The sun found a way to sit directly at eye level above the road while simultaneously glinting mischievously from every reflective surface surrounding and attached to John's SUV. Forced to pull his old Toyota RAV4 to the curb for the third time that morning, he tried in vain to read street signs shaded to black, or blindingly reflective in the early morning light. A deep sigh rumbled from his gym-built chest as his head slumped down to the steering wheel. He was in his mid-twenties, attractive, with wavy above the shoulder length hair, but cursed with terminal shyness. Even if there was someplace around to ask for directions, he knew he wouldn't get out of the vehicle.
"In 400 meters turn left." His phone chirped from the passenger seat.
"That is the canal you stupid piece of shit!" he said ineffectually to the electronic device. "Where are those directions..." He retrieved a crumbled scrap of paper from the passenger seat and opened the maps app on his phone. He looked at the paper, his phone and then squinted up to the sign. "Ok so one block that way... and then right... I think...?"
Signaling his intention, he pulled back out onto the nearly disserted street. He sighed cursing himself again for agreeing to this trip. It seemed like a good idea at the time. A four-day drive across country with a woman he had a crush on for most of the summer. Maybe it would be enough time to build up the courage to ask her out on a date. Tanya had a voice like liquid silk, and a body to match. She was a slim tall blond with porcelain skin, ice blue eyes, and fine hair. Simply put, she was exceedingly beautiful, and she knew it. John could never say no to her, and she knew that too, so Tanya had approached him one day at work.
They were seasonal staff at the butterfly house near Niagara Falls, Canada. The job was great for the college students, easy summer money, and free admission to the rest of the park attractions. There were a lot of other students working there, all female, and John. He was friendly with all of them, social enough to know all their names, and shy enough to not ask any of them on a date. Tanya found out in late July that she had been accepted to graduate school at the University of Alberta. She knew John was going there as well, and that he had plans on driving up at the end of the summer. It was only after he had agreed that he found out her two roommates were going to accompany them. It just so happened that all three women were planning to attend school in Edmonton. Marie who he wasn't overly fond of, Lee who he liked well enough, and Tanya, the woman of his dreams, the wet ones anyway. Marie and Lee, also worked at the butterfly house, and both shared a house with Tanya in St. Catharine's, just outside Niagra Falls.
"Fuck me, found it... Meredith Drive..." He said with relief as he turned onto the correct road.
"In 300 meters perform a legal U-turn towards Queen Elizabeth Way west and then proceed..."
"Fucking shut up!" John said turning down the volume on his phone. "22... 24... so that must be 26... and there is Marie." He said quietly with an exasperated sigh. "Let's get this shit show started..."
The narrow street was exactly like every other narrow street in every other small town. He pulled up to the curb and took a deep breath before getting out of the car. Plastering on his best customer service fake smile he managed a wave to the beautiful young woman sitting on porch steps.
Marie was sitting with her elbows perched on her knees and her head in her hands, daydreaming, not really paying attention to anything. She hadn't moved and didn't seem to notice that he had pulled up, lost in her own thoughts, her usual mode ever since the first day they met at the start of the summer. It was one of the things about Marie that annoyed John the most. They had worked the ticket booth and grounds of the butterfly house. She would often daydream and lose track of whether people had paid, or if she had given them tickets, or the numbers in a group. Management didn't seem to notice or care. She had a quality about her, a '
Je ne c'est quoi
' that made people feel good being around her. He just couldn't see passed the vacant looks.
Often on their breaks Marie would wander through the exhibit, inhaling the warm humid air, and seemingly call to the delicate insects. They would flock to her, landing on her hair, shoulders and back. John would watch her wander; she would barely take notice of the tourists crowding the walkways. There, like now, the very air around her seemed to glow. A light flowing white peasant style halter top hung off her firm athletic frame. The shirt's elastic held it around her chest exposing freckled and tan line free shoulders and arms, while the folds of loose material accentuated her pert B cup breasts. As was her habit, her wavy long fiery red hair was pulled to one side, hanging carefree down her right shoulder. She looked like a model in the morning sun.
