Honeymoon for Three

by Alan Cook

  “Is Alfred acting okay?” Gary sensed that Penny was jumpy. He had labeled Alfred as a weirdo from the moment he met him.

  “He’s fine,” Penny said, quickly but unconvincingly. “He’s complaining about his aches and pains, but I can handle him.”

  “He can ride in the VW with me for a while.”

  “It wouldn’t be fair to foist him off on you. He’s my classmate and my problem. I’ll drive him.”

  “Your problems are my problems.”

  “What I mean is, I don’t want him to bore you. At least he and I can reminisce about the old days.”

  Gary wasn’t satisfied. He was about to argue when Penny said, “His legs are really sore. He has to stretch them out. He needs the legroom in the Ford.”

  The VW actually had a lot of legroom for such a small car, but Gary didn’t want to start an argument right there, especially in front of Alfred. He decided to accept the situation.

  ***

  Penny dreaded what was coming next, but she couldn’t let Alfred ride with Gary, at least until she heard how bad Alfred’s story was going to get. He had become a loose cannon. The little convoy started up again, with Gary in the lead. Alfred didn’t say anything at first. Penny decided to wait him out. Maybe he would forget about it. Maybe it was just a bad daydream. She navigated the mountain road slowly and carefully, staying close behind Gary.

  “The guy who helped me carry you upstairs was drunk. He wanted to do more than just put you on the bed, if you know what I mean.”

  Penny cringed inside. She knew all too well. She noticed that Alfred had placed his hand on his stomach with his fingers inside his shirt, like pictures of Napoleon she had seen. That gesture had helped her identify him at the Space Needle.

  “I kicked him out of the room and shut the door. I put you under the covers so you wouldn’t be exposed.”

  Alfred paused again. What did he want, a medal? This was agonizing, hearing the story come out piece by piece. She didn’t know whether he was telling the truth, but she couldn’t contradict him.

  “You don’t remember any of this, do you?” Alfred said.

  He had called whatever bluff she had. “I remember things.” She tried to sound indignant, but the words didn’t come out very forcefully.

  “You were very grateful to me.”

  Penny could tell that Alfred was watching her, waiting for her reaction. She decided to return to silence.

  “Very grateful, if you know what I mean. And I really like your mole.”

  So this was the story. This was what he would tell Gary. She shuddered.

  Additional memories returned to her. She had indeed woken up in Joan’s spare bedroom in the wee hours of the morning—naked. With a splitting headache. Once she figured out where she was, she turned on a light and found her clothes in the room. Someone had collected them for her. She got dressed, snuck out of the house, and walked home. It was less than a mile. She snuck into her own house and made it into her bedroom without being seen. Her brothers were asleep. Her mother was asleep. Her father was asleep and probably drunk to boot.

  There was gossip at school, of course—that’s what had cost her a boyfriend—but nothing that enlightened her about what had happened when she was unconscious, except that it was Joan who had put her clothes in the room. It was a lost slice of her life that she couldn’t get back.

  Penny negotiated a hairpin curve and said slowly, “There’s no way I’m going to run off with you. So what do you want?”

  “I want to be your friend. That’s all, Penny. I just want to be your friend.”

  Alfred’s voice had a pleading tone. And the word “friend” sounded innocuous enough. If only he would settle for that.

  ***

  They were cooking their dinner at St. Mary’s Campground located at the east entrance to Glacier National Park. At least they weren’t sleeping in the campground. They had gotten two inside rooms at St. Mary’s Lodge. Alfred hadn’t argued about getting himself a separate room. He had Penny where he wanted her, and he wouldn’t push his luck just now.

  Gary was tending to the Coleman stove. He was very good at this camping stuff. Good at climbing treacherous mountain trails and staying in places with no heat, lights, bathrooms, or hot water. Roughing it. Making Penny rough it. This was no life for Penny. Alfred would see that Penny lived a life of luxury.

