The One Place

by Laurel Curtis

  Okay, breathe, Talie, breathe. I had no real plan for where I was going. I figured all along that the less I had planned a place to go, the less traceable it would be.

  I decided to give myself a break and just close my eyes and sleep for awhile. It was a long way to Paducah, and I could make some more decisions once I got there.

  Chapter 4

  Southern Hospitality

  I opened my eyes to someone shaking me awake. At first, pure panic took over and I retreated into myself like a turtle tucking into its shell.

  “Whoa! Sorry, sweetheart. Relax. I just wanted to make sure you got off the bus. You slept the whole way here through the stops and everything,” the woman with silvery-grey shoulder length hair and kind blue eyes murmured to me.

  “Oh. Ok, thanks. You mean we’re in Paducah already?”

  “Yes, sweetie. You must’a slept for a good 16 hours.”

  16 hours? Good gravy. I hadn’t slept that long in years. Seems I must have finally felt safe enough for my body to catch up.

  “Well, thanks. I appreciate you waking me up.”

  She smiled warmly at me and said, “No problem, sugar. Us girls gotta look out for one another.”

  I knew that was the truth. I had tried so hard to look out for Jenny, and I had failed when it counted.

  I smiled a sad smile back at her and hefted myself up from the seat with a hand on the headrest of the seat in front of me. I scooted out into the aisle, picked up my bag and slung it on my shoulder. Time to make some more decisions.

  When I got into the bus terminal in Paducah, I navigated my way to the ticket booth once again. As I approached the window, I decided to let fate decide again and used the same method I had used in New York.

  “Hi. Um, can you tell me where the next bus to leave is going?”

  “You in a hurry, darlin’?,” the ticket agent asked as she crooked her head towards one shoulder with a look of genuine interest on her face.

  Clearly, I was already experiencing all that southern hospitality had to offer. Sometimes, like right now, it offered nosiness.

  I gave a half-hearted shrug and said, “You could say that. Where’s it going and how much?”

  She at least recognized my brush off and answered my question, “Murfreesboro, Tennessee and it’s fifty-two dollars.”

  I was burning through my cash pretty fast, but this was a necessary part of my plan so I resolved that I would dump the cash on this bus ride and then find another way to get to a town buried in the depths of Tennessee that I had never heard of before. If it looked good I would settle there.

  “Okay, I’ll take a one-way ticket, please.”

  Chapter 5

  Jezzy and Ruthie

  I was out for a stroll through my new home, Joplin, Tennessee.

  Yesterday had gone pretty smooth. I had taken the next bus out and suffered through a five and a half hour ride to Murfreesboro. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as successful this time in staying away from the “smellies”. There were too many of them and not enough seats.

  I followed that up by using, what some might call, extremely questionable judgement and deciding I would hitchhike the rest of the way to my new home. I figured not all that much could happen to me that hadn’t been happening to me for months in a posh apartment in New York. Luckily, it seemed like the hitchhiking gods were on my side. A frail looking old man that I figured couldn’t be far from death’s doorstep pulled over to pick me up. If the situation escalated, I deduced from his condition that I should be able to take him, no problem. Other than him asking personal questions that there was no hope of me answering, my travels continued without incident. When he picked me up in Murfreesboro he was headed south. As we were driving through different towns I kept my eyes peeled to see if any of those places were the one place that would feel right to me. As we pulled up to Joplin, I knew it was the place. He stopped the truck, I muttered my thanks, grabbed my bag, kicked open the door and I was gone.

  It was getting later, and I knew I needed a place to stay for the night even if I had to spend another huge chunk of my stash on a hotel room. I could use my charms to try and land a job and a semi-permanent place to stay tomorrow. I walked down the street taking in my surroundings, but not in much detail. I had short-term goals of getting the feel of the place and finding the hotel so I had a place to lay my head down that night. When I got to the end of the street, I rounded the corner and spotted the hotel.

