U.G.L.Y (20 page)

First I could head for the central valley, then drive N
orth.
I
always
liked
the
pacific
north
west
so
it
was
settled
in
my
mind,
that
is
where
I
would
go.

“Now
?
”
Eve
asked
“
What
do
you
mean?
Do
you
have
a
plan?
”

“
Look
Eve,
I
can't
hide.
I
have
to
do
something
and
maybe
I'll
find
a
way
to
catch
up
with
the
kids.
I'm
going
to
head
up
to
Washington
and
work
my
way to a small island up there. Maybe there’s still something there.”

I raised my
hand
to
the
bartender
and
ordered
one
last
beer.
“
It
was
nice
to
meet
you
Eve
and
I
wish
you
luck
getting
back
to
your
life.
”

“
What
life?
I
came
up
here
with
some
hope
of
starting
over
but
now...
whats
the
point?
”
She
looked
at
me with expectation.

Christ.
I
thought,
she
wanted
to
tag
along.

“
Could
you
use
some
company?
”
She
put
her
hand
on
my
thigh.

     I
knew
she
wasn't
interested in
me
. She was
just
looking
for
someone
to
take
care
of
her.
W
hat
the
hell I thought,
I
could
use
some
companionship
and
getting
laid
wouldn't
be
a
bad
thing if she was into it. I could certainly use the release.

Maybe
we
could
make
each
other
feel
better
if
not
emotionally,
some
physical
comfort
would
be
worth
the
trouble.

“
OK,
finish
up
and
grab
your
stuff.
The
cars
out
front
”

17
.

-Eve-

     I sat
in
the
car
facing
the
bar
and
watched
my
new
companion
walk
out
pulling
a
suitcase bouncing
on
rollers.
She
was
very
pretty. She had a
petite
frame,
blond,
nice
body.
H
er
breasts
were
large
and
perky.
I thought t
hey
had
to
be
fake.

She
didn't
offer
up
her
age
but
she
had
to
be
in
her
late
twenties,
maybe early thirties. I
briefly
wondered
how
she
got
abandoned
by
her
friends
and why
she
had
been trying to start over up here
.
Based
on
the
way
she
talked
in
the
bar
I expected
she
would
tell
me
all
about
it. She liked to talk about herself.

     We
headed
out
of
town
and
started
the
long
trip
around
the
lake
and
through
the
hills
to
the
west.
A
fter
several
hours
we
started
heading
down
into
the
San
Joaquin
valley,
Into t
he
central
valley
of
California
.

The
valley
was
flat
and
desolate.
As we
drove
through
the
foothills
I
could
make
out
farms
stretching
into
the
distance.
We
headed
for
the
I99,
one
of
two
major
travel
arteries
that
flowed
north
through
the
valley.
Eventually
we
would
connect
to
the
I5
freeway
which
would
take
us
north
through
Oregon
and
into
Washington
.
I
figured
that
if
I
could
get
to
Whidbey
Island
in
Washington
we
might
find
some
way to cross over to Friday harbor. I was familiar with the area, I had been
stationed there
in
the
1990's.

    
As
the
day
wore
on
we
drove
north
passing
small
farming
communities.
Most of the communities were small and some seemed devoid of life. Maybe they always looked that way. It felt eery and empty.

We
made
stops
when
we
needed
to,
each
time
I
would
find
a
gas
can
that
I
could
fill
and
strap
to
the
roof
of
the
SUV.
There was no sign of life in some places. In others people were noticeably on edge but had not been affected yet.

My
companion
was
very
talkative
at
first.
S
he
went
on
and
on
about
everything
under
the
sun.
I
decided
she
was
nervous
and
not
sure
about
me yet. E
ventually
she
settled
down
and
fell
asleep.
I
was
grateful
for
the
quiet,
but
happy
she
was
getting
comfortable enough to feel like she could rest.

    
As
the
sun
set
on
the
second
day
I
was
exhausted and
searched
for
a
safe
place
we
could
stop for the night.
I
thought
it
might
be
dangerous
to
stop
at
a
hotel
so
I
turned
off
the
road
where
there
was
nothing
but
farm
land. I
drove
out
into
a
field
and
parked
the
car.
Eve
began
to
stir,
she
opened
her
eyes
and
asked
what
was
going
on.

“
we're
going
to
make
camp
for
the
night” I said
“
out
here
in
the
middle
of
nowhere
we
should
see
ahead of time if
anyone is
coming
”.

She
looked
scared,
maybe
she
thought
I
was
going
to
kill
her
out
here
in
the
middle
of
nowhere.
I
laughed
to
my
self
then
decided
to
put her at ease
so
she
would
relax.
I
made
a
fire
and
we
sat
across
from
each
other.