Page 26 of The Second Chance Bus Stop
A minute goes by, then she messages again
Lina:Did you come up with a better option? Anything better than the man with the van?
I feel my shoulders fall in defeat. No, I did not.
Lina:I obviously don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, but this guy seems harmless and a bit lost, in the general life sense. I can’t imagine he’s up to anything sketchy. Just a man with a van driving across the country.
There’s an app I can’t remember the name of, where you can carpool, but I can hear Lina’s objection already, which saves me having to message her.You won’t travel with this stranger that you’ve at least met but are willing to find another stranger on an app?I think of the flowers I have in the back of my car, of the deposit I’ve already been paid and put into my Excel sheet. Ineedthis job. If I let Blade drive off, I have about a hundred challenges ahead of me that include changing my plan altogether. Challenges and tasks that could be avoided by giving up my need for personal space for a short period of time. I’m not usually spontaneous but as I stand there opposite this man with a silly beanie flung on top of his head it is as if something malfunctions. I decide I’m going to do it—
‘Fine,’ I say, surprising even myself a little still.
‘Fine?’
‘I mean, yes. But it’s a yes with conditions. We can ride together, and we will split all the associated costs evenly. I have specific places to be at specific times, in order to complete this job, so we’ll need to work out a schedule and stick to it. And I have to be back by the twelfth of July.’ He studies me for a long time, then he nods, once.
‘So we have a deal?’Have we both lost out minds?
We gaze at each other in silence as my lips play with the answer, moving wordlessly as I think.
‘Deal.’
Yep, we have both definitely lost our minds.
‘You’re sure about this?’ he asks. Something flickers across his face.
‘Sure.’ I’m sure I donotwant to do this. In fact, if I had to compile a list right here right now on my phone’s Notes app of things I’d rather do, I’d need to upgrade my cloud storage to fit it.
‘Well, I was planning to leave now, as in I was already on my way,’ he says.
I think of how I had planned to arrive and meet with Vincent this afternoon. How being unable to make that meeting and prepare for tomorrow’s busy day could jeopardise my whole contract. The tow-truck finally pulls up behind us, somehow finding a space next to my car, and I shake my long hair off my shoulders and turn to Blade.
‘That’s fine with me. We’ll wait for the truck to finish loading my car and then—let’s go.’
As we drive off I keep my eyes firmly at the window. I wish it was legal to travel in the living area of the mobile home, but it turns out even dogs aren’t allowed to do that in Sweden so I’m doomed to sit in the front. Next to Blade. I knew this was a mistake the minute we set out. I’m meant to be unmasking with the help of my book and Twitter, and now I’m suddenly finding myself in great proximity to a stranger.
My hands finally make work with the seat belt, releasing it so I’m not strapped in like I’m on a rollercoaster. He studies me, as if he can’t figure out why I’m here, inside his car. And in the meantime, I’m wondering exactly the same thing.
‘Plug your phone in, if you need to charge. Once it’s parked up we won’t have power.’ I do as I’m told. The seats are large and leather-clad, and luckily there is a gap between them wide enough to enable walking to the back of the home. It means almost a metre’s distance between me and Blade.
I message Lina, because I had an idea whilst waiting for the tow-truck.
I’m next to British stranger heading north. Sharing my location so that you can alert authorities if I divert from route. Which I will send you shortly.
We have been driving for what feels like the longest hour of my life when I decide I can’t take it any longer. Even the limited amount of small talk I’m capable of producing must be better than this. If I don’t say something soon, I’ll have to jump out of the car.
‘So you are heading to Jönköping?’ My words sound loud falling into the small space that is the front-seat compartment.
A nod in reply.
Okay.If he doesn’t start talking, say anything at all to help me fill this silence, I’m going to have to push him out of the moving car...
‘So if it’s not your dad you’re looking for, who’s the person?’ I try. He considers this question long enough that I start to believe I really will have to shove him out.
His fingers grip the steering wheel tighter; it was impossible to miss because, well, I have been carefully watching him for the past couple of minutes.
‘My mum lost someone. Many years ago. And now I’m trying to find him. She, well, both of us, have been in a bad place lately and I hope this might help.’
‘You went to a different country to find someone for your mum?’ I think this new information softens me. But then on second thought, it hardens me. Because would I ever do something like that formymum? I doubt she would trust me to look for her misplaced reading glasses, never mind a lost person.
