The Rv Trip

I stretched as I stepped out of my RV. The mid-morning air was cool and felt good against my skin. It was crisp with a hint of bacon that made my stomach growl. I grabbed my travel coffee mug and headed across the empty parking lot. As I yawned I heard a noise near the back of the store and when I looked over, I saw a homeless woman going through the dumpster. It was a sad sight, but one I'd grown use to after having lived in the city for so long.

The electronic bell chimed as I walked in and I nodded at the young cashier. I held up my mug and he pointed to a coffee station. I'd always loved truckstops. Like most stores, they had the aisles of food and refrigerators of drinks, but I think what I found most interesting was the other things they had. Small appliances for what I imagined would be useful to a person whose entire life was spent in a truck. Small appliances, electronic gadgets, DVDs, and various other little luxuries that I thought were so cool. The RV I'd recently bought had most of the stuff I had found, but it didn't have satellite radio.

I loved the idea of being able to listen to the same station across multiple states so I asked the attendant which one was the best. He said probably the most expensive. I said thanks and did what I should have done in the first place, Googled it. As I scrolled through an article on the best of the best, a smell of body odor hit me and I looked around, it was the homeless woman.

"You should get that one if you're going to get one," she said. "Personally, I think they're a waste of money." The smell grew stronger as she leaned across me. Tapping on a car stereo with Bluetooth, she said, "If you're going to get anything, get this. It's a lot cheaper in the long run and it'll let you play the songs on your phone."

"What if I like listening to the radio, you know with DJs?"

She looked at me for a moment, but my smile must have said dumbass instead of smartass so she tapped one of the satellite radios and said, "Then this one. It's the best for newbies, plus it's got Bluetooth just in case. You in the RV outside?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Looks new, you should make sure you need this. All you might need is a subscription." My eyebrows rose and she said, "Sometimes the newer ones come with sat radios, especially if the dealer sees someone as clueless as you. Throws in all the extras."

I laughed, "Yeah, they did talk kind of fast. Uh, how do I know if I have a sat radio?"

"What's your radio look like?"

"Well, it's one big screen with buttons on the steering wheel."

"Did they hook your phone to it?"

"Yes," I said excited about knowing at least one thing.

She smiled, "Then you've at least got Bluetooth. You might even have the sat radio. Just look through the icons on it and it should say. If it does, then you'll have to get a subscription to make it work, but if you do they usually give you a free trial."

"Damn, I wish I knew about things like this. Are you in a hurry? Cause, if not, maybe you could look at it for me?"

Her face lost most of its expression, "I ain't a lot lizard."

"I have no idea what that is, but, alright. It's cool if you don't want to help. It's not that important and as you say, I've got Bluetooth. I'll figure it out."

She stared at me as I went to the counter and paid for my coffee. I lost her when I went into the restaurant, the aisles were taller than she was, so I tried to put her out of my mind.

As I entered, I saw a cook, who was reading the paper, and a waitress, who was in a booth filling salt shakers.

"Sit anywhere, menus are on the table. Want something to drink," the waitress called out.

"Got my coffee, but thanks." As I found a seat near the door, I said, "I thought truckstops were supposed to be busier than this."

"They're busy as hell most of the time," the waitress said as she continued filling the little shakers, "except right after the morning rush. Truckers sleep all night, fuel up in the morning, eat and run. Then it's quiet until lunch. The best time of the day is right now. So, found anything yet?"

"Uh, yeah," I said glancing at the menu. I didn't really see the combo I wanted so I said, "A pancake, hash browns, bacon, and those breakfast chops."

She looked at the cook who nodded and disappeared into the back.

"Thought you were told to stop begging around here."

Alex looked around, the homeless woman was standing near the counter.

She glanced at me before saying in a stage whisper, "I'm just looking for something to eat. Maybe something you're about to toss, maybe from last night?"

"Anything from last night got tossed in the dumpster, try out there. You really need to get a job and stop coming in here every day."

"Look, lady, I hate begging like this just as much as you, but I'm starving. Are you offering a job? Because I'll be happy to work it off, I can clean dishes or whatever you need."

The waitress looked around, "Does it look like I need any help?"

"Yeah, well no one else needs any help either."

