Honeymoon for Three (21 page)

Alfred studied the map and asked Don whether
they had been to Craters of the Moon National Monument.

“Not for many years. Yeah, we got time to
see it. It’s just a big fuckin’ lava flow. Makes you wonder what
would happen if the area started erupting again. They got a scenic
drive there, makes you think you’re on the moon.”

Alfred wondered how people knew what the
surface of the moon looked like, when nobody had actually set foot
on the moon.

***

Penny and Gary stopped at a motel in Idaho
Falls in early afternoon to “recover from the horseback ride and
the rigors of camping,” as Penny put it. “I appreciate you going on
the ride with me. I really enjoyed it.”

“I’m sore. You wouldn’t think just sitting
on a horse would do this to you.”

“Your muscles get stretched in ways you’ve
never experienced. You get used to it if you ride every day.”

“I don’t intend to find out.”

“I loved the fall colors we saw going over
Teton Pass. I guess that means we’ll have to go back to work
soon.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Stopping early will give us a chance to do
some washing and ironing and write wedding announcements for the
newspapers back home.”

“I’ll write the wedding announcements.”

“You’ll do what I tell you to do.” Penny
tackled him onto the motel’s double bed.

“Ouch. Be careful of my legs.”

“I’ll take care of you.” Penny climbed on
top of Gary. “Show me where it hurts.”

***

Don pulled into a campground not far from
Boise. Alfred suspected that he had a nose for finding nice
campgrounds. Maybe he had been here before. They set up camp, which
wasn’t difficult to do when you didn’t have to pitch a tent. When
Mattie started cooking dinner, Don wandered off somewhere.

Alfred assumed he was going to the restroom,
so he helped Mattie prepare the dinner.

“Do you play cards?” Mattie asked.

“I’ve played some pinochle.”

“How about poker?”

“A little.”

“If you’re not real experienced, you might
want to pass if Don finds a game.”

“A game?”

“Yeah. That’s what he’s doing—looking for a
poker game for tonight. Those old guys who can’t do much else, they
really like to play cards. Campgrounds are hotbeds of vice. They’ll
take your money, too, if you’re not good. ”

“Don’s not so old.”

“No, but sometimes he acts like he’s ninety.
I don’t worry about him playing poker. He’s sharp enough so that he
usually wins. It gives him something to do at night.”

Alfred wondered what Mattie meant by some of
the things she said about Don. She was hinting at something, but he
wasn’t sure what. Don eventually came back with a grin on his
leathery face and asked Alfred if he played poker.

Having been clued in by Mattie, he said,
“Not very well.”

“Good reason not to play tonight. Mattie
will be pissed if I drag you into a game and you lose all your
money.” He didn’t seem unhappy that Alfred wasn’t going with
him.

And so it happened that when they finished
dinner, Don walked off to his poker game, leaving Alfred and Mattie
behind. After they cleaned up the dishes, Mattie went to the
restroom. Alfred climbed into the camper, away from the cooling
air. He wondered what he could do until bedtime. Mattie had her
knitting. He had noticed several pocketbooks lying around. Maybe he
could find one to read.

He was leafing through a Perry Mason mystery
written by Erle Stanley Gardner when Mattie returned to the camper.
She stepped inside and slid the door shut. Now they were alone
together in close quarters. Alfred was sitting at the small table,
with his back to the front of the camper. He felt vaguely
uncomfortable. Mattie took off her jacket and sat on the backseat,
facing him.

She had changed her shirt. She was wearing a
white blouse with two or three buttons unbuttoned at the top.
Alfred could see a hint of cleavage in the V of the blouse. She had
also combed her short hair, and something looked different about
her face. He decided that she had put on lipstick. She didn’t look
bad at all.

“So what do you think?” Mattie asked, posing
for him.

“I like your hair.” He thought it was a lame
compliment.

“Thank you.”

She seemed pleased. “These card games go on
forever. Don won’t be back until the wee hours of the morning.”

Why did she tell him that? Alfred felt more
and more uncomfortable.

