Suzie’s House 340 : Looking For a Complication

A roll of toilet paper came flying over the partition into Drew’s stall.

“Are you trying to tell me to hurry up, old man?”

“Thought you might be stuck in there. It’s been half an hour.”

Drew blinked. Half an hour in a rest area toilet? He was pretty sure that was a personal record. It wasn’t generally a place he felt compelled to sit and ruminate. But that’s exactly what he’d been doing.

“You aren’t getting cold feet, are you?” Trent’s voice moved further from the stall, like about to the counter full of sinks.

“No. I’m not,” Drew said firmly.

They’d actually managed to get all the way across Montana and well into South Dakota before Trent said anything. Was it too much to hope they’d make it all the way to Wisconsin?

Drew put the toilet paper to good use.

“So… no detours?” Trent’s voice moved and he grunted. He’d probably bent over to mess with something on the floor in that hunched over raccoon way of his.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll chicken out if I take too long getting there?” Drew considered it a valid question.

“A devoted man like you? Nah. Not that you won’t be anxious about it, but don’t you feel better already for being on your way back to your true love?”

Drew turned over the concept of true love for a minute. Although he had never wavered in his love for Suzie, he’d never really thought of it as “true love” per se. He hadn’t really thought “true love” really existed. But he couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way he did Suzie. So maybe there really was such a thing.

Drew stepped out of the stall to find Trent had opened up a grate in the floor and had one scrawny arm up to the armpit fishing for something. “What are you doing?”

“I saw something down there. Some kind of coin or medal or something.” Trent grunted as he reached.

“Here. Step aside. I’ll do that for you.”

“No you won’t. Some things a body has to do for himself. Besides, my arms are longer.”

Drew couldn’t argue with that. Though it pained him, he moved to the sink and washed his hands.

“Ah! Got it. Whoah! Look! It’s a St. Christopher’s medal.” Grinning from ear to ear, Trent carried his prize over to the sink. His arm was scratched and his shirt grimy, but his eyes glowed as he washed the medal off.

“I take it this is a sign of good fortune,” Drew said dryly.

“Fantastic luck! St. Christopher is the patron saint of travelers. Just what we need. Especially if we want to go hiking in the Black Hills, which is only about fifty miles behind us right now. So… we should backtrack a little. Just for a day. Right?” Trent smiled at Drew like he knew something.

Drew closed his eyes and sighed. “Are you really trying to get me to go home or not?”

“It’s best to center yourself before you do something important. Especially when it comes to love. Arriving with an air of desperation isn’t going to make things go well.” Trent tried off the medal and turned his attention to his grimy sleeve.

Desperate? Was that what he felt? Drew didn’t even know anymore. His emotional landscape had changed so much. He wasn’t sure what was what anymore.

The two of them turned toward the exit just as a boy barreled through it. The kid wobbled on a pair of crutches. Both his eyes were black and a bandage wrapped around one arm.

“Whoah! What happened to you?” Trent didn’t hesitate to ask what Drew only thought.

“Me?” The boy squeaked the word. “We got in an accident. Mom and Dad and me. We’re trying to go home but it’s one thing after another.” The way he said the last part sounded like he was quoting someone.

“Here.” Trent took his newly acquired St. Christopher’s medal and pressed it into the boy’s hand. “Looks like you need this more than I do.”

“Thanks,” The boy said with a smile and stuffed it into his pocket.

Drew and Trent walked out to the car in silence. It was so like the old man to quickly give away something he’d worked hard to acquire. In a way, Drew felt a bit like the medal. Trent had worked hard at helping him get his head together. And now he was going to have to say good bye.

“Maybe we better skip the Black Hills this trip,” Trent said. “Much as I love the place, it’s probably better to get on down the road.”

Drew nodded. All he really wanted was to see Suzie again.

If you enjoy Suzie’s House and would like to see more, please leave a comment. Suzie’s House is powered by its readers.