There was no denying she was attractive, but the ease of her life, the not caring and lack of attention, he couldn't get over. John licked his lips and took a deep breath to try and get her attention again. He brought himself up to his full six-foot height and waved a tan muscular arm, finally calling out "Hey Marie! Sorry I'm late! Ready to get rolling?"
Breaking her reverie, she smiled banally and waved.
"Salute Jean! Une seconde s'il te plait!"
She jumped up and trotted into the house.
"English Marie, please..." John said exasperatedly to her retreating back. That was the other trait that just rubbed him the wrong way. All summer she would slip into her native French when she wasn't thinking, or when she was excited, or both. Some found it endearing, others annoying, and though he had to accept it, he never liked it. He found her lackadaisical attitude condescending, and her language slips frustrating. He sighed, thinking of the next four days in the vehicle with her. Hoping it would be worth it in the end, he gathered up the stuffed duffle bag Marie had left on the steps and set about packing it in the roof rack storage bin.
"Are we not putting the luggage inside?" Came the silky voice from behind him. John froze, goose flesh erupting on his arms. He was anticipating this. All summer it has been this way. Tanya would not greet him with normal pleasantries. It was always straight to the point. She was not a person to waste words which, to John's mind, was unfortunate. When she spoke, it was as soft as gentle summer breeze, and just as warm. Her voice could sooth any screaming child who was overwhelmed by the fluttering insects or melt the heart of the irritated American tourist. If she wanted, she could have had anyone eating out of her hand. But she didn't, at least not that John had witnessed. The sound of her voice always gave him shivers, and if he was not careful a very unprofessional hard-on
"Good morning, Tanya. How are you this morning, Tanya?" John said through a sharp intake of breath.
She stood staring at his muscular back frozen in place since she spoke. Her arms folded across a button up long-sleeved summer top and flowing full length sarong. "Good morning, Johnathan." She said with a saucy smile she saved for when she greeted him. She relished watching his barely controlled reaction to her. She knew she was beautiful, and loved the attention, but watching John twitch as she spoke, that was worth twenty turned heads. She had waited all summer for him to ask her out, toying with his shyness like she did; she thought she was encouraging him. Instead, it had the opposite effect. "Won't the luggage get wet on the roof?"
John cleared his throat. "It could I guess, if we opened the rack in the rain, but that is why hotels have that covered entrance for dropping off and loading up. So, nothing important gets wet."
"Sometimes though, wetter is better!" came a cheerful voice from the steps. Lee stood on the stairs waiting for someone to acknowledge her joke. She was a free spirit, always smiling innocently while making every statement sound dirty. She had a knack for keeping the day light, making the work crews blush, and generally improving everyone's mood. It was her presence that John hoped would make the trip survivable.
He gave the off color joke a slight smirk as she skipped smiling down the stairs. Her backpack was stuffed to seam stretching fullness and dwarfed her small frame. She carried it seemingly without effort. Her long-time hobby of hiking and rock climbing meant Lee was deceptively strong. A full pack of clothes was not even close to the normal weight she carried for fun. Her whip straight jet-black hair, bobbed off just above the shoulder, was tossed about in the gentle breeze. She wore a plain white tank, with no bra, cut off short shorts, and black leather doc martin hikers.
"Must you..." said Tanya over her shoulder as Lee slipped passed her.
"Only always!" She said as she took off her pack. "Thanks again for doing this John."
"Don't mention it." John grunted as he hefted the bag over head. He had to buy the rack and the storage bin after he agreed his extra crew. It was an expensive purchase, but he knew they would need the room. "It is a long drive to Edmonton, and if you ladies are willing to split gas, then it saves us all money. It isn't as if we all got rich working at the butterfly house." He said finally snapping the lid closed.
"
Mais bien sûr!
" said Marie rejoining the group "University is
trop cher,
and Edmonton even more so. I will need to make my savings stretch until next summer. What about our laptops?"