" Show me some money or get out."

"Hey, I'll buy you something."

The woman looked at me and the waitress said, "Mister, she was in here yesterday begging and she'll be in here tomorrow begging. Might as well save your money."

"I understand, but today, get her whatever she wants and put it on my bill."

"Thanks." I smiled at her and watched as she frowned again, "This still doesn't entitle you to anything."

Honestly, I was a little taken aback by her attitude but understood her reaction. In the parking lot, she looked a lot older than she did up close. When I was able to look past all the dirty clothes, I could see she was a lot younger than me which meant she probably had guys offering to buy her stuff all day for a little something in return. The world is a shitty, shitty place, I thought.

"Just breakfast."

I looked at my phone as she ordered and as we waited she walked to my table, "Thanks, I'm Savannah."

"Alex, and no worries, I hate to eat alone," I said as I gestured to the other side of the table. "I don't mean to get personal, but if you can't find a job around here why not go somewhere else?"

"Just because you're buying me food doesn't mean you get to judge me."

"You're right. Been by myself too long. It's cool, your life's none of my business."

Savannah sighed, "I'd love to go somewhere else, but the bus won't let you ride for free, and the truckers who offer rides expect you to ride their mattresses too."

"If it makes you feel better I'm going to eat and leave. No quid pro quo."

"What's a quid pro quo?"

"It means I give you something and you give me something, but I'm not looking for anything, so no worries."

She laughed. It was a sarcastic kind of laugh, "Seriously, you don't want anything?"

"As I said, I've been alone for a while now, so, some interesting conversation wouldn't be ignored." I thought what I said wasn't that bad, but apparently, it was the equivalent of calling someone's mother a bad name. She frowned and then moved to a different table. "Alright, no sweat then," I mumbled to myself.

I scrolled through my phone as I ate and tried to keep my eyes off the woman. Where I got what counted as passable service, she got nothing but dark looks.

I finished and asked for the check. The waitress asked, "You still buying the girl's food?"

"Of course."

The waitress shrugged and took his card to the front. Savannah walked over and said, "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean anything."

I smiled, "No worries."

I wasn't really sure what to say other than that so I left her standing next to the table. I grabbed a few more snacks and drinks on the way out and then filled up the RV before I returned to the interstate.

The sun was high in the sky as I looked for a place to stop. I'd been driving for hours and could feel the coffee start to kick in. I had decided my best shot was a distraction and was singing at the top of my lungs to the radio. The station crackled as I drove out of its range.

"Damn, why are all the good stations in the middle of nowhere?"

I grunted and rubbed my stomach as another cramp hit me. I spotted a rest area ahead and as I pulled in I unbuckled reading for a run. I would rather hit the rest area's restroom, learning early on that smells lingered in the tight quarters of the RV, but I had no choice. As I threw the door open, I got the shock of a lifetime and almost made the bathroom unnecessary.

"What the hell?!"

Savannah, the homeless woman from the truck stop, held up her hands and said, "I can explain."

As my stomach rumbled and my cheeks clinched I yanked her out of the small room and slammed the door. I would love to say my time in the bathroom was pleasant, but my system wasn't happy with the food and it was letting the world know.

"Oh my God, my bag's still in there."

"Get away from the door!"

"Just let me have my bag and I'll leave."

"You really don't want me to open this door right now."

I heard the outside door open and heard her say, "Yeah, maybe not."

After a little bit, I exited the RV and tossed her bag to her, "Here."

"Hey, I've got breakables in there."

"You should've thought about that before you stowed away in my RV." I watched as she went through her belongings and relax. "You do this a lot?"

"Come on, you said it yourself, I had to get out of that town."

"Well, now you're out," I said as I got back into the RV.

"Hey, you can't leave me out here."

"I'm sure there's a payphone in the rest area, and you seem like a smart woman, I'm sure you'll find your way."

I tried to shut the door, but she caught it. "Seriously, we're in the middle of nowhere. I could die or worse."

I thought about that for a moment and looked around. It was true we were between towns, but the place looked clean enough that there had to be workers and I've been in enough of those types of places to know they get patrolled by the state police. She'd be fine. Scared, but fine, and she'd be somewhere else which was what she wanted.