“I’ll let you in on a secret about Don if
you promise not to tell anyone.”

Alfred wasn’t sure he wanted to hear a
secret, but he mumbled, “Promise.”

“Ever since he got wounded in the navy, he’s
been impotent. That’s why we don’t have any kids.”

Alfred felt his mouth drop open. Impotent?
He couldn’t grasp the ramifications of that. They were husband and
wife. Husbands and wives were supposed to do it.

“I haven’t lost my drive,” Mattie continued.
“Once in awhile I have a little dalliance, if you know what I
mean.”

Alfred was afraid he did.

“You must be feeling bad about your wife
leaving you. And being newlyweds, you were getting all that sex,
and then it stopped. I was thinking that maybe I could help make it
up to you.”

If there were any question about Mattie’s
meaning before, it was dispelled when she unbuttoned the rest of
her blouse, revealing a lacy bra underneath. What intrigued Alfred
was that he could just see her bellybutton peeking out from above
her jeans. A nice innie bellybutton.

“Do you like my boobies?”

He wanted to say that he liked her
bellybutton, but girls had reacted strangely to that remark in the
past. He took the safe way out. “Yes.”

“I may not be as young as your wife, but I
bet my boobies are just as good. Take off your jacket and come over
and meet them up close and personal. They’re friendly.”

Alfred did what she asked, mechanically. He
sat down beside her. She took hold of his hand and placed it on her
breast. He had no reaction. He wanted to slide his hand down to her
bellybutton, but did he dare?

“Let’s put the bed down.”

Things were getting out of control. They had
to stand up to put the bed down, because the lower bunk when set
up, extended over the backseat.

“I don’t think we’d better.”

“I won’t get pregnant, if that’s what you’re
worried about.”

Mattie stood and pulled Alfred to his feet.
She quickly and efficiently set up the bed. She climbed onto it and
pulled him after her. He only resisted slightly. Then they were
rolling around on the bed, kissing each other. This was quite
pleasant, and gave Alfred the opportunity to do what he wanted to
do.

He reached his hand down and found her
bellybutton. It was indeed a well-formed innie. He caressed it with
his finger. Everybody had a good bellybutton, it seemed, but him.
She must have interpreted his actions as a come-on. She loosened
his belt and began to unzip his pants. He started to panic. He had
to do something. How could he tell her he was a virgin? How could
he tell her he was saving himself for Penny?

He pulled away from her and slid off the
bed, saying, “I can’t.”

“What do you mean, you can’t? Is it because
I’m older? You only go after that young pussy, is that it? Well,
buster, I’m here to tell you that you aren’t exactly God’s gift to
women. Maybe that’s why your wife ran off. Did you ever think of
that? You better take what you can get, you understand me?”

“It’s not that. I just can’t.” He was
miserable and embarrassed. “I think I’ll go for a walk.”

Alfred grabbed his jacket, opened the
sliding door, and stepped out into the night. He carefully closed
the door behind him.

He walked around the campground until he
began to feel cold. He considered not going back, but he didn’t
want to spend another night outdoors. He returned to the camper. No
light showed inside. He opened the sliding door as quietly as he
could. There was no sound from Mattie. He came in and closed the
door. He climbed up onto the top bunk.

Alfred was awakened by the noise Don made
when he returned. He didn’t know what time it was.

CHAPTER 23

By the time Alfred awoke, Mattie was already
outside the camper making breakfast in the morning sun. He caught a
glimpse of her through a window. He carefully lowered his body from
the top bunk and saw Don still sacked out. He put on his shoes and
went outside as quietly as he could.

He said good morning to Mattie and
received a grunt in return. He had sort of expected that and just
hoped she wouldn’t leave him stranded here. He figured he was
probably safe. She couldn’t explain to Don why she was mad at him.
She wore her camping clothes, including her “I survived the big
one” sweatshirt. Gone were the white blouse and cleavage. He went
to the restroom. By the time he returned, Don was sitting outside
on the picnic bench, sipping coffee. Alfred suspected that Mattie
had rousted him out of bed.

