Four radial tires clicked along the worn out old highway road, the titanic car drifting and shaking. High and intense, heat bore down on all sides of the steel cage, making it feel like an overly hot sauna. A rolling mist that looked almost like a mirage far in the distance, caused the deep blue horizon to seem out of focus, as though the hot concrete zigzagged off path. Resting an elbow on the open window, I cinched my fingers down around the over sized steering wheel with one hand, as sweat beaded up and rolled down my face. I had already taken my thin white tee shirt off and tossed it into the back seat, it wasn't helping.
"We need to get the air conditioner fixed." Miranda chirped. "Actually we just need a new car."
I glanced over at her, slumped down in the passenger seat, legs pulled up and back, against her large breasts, cute little petite toes with bright red polish, dangling off the seat. The white tank top she was wearing had soaked through, dark outlines of her black lace bra evident. Shoulder length, black stringy hair framed her round face and short bangs cut straight across her dark eyebrows which only deepened her brown eyes. Muscular arms squeezing tight, wrapped around her legs, fingers intertwined, she stared forward a blank expression on her soft face.
Miranda was Korean, born in North Korea, both her parents had fled to the United States when she was a teenager. Her dad had become a professor of physics at Stanford University in only a short few years. Her mom was an actress, who quit acting once she became pregnant, prior to them making it to the States. Miranda was a perfect cross between her parents, smart and beautiful. She graduated early from University with her PhD and worked on developing vaccines for a small company in San Francisco, a job she recently quit so we could move to a new city for employment I had recently acquired. Her parent were not completely happy when their daughter began dating an American boy, but I soon won them over, not without hard work and lots of sucking up to her mother.
Like her mother, Miranda was gorgeous, as if a porcelain doll had mated with a Barbie doll. When we met for the first time, at a friend's house, I couldn't take my eyes off of her and the aura around her just drew me in, enveloped me, a siren's fatal song. The way she held herself and walked, her soft skin and quiet tones, all the while being confident and sure of herself, even aggressive if she had to be, the makings of a strong, beautiful woman. Her demeanor was light and playful, most of the time, until it wasn't. Miranda made the most of life and that impressed me. She came from a family that had escaped tyranny and put their lives at risk in the process. Just for that, I had more respect for her than almost anyone I had met in my entire life.
"We will get it fixed," I assured her. "Once we get settled in and everything is in order."
I glanced down at her; she was looking forward, over the horizon; I could tell she was deep in thought, probably concerned about getting a job once we finished moving.
"Are you ready for your interviews?" I asked, keeping one eye on the road and one on her.
"I guess." She shrugged, not looking at me. "Why is it so hot?"
"We are in the desert, in the middle of summer." I explained, almost laughing.
"Very funny." She reached over and slapped me on the leg, still not looking. "Why are we going this way?" She tilted her head, now staring away from me, out the side window, as the cinnamon colored hills zipped by.
"It's an adventure, we are having an adventure." My voice tried to be light. "Before we have to go back to work. You know, a road trip." I paused, gazing at her, staring out the window.
My family always went on road trips, growing up, it didn't matter where. I have fond memories of Dad and Mom, in a big car like this, getting into fights with my younger brother and sister, singing and playing road games. As the world passed by, we were living life, not even knowing that most of the fun was the journey, not the destination.
"Whatever!" Mandy huffed, then laughed, her pursed lips turning up into a smile as she continued to watch the desert fly by.
Miranda loved giving me a bad time, which meant acting like she was mad at me, but it never lasted, she could never keep it going without breaking out into a smile or laughing. Unbuckling the seat belt, she hopped up on her knees, the jean shorts that she was wearing were fringed on the edges, hugged her ass and were cut so high that the lower half of her ass cheeks were bulging out. She liked it when no one was around, it allowed her to display her body without being self conscience of men leering at her. Leaning back, she grabbed the lower hem of her shirt and tugged it up, her breasts bounced out as she yanked it over her head, tossing it into the back seat. She finally looked over at me smugly and smiled, her thin lips turned up and the lace bra tight against her velvety skin.
"Too hot Matty, too hot." Her voice raised at the end, then she dropped back down onto the sticky seat.
The car rattled on. Small round dry bushes that had been blown about on the desert floor, sat motionless, waiting for the wind to continue sweeping them toward their goal, some unknown destination. The two lane road seemed narrow and desolate, for a highway, and we hadn't seen another vehicle since I could remember. Tall reddish brown rocks stretched up in columns from the ground, reaching for the sky, surrounded by green cactus, that stood sentry about them, solid in the grainy sand.