"You should've thought about that before you hid in my bathroom."

I slammed the door, upset and embarrassed by the whole experience. With the window down, the odor began to slowly dissipate, but it did make it harder to ignore her pleas and cries. I almost stopped as I passed her and could see she had started crying.

"Please don't leave me," she said softly.

I don't know how I was able to hear her, but I did and it tore at me. With a deep sigh, I slowed to a stop at the end of the parking lot and opened the door.

"Alright, dammit, come on if you're coming."

He watched as she ran toward the RV and when she got close, he said, "As soon as we find a safe place you're out. Deal?"

She nodded, "Sounds fair, thank you." I stood in the doorway for a moment until she looked at me and said, "You going to move?"

"Are you going to try to kill me in my sleep?"

"If I was going to kill you, old man, I would've done it a while ago."

"Old man?" She smiled and I rolled my eyes as I moved out of the door. "I can leave you here with that Old Man shit."

She hurriedly closed the door. "Fine, you're the pinnacle of all that is young." I laughed and she said, "Besides if you were going to leave me you wouldn't have stopped."

I shook my head and buckled up as she sat next to me tossing her feet onto my dash. I glanced at her and hoped she could read my mind. Apparently not as she smiled at me.

"Manners count you know."

"Oh, sorry," she said as she put her feet back on the floor. "Sometimes I'm way too comfortable with other people's stuff."

I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the interstate. I drove for a few moments, getting back into the flow of traffic, when I said, "My momma would have beat my ass if I did that."

She nodded and said, "Well, my momma kicked me out when I was fourteen so..."

I laughed, "Jesus, how bad were you?"

She glared at me, "Screw you, asshole." She got up and moved to the couch behind my seat. I kept glancing at her making sure she wasn't about to attack me, but she just glared at me. "For your information, my mother kicked me out because the guy she was dating at the time kept walking in on me when I was showering, and instead of kicking his perverted ass out she kicked me out saying I provoked him."

"Well, don't I feel like an ass."

"You should."

"Well, how am I supposed to know you had a shitty mom?"

"You could just not be an asshole, ever thought of that?

"To be fair, I'm actually a nice guy, I'm usually very respectful of others."

"It shows, I'm feeling very respected."

"Look, I think I'm handling all this very well considering I found a smelly woman hiding in my bathroom. Forgive me if I thought we were bantering."

"We were, guess you hit a button. Fine, you're forgiven for everything except for calling me smelly. I don't smell."

"Be on this side of the nose," I said. It probably wasn't the best idea, but my natural instinct is to banter with people when I'm feeling uncomfortable. "When's the last time you showered?"

She laughed, "I tell you about some pervy man use to peep at me in the shower and you immediately ask me when's the last time I was in one? Real nice."

"Ugh, I can't win with you, can I?"

"If you must know, I showered last night."

"Then it must be your clothes. There's a shower all the way in the back where you can get clean and change clothes. Just be quick there's a limited amount of water in the tanks." I could see her hesitate and I smiled, "I promise not to do anything, but seriously you've got a funk."

"You flirt like shit."

"So, I've been told."

I kept glancing in the mirror and could see as she bit her lip thinking. "Fine, but if I feel you pulling over I'll come out with my titty razor, swinging."

Confused, I asked, "What's a titty razor?"

Before she stepped into the small room, she said, "Walk into that shower and you'll find out."

I laughed and kept driving. After about ten minutes, she leaned out of the bathroom, hair dripping, and asked, "Do you have anything other than this 3 in 1 stuff?"

"You're awful picky for a stowaway, and stop dripping all on my floor."

"And you're too old to be using this all-in-one stuff. So, do you?"

"What you see is what you get."

"How about an extra razor?"

"I thought you had one in your titties."

She laughed, "That's a different kind of razor, besides, it's all nicked, dull, and rusty. I'd probably die of tetanus if I cut myself with it."

"Then why do you carry it in your titties?"

I couldn't see her face that well, but I could hear her rolling her eyes, "I'm starting to regret using that word. So, do you or not?"

"I'm not sure what kind of Wookie situation you've got going on back there, but I'd really rather not have to pay someone to drag it out of my pipes."

