LifeWild

Haley wakes up to the sun on her face as it shines through the trees. She opens her eyes in a squinting fashion and looks around. She is lying against Arthur’s chest with his arm wrapped around her body. Jasele is a few feet away curled up on the ground facing them.

“Good morning, Haley.” The low rumble of his voice is echoing with the rumble from his chest.

She sits up, instantly missing the warmth and feel of Arthur’s body around hers.

“Good morning.” She gives him her best smile and leans up against his arm. “You’re quite comfortable and warm to lay with, Arthur. I’m afraid I’ve become accustomed to being near you when I sleep. I hope you are not inconvenienced by this news.”

Her words make him so happy his heart just about leaps out of his chest at her statement. He is becoming familiar with her use of humor to make emotional situations less intimidating. He has definitely noticed she does say what she feels, but in a light hearted way.

“It is short notice,” he taps his lips to indicate he is thinking, “but I’m sure I can make the proper arrangements in my schedule. Of course, if I am going to move things around like this, I will have to insist on it being permanent. I can’t go back and forth all the time.”

She looks upward and bites her lower lip as if she was deep in thought. She then nods her head.

“That sounds reasonable. It’s a deal.”

They suddenly become aware that Jasele is sitting up and staring at them. She has one eyebrow raised and is looking at them with total bewilderment. She thinks they act like they are a couple, but the words do not fit their behavior. She tells herself she will figure them out.

Haley turns toward her.

“Mornin’, Jasele. How does you’re arm feel?”

She looks down at the bandaging Arthur had put on after he had cleaned out her wound.

“It feels good, actually. Better than it has in quite a while. It’s not sore to the touch anymore.”

“We can check it and clean it out again tonight.” Arthur adds. “It should start healing pretty quickly. For now, I think we should get started. We won’t have to follow the road; Jasele and I should be able to guide us to Gunnison by smell. If we leave soon, we will most likely arrive around the time James told us to go into the airport terminal.”

They travel with little difficulty. Arthur and Haley walk together for the most part, while Jasele runs up ahead, waits for them, and then runs up ahead again. The sun is directly overhead when they reach the outskirts of the town. As they approach, Jasele becomes very fidgety. She has never been in a town before. Her eyes continually are darting around in all directions trying to make sense of what she is seeing. Arthur looks tense as well. He has never been in a town in daylight before. Both of them are experiencing the feeling they don’t belong which has been so ingrained into their personalities. Haley notices their obvious discomfort.

“Don’t worry guys. As long as we act casual and don’t get too close to anyone, we’ll be fine. Most people seem to mind their own business, especially around strangers. We will stay on the sidewalk of North Main here all the way through town. The road will end right at the airport. From there, I’ll take us to where the terminal is located. I flew out of this airport a few times growing up.”

As they are walking, Haley’s words seem to hold true. The occasional car passes by and even though the drivers give them prolonged stares, they continue on without slowing or stopping. Apparently, a huge looking man wearing a cap and shirt which are way too small, accompanying two young women, one in a tank top and shorts and the other in a baggy sweater and running pants, is not as interesting to most people as Arthur would have assumed. He begins to wonder if they might not be the freaks that they were always told they were.

It takes about twenty minutes to walk through town and reach the airport. Haley points out the terminal off to the right and proceeds to guide the way. They encounter no one as they walk along the edge of the property. As soon as they reach the building they are looking for, Haley asks about the next step.

“I think it would be best if only one of us went in. It will be easier and less likely to draw attention. It probably doesn’t matter who goes, so it is up to you both.”

Arthur and Jasele look at each other and back at Haley.

“I think you should go in, Haley.” Arthur decides. “You are familiar with the building and no matter how normal you say we look, we’ll be in trouble if someone gets too close.”

“I’m not going in there alone!” Jasele adds, still very uncomfortable in this environment.

“I guess that leaves me, then.”

