Page 21 of Mac
"A few miles outside of Mammoth, you need to stop?"
"I don't need to, but I wouldn't turn it down.I'm a little thirsty."
"No problem.Give us a few minutes and I'll find us a place to pull off and get something to drink."
"I can wait."
Mac didn't respond, instead he kept driving.Slowly, here and there, Elyse noticed a house, then another.Set back away from the road with small yards separating them from the desert.The houses became more common, until they were in clusters, then Mac slowed the motorcycle as they pulled into a small town.
Elyse leaned back away from Mac a little as she looked around, the slower speed made her feel a little better about not clutching him.There were a couple shops, a couple churches, a cemetery, and a tiny grocery store.She's almost forgotten her request to stop when Mac pulled into the parking lot of a small chain convenience store and parked.
"How's this?"he asked, then peeled off his helmet.
"This is great."Elyse climbed off the bike and pulled off her own helmet.Her legs wobbled a little bit as she waited for Mac, but After a couple minutes, she was fine.
"Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you."He swung one leg over the back of the bike and took her helmet.
"Thanks," Elyse called over her shoulder as she headed inside.
After a quick visit to the restroom she walked along the cooler case trying to decide what she wanted to drink, a fountain soda was out.Nowhere to keep it on the bike.A bottle she could reclose or a small can she could finish before they pulled out again would be best.
She scanned the cooler, walking back and forth for a moment or two before spotting what she was after, the smallest bottle of water they carried.
"Go for the bigger one, we'll put it in the saddle bags between stops, and we might not always have a store so handy, I’ve got canteens, but it’s just tap water, this stuff might taste better."Mac's voice behind her made her jump as she hadn't heardhim approach.“Sorry, I thought you knew I was there.”
“No problem."Elyse shook her head and reached for the larger bottle like he suggested.
Ten minutes later they had both chosen drinks and stood outside, beside the motorcycle drinking.Elyse looked around the weathered little town wondering what they did here.She didn't see anything other than the gas station that would bring money to the small community.She was tempted to ask Mac but not here, not now, where anyone could hear them.
"Ready to get back on the bike?"
Mac's voice pulled her from her thoughts.“Sure, whenever you are.”Elyse glanced at the half full bottle in one hand.With one last drink, she twisted the top on and made sure it was tight before handing it over.Mac stored both his water and hers in one of the bags that hung on either side of the bike.When he had finished securing the bag, Mac handed Elyse her helmet and slid on his own as he mounted the motorcycle.
"Come on, we've got a way to go before wecan stop for lunch."
“Lunch?" Elyse's stomach was still full of French toast, but the idea of lunch made her regret getting on the motorcycle just a little less.
Mac chuckled."Yeah lunch, but we've got miles to go first."
“Right."Elyse gave an exaggerated sigh and climbed on behind him.She was really enjoying the ride, but her reaction made him laugh, which was her goal.He started the bike and pulled back out onto the highway before speaking again.
"What do you think of the town?
"It's pretty small, I can't figure out what supports the town."
"There used to be a mine, but it closed several years back.Now most people still working are in the local retail sales or they go out of town to work."
"That's sad."She looked around with a different perspective.Though she wasn't sure how the news had colored her perspective, only that she didn't feel quite so badly for the little town anymore.
All too soon they'd left the town behind and were once again speeding through the desert.She didn't think they were going quite as fast as before, but she was the first to admit, she wasn't the best person to judge that.They'd been on the motorcycle maybe fifteen or twenty minutes when they passed another cluster of houses, but the speed limit didn't drop, so Elyse assumed it was just another neighborhood of people who liked their space.That was a pretty common thing in this part of the state.She didn't know about other states, but Arizona had a lot of people who liked their space, and would have small groups of houses, three or four maybe as many as six or eight, but rarely more, scattered all over the desert.
Another twenty minutes later they crossed a bridge that seemed to stretch over a bunch of bushes and nothing else.It wasn't until they were nearly completely across the quarter-mile span that she spotted the river, not more than eight or ten feet across and probably not a foot deep.She could only shake her head.Only in Arizona, where snow run off and monsoon storms could make a river swell so dramatically did they build a bridge this big for such a tiny stream.But she knew why they did.She'd seen it over and over as she'd grown up.Tiny streams that became raging torrents for a few hours or days only to return to the trickle or muddy bed it was before.
Mac slowed, signaling Elyse that they were probably approaching a town.Since she'd never been up this way, she kept her eyes open and took in as much as she could.They passed a sign that said Winkelman.She'd heard of the town, but that was about all.He pulled to a stop at an intersection and waited for the cross traffic to clear.
"Need to stop?"
"I'm good."She didn't know what else to say, so that sounded good to her.
