The Journey of St. Laurent, Chapter 29

Author’s note:

Hey, new theme today. I built it from scratch following (mostly) this tutorial and using the blueprint css framework. What do you think?

Thanks as always to those who leave comments. You guys are the best.

Work is moving right along on Micro Flash Fiction. I’ve designed the cover and started laying out the interior. It’s a ton more work than I thought, but just wait till you see the finished product. I think I’ve probably got enough 140 character submissions (unless you want to submit a couple of your classics, Al Bruno III), but there may be room to squeeze in a couple more of the other types.

For those of you who haven’t read any of the Journey Of St. Laurent before: You are now reading an online serial pulp novel. If you didn’t start at the beginning, you may want to do so. Chapter 1:  Down By The Bay. This serial is the sequel to my first novel, Oasis.

Chapter 29 – Meet the Parents

I woke up on the hard, crusty, narrow floor of the RV. Wow, I must have been hammered last night. I don’t even remember getting in the RV.

I opened my eyes and sat up.

It wasn’t really messy, but there was greasy dirt in most of the corners and everything hinted of mildew. London was asleep on a bench to my left, and Michael was laying with a woman I figured was his mom on the pop out bed to my right.

Leaning up against the wall to the bathroom was the grizzled old cowboy I had seen last night. He was still wearing the red and black checkered shirt. The lines in his face looked even deeper than they had before. His hair was gray with little flecks of red that appeared to be hanging on for dear life. He tightened his jaw, narrowed his eyes, and looked me over.

I yawned and tried to make it as friendly and quiet of a yawn as possible. After all, you never get a second chance at a first impression.

He nodded and pointed a thumb at the door. “Outside.”

I creaked to my feet and followed him out the skinny door and down the rusty step ladder.

We had definitely driven for a while, as the terrain was much different from what I remembered about the night before. Of course, all I could see around me was freeway and trees, so I couldn’t be too sure.

As to the RV, it looked far worse in the daytime than it had when it pulled up at night. It was rusty, dusty, and worn. Nothing looked like it was put together tightly. Patches of sheet metal had been stuck on the rougher spots. A car top carrier was lashed to the roof and a dirt bike was tied to the back.

I didn’t have much time to admire the beast, though.

London’s cowboy dad grabbed my shoulder, spun me around, and clutched my shirt with both hands. His breath smelled like old cigarettes.

“I’m going to give you one chance to tell me what the hell you’ve been doing with my kids. Michael’s been crying on his mom half the night, London mumbled something about shooting someone before she passed out, you were carrying a rifle and who knows what other weird crap. You somehow lost your Jeep after I talked to London- I just want to know what to think.”

He gave me a shove and I stumbled back a few steps.

I held my hands up, frowned, and took a deep breath. “That’s fine. You deserve some answers and-”

“Damn straight I do.”

“All right, here’s how it happened. One of those UFOs buzzed the freeway back outside of San Antonio and London got in a wreck. It ruined her car for driving and one of the other guys involved freaked out and was getting violent, so I gave her and Michael a ride. That’s how we ended up together.”

“Boy, that don’t even begin to explain everything.”

I stretched and scratched my head. The rest was pretty unbelievable, I knew. How could I possibly tell what happened in a way that wouldn’t make me sound insane? He was looking pretty upset, so I decided to give just the barest bones version I could.

“Basically, what happened is this.” I took another deep breath and pursed my lips. “My Jeep got hit by one of the UFOs.”

The cowboy raised one bushy eyebrow. “I still ain’t heard the part where London shot somebody.”

I shook my head and closed my eyes. No need to tell him that this is going to sound crazy. “Well, we knew the UFO was going to hit us, so London and Michael jumped out where it was safe, and I led it away a bit. I barely managed to get away from the blast in time. The UFO landed and an, well, an alien got out. He saw me and was going to shoot me, but London shot him instead.”

The cowboy rolled his eyes and turned back toward the RV. “Good luck on the road, boy.”

I just stared after him. Don’t know how I expected him to react.

He put one foot on the little step ladder and looked over his shoulder. “What are your intentions with my little girl now, anyway?”

I hadn’t really thought about it. Things had been too crazy. But now that he mentions it, she is really cute, great body, red hair which is always a bonus…

The door to the RV flew open and smacked the cowboy in the arm.

“Dad, what are you doing?”

“London, this isn’t your business.”

“Like hell it isn’t. You get in here a minute.”

He dropped his shoulders just a little and climbed the steps.

A heartbeat later, London’s head popped out of the door. “Wait right there, this won’t take but a second.”

The door clanged shut.

I paced back and forth in the roadside dirt.

Within a minute or two, there was a whole lot of yelling inside. I couldn’t tell exactly what was being said, but without a doubt London was going to bat for me.

The screaming continued for a good long while, and I wasn’t too sure that things were going my way.

A second female voice joined in, but only for a moment.

I was just about to give up, find my cooler, and start hitchhiking when the rusty door creaked open.

The cowboy came out first. His fists were clenched and he gave me a look like weathered steel. Close behind him was London with her arms folded. Muddy tear trails marked her face.

He walked up to me and looked me in the eye.

I met his gaze and didn’t back away.

He glanced back at London and nodded.

I swear I could hear his leathery right hand unclench before he extended it to me. “I’m Dan.”

I took his hand. “Corbin.”

“Come on, then. Let’s get back on the road.”

I got the feeling that this was probably the closest he had ever come to apologizing to someone who wasn’t his daughter or his wife.

He entered the RV first and I took the opportunity to ask London the question of the hour.

“How did you convince him?”

“It wasn’t going so well.” She shrugged. “I may have lied to move things along.”

“So what did you tell him.”

She blushed and looked over my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter.”

“No, really.”

She smiled and pointed at the door. “Just get in there.”

I got inside, and pulled up the little step ladder.

Dan got the pop out section pulled back in and made everything else ready to go.

With five minutes we were back on the road.

I sat on the bench next to London. “What happened to your, uh-”

“You mean Turleen?” She nodded. “Bathroom, doing her morning ritual.”

London rested a hand on mine.

I stared out the window.

Twenty minutes later, London’s step mom came out of the bathroom, apparently finally ready for the day. Her hair was big. I know of no other way to describe it. She had lathered bright blue makeup above her eyes. She wore a grayish tank top that might as well had the caption “born and raised in a trailer park.” The tank top barely contained the bulging work of an over-excited yet not-so-highly-skilled plastic surgeon.

As to her age, she appeared to be somewhere close to halfway between London and her father. In other words, not old enough to be her mom, but too old to be her sister.

“Hi, I’m Corbin.” I extended my hand.

She looked me up and down. “Well if London didn’t bring herself home a regular catch.”

She scowled, smirked, then went up and plopped herself in the passenger’s seat next to Dan, who reached over and fiddled with her knee.

I wasn’t exactly sure what to think about all that.

London leaned over. “Don’t worry, she’s not always that well behaved.”

It occurred to me that I still didn’t know where I was supposed to be headed.

“Hey, London, what happened to that radio?”

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Keep reading! Chapter 30 is here.