Arthur and Jasele wait around the corner of the main entrance behind a storage shed. Haley takes the key from the box and heads through the main doors. Once inside, she heads down the hallway towards the baggage claim area. There are a few people wandering around and airport employees working in their respective areas, but they pay her little mind as she walks by. When she arrives, she heads towards the lockers on the wall. She inspects them for a few seconds learning the numbering pattern of the lockers and moves toward locker 48. The key easily unlocks the locker and Haley is shocked to find that she is a little surprised. She opens the door and examines the contents. There are two packages of beef jerky, a couple of bags of dried fruit, a box of granola bars and a small case of bottled water. She also finds a folded cloth bag and a manila envelope in the back of the locker. Inside the envelope there is an area map, a small notebook and three hundred dollars in cash. She puts everything into the bag and locks the door to the locker. After a quick glance around to see if anything is out of the ordinary, she puts the bag onto her shoulder and heads back out to find Arthur and Jasele.

She meets back up with them behind the shed and shows them what she found in the locker. They decide to remain where they are and eat some of the food while they look through the notebook.

“James wrote various bits of advice and instructions in here.” Arthur informs the others as he reads over the pages. “He wrote directions to his house. He also highlighted the route on the map to assist us in getting there. He wants us to meet him there and he will be able to do more to help us. He says the money can be used to buy whatever we might need. He mentioned a couple of stores here in Gunnison we can use to find clothes, food and other supplies. We are supposed to get what we need while we are in town and travel to Parlin afterwards.”

“Could I see the list of stores?” Haley takes the notebook as he hands it to her. She looks over the list. “I’ve been to The Toggery clothing store before. It has a good selection. We actually walked by it on the way here. City Market is also on North Main Street. We would probably find everything we needed in those two stores.”

They finish their food and prepare to move. Arthur packs what is left from the locker into the dufflebag. The three of them are moving with enthusiasm, sensing their goals are coming within reach again. They might be able to see James before nightfall and he will be able to help them find the others.

The trio walks back up North Main towards the Toggery. Haley is sure she can find some nice fitting clothes to help Jasele and Arthur blend in. She is curious how the store employees will react to them. It will probably be a good indicator of whether they will be accepted in public or not. She hopes for the best. She is generally not one to think the worst of a situation, but she can’t ignore the possibility that things could end badly.

As they approach the store, she can see both Arthur and Jasele are getting very anxious. The only people that have ever seen them are Haley and the technicians. She is sure they are about to turn and run in the other direction.

“We can do this,” she reassures, “there is a very good chance that all will be fine, and if not, we know that we can get out of there in a hurry. If it makes you feel better, you can wait out here and I can find some clothes for you both. I am pretty sure I have a handle on your sizes.”

She reaches for the door and pulls it open. She briefly wonders if she is going to be alone when she enters. She left the decision up to them. Before she can wonder any longer, she feels the door being held without her assistance and looks up and back to see Arthur giving her a big, but nervous, smile. She proceeds to walk into the store and Jasele walks carefully behind her. Arthur follows behind when they are in and allows the door to close behind him. They walk no more than a few steps when a woman turns the corner and walks up to them.

She is older than Haley, probably in her upper thirties or low forties with short brown hair accented by the occasional streaks of gray. She is dressed conservatively in khaki trousers and a multi-colored knit sweater. She is of average height and weight and her face is showing a natural looking smile. She looks at Haley first, her smile increasing in size, most likely the smile reserved for all of her customers. Her gaze then moves over to Jasele and her smile disappears as her mouth opens and she draws in a startled breath. She quickly slides her eyes over to view Arthur and her eyebrows lift in surprise and she closes her mouth to swallow. The moment is fleeting, however and she quickly puts her customer smile back on, although not as wide as before. Her reaction is so quick, Haley is not even sure the other two will have even noticed the change.

“Good afternoon,” the woman begins. “Welcome to The Toggery. How can I help you?”

Haley takes the initiative to lead this part of their adventure.

