“Hello, love.”
She spun, gladness in her eyes.
“Oh, Lovejoy! You came! I was start’n to think maybe —”
“Where the hell’s that little pillock?” I said, moving her towards the train. “Less than ten minutes to go and you let him wander off. Why do you never take any notice of what I say? Silly cow.”
“Don’t you start on me, Lovejoy. Not after what I’ve been through, waiting and worryin’ —”
“Hey, man! Time you showed —”
I clipped the little sod’s ear. “Where the hell’ve you been? I’ve been waiting this past half hour —”
“Hey, Magda,” the little cret complained. “Cain’t we ditch Lovejoy? Only, I gonna get real mean he does that one more time —”
“Shut it, pillock. And turn that damned thing off.” I gave Magda the three tickets I’d bought. “Come on.”
“Kansas City?” Magda was clipping along in her red shoes. “Why Kansas City, Lovejoy? You never tellt we goin’ there. I got bags packed back in the hotel —”
“You shut it, Magda. I’m sick of people asking me things” How the hell did I know why Kansas City? It was just that I recognized the name from the list of places by the ticket office. “I don’t even know where the bloody place is. Does Sherman travel free?”
“Lovejoy, he dumb, Magda.”
We boarded the train, impossibly high off the ground like all American trains. I was telling her how I’d teach her a few essentials about antiques, get her started in a small shop. It’s the easiest thing in the world to find one little good antique, then another…
Magda was smiling as we took seats. “Thanks, Lovejoy. Even if it is only sorta temporary. Know what? I thought you’d left without us.”
I settled back as the train began to move. First thing was to make her start apologizing profusely for her terrible wicked doubt of my sterling character. Then we’d have to take it from there.
“I see, love,” I said, hurt and quiet. “It’s always me that’s treacherous, is it? When I’ve risked everything to get here just to make sure you’d be safe, and Zole get somewhere settled—”
“No, honey. Hush. I’m sorry, darlin’. Me and my big mouth. I’d no right to say them things, Lovejoy…”
Okay, I thought, and wondered if there was a good dining car on the damned thing. Sherman snored on me, and we rolled eastwards out of L.A..
—«»—«»—«»—
[scanned anonymously in a galaxy far far away]
[December 20, 2003—v1 html proofed and formatted by AnneH for Shakespeare's Typing Monkeys]