  Okay. To be honest it was more motel that hotel, but it looked relatively clean and had a spiffy, new-looking coat of sea-foam green paint. What more could I ask for?

  I walked into the office and spotted a sign that advertised “$35 a night!”. It turned out, I really couldn’t ask for more from the Joplin Jivin’ Hotel if I was honest with myself. At that nightly rate, as long as the place didn’t give me some kind of disease, I was good to go. I could even afford to stay here three or four nights if I absolutely had to. I read the name tag of the, what appeared to be, mid-fifties woman with abundant cleavage manning the desk and surmised that her name was Jezebelle. Intriguing.

  I smiled a true smile, one of a few in as many years, and prompted, “Hey there, Jezebelle. I need a room for tonight.”

  Jezebelle bounced up and down excitedly, and I could tell that if she did that often, the men must flock to her. Bounce, bounce, bounce the boobs went. I was a straight female and I thought my eyes were going to bug out of their sockets.

  I pulled my eyes back up to her face as she cried excitedly, “Yay! I am so excited! We don’t get all that many people comin’ through here and stayin’ with us, so I get real excited when we get someone in here. Especially a pretty little thing like you. Oh my gosh, you have to call me Jezzy! It’s what everyone calls me!”

  She talked so fast and with such a southern twang that I had to work to keep my ears focused enough to hear what she was saying. I had a feeling that if I didn’t cut her off she would have talked all night. I loved it.

  “Jezzy. Great! You got it. Listen, I’m pretty tired, so is there any way I can go ahead and get my key from you and then maybe I’ll come back and talk to you later?”

  Jezzy looked absolutely contrite and I felt a little bad for insinuating she was keeping me up. I had slept sixteen hours on the bus to Paducah. But I was still pretty tired from the traveling combined with stress. “Aww. I am so sorry I just kept jabberin’ and jabberin’, keepin’ you from goin’ to your room and all-”

  I immediately cut in and calmed her, “Jezzy, it’s fine. No worries. Is that my key?” I inclined my head in the direction of her hand which was holding what appeared to be my room key.

  She started and looked down to her hand. “Oh. Yeah! Here you go...-”

  Inferring that she wanted my name I answered, “Natalie.”

  “Awesome! Natalie! Okay, you’re room eight, just down the way and to your left! If you need me to help you-”

  I cut her off again. She was great, but I had reached my limit for now. “Thanks Jezzy. See ya later.” With that, I promptly turned and walked out of the room before I spent the rest of my days in that office aging all my years away and wasting what could be my life.

  Once in my room I crashed and didn’t wake up until the next morning. I got up, did my morning routine, without lotion, make-up, or quite frankly almost anything and got ready for the day. I washed out my underwear in the sink and hung them up on the shower rod to dry out. It was looking like a commando day. I put on the same bra because the ladies needed the support, and pulled on my shorts sans panties. I pulled on my lavender t-shirt that I bought, which looked pretty good with my auburn hair and blue eyes, and strapped on my Mary Janes. I didn’t get much time to explore the night before so I pledged to put that on my mental list of goals for the day. I would go do reconnaissance and get some of the necessities I needed while I was out. Nobody likes a hairy crocodile (at least I’ve never met someone who has) so it would seem I needed a razor and lotion at the very least. Maybe some underwear
too.

  As I strolled through town every person I passed either waved and smiled (the women) or gave me some sort of chin lift (the men). It was a small town, with one main street (named Main Street-Ha! Imagine!) lined with stores and other town necessities. I figured I would work my way down the street and acquaint myself with the locations of all my new favorite spots. I was just starting out and about to go in a little convenience store on the corner named “The Goods” to get my much needed first Coke of the day when a girl with black hair and what appeared to be tight workout gear came bounding my way.

  My first thought when Ruthie approached me was that she reminded me of my best friend, Jenny. My second thought was that I must be crazy. Unfortunately, these days it seemed like I saw Jenny in everyone. She was the best person I’ve ever known, and he took her away from me. I think I always knew from the moment I met her, something wasn’t right. Part of her was already gone. He had already taken it and dimmed the light that shone from her. I didn’t even get to experience her in her full potential.