“My friends and I just flew into town and the airport lost our luggage. All we have is our carry-on bag and that just has snacks. You know how airline food is nowadays. We are looking for some clothes to get us by for a few days.”

As Haley has been speaking, the woman has been sneaking glances at Arthur and Jasele, looking more curious than upset. She is trying to be subtle, though, and keeps her gaze on Haley most of the time.

“Well, honey, you all came to the right place. I do believe we can get you what you need until your clothes arrive. My name is Velma, and I will help you in any way I can. Who’s first?”

Haley grabs Arthur’s arm and pulls him forward.

“Let’s get him out of the way first, Velma, so we girls can take our time later on. This is Arthur.”

Velma looks a little nervous and Arthur does as well. Haley figures this is ‘make it or break it’ time. Things will either proceed from here or they will be moving along rather quickly.

“Well, nice to meet you, Arthur. You certainly are a mountain of a man. Don’t worry though, sweetie, I have got just what you need.”

They head over to the men’s section and Velma points out several items. Haley grabs a few and hands them to Arthur, guiding him to the changing room. Arthur is not excited about trying on clothes.

“Haley, can’t we just buy a few things that look like they will fit?” His voice almost pleading. “I feel uneasy here and I don’t know if you noticed, but Velma looked nervous when she saw us.”

“You are overanalyzing it, Arthur.” She says in a soothing whisper. “You are quite tall, your height alone is intimidating, especially to a woman working by herself. Plus, we are all strangers to her; everyone is leery around people they don’t know. Tell you what. Try on a few things, and if you still do not feel comfortable, we’ll leave and I will go to a different store and pick some things out for you. How does that sound?”

“That sounds reasonable.” He really doesn’t want to let her down.

He enters the changing room, anxious to get the whole process over with. It turns out he is not too hard to find clothes for. Once they determine his size, the rest is a breeze. He only has to try on three different things before Haley and Arthur are satisfied. They decide on two pairs of jeans, two cotton turtlenecks, one red and one navy blue, a black wool peacoat and a Greek fisherman’s hat. He leaves on a pair of jeans and the red turtleneck to wear out of the store. As he is putting the coat on and attempting to button it, Haley enters the changing room with him and begins helping him fasten the coat.

“Thank you so much, Arthur.” She leans in close and whispers in his ear. “I know this was uncomfortable for you.”

He looks down into her eyes to respond and finds himself at a loss for words. He is realizing more and more every day there is very little he would not do for her.

“It was my pleasure.” He is surprised he managed to get the words out.

She stands in front of him, looking up at his face, her hands on the lapels of his coat. She feels small and vulnerable this close to him, yet she has never felt so safe and protected. She wants him to know how much he means to her. She leans into him and places her lips on his, adding a little pressure as he begins to push back. Their kiss starts off very gentle and as they both begin to enjoy the feeling, it becomes much more passionate. Arthur puts his arms around her and pulls her close to his body. She can feel his heart beating wildly through his chest. Hers is matching the intensity and it feels like it is trying to beat its way out of hers. She feels warm all over in direct contradiction to the chills running through her body. She wants to enjoy every bit of his lips and kisses him even harder than before. He is squeezing her tighter and his breath is coming more rapidly. She begins to rub her hands along his back as if willing herself closer to his body than she already is. She can’t kiss him hard enough or pull him close enough to her body.

“Is everything all right, dear?” Velma’s voice shatters its way into the moment like a fire alarm.

They quickly slide back from each other and attempt to catch their breath.

Haley leaves the dressing area first.

“We were just having a heck of a time trying to get one of those button down shirts fastened. I must’ve grabbed the wrong size by mistake. It’s alright though; we found some other shirts we decided to go with.”

Velma looks at her with a mix of doubt and curiosity.

“That’s okay honey, I understand.” She gives Haley a knowing smile. “Did you ladies want to try on some clothes now?”

“That would be great!” Haley looks to Jasele, who has paced the entire store floor twice. “Are you ready, Jasele?”