"What the hell is a Woozie? Is that some kind of sexist thing?"

"No, it's some kind of hair thing."

"Uh-huh," she said as she stepped back into the room. "Seriously, what's a Woozie?"

When I looked back she was leaning a little further than before and I tried to see something, but only accomplished in swerving onto the shoulder. The unexpected moment caused Savannah to fall to the ground. As he got the RV back onto the road, Savannah scrambled quickly back into the shower room."

"Was that on purpose?!"

"Total accident, I swear. Took my eyes off the road for a second. Don't worry, from way up here I didn't see anything."

"You better not have."

"How do you not know what a Wookie is?"

"Of course, I know what a Wookie is, I've seen Star Wars, you ass." I shook my head and she said, "Fuck it, I'm using your razor."

I drove as she showered and found a station that was more in than out and started singing along. What's the old saying, I can't sing, but I'm very enthusiastic about it. Finally, I caught a glimpse of her as she exited the shower and made her way to the front. I was surprised when she propped her foot up on my leg.

"Smooth as silk. Wanna feel?"

I glanced at her leg and saw the towel barely hanging low enough to cover the rest of her. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to feel her legs. Again, I swerved and caused her to fall. This time, she fell into the passenger's seat. It was quick, but I saw paradise, and it looked amazing.

"Holy crap, you trying to kill us?"

"No, but you are." She looked at me, confused. "You should really go put some clothes on."

"You've never seen a woman in a towel before," she teased.

I glanced at her legs again and said, "Not in a very long time."

She smirked as she pulled the towel up a little, "Like what you see?"

"So much," I said as I adjusted myself and tried to keep my eyes on the road. "but I'm 45 and am old enough to be your dad."

"That's the best compliment I've had in months, but don't worry, I'm 32, so I'll hold off calling you Daddy just yet?"

I'd been out of the dating game for a long time, but her entire manner was throwing me. Was she wanting me to do something? Was she like my ex who liked to tease me with sex only to say no? I was still so fucked up from the last woman that my ability to have a flirty conversation with this woman had me questioning everything. I think if I were a more confident man, I would've gone for it, but I wasn't so I tried to change the subject.

"So, uh, you from that town back there?"

She turned in her seat and looked out the window. "Nah, I'm from Georgia, the original southern peach. That's just where the money ran out."

"Nebraska's a long way from Georgia. How long ago did the money run out?"

"Damn, why don't you ask a personal question?"

I smiled, "Well, I figure you're making me uncomfortable with that towel, why not return the favor."

"Okay," she said smiling, "You get in the towel and I'll ask the uncomfortable questions."

I laughed, "I doubt anyone wants to see all this. And if I'm pushing too much, I can stop."

I waited thinking she'd say stop, but she said, "Nah, it feels good to have someone interested in me again, and I'd been there about a week or so."

"You've been living behind the truck stop for a week?"

"No, I was living in that rundown motel across the street."

"Then why were you begging for food?"

"Cause I was broke, not homeless."

"I'm failing to see the difference?"

"When I first got to town, I thought I could find a job so I'd paid for a couple of days at the motel and started looking, but nothing."

"So, how much longer before they kicked you out?"

Her eyebrow rose as she said, "You found me hiding in your toilet, what do you think?"

I laughed, "So, not homeless by a day. That's not much of a distinction."

"One I'm happy to claim."

I nodded and allowed her her dignity as we watched the traffic pass by. I don't know if it was the boredom or something internal but she began speaking in a quiet voice.

"After mom kicked me out I stayed with friends for a little bit, but when you're fourteen you're not really staying with friends you're staying with your friend's parents. They were cool for a little bit, but then someone got concerned and called child protective services. Next thing I was in a group home.

They called mom, but she said keep me, so they did. I still went to school and thought, at least I've still got me my friends, but no one wanted to hang with the poor CPS kid.

I kicked around like that until I was seventeen. That's when I started working at any place that'd have me. I bought a crappy car and lived in it after I left the home. Sometimes I had a place to stay, sometimes I didn't. When I found the job at the dentist's office, I thought I was good, but then a month ago, that disappeared."

"You quit?"

"Not exactly, but I got a month's pay as a severance."

"And you thought you'd start traveling?"