A favor

I answered my phone not knowing who it was but having a guess. I answered, “Hello.”

She said, “Hey it’s Lindsey from last night. How are you feeling?”

“Rough but better after hearing your voice. What’s up?”

“You’re leaving tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though we just met, I have a big favor to ask you.”

“Ask away. The worst thing I’ll say is ‘Sorry, no’.”

“So I talked to my cousin who lives in Chicago. She said I can come out and stay with her. She said she can easily get me a job at her work. But I have no money or way to get out there. I know you are traveling out that way. Do you think I can ride with you? I’ll be a really fun travel companion.”

I thought about it. Chicago wouldn’t be too far out of my way. And traveling with her would be better than driving alone. And the kiss we had last night crossed my mind.

I said, “As long as you don’t **** or rob me, I can give you a ride to Chicago.”

She screamed in the phone and I had to hold it away from my ear. “Oh my god! Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is so fucking awesome!”

I asked, “Do your parents know you’re leaving? I don’t want to kidnap you.”

“I’m 18. It wouldn’t be ****. But I’m going to talk to them now. Just a warning, you may have to meet my parents when you pick me up tomorrow.”

She gave me her address and we made a plan for tomorrow. That afternoon I said goodbyes to Meg and Jess. I gave Meg a hug and she held tight for a minute. With tears in her eyes, she said, “It was a fun summer. I’m going to miss you.”

“It was fun. I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime,” I replied. I in fact, never saw Meg again after that goodbye.

Jordan had a flight out late that night. Brent had to drive her to the airport in Portland. So that just left me, Carol and Kyle. They wanted time alone together for their last night. So I packed up and got a good night’s rest.

I picked up Lindsey from her house the next day. I met her mom who seemed nice, but was also suspicious of me. Lindsey had two suitcases that we packed into my car.

As we pulled out of the driveway, Lindsey said, “Oh my god. I can’t believe this is happening.” Teardrops rolled down her cheeks.

I said, “It’s alright. You can always come back. You’re not leaving forever.”

She said, “I love my mom. But these are happy tears, not sad tears. I’ve been dreaming about leaving this place for years. It seems like fate. Meeting you, and trusting you enough to take me from here. I still can’t believe you said ‘Yes’. You must be crazy.”

“We have a long drive. I’m sure you’ll get to know how crazy I am.”

She said, “I may have emphasized the positive aspects of my life a couple nights ago. I don’t want to talk about it right now, but just know you’re doing a good thing driving me away from this state.”

She was shocked my car only had a tape player. I only had two cassettes: MC Hammer and Smash Mouth. So she was constantly changing the radio stations. Luckily we both had a diverse taste in music, so if a station was playing a song, we’d listen to it until it played a commercial then she would change it.

We drove with the windows down and Lindsey blew her cigarette smoke into the breeze. She was a pretty sight. She wore cutoff shorts, a tank top and big sunglasses. Her hair was constantly flowing and blowing in the breeze.

Whenever we stopped for food or gas, we’d hold hands on the way into the store. She especially loved pulling me down to kiss her. It was a good start to the road-trip with a girl I had only just met. But the fun was only just beginning.