Jasele nods quickly and gives her a look like she has been waiting forever for this. She hurries over to Haley’s side. Haley is happy that Jasele’s looks of uncertainty seem to have moved on to Velma and are not on her any longer.

Haley figures that she should try on clothes as well since it would not fit with their story if she didn’t. She grabs several items for herself and Jasele and they move into the women’s dressing area. Haley begins to walk into one of the changing rooms and Jasele follows right behind her.

“You don’t have to be in the same room with me if you don’t want to, Jasele.” Haley is not really shy or self conscious, but she feels a little intimidated about the idea of changing in front of Jasele.

“I don’t mind,” she replies, “I don’t really like being alone. Plus, you seem to know about clothes. I don’t. What I’m wearing is pretty much all I’ve ever had.”

Haley takes a breath and reminds herself what Jasele has gone through. Her worries seem a little silly to her now. She even thinks it might be fun. Jasele might turn out to be like the sister she never had.

As they are trying on clothes, Haley is struck by two things: Jasele’s complete lack of embarrassment about being nude, and her beauty. She is muscular, but not overly so. Haley thinks her proportions and body shape are like those of a professional athlete. Haley has never thought of herself as unattractive, in fact, she has always been very happy with her body. She does, however, feel a twinge of jealousy looking at her. She wonders if Jasele even knows how pretty she really is. She’s fairly sure she won’t have too much trouble fitting in, especially around males.

They each try on quite a few items and start to have fun. Haley compliments Jasele on her beauty, causing her to smile really big and look herself over a few times in the mirror. When Haley is changing, Jasele seems very sympathetic about Haley’s burns, which, although healing well, are still quite noticeable when she is not wearing any clothes. Haley tells her a quick version of the story and Jasele shows a similar anger to Arthur’s, except not as large or out of control. She even offers to tear Brent and the doctor apart, if that is what Haley wants. Haley lets her know she will keep it in mind.

After about ten minutes, they each find some clothes they are happy with. Jasele decides on a couple of long sleeve blouses with low necklines, both in a harvest orange. To go with it, she picks a couple of pairs of jeans that are tight, but stretchy enough to allow her to run, if necessary. She also finds a pair of slip on shoes she will wear in public to keep up appearances. To top it off, she decides on a gray wool belted coat and a visor beanie wool hat. Haley picks out a green lace trim shirt and a coat like Jasele’s.

As they are leaving the dressing area, Jasele pulls Haley aside, concern shaping her face.

“What about my face, Haley? It isn’t like most faces. Won’t everyone take one look at me and realize I am different? The lady who works here certainly noticed how different I am.”

Haley looks at her face and sees worry and sadness.

“Don’t worry, Jasele. I’ll let you in on a couple important characteristics about men and women. First of all, don’t worry too much about the men. They tend to focus on other parts of our bodies most of the time.” She sticks out her chest a little to show exactly where. “Women, on the other hand, will almost always look face to face, but it has been my experience most women will not dwell too long on differences, but they will focus on the person inside. So don’t worry, Jasele, it will all be fine.”

Her words put Jasele more at ease than she has been since they entered the town. Haley hopes she is right. She is speaking from experience, but even though she is far worldlier than Jasele, she is far from all knowing.

They walk out to the front room of the store to find Arthur sitting patiently in a chair with his clothes nicely placed on his lap. Haley’s heart jumps as she thinks back to the kiss they shared. Judging by the large smile Arthur gets on his face when he sees her, she bets he is thinking of it as well. She returns a smile to him and blows him a kiss, causing his cheeks to redden.

Velma has already processed Arthur’s purchases and begins going through Haley and Jasele’s choices. Within a minute, she has the clothes added up and bagged.

“That’ll be two hundred and thirty-eight dollars, sweetie!” She reads the total from the register. “Will that be cash or charge?”

“Cash,” Haley answers grabbing the money from the bag. “Do you have change for a hundred?”