  Alfred helped Penny set the wooden picnic table. Gary was busy at the stove. The hamburgers wouldn’t be ready for a few minutes. Alfred said to Penny, “Come with me and watch the sunset. It’s going to be beautiful.” He didn’t care that much for sunsets, but it was a convenient excuse to get Penny away from Gary.

  She looked at him. He returned her gaze. He had the power to make her go with him. It gave him a surge inside, almost electrical in nature. She told Gary they’d be back soon and walked beside him. He took her to a spot where they could see the beautiful sunset better, but also a spot away from everybody else.

  He gave her a few seconds to admire the sunset and then said, “I need a hug.” He took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. He put his arms around her, going inside her arms that hung limply by her sides. At first she just stood there. Then, slowly, she put her arms loosely around his neck. She felt good against him.

  He lowered his hands to the bottom of her sweater and slid them underneath it. He untucked her shirt and pulled it up until he felt the bare skin of her back. He felt her muscles tense, so he stopped moving.

  She started to pull away. He held her with one hand and moved his other hand quickly around her body, following the curve of her waistline, letting the smooth skin slide sensuously through his fingers. He found her bellybutton. Her fabulous innie bellybutton. He touched it as he would a shrine, respectfully.

  Penny abruptly jerked away from him and punched him hard in the face, making him stagger backward and grunt loudly.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” she shouted. She turned and ran back toward Gary and their picnic spot.

  Alfred watched her go, feeling his aching jaw with his hand. She really packed a wallop. Anger flared inside him. How dare she hit him? She would pay for this. As he practiced opening and closing his mouth to make sure his jaw wasn’t broken, another thought came to him.

  He had gotten to first base with her. Of course he couldn’t go all the way on the first date. She wasn’t that kind of a girl, but she was amenable to his advances. She had hugged him. He had the upper hand. She couldn’t afford to have him tell Gary about her past. There would be other opportunities for him. He was sure she had enjoyed it. She was just being coy. He walked back slowly with a big, if painful, grin on his face.

  ***

  Gary was flipping the hamburgers when Penny came running up to him, out of breath. He barely had time to put down the spatula before she ran right into his arms. Her body was shaking.

  “What’s the matter? Is it Alfred?”

  She didn’t speak; she just clung to him. As her breathing slowed, she said, “There he comes. Don’t say anything. I’m okay. Everything’s fine. I’ll tell you later.”

  Alfred came strolling up, grinning. “Is dinner ready? I’m so hungry I could eat a bear.”

  Gary thought his grin looked lopsided. Maybe Alfred’s face was lopsided, and he just hadn’t noticed before. Gary had an urge to wipe the grin off his lopsided face, because he was sure Alfred had done something to Penny. Penny didn’t want him to act impulsively. He would hear her story later and take appropriate action. Meanwhile, he would keep his cool and try to be the perfect host.

  Neither Penny nor Alfred talked about what had happened during dinner. In fact, Alfred acted as though nothing had happened. Penny was very quiet, unusual for her, and she sat close to Gary.

  He had a hard time not challenging Alfred, but he honored Penny’s wishes. Tonight was definitely the last time they would have to put up with him. Tomorrow they would leave him behind. Gary wouldn’t accept any more reasons for Alfred tagging along with them.
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  ***

  Penny and Gary weren’t alone for any length of time until they went to their room at the lodge to go to bed. Penny finally made it her job to extract them from Alfred’s company, giving excuses to him even though it was fairly early, telling him that they were tired after a strenuous day.

  The three of them had attended a ranger show and washed clothes together in domestic bliss, with Alfred babbling about all the sights they had seen. He obviously expected to do more sightseeing with them tomorrow. That was probably the reason he didn’t tell his story about her to Gary. He thought he had power over her, even though she had hit him. That hadn’t fazed him at all. What a strange person.

  Penny tried not to antagonize Alfred further. She didn’t want him to say anything to Gary that would inflame the situation. Gary would erupt and probably attack Alfred. They both might end up hurt and get themselves thrown out of the lodge. She wasn’t sure what it would do to their marriage. If they could escape with no blood being shed and the marriage intact, she would be happy.