"We should buy a house, Mandy." I interjected, breaking the silence around us and over the dull hum of the engine.
"Are you ready for that?" Her head tilted toward me, eyebrows raised.
"Yes, I believe I am." I pronounced proudly, shaking my head and pursing my lips together.
I traveled for my old job, which was part of the reason for me getting a new one. I liked to travel and see new places but also was aware that it was time to begin putting down roots. Settling down was something that would be difficult for me, Mandy knew that, and I knew that. It was an Idea I had wrestled with since Mandy and I began dating, and now that we were married...
"Yes, I have thought about it, and it is time. Would you like to make Portland your home?" The words stuttered out a little and seemed forced to me.
"Yes." Mandy responded without missing a beat, the smile on her face growing.
Neither of us really knew Portland, or Oregon for that matter. We only knew that we would be making a fresh start in a new place. It was beautiful, the city on the river, the few times we had been there to go shopping at its downtown farmer's market and drinking at the local breweries; we never left without spending too much money. Another perk that sealed the deal for us moving to Portland was our proximity to the Ocean, a short drive, which was important for both of us.
"Oh shit..." The words came out instinctively and my eyes widened. Mandy's head jerked around, her eyes glaring at me.
"We don't have to buy a house yet Matty. It's O.K." She shook her head at me, black hair flinging about.
"Dammit!" I breathed again. "Did you feel that?"
"Feel what?" As she spoke the car lurched. "What is it?"
"I don't know." My eyes were darting back and forth on the dash, waiting for some overt sign that something was wrong or a bright red light to flash its warnings at me.
I lifted my foot off the gas pedal and tightened my grip on the steering wheel as a loud hiss came from the front of the old car and a large white cloud began billowing out from under the hood. The car jerked and slowed down. I swerved off the two lane highway and allowed it to roll to a stop on the hard sand. I glanced over at Mandy, who had picked up her cell phone and was frantically pressing buttons and shaking it.
"Shit!" She mumbled under her breath. "No Service." Her eyes rotated up toward me.
The hissing from the engine slowly came to a stop and the clear steam rising from the hood died down, allowing us to see the nothingness that spanned the horizon, forever in front of us. Pulling the key from the ignition, I let it drop on the dash then sank back into the long bench seat, shoulders slouched down. I couldn't look at Miranda, but could feel her heavy gaze upon me.
"I don't know." I said before she could ask the question. "I can fix motorcycles, but I have no clue about cars.
"Are you even going to look?" Frustration was etched in her words.
"Yes Miranda, I am going to look, just give me a moment to think." I shot back at her.
I reached over her, into the glove compartment and pulled out a bottle of gin. She watched as I opened it, tipped the bottle back and let a long piney swallow wash down my throat.
"Oh gawd... that is disgusting." I spit the words out, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand that clutched the bottle.
I held it up in front of Mandy, who shook her head emphatically and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Yea, it tastes much better with tonic." I agreed, dropping the glass bottle onto the long bench seat between us.
It was already too hot, without the wind from driving. I could see sweat running down Mandy's face. I followed a drop as it hung on her chin, rolled down, over her neck, and came to a stop at the top of her chest, beading up with the rest of the glistening drops, before washing down into the valley between her mountainous breasts. I noticed her perfectly round little nipples were sticking out and wondered if the heat made them do that, like the cold did.
"Well?" Mandy urged, nodding her head and throwing her arms up in the air.
"I'm going, I'm going." I answered, not wanting to go out into the severe heat.
Sliding my hand under the grill, I searched for the latch that opened the hood; it was wet and hot, not a good sign. The heavy steel latch sprung open and the enormous hood popped up, the hefty springs making a high pitched whine the whole way.
The good thing about these older cars was that the engine didn't have any computers, so a person like me, who has little to no knowledge about them, could sometimes figure out the problem. I looked around for anything obvious, but couldn't find any issues. I reached my hand down and found an opening that didn't seem right, on the bottom front of the engine block, but it really didn't look like anything was missing or broken. I searched around for a little while longer, staring down at the parts I didn't know, pissed that I hadn't listened to my dad when he was trying to teach me about car engines.
Dropping back into the seat, I picked up the bottle of gin and downed another swig, cringing the whole time. Mandy had her feet up on the dash and was inspecting her toes, pulling each one up and twisting it.
"Did you fix it?" She asked, matter of fact like.