“That I do, hon, that I do.” She takes three hundred from Haley and gives her three twenties and two dollar bills in return. “Thanks for shopping here. I hope your bags arrive soon.”

“Huh?” Haley almost forgets their story. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Velma. You have a good afternoon.”

“You too, dear. I hope you all enjoy your stay in Gunnison.”

They walk out onto the sidewalk, stopping to put on their coats. Haley packs the rest of the clothes in the dufflebag as Jasele and Arthur put on their hats. Haley looks them over.

“Wow! You both look great! I think you have nothing to worry about. You’ll fit in just fine.”

Haley leads them to City Market. They go in together and gather some items for the next few days. They decide on more boxes of granola bars, some apples and oranges, a loaf of fresh bread and another case of bottled water. As they are walking around the store, customers passing by glance in their direction, usually a quick look, sometimes prolonged, but always just glances. No one seems overly worried or concerned about their presence.

As they wait in the checkout line, a young man begins to ring up their items. He glances at Arthur and quickly glances away, looking quite intimidated. After ringing a few more items, he looks up in Jasele’s direction and does exactly what Haley said he would. Jasele turns to look at Haley and they both begin laughing, startling both Arthur and the register clerk.

He checks the rest of the items with his head down, too confused to do otherwise.

“Thirty-seven dollars, eighty-two cents.” His voice wavering as he speaks. Haley hands him two of the twenties leaving her hand up ready to accept the change he hands her.

“Thank you, sir.” Jasele smiles at him. “Sorry we scared you.”

He looks even more confused, but responds politely.

“No problem. Have a nice day.”

The three of them leave feeling very successful.

“It seems you both fit in quite nicely.” Haley announces. “I say we celebrate by finding a place to eat some regular food for a change.”

Arthur doesn’t know if they would be pushing their luck, but decides she has been right so far, plus it would be good to have a warm meal.

“That sounds like a great idea. Where should we go?”

“There is a cafe down on the corner of main and Tomichi Avenue, called the W cafe. My parents used to take me to eat there every time we drove through Gunnison. It has the best food in town. Tomichi also turns into highway 50, which is the road James told us to take to Parlin, so it’s on our way.”

They walk with a little more speed than usual toward the cafe. They are all quite excited about eating there. Arthur and Jasele are somewhat giddy about how well everything is going, thinking they might be able to have a normal life after all.

They reach the W cafe after a few minutes. Walking inside, Arthur and Jasele are fascinated by the look of the place and the amazing variety of smells. A sign by the door tells them to seat themselves, so Haley leads them to an empty table. It is mid-afternoon, so the place is not very crowded. There are two older men drinking coffee at a bar along the window to the kitchen. In one of the booths a man is sitting facing the far wall. Haley leads them to the next booth and they sit down. She grabs them menus from behind the napkin dispenser on their table. A few minutes later, a woman in a blue dress and an apron approaches their table.

“Welcome to the W cafe. My name is Deb. What’ll ya have today?”

Being here makes Haley nostalgic. She remembers she would always order the same thing, every time her parents brought her.

“I’ll have the grilled cheese and fries, please, with a pickle on the side. Oh, and a chocolate shake.”

Jasele doesn’t know what most of the foods on the menu are, or what they will taste like. The technicians had always kept them on a pretty basic diet. She doesn’t want to order the wrong thing.

“That sounds good. I’ll have that, too.”

“Okay, that’s two grills with fries and a dill bystander, served up with a frozen brown cow. What would you like, sir?”

Arthur and Jasele look at each other and then at Haley. They are not sure what just happened, but neither one of them knows what food is going to come to the table. Arthur was confused before, but now he feels lost.

“Do you have steak?” He remembers seeing a movie where someone ate one and it looked very good.

“We have a ten ounce prime rib. How would you like it cooked, rare, medium or well done?”

Arthur does not understand why anyone would want food that was not done well.

“Well done, please.”

“That comes with a baked potato. Is that alright?”

He is confused again. Why go to a cafe for a raw potato?