  Once they were inside their room with the door closed, Penny had to tell Gary something. She simply said that Alfred had made a pass at her, and she had rebuffed it. She didn’t elaborate.

  “That son of a bitch. I’m going to go punch his lights out.” Gary started to open the door.

  “Leave him alone.” Penny restrained him. “You’ll only get us kicked out of this place. Alfred’s not worth it. We’ll leave before he gets up in the morning. With any luck we’ll never see him again.”

  She hoped that was true. She set their travel alarm clock for five a.m. before she turned out the light.

  Penny didn’t want Gary to touch her because she felt dirty and unworthy, although she knew he was hungry for her. She told him she still had her period. That was unfair to him. She had other ways of satisfying him. She employed them now. He was asleep in ten minutes. It would be a different matter for her.

  She lay awake thinking about Alfred, wondering what motivated him. He had always been a little peculiar, but nothing like this. He had become excited from touching her navel, instead of, say, her breasts, which is what she would have expected him to do when his hands started to wander. Peculiar behavior, indeed. And very scary. She wouldn’t tolerate it, regardless of the consequences.

  CHAPTER 15

  Gary didn’t want to give up his dream, but something was pulling him inexorably back toward consciousness.

  “Honey, wake up.” Penny’s hand was on his shoulder.

  He reluctantly opened his eyes. He couldn’t see anything. They had an inside room at the lodge with no windows.

  “What time is it?” he asked groggily.

  “Five o’clock.” She turned on the lamp sitting on her nightstand. “I’d like to get up now and get out of here.”

  “It’s the middle of the night.”

  “If we leave now, we can shake Alfred.”

  Gary stretched his hand to his lamp and switched it on. He tried to wake up enough to think clearly. Alfred. Alfred had eaten dinner with them. He had gone to the ranger show on geology with them. He had even done laundry with them at the lodge. And he had somehow molested Penny, although she had downplayed it.

  At dinner, Alfred had asked them where they intended to go in Yellowstone. Penny secretly put her finger to her lips, warning Gary not to be specific. He talked in generalities about their plans. Alfred suggested that they continue driving together. Gary and Penny didn’t respond.

  Yes, Penny was right. They should get out of there right now and leave Alfred behind for good. Alfred was a burr; once he stuck to you, he was almost impossible to get rid of. In addition, Gary was afraid that if he saw him again, he would beat him up. That wasn’t appropriate behavior for a honeymoon.

  Gary threw off his covers and hopped out of bed, grimacing as his bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. “We can be out of here in ten minutes.”

  ***

  Alfred was livid. He stomped around the parking lot. He picked up pinecones and threw them at trees. Penny had betrayed him. They had a deal, and she’d betrayed him. That bitch. That damned-to-hell bitch.

  He had woken up at seven-thirty after a very pleasant sleep. He had dressed and gone to their room and knocked on the door. No answer. He had gone into the lodge café to see if they were having breakfast. They weren’t there. He had gone outside and looked for their car in the parking lot. The car was nowhere to be seen.

  He ate breakfast at the café, hoping against hope that they might be back soon. An hour later they hadn’t come back. They weren’t coming back. Penny had double-crossed him. He paced back and forth the length of the parking lot, looking in vain for the VW and throwing more pinecones. He became aware of people watching him and started feeling self-conscious. Well, he would find her. She couldn’t get away from him.

  Alfred drove south toward Yellowstone, because he knew they were headed in that direction. His calves were still sore, but if he were careful, he could drive safely. As he went, savage thoughts flooded his brain. It was Gary who was doing this, not Penny. He had forced her to leave, against her will. He was a domineering, moralistic pig. Gary was the cause of all his problems. There was only one solution. He had to kill Gary.

  His money situation was growing desperate. When he stopped for gas in Helena, the capital of Montana, this got his attention like a jab in the gut. After paying for the gas, only a few lonely bills remained in his wallet. Not enough money to eat, pay for motels, and buy gas for the return to Los Angeles, even if he drove back by the shortest route.

