked.
“No, letting her walk around like that. Calvin, she’s naked from the waist down.”
“I know she’s naked from the waist down, she died after giving birth.”
“It’s your wife. Don’t you care that people see her like that?”
I stopped for a second. “Are you serious?”
“I mean, what would she say if she knew you let her walk around all exposed? I know I’d be mad. I feel bad for her.”
Shaking my head, I walked again. “Hannah, what do you want me to do?”
“Put some clothes on her.”
I laughed. “Yeah, right away. I’ll just stop, walk up to her, ask her to sit down while I put a pair of pants on her.”
“Now’s the time. She just had Curt so she’ll be calm. She won’t try to bite you.”
“Hannah…”
“It don’t need to be pants. It can be a dress. Nothing fancy. Be easy to put on her. Toss it over her head. We can find one of those dresses like my grandma used to wear to cover her big boobs and belly. Big old flowery thing that floats in the wind and shows her legs. Anything. We’ll find something. But for goodness sakes, Calvin, cover up her womanhood.”
I believe I actually snorted a laugh at that remark. “Womanhood? Okay, if we see one of those big old flowery things that float in the wind, I’ll put it on her.”
“Do it before she’s hungry again.”
“I can’t believe how much this is bothering you.”
“It does,” she replied. “’Cause I’m a girl. Girls are private about those things. You don’t think about it because boys aren’t private. I mean they just whip it out to piss on a tree. No shame.”
“Oh my God.”
“And it’s sad, Calvin, it’s just really sad. Look at her.”
“I did.”
“She keeps on trudging. And every time I look, things keep fallin’ out of her lady parts…”
“Jesus, Hannah.” I stopped and brought my hand to my face.
“What? They do. What do you suppose it is?”
“I don’t know and… can we… not talk about things falling out of her lady parts.”
“Okay. I just thought you’d want to know.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Come to think about it. Pants wouldn’t be all that good. You wouldn’t want to be putting them on her when she releases…”
“Hannah!” I barked her name. “Please. Just… talk about something else.”
“Okay.” She went silent for a few seconds as we walked, then she started rambling on again about Curt.
A part of me wondered if things did bother her and her lackadaisical manner of talking about them, was her own therapy.
There was a lot about Hannah I still had to learn. One thing I was sure of, she liked to talk… a lot. Even though she made me cringe and drove me a little nuts at times, for the most part, I was glad she was taking the journey with me.
18
TRIPLE M
The shortest distance between two points was indeed a straight line, one that we could have taken. However, since cutting through trees and over farms was not an option with the wagon we stayed on the paved road.
Avoiding the main highway, we took secondary roads that the map showed ran perpendicular to the highway. The black top was a lot easier on our feet. Eventually it would cross the interstate, however, we could pick it up again.
There were more options for shelter plus we didn’t see another soul.
People were as dangerous as the Vee.
“You think people live in some of these places, still?” Hannah asked. “I mean, it’s way out here. No sick people. There were cows back there, did you see?’
“I did. When you picked those apples.”
“They were ripe. Falling from the tree. I had to. Didn’t want them to go to waste. Want one?” She held it up for me.
“After being beat up, my teeth couldn’t bite into that.”
“Want me to cut it for you? I have a knife. Sharp one, too.”
“No, and why do you have a knife.”
“Just in case.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. I don’t know why I asked. Are you’re sure you’re only ten?”
“You do that on purpose. You know I’m gonna be twelve.”
“You just act and look older.”
“I may look older. That’s because I’m the tallest kid in my grade, but you only think I act older because you don’t know kids too good.”
“That’s true. For what it’s worth, I think you’re very brave for all you’ve been through and doing it on your own.”
“I’m not on my own.”
“Before.”
“I didn’t want to be alone. Just didn’t have a choice,” she said. “Why you being all nice to me?”