“Yes, that’s what I want.”

“What would you like to drink?”

Arthur knows this one.

“I’ll take water.”

“Got it.” She looks over her notepad. “That’s a blackened moo with a hot spud overlooking the lake.”

As the waitress walks to the kitchen, both Arthur and Jasele look at Haley for answers.

“They have special code phrases for all the food here,” she explains. “It’s part of the fun of coming.”

They shrug their shoulders. They are starting to realize there is more they do not know about life than they thought.

“So Haley,” Jasele begins, “how far is it to Parlin from here?”

“It’s about eleven miles. We should be able to make it by late afternoon. We’ll just follow the highway straight there. We should probably still stay well off to the side of the road, though, just to be safe.”

None of them notices as the man in the next booth turns his head slightly at the mention of Haley’s name. Nor do they see him listening while they talk about going to Parlin.

They continue talking as the man gets up and walks by. He glances quickly at the group pausing when he sees Haley. His eyes flash in recognition and he increases his pace toward the other side of the cafe. He picks up the courtesy phone on the wall and dials a number. He speaks in hushed tones to the person on the line, looking back at Haley occasionally. At the end of the conversation, he hangs up the phone and moves back to his booth, facing away from them as he walks by.

A few minutes later, Deb approaches their table carrying a large tray in her right hand and a stand for the tray under her left arm. She sets up the stand in front of their table and places the tray on top of it.

“Here you go, ladies.” She says as she places their grilled cheese sandwiches in front of them. “I hope you enjoy your meal.”

“Your steak, sir. Let me know if you need anything else.”

She finishes by placing the drinks by their plates and setting the check face down on the edge of the table.

Arthur is unsure of how to begin. They were never given a great deal of training when it came to eating a meal. They were taught how to use utensils, but their meals consisted mainly of stews and breads. The movie he saw showed the person cutting the steak with a knife and fork, so he figures he will give it a try. Jasele, on the other hand, sees Haley picking up her sandwich and eating it, so she decides to do the same.

“How is the steak, Arthur?” Haley asks after he has taken a couple of bites.

“I think this is the best food I have ever eaten! I am glad I had them cook it well.”

Haley suppresses a smile.

“I am glad you like it. How is the grilled cheese, Jasele?”

Jasele has eaten a few bites of her sandwich, but has spent the last few moments drinking her chocolate shake.

“The sandwich is good, but this chocolate shake is wonderful! I love it! I want to have these all the time, they’re delicious.”

“They are good, I order them quite often.” She turns to Arthur. “Did you want butter or sour cream on your potato?”

He had cut off a few pieces of the potato and had eaten them plain. He did not know something was supposed to go on it.

“Is that what most people do?”

“It’s kind of a preference thing. Some people like both, some just butter. It’s up to you. Did you want to see what it tastes like with those toppings?”

“Sure.” He is open to the idea. The potato is good, but kind of a plain taste compared to the steak. He is not sure why people just don’t eat the steak by itself.

Haley cuts open the top of the potato and adds some butter and sour cream. She uses a fork to mix it around a little on the inside.

“Try it now.”

Arthur cuts another chunk of potato and places it into his mouth. It still tastes like potato but a little saltier and has more of a smooth, creamy texture.

“That is much better. Not as good as the steak, but very good.”

They finish in relative silence. Each of them enjoying their food and the normalcy of the situation. Arthur finishes his steak and potato and looks like he would love to eat more. Jasele eats most of her sandwich and fries, but is ultimately more interested in her shake, prompting Haley to order her another one about halfway through the meal.

Haley looks over the bill. The total is nineteen dollars and eighty-eight cents. She puts twenty-three dollars on the bill. She figures the tip probably should have been a little larger, but it is all they have without breaking their last hundred dollar bill.

They leave the restaurant and begin walking east toward Tomichi Avenue. As they walk past the cafe windows, they do not see the man who was sitting in the booth beside them walking back over to the phone.