He looked the worse for wear with his unshaven
face and bags the size of airline carry-ons under his eyes. He must
have drunk a lot of beer and played a lot of cards. There was no
indication whether he had won or lost. Breakfast was an almost
silent affair. Alfred wondered how Don would be able to drive in
his condition.

The answer was that Mattie drove. Don rode in
the front seat beside her, relegating Alfred to the back. That was
fine with him, just as long as they took him to Crescent City. He
couldn’t hear everything they said to each other, but he gathered
that they planned to drive straight through Oregon and get home
tonight.

He was positive that he was ahead
of Penny and Gary. They would probably be passing through Crescent
City sometime tomorrow. If he were going to intercept them, he
needed a plan. The key part of any plan was having a car. He didn’t
want to steal another car. That left too many tracks. He didn’t
know how else to get a car. Maybe he would have to wait until he
was back in L.A. Of course, he no longer had a car there, either.
If he got his job back, he could at least buy a used
car.

Riding alone in the backseat
without any responsibilities gave Alfred too long to think about
his life. What he concluded was depressing. He was jobless,
carless, and he didn’t know whether he even dared to go back to his
apartment. Or try to get his job back. The police knew his address,
because it was on the registration that had been in his
car.

What did he have to show for his sacrifices?
Nothing. Rage began to build inside him. Rage against Gary who had
thwarted his every move. Rage against Penny, because she let Gary
control her. But it wasn’t all her fault. Gary had her
mesmerized.

Maybe he didn’t have to kill
Penny. Maybe he and Penny could still have a life together. Alfred
needed some hope in order to carry on. If he killed Penny, he had
nothing and nothing to look forward to. He did have to get rid of
Gary. This brought his mind back to the realization that he needed
a plan. And he didn’t have one.

He felt like a hamster on a wheel.
His thoughts went in circles, leading nowhere. He might be going
crazy. After a while, the motion of the camper lulled him. He found
a pillow and lay down on the seat. The hum of the engine quieted
his brain. He closed his eyes.

***

Ironing before breakfast had not
been part of Penny’s lifestyle when she was single. That it was now
gave a good indication of the effect Gary had on her. She had even
sewed a button on his shirt on their second date, for crying out
loud, and fed him dinner when she could barely cook.

After their
breakfast in Idaho Falls, they drove to Craters of the Moon
National Monument. In addition to driving the loop road, they did
some hiking. They c
limbed up and into a
cinder cone and down into Dew Drop lava tunnel. This was too much
like a cave for the claustrophobic Penny. It even had stalactites
hanging from the ceiling. She was glad when they got out of
there.

They mailed wedding announcements
home from Carey, Idaho, and stopped for lunch in a cafe in
Shoshone, Idaho. They drove through Boise to Juntura, Oregon, for
supper at a truck stop. Then on through several western cowboy
towns before stopping for the night at a motel in Lakeview, Oregon.
Exhausted and still sore from their horseback ride, they fell into
bed.

***

The house of Don and Mattie in
Crescent City was a small, one-story affair, not far from the
center of town, which appeared to be the Ben Franklin store. Alfred
had taken his turn at the wheel, which kept him from thinking
depressing thoughts, but by the time they arrived, Don was driving.
He pulled into the driveway after dark and parked beside a pickup
truck.

They had eaten dinner in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Alfred tried to pay for his meal, but Don brushed his money aside
and paid with a wad of bills he took from his pocket. Evidently he
had won at poker.

Although they were all talking to each other
by this time, nobody brought up the subject of what Alfred would do
when they reached Crescent City. Would they dump him at the
Greyhound bus station tonight? He decided that what will be will be
and left his fate to the gods of chance.

“
Would you mind helping us unload
a few things?” Don asked Alfred.

That was a good sign. He would unload
everything in the camper if they would let him sleep in the house
tonight. That would give him all morning to figure out how to
intercept Penny and Gary. He felt more optimistic now. Something
would turn up. It always did. He was lucky that way.