  ********

  I walked into her apartment one night to hear him yelling at her, “You fucking bitch! Can’t you get anything right? I’m starting to think you definitely weren’t worth any of this!” The sound of his voice was so explosive it wasn’t like anything I had ever heard before. I stood completely still in the entryway, afraid to move and make things worse for her. I wasn’t scared for myself, I was scared for her. Because in those 3 sentences I heard him speak, I heard more menace than I thought one person could possess.

  But it was too late, he had heard me come in. He came stalking into the foyer, and I was sure I was his prey. Instead, he walked up to me and stuck out his hand. I was understandably hesitant to take it, so he spoke in a soft tone so opposite the one I had heard him use before that I thought it impossible it came from the same person. “I’m so sorry that you had to hear that. I am having quite the day and unforgivably took it out on my darling Jenny. Please forgive me.”

  Completely immobile and still skeptical I stood silent, so he continued, “You must be the lovely Natalie I’ve heard Jenny speak of. I’m her husband Andrew.”

  With nothing else to do at this point I reached my hand out to shake his as he gave me a smile I can only describe as slimy. As soon as he touched me I looked beyond him to see Jenny flinch at our contact. She looked anything but comfortable. I remember thinking that there were secrets there, and I was going to find out what they were. If there was one person I would do anything for, it was Jenny, and it was clear she needed me to do something.

  ********

  Coming back from my reverie I looked to the raven-haired, green-eyed beauty looking back at me as she spoke softly but with a bubble of exuberance to her voice, “Hey girl. I’m Ruthie! I can tell you’re new because around here we always know who’s new. Everybody else has been around so long I can tell you what their favorite color, food, and underwear are. What’s your name?”

  Favorite underwear? Hmm. I was thinking Ruthie was going to be interesting. Ruthie was already an interesting name for someone so young and beautiful. I expect a 90 year old woman anytime I hear “Ruthie”. Though I suppose those Ruthies had to have been at least young, and possibly beautiful, at some point too.

  I held my face perfectly neutral, looked directly into her eyes and announced, “I’m Natalie Jenkins. Yes, I’m new, and mine are blue, french fries with ketchup, and lace cheekies. Or boxers. The last depending on whether we’re talking about on me or someone else.”

  Ruthie laughed outright and through her cackles shouted, “I think I just might love you Natalie!”

  Love? Great, I was going to need some love to get set up around here so I might as well start using my new connections. “That’s good. Because I need a job. And a place to stay. Pretty much everything. Think you can keep your ears open for me?”

  “I’ll do better than that! I’ll talk to my boss, John, and see if I can get you in at the diner where I work. That is, if waitressing is ok? You seem pretty smart, maybe you’re looking for something better.”

  “Waitressing is perfect.”

  “Okay, awesome! You have any experience or anything?”

  “No.”

  She seemed a little surprised by my clipped answer but gave me a one-shoulder shrug and a smile and continued, “Oh, well. No probs. You’re pretty enough that John won’t care and neither will anybody else! As, for a place to stay, I don’t really have room, but I’ll ask around to see if anybody has anything going.”

  “Thanks Ruthie. That really means a lot.”

  “You got it Natalie. Why wouldn’t I want my new bestie working with me? I gotta run, I’m late for my Zumba class! Gotta shake these buns!”

  With a huge smile she turned and practically skipped away. Yeah, Ruthie seemed like she lived life with tons of laughter, and that’s exactly what I needed.

  Chapter 6

  Presumed Dead

  I had spent the rest of the morning walking, stocking up on absolutely do or die supplies, and locating the diner Ruthie talked about. Not wanting to go to the diner for a few more hours, I wandered over to the playground and park area that was on the opposite side of the street from the diner. I sat down on the bench and laid my head back, just soaking up the sun. It felt good to just relax and let the sun heal me from the inside out.