  What should he do? Alfred parked his car in downtown Helena and walked around with his hands in his pockets. He strolled past the state capitol with its dome on top. The dome had a statue on it. There was another statue in front. Statues of important people. People with money and influence. He had neither.

  During his meandering he passed a pawnshop with various items for sale inside the dirty window. He walked another block and stopped. One of the items in the window had been a small gun. That’s what he needed. He walked slowly back to the pawnshop. He had never been inside one before. He stood at the front window for a minute, afraid to enter.

  How much did a used handgun cost? If he said he wanted a gun, would the owner interrogate him—ask him what he wanted it for? Expose his ignorance of firearms? He had never shot a gun, except for a BB gun when he was a child. The draft board had declared him 4-F for a minor physical problem—not related to his bellybutton—so he hadn’t learn how to fire a rifle, courtesy of Uncle Sam, let alone a handgun.

  What would he say in answer to questions? He would think of something. His need overcame his trepidation, and he opened the door to the jingling of a bell.

  ***

  They purchased groceries in cold Choteau, Montana. Then they drove from light rain into blue skies as they approached Helena. They crossed the headwaters of the Missouri River at Three Forks where three rivers come together: the Jefferson, Madison, and Gallatin.

  All this time, whether she was driving or riding as a passenger, Penny had been thinking how wonderful Gary was. He was cheerful and attentive to her. He was supportive of her, but not domineering. He enjoyed sightseeing as much as she did. If she had any doubts about marrying him before, they had evaporated.

  She filled him in on the details of what Alfred had done to her, now that they were separated from him. She told him she had punched Alfred. He laughed and said that since she had punched him, he didn’t need to. She told him he had asked her to run away with him. Gary became very upset, but Penny assured him that she had told Alfred in no uncertain terms that she would never do that.

  She loved Gary too much and told him so. She would give herself to him without reserve tonight. He deserved it.

  ***

  A half hour after he had walked into the pawnshop, Alfred walked out with a gun in his jacket pocket. He also had some bullets and knowledge of how to load it, how to work the safety, and how to fire it. It had taken almost his
last dollar, and he’d haggled to get the price down to one he could afford. He felt surer of himself, more powerful, knowing that he had a weapon.

  What he had to do next was to replenish his money supply. He continued to drive south toward Yellowstone. The afternoon wore on. He was getting hungry, but he didn’t have any money to buy food. In one of the towns along the route he spotted a grocery store. He pulled into the parking lot and backed his car into a corner stall where he had a view of the entrance.

  He knew grocery stores. He felt comfortable inside them. He sat in his car and watched shoppers go in and out, trying to get up his nerve. He pictured how the interior of the store would look—where the checkout counter would be located, close to the entrance. He knew cash registers. He knew that checkers often placed their large bills underneath the money tray. In order to get all the money, you had to lift the tray.

  This was a mom and pop store, much smaller than the one he had worked at in Lomita. It didn’t have as many customers, and it wouldn’t have as much money in the till. He didn’t need a lot of money—just enough to tide him over until he could get back to work.

  The sun set, and he began to have hunger pangs. All he’d had to eat since breakfast were some snacks. He kept track of who went in and out of the store, and he was certain that there were no customers inside at the moment. This was the time to act. His stomach started churning, and he wondered whether he would throw up. He swallowed to keep the bile down. He would feel a lot better when he had the money and was far away from here.

  Alfred took one bullet and carefully placed it in the chamber of the gun, following the instructions of the pawnshop owner. He had considered leaving the gun empty, but having it loaded gave him more confidence. He wouldn’t feel as if he were bluffing, even though he had no intention of firing the gun.

  He left the car keys in the ignition and the door unlocked. He put up the hood of his jacket and sauntered toward the entrance of the store, his hands in his jacket pockets where he could feel the comforting hardness of the gun. He went inside and was glad that the man near the checkout counter had his back turned to him. He was placing some cans on a shelf.