Page 29 of Road Queens
“That’s a good plan.”
“But we heard your motorcycles and thought it was scary people.”
Amanda stifled a smile as she loaded the last bag into the van.Go with that first impression, Emily May.She didn’t mind being seen as tough, even if only by a first grader. OpStar’s reputation preceded them, but said reputation only pissed off the abusers, who pegged their rescues as unwelcome meddling.
“But it’s just you,” Emily finished. “And you’re nice!”
“No, no. I’m the nice one,” Sidney insisted. “Ask anyone! Well, maybe don’t ask anyone.”
“Much better this time, don’t you guys think?”
They were decompressing at Muddy Waters again, carrying over the habit from their adolescence. In high school, the three of them had dodged seventh hour for Muddy Burgers more than once. And why not? College wasn’t in the cards for any of them. Sidney was heartily sick of classrooms and made a decent living as a telecommuting medical transcriptionist. Cass’s entire focus was on OpStar, and Amanda would be damned before she’d use any of her cash stash for college. A business degree could come in handy, but if it meant putting off the acquisition of her Hole for four years—or even two—then it was a nonstarter. On the infrequent occasions they were caught ditching seventh-hour study hall, the school knew about Cassandra’s situation and cut her loads of slack ... and her accomplices too.
So the Muddy was their default decompression zone, which suited them. And to see Jen Johnson as they put Hastings in the rearview and crossed the river was to see a woman getting younger by the minute. Or at least less fretful. Amanda noted that Jen wasn’t sporting any bruises or other signs of injury, but the young mother’s relief at her and her child’s escape was unmistakable.Another fucko who’s careful not to leave marks. Lovely.
“She was perfect,” Cassandra declared. “And her mom was great too. Goddamn, I love Starfishing.”
“It’s the ideal, right?” Sidney asked. The waitress swung by and dropped off Amanda’s scrambled-egg platter, Sidney’s breakfast charcuterie plate, and Cassandra’s prime-rib sandwich with a side of last night’s gravy. Cassandra loved everything about the Muddy except their refusal to make gravy for her at 8:00 a.m.
Cass looked up. “What’s ideal?”
“Her whole situation. The shitheel that Jen married finally crossed whatever her line was; she reached out; she’s got other family members backing her up; she just needs a place to stay where she feels safe whileshe finishes making her arrangements; enter us, exit all of us, and now they’re safe.”
“Thanks for the recap.”
“Get bent, Amanda. That’s how you saw it, right, Cass?”
“I didn’t mind how the first time went.” Cass grinned, clearly in the throes of violent nostalgia. “But, yeah, the Johnsons are the ideal. I don’t think we should expect that every time, though.”
“I don’t even expect Cub Foods to keep my fried chicken hot. I’m sure as shit not expecting every OpStar outing to be perfect.”
“It’s insane that you have fried chicken for lunch almost every day and suffer no ill effects,” Cass observed.
“Yeah, it’s almost as off-putting as someone guzzling Mountain Dew at seven o’clock in the morning,” Sidney scoffed. “With a gravy chaser.”
“You’re really onto something,” Amanda told Cassandra in all seriousness. “You’re really helping people.”
“We, Amanda.” Cass opened her sandwich to pile on the horseradish. “There’s no OpStar without you and Sidney.”
“Awww. So fuckin’ sweet.”
“She’s being sincere,” Amanda added, then let out a squeak as Sidney whipped a cold cut at her, too fast to duck.
“Don’t translate for me, Amanda.”
She peeled the slice of provolone off her forehead. “Noted.”
“Yeah, sure. Until next time. You ever thought of being a teacher? What with all the lectures and how you can never stop yourself?”
“No.” Truth. Amanda had only ever wanted her Hole; other career paths never entered her calculations. She hadn’t spent years of her childhood fantasizing about one day being a teacher. It was always about re-creating the feelings of safety and continuity. It was aboutowningsomething, about making a place where she belonged, a place no one would question was hers. A place where she knew everyone and everything ... or, at least, a place that would help her learn everything.
And not just for her ... she envisioned the Hole as not just a place to buy books but OpStar’s HQ. A place to hang out, to plot, to research. Free coffee and cocoa in the winter, spa water and lemonade in the summer.Their own place.
When she was being hauled around the country each time her father’s Air Force orders changed, when she went to four schools in seven years, the only places that felt like home in all those years of blurry strangers were the local libraries and various secondhand bookstores.
“What about you?” Amanda asked. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“A shut-in.” Sidney leaned back and smiled. “I’m not worried; it’ll happen eventually. And we already grew up; we’re drinking age and everything.”
