Page 15 of Refuge for Flora

Barrett just smiled and headed out to the garage. As soon as he hit the light switch, he had to stifle a groan. Sitting there before him was a 1973 Buick Regal, and it was a huge ocean liner of a thing in a dusty bone color with a black vinyl roof. It had probably been quite the looker in its day, but its day had definitely passed. He opened the door and watched the dust shift in the glare of the fluorescent lights overhead. The seats were dusty too, so he’d have to remember that before he went home and sat on the furniture. Sure enough, there wasn’t a sound when he turned the key, so he pulled the hood release, headed to the front end, and lifted the hood.

Along with a dead battery he found a mouse nest and a dry-rotted fan belt.Lovely, he griped to himself. Getting it running wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. There was a good chance it needed antifreeze, so he mentally wrote that on his shopping list. A release of the gas cap and a simple sniff told him there wasn’t much gas in it, so he decided he’d just get a five-gallon can to pour into it, along with some fuel system water remover, in case what was still in there had absorbed any moisture during the humid summers it had endured as it sat in the musty garage. After taking the battery off to carry with him, he set it in the bed of his truck and stepped up to the door again.

It appeared she’d been watching for him, because he didn’t even have to knock. “I take it the thing won’t start?”

“I would’ve been surprised if it had. I’m taking the battery. I’m going to get some stuff and I’ll be back to work on it.”

“Who’s out there?” a voice yelled from inside the house.

If she was irritated with the old woman, Flora didn’t show it. “It’s Barrett, Mrs.Murphy. He’s going to get the car running.”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that car!” she yelled back.

Barrett leaned in a little before he whispered, “Don’t you get sick of her carrying on?”

Flora shrugged. “Not really. She’s old. She won’t be around a whole lot longer. I just let her be her quirky self. Sometimes it’s kinda entertaining.”

“You’re a better person than I am. I would’ve already told her to shut up about a million times.”

“Yeah, but kind people are few and far between, and she’s been kind to me. So if I have to listen to her bitch a bit, so what? I’m grateful to her. She hasn’t tried to hit me, kick me, beat me, starve me. It could be worse.”

Holy shit, there’s a story there, Barrett told himself. Maybe someday he’d find out what it was. “I’m gonna go. If I’m lucky, it’ll start on the first try, but I’m not expecting any miracles.” He turned to go, then spun back around. “Do you need to go into town? Want to go? You’re welcome to come with me.”Couldn’t hurt my rep to be seen with a woman that pretty, he told himself, then wanted to slap his own face.I’m a pig, he admitted internally.

“Uhhh.” Barrett watched her face. There was something going on there, and he wasn’t sure what, but she seemed horribly conflicted for a simple trip into town. He was about to tell her that he didn’t have all day when she yelled out, “Mrs.Murphy, do you mind if I go to town with Barrett? Get a few things?”

“Nah. Get me some dip while you’re there, alrighty?”

Barrett choked from holding back his laughter as Flora rolled her eyes. “Yes, ma’am!”

As soon as the words were out, she mouthed,Nope.Not happening. Barrett needed to get out of there before he lost control, but he needn’t have worried. Flora had already grabbed her bag and was practically running out the door.

Horror flooded his mind as he thought of the truck’s cab, and he set out to beat her to it. “Hang on. Let me clean out the seat.”

Flora grinned. “Don’t typically have passengers?”

“Nope. And it’s a mess.” As soon as the door opened, he was instantly embarrassed. Along with food wrappers and empty drink cans, there were dirty jeans, dirty socks, a pair of mud-crusted boots, and two porn magazines he’d picked up from a convenience store in Wickliffe. He hoped Flora hadn’t seen those.

“Boy, you’re right. Good thing you don’t know any of those girls in those magazines. None of them would want to ride in here,” she said and snickered. One hope had already died. She’d obviously gotten an eyeful.

“Sorry. My house is tidy though. Really. You’ll have to come down sometime and I’ll show you.”Shit, that sure didn’t come out right, he thought as he tossed things into the back seat.

When he finally stepped back to let Flora get into the truck, she was grinning. “I could’ve ridden in the bed.”

“Oh, lord, just get in,” he groaned and listened to her laugh. By the time he was behind the wheel, she’d quieted a bit. “Where do you need to go first?”

“My stop should probably be last. I need to get some milk and ice cream, and that’ll melt if I go earlier.”

“Got it. It’s a plan. Okay, I’m just going to the auto parts store by the mall to get the stuff I need. I’ll go over to the convenience store to get the gas.”

“I can wait in the truck,” she offered. For some unknown reason, it felt as though she didn’t want to be seen, and he decided some small talk was in order. “Which school did you go to?”

“What?”

“Which high school did you go to? I went to Heath.”

“Heath?”

“Yeah. Wait. Are you not from here?”

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