Page 25 of The Hitchhikers
She followed Simon outside. The radiator had leaked fluid onto the pavement, forming a dark circle. A faint hiss was coming from the grille.
Simon opened the latch for the center grille, swung it open, and leaned over to peer into the opening. He tugged on hoses, checked caps, fiddled with connections. Alice watched cars farther down the strip. People walking into stores. No one seemed tonotice them. She fought the urge to bolt, to run screaming for help. She couldn’t do anything while Tom was still tied up.
Simon lifted his head and stepped back to latch the grille. “Let’s go.” He jerked his chin toward the RV. Alice climbed back inside first, with Simon tight on her heels.
Jenny’s anxious gaze skipped past Alice and landed on Simon.
“Radiator’s cracked,” he told her. “We need a garage.”
A crack. Alice didn’t know if that was serious. What if it couldn’t be fixed? He’d have to find another vehicle. The flare of relief was quickly snuffed out when Alice realized he wouldn’t just let them go. They were witnesses who could talk. They were safer if he needed them. Her knees suddenly wobbly, she stumbled over to the driver’s seat and collapsed into it.
Simon was still standing by Jenny at the dinette. He reached into his pocket, counted out some bills, and passed them to Jenny.
“Can you get us some hair dye, babe? There’s a drugstore over there.”
While they waited, Simon allowed Alice to open a couple of windows so they could have a cross breeze. She still worried that it was too hot for Tom, so after again getting permission, she cooled Tom down with wet cloths and ice cubes from the fridge.
Jenny came back with a box of L’Oréal and California Blonde by Max Factor. When the two of them were done coloring their hair in the sink, the RV stank. Jenny’s hair was caramel brown and Simon’s was dirty blond. He picked up a pair of scissors and a comb that Jenny had also bought and turned to Alice at the dinette—where he’d made her sit.
“Can you cut hair?”
“I did my family’s, but it was a long time ago.”
“You’ll do fine.” He turned to Jenny. “How do you want it?”
She shrugged. “Maybe a bob, with bangs.”
“Turn around on the seat,” Simon said.
Jenny arranged herself with her knees facing the window, one arm on the table, the other on the top of the bench seat, and her back to Alice. Simon passed the scissors to Alice.
“I need a towel for the floor.”
Simon tossed down one of the damp towels. Alice combed out Jenny’s hair, circling her, lifting sections, wondering how to begin. She didn’t want to make a mistake. Simon stood with his back against the kitchen counter and his arms crossed over his chest.
“What are you waiting for?”
“Stop making me nervous!” She began to snip, wisps falling to the floor. Jenny had probably been growing her hair since she was a little girl, but she didn’t seem upset. Her face had the same blank expression she’d had since the accident with the biker. Alice followed the curve of Jenny’s jawline as she cut, shaping her hair to roll under in a bob that fell to the midpoint of her neck. She got Jenny to turn around on the seat and finished off by giving her curtain bangs that flicked out at her cheekbones.
Alice stepped back. Jenny looked older with her new hairstyle. Less teenage girl and more woman. If their goal had been to not stand out, Alice didn’t think she’d been successful. Nothing hid Jenny’s delicate beauty. Jenny looked in her cosmetic mirror, moving her head so that her hair swished. She smoothed her hand over the bob and turned to Simon.
“Is it okay?”
“Better than okay. You’re a fox.”
Jenny’s lips lifted in a brief smile that disappeared as she touched the ends of her hair again. “I wonder what my mom would say.” Simon knelt in front of Jenny and gathered her close. He murmured something in her ear, while Jenny buried her face into the crook of his neck.
Alice shifted to the side and stared out the window at the trees, listening to the normal sounds of a parking lot. Car doors slamming. The rattle of shopping carts. People’s voices, discussingmundane things.Hot enough for you? Steaks are on sale. Do we need ketchup?
After a moment, Simon released Jenny and stood up. Jenny shook her head as though clearing away any remaining sad thoughts, and said, “It’s Simon’s turn.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “Just cut it short. I don’t care.”
Alice snipped his hair carefully, holding her body away from his so that they didn’t touch. His shoulders were stiff, his neck rigid. They didn’t make eye contact.
As Alice worked, she wondered about Simon’s relationship with Jenny. He was deferential and comforting toward her, but she’d also witnessed him barking out orders. How was he in private? So far Jenny was going along with everything. If she began to push back against Simon, objecting or arguing, what would he do? Things could get even more dangerous.
Alice cut his hair short on the sides and left it longer on top, combing it back like a greaser. Without an electric razor, she couldn’t do a buzz cut. His sideburns, beard, and a wispy mustache were beginning to grow, but he’d used the dye to lighten them as well.
