Carrie And Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story Part 26

F.M. is driving through the dark on an empty desert highway. Kate's eyes are closed. They pop open suddenly, and coming out of her reverie, she looks over at F.M.

"Did I meet you last night?"

"You could say that."

"Did I f.u.c.k you?"

F.M. nearly loses his grip on the wheel. "No! No, ma'am ... we didn't ... not at all. I would never... . You'd had too much to drink."

Amused by his discomfort Kate says, "It's okay, cowboy. I believe you." Resting her head on the back of her seat she looks out the window at the starry sky and closes her eyes and drifts off again... .

As the night wears on at the Burgundy, people are dancing, making out, talking, drinking. Martine is in a lip-lock with the guy with the piercings, Kenny is singing along with the music, the burly male bartender has his s.h.i.+rt tied like a girl's around his "t.i.ts," and Yvette is pouring drinks like mad. Kate waits at the head of the line for the ladies' room. She bangs on the door.

"C'mon!"

Two girls emerge, rubbing their noses. Kate enters and a drunk guy tries to push in with her.

"What the fu-?"

"I was thinking maybe you and I-"

"I think you're gonna have to go f.u.c.k yourself, buddy, because I'm sure as h.e.l.l not going to."

She pushes him out and locks the door. He pounds on it. Sitting on the toilet seat Kate pulls a plane ticket out of her backpack. She looks at it for a long time, her shoulders slumped... .

Kate is still snoozing when she hears her door open and feels someone gently shaking her. She rouses and looks at F.M. They're in the parking lot of a motel.

"I got us rooms here," F.M. says as he hands her a key. Number 5. Right in front of the truck. "I'll be next door in 4 if you need anything."

Kate gets out of the pickup carrying her tote bag, opens her room door, and flips on the light. F.M. is next to her at the door of his room, about to do the same. Kate stands in the doorway for a moment, staring into the room, not moving.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"Okay. Just let me know when you're ready to go in the morning." No answer from Kate, who's still standing there. "Good night."

" 'Night."

F.M. enters his room, shutting the door. Kate looks out at the parking lot, the pickup truck, the motel sign, the highway. She steps into her room, turns on the bedside lamp, and looks at the phone. She dials long distance and her own answering machine picks up. "Hey, it's Kate. Leave a message and if I don't call you back it's because I owe you money."

Kate punches in a few numbers and the machine tells her, "You have no messages." Kate hangs up. She sees herself in the mirror and leans her head back against the wall shared by F.M.'s room. She puts her ear against it, but hears nothing. Kate shuts off the lights. Neon leaking from under window shades shows her the way to bed. She crawls under the covers and falls right to sleep.

After a morning spent driving into the spectacular and endless desert sky, Kate and F.M. have parked on the side of the road. Kate sits on a rock eating a sandwich, and F.M. is perched nearby. She finishes her lunch in silence. Looking at him, she finally speaks. "I'm gonna need a toothbrush."

At the next truck stop Kate peruses the aisles. She's holding a toothbrush, deodorant, a pack of gum, and cigarettes. A trucker accidentally b.u.mps into her when they both go to open the fridge.

" 'Scuse me."

"No problem." He gestures for her to go first. She grabs a c.o.ke and holds the door open. "Here you go."

"Thanks." He grabs a c.o.ke, too. "Where you headed?"

"Memphis."

Smiling, the trucker asks, "Gonna see the House of Elvis?"

"Guess so."

"You're too young to remember Elvis."

"I've seen the videos."

"The videos, huh? What'd you think?"

"No wonder the girls screamed so loud. He was pretty hot-looking before he got fat."

The next morning when Kate steps outside her room a dilapidated, homemade RV, wood and drywall held together by baling wire, is parked next to F.M.'s truck. A man and woman in their mid-forties are tying things to the roof. Spray-painted on the sides are the words THE DEATH-WISH STUNT SHOW. The couple is dressed in secondhand splendor, not chic, but definitely individualistic.

As Kate rubs her eyes, taking in the scene, a mangy dog runs over to her, wagging its tail, and starts jumping on her.

The woman looks over and says, "Get down, Evel!"

"It's okay, I like dogs."

"Me, too. But this one has a bad habit of not paying attention to a word I say."

"It's 'cuz he's stupid," the man says over his shoulder.

Evel starts to ride Kate's leg.

"GET DOWN, EVEL!" This time the woman has caught Evel's attention. He stops.

"He's not stupid, Vernon, he's just got other things on his mind." She winks at Kate. "I'm Sylvia Halloran ... an' this here's Vernon."

"I'm Kate."

"And you've already met Evel."