Page 40 of The Hitchhikers
Simon caught them and held them out to her.
From where Jenny sat behind them at the dinette, she couldsee Alice’s profile as she glanced at Simon, hesitating, before taking the sunglasses and putting them on.
Simon directed Alice to drive through the downtown area. He hunkered low in his seat, and put his elbow on the seat’s armrest, bending so that his hand blocked his face. Jenny followed his lead and slid the dinette window curtain halfway across the glass, so she could see out a bit, but people couldn’t see in.
“What are you looking for?” Alice said.
“A thrift store,” Simon said. Jenny couldn’t see Alice’s expression, so she didn’t know if she thought it was strange, but Alice didn’t ask any more questions.
Simon’s orders to Alice became more abrupt as she struggled to drive the big RV down the narrow streets, taking the corners too wide, and nearly missing a stop sign. Jenny gripped the edge of the table and Simon slapped the dash, making Alice and Jenny jump.
“Watch it!” he said.
Jenny felt bad for Alice. Maybe she could help navigate. She slid to the end of the bench seat so she could see through the windshield. A blue sign up ahead caught her attention.
“Is that a thrift store at the end of the block?”
Simon leaned forward, waiting until they got closer, then said, “Sure is. Good catch, babe.” He smiled at her over his shoulder, and she felt a surge of pride. She could do this.
They parked in a nearby lot. Alice turned off the engine and in the sudden silence, Jenny heard her deep exhale and noticed the way Alice rubbed her palms on her shorts.
Simon handed money to Jenny. She slipped it into her pocket.
“Get some clothes that are too big, glasses, hats—and gloves. We’ll need those.”
Jenny folded her arms over her chest and rounded her shoulders as she walked down the street. She hoped she picked out theright things. She had to be smart about it andthink. If she made a mistake, Simon could be recognized. Jenny wondered what it would be like to go shopping for herself one day. To see something in a window or on a hanger that she liked and buy it. Her mom had chosen all of Jenny’s clothes. She’d have Jenny try on outfit after outfit, making little disappointed sounds, a huff or sigh, a wrinkle of her nose, until she found something tolerable.
Jenny pushed open the door and jerked to a stop as a bell chimed. She caught her breath and held her hand to her heart. It was only a doorbell. She had to calm down. An older woman with silver hair teased into a beehive gave her a friendly smile from behind the counter. Jenny tried to return the smile without eye contact. While she browsed, she kept her head down.
She flipped through men’s shirts and suit jackets. The hangers sounded so loud on the metal rods.Swish, swish, scrape. She pulled out a men’s blue silk button-down, then put it back. Too fancy. Simon wasn’t going to the disco. But what if he wanted clothes that would be distracting? She wished he had given her more instructions.
Jenny stopped by a shelf of baby items and picked up a butter-yellow outfit with a tiny duck pattern and snaps down the legs. She glanced over her shoulder. The woman was busy unloading a box. Jenny cradled the baby outfit in her arms, shifting her hips and imagining rocking her baby like the mother she had seen at the rest stop. Feeling foolish, she put the outfit back. She examined the small shoes, hats, blankets. She ran her fingers over a knit pair of baby socks, so impossibly small. At the far end of the store, she found cribs and highchairs. She studied them while rubbing her belly. When were babies big enough for highchairs? She needed to learn so much. She looked for a baby book but there weren’t any on the shelves.
She returned to hunting for clothes and found two pairs of stained and patched denim farmer overalls and two plaid shirts,which she draped over her arm. Next, she found two checkered bandanas, a baseball cap, knit gloves, and a black cowboy hat. In a box of Halloween decorations, Jenny dug out some costume glasses. One with rhinestone rims and yellow lenses, the other a bulbous nose and mustache. She tucked the smaller items inside the cowboy hat.
She moved over to the toy section and discovered two cap guns. Did they look realistic? Simon had a real handgun, but maybe Alice would need one too. Even if it was fake.
Jenny added the cap guns to her collection and brought everything up to the counter. She paid for the items, carefully counting the wrinkled bills out on the counter. The woman kept smiling at Jenny as she folded the clothing and chatted about the weather. Jenny answered with murmurs and pretended to be busy searching for something in her purse.
Finally, the woman handed her the large brown paper bag.
“Do you need help carrying anything to your car?”
“No thank you.”
She forced herself to exit the store slowly, but once she was outside, she walked briskly, with her arms around the heavy bag, the bottom of it resting against her belly.
When she was in sight of the RV, the door swung open.
Simon was waiting.
CHAPTER 16ALICE
Jenny and Simon sat whispering at the table, while Alice stayed in the driver’s seat. She glanced up at the rearview mirror when she heard rustling. Jenny was showing Simon what she had bought, but she didn’t pull anything all the way out so Alice couldn’t see the items. She knew what Simon had asked for, though, and she had a bad feeling that he was planning to rob something. That feeling only grew stronger when Simon moved up to the passenger’s seat and spent the day ordering Alice to drive them around the town of Golden and the outskirts, having her slow down near corner stores, markets, gas stations, a liquor store. Each time Alice thought Simon was going to ask her to stop, he’d gesture for her to keep driving.
“What’s going on?” Tom broke off into pained coughs; the strain of raising his voice must have compressed his ribs. Alice flinched in sympathy.
“Take a chill pill, old man. Or you’ll get my foot in your face.”