  I had always loved the sun and the way it seemed to warm you all the way into your bones if you sat and soaked it up long enough. Kayla and I used to sit out in it all the time when I was younger. We were never the kids inside on the couch watching TV. We both leaned towards being tomboys and loved to catch minnows in the creek, wrestle, and toss a ball around.

  I didn’t grow up in New York. I grew up in small-town Georgia. I went to New York to try to make something for myself in a career. I look back on that as such a foolish move. I loved the life of a small town, but when I got to New York, I met Jenny. The rest just kind of fell into place. I missed my parents and Kayla, but not enough to leave Jenny in a time of need. I put them on the back burner, temporarily, so that I could help my friend. Unfortunately, temporarily turned into permanently pretty easily and I had no Jenny to show for it. I chose not to believe in it being my destiny because if that was the case, destiny was a real cruel bitch.

  Curious as to how my plan had turned out, I got up from my bench and walked across the street and down four store fronts to a little internet cafe. Talk about going back in time. It had been a long time since I used a place like this for internet access. These days, back in the heavily populated world of New York City and the like, there was free wifi everywhere and everyone had their own devices for using it.

  I paid my fee at the register, walked over to my computer and signed on. As I waited for it to boot up, I tried to calm my nerves. I needed to see how much time I was going to have and if I was going to have to alter my plans. If things hadn’t gone the way I had hoped they would, I would have to leave Joplin and find a way to get my family safe. Andrew would be after me and them if he found out I left because of willpower instead of a bomb.

  I pulled up the search engine and typed in New York explosion with the date, and after scanning through a few articles got what I was looking for: Natalie Dalton, Fiance of Business Mogul, Andrew Highland, Presumed Dead in Coffee Shop Disaster. Just reading the headline made me feel sick to my stomach. That was exactly what I wanted but you could never guess how freaky it is to read your own death announcement in a news article. You’re supposed to be gone for that part, hopefully floating off to a better place with pretty scenery, white-clad angels, Morgan Freeman as God, and all of your dead loved ones.

  That was all I could take. I immediately cleared my search history for good measure, shut the computer down, and got the hell out of there.

  ********

  I had a little more time to kill so I went back over to the park and laid on the ground on my back looking up at the sky. I let my introspection lead me where it always did.

 
I hoped that heaven really was like that and that Jenny had gone there and found peace. Where ever she was, it had to be better than where she was coming from.

  Chapter 7

  Night-horniness

  I walked into the diner Ruthie had told me about when I met her, determined to leave there with a waitressing job. A lot of people would probably say that my last job was the good one. That working here waitressing would be a huge step down. But not me; I wasn’t a lot of people. Besides the fact that this is the type of job I would have to go for since I had no past- or one I was willing to talk about or explain, anyway- it was the job I wanted. I wanted a simple job in my simple life. I wanted to talk to people day in and day out and share experiences through them. Find out about their jobs, families, and troubles. That was the person I was. The real me. I loved people and I loved living. I wanted to live as many lives, through as many people as I could and waitressing was a great way to do that. At least it was in a place like this.

  From the little time I had spent here, I could tell Joplin, Tennessee was a town that embraced people. Waitressing for these people wasn’t just a service. They wanted you to know them, and they wanted to know you. I could at least get on board with the first part. As for knowing me, they would. Just not the past. In fact, they would probably know me better than anyone had ever known me before. I didn’t have to be meek, worn-down Talie anymore. I could be the real me, just Talie.

  “Natalie! Hey! I’m so glad you came. I already talked to John and he says if he meets you and you’re not a total moron, the job’s yours!”

  “Hey Ruthie. That’s great. I guess I’ll turn down the moron today then.”

  Ruthie looked a little confused, but smiled nonetheless. She was nothing if not upbeat in the face of her confusion since I had met her. I liked her so much already. She wasn’t the sharpest tack, but she had a heart of gold.