Chapter 17. Jenny
JENNY
Jenny knelt in the center aisle of the RV and yanked open the storage area under the bench seats, shoving the full pillowcases deep inside, while Simon stripped down to his shorts and tank top.
He handed her his overalls, the checkered bandanas, their gloves, and costume glasses, as well as Alice’s baseball cap. Jenny was careful not to crush Simon’s cowboy hat.
When she got to her feet, he pulled her close for a quick, salty kiss. His bare legs and arms were hot against hers, his heart beating so fast she could feel it. He sat at the dinette, behind Alice, and Jenny sat across from him. He swiveled his head toward Alice.
“Stay on this road. It should connect to the highway.” Simon turned back around to face Jenny. His hair was dark with sweat, the front pieces flopping over his forehead.
“One of those pillowcases is full of things we can sell—cigarettes, film. I got us snacks too. We’ll count out the money later. It looked like a lot, though.”
Jenny chewed on her nails. “That’s good, right?”
“Yeah, but…” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “We’re going to need more.”
More? They couldn’t go back to the gas station. That didn’t make sense. He was looking at her intensely, like he was waiting for her to understand. And then she did.
“That’s crazy. You can’t rob another place tonight!”
“Not tonight, but, babe, you know how hard I worked at the marina. I busted my ass ten hours a day, did whatever my dad wanted, and I could still barely afford our crappy apartment.”
Jenny thought of the cramped attic above the marina. Even though it always smelled faintly of ocean and seaweed, she’d felt safe there. What she hadn’t liked was seeing Simon leave at the crack of dawn and return at night with exhausted eyes and slumped shoulders.
“The gas station took maybe ten minutes,” he said.
It had felt longer for Jenny, staring out the windshield, watching every shadow. Tom, in the back, had never said a word to her. She’d decided that if Simon and Alice didn’t return, she would take her backpack, leave Tom and the RV, and walk into the night.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“No, my blood was pumping so fast. I didn’t have time to think.”
Her mind was all over the place. She understood what he was saying, but it didn’t feel right. They weren’t robbers.
“Are we going to keep staying at campgrounds?”
He shook his head. “Too many people.”
“Don’t we need water?”
“Gas stations have hoses. We can stay anywhere. Parking lots, the forest. Tom showed me already how to empty the tanks. We’ll dump them in the backwoods.”
That sounded gross to Jenny, but it made sense. Cops might be searching campgrounds. What if they were handing out “wanted” posters like they show in movies?
The RV suddenly slowed, and Alice made a gasping sound, sort of surprised and scared. Simon spun around to look over Alice’s shoulder out the windshield. Then Jenny saw them too.
Lights. Lots and lots of flashing lights.
“What’s going on?” Simon said.
“A roadblock,” Alice said.
Jenny raised herself onto her knees, trying to get a better look.
“Can you pull around?” Simon said.
“Where?” Alice gestured to the highway. Several cars were ahead of them. Red brake lights glowed and pulsed as they inched forward, stopped, then inched forward again.
“It might’ve been an accident,” Simon said, but Jenny noticed he didn’t sound as confident as he had a few moments ago.
“Are they looking for us?” Jenny couldn’t help asking.
“They couldn’t know about the robbery already,” Simon said.
“They might, though.” Jenny’s voice sounded high to her own ears, and she knew Simon heard the panic because he turned to look at her.
“There’s no way,” he said. “Even if they do, they have no idea we’re in an RV.”
Alice slowed the RV to a crawl. They were so close the lights were bouncing around inside the RV, reflecting off any metal.
“The cars are turning right,” Simon said. “What does that mean?”
“Detour,” Alice said.
“So probably an accident.” He sat a bit straighter, shifting himself so he was hidden by Alice’s shoulder as they neared what seemed to be emergency vehicles. White trucks with amber light bars on their roof—and a couple of RCMP cars. Their red-and-blue lights spinning.
“Police.” Alice sounded almost hopeful. Simon’s arm moved, and Jenny didn’t understand what he was doing until he spoke.
“Keep it together, Alice. The gun’s pointed at the back of your head.”
“If you want me to stay calm, that is not the way to do it,” she hissed.
“Just stay cool.”
Jenny stared at the police cars and gripped the edge of the table. What would it be like to be arrested? Would the handcuffs hurt? Would the police yell and shove them to the ground?
The RV was slowing to a stop, a man was walking to the window. White reflective strips shone on his yellow vest. He wore a hard hat. Not a policeman. She sagged back into the seat.
“Is everything okay?” Alice asked the man.
“Rockslide. The highway’s closed. Where you headed?”
“Banff.”
“Okay. You’ll have to detour down Highway 95.” The man pointed to where the other cars were turning. “Then loop back and take 93 until it connects with the Trans-Canada again. There’s no gas stations for a stretch, so make sure you’ve got plenty of fuel.”
“Thank you.” Alice followed the cars. Simon moved from the dinette to the passenger’s seat and got the map from the glove box. He leaned over to study it in the dim dashboard light.
“Man, what a bummer.” Simon folded the map, kicked his feet up onto the dash, and reclined the seat. Alice turned her head, her profile outlined briefly with light, and Jenny knew that she was probably annoyed about Simon’s feet, but she didn’t say anything.
Jenny took one of the pillows they’d been using at night, placed it against the window, and then turned so that her back rested on it. She stretched her legs out in front of her on the seat.
The RV tires hummed steadily through the seat and the wall. She rested her hands on her belly like it was a crystal ball. Could the baby feel the vibration? Her eyelids were heavy. She let them drift closed. It felt so good to give in. She and the baby rocked to sleep.
She woke to Simon’s loud voice. “Where the hell are we?”
“I don’t know!” Alice yelled back.
“You missed the highway turn?”
“I told you I don’t like driving at night.”
“I only closed my eyes for a few minutes, you should have woken me.”
“To say what? That I missed a turn that I didn’t know I missed? The man said to drive on 95 and that’s what I’ve been doing.”
“Goddamn it.” Simon was sitting straight now, unfolding the map. He reached up between Alice and him and flicked on a ceiling light.
“I can’t drive with that light on.” Alice’s voice was panicked, and the RV swayed, making Jenny’s stomach lurch, followed by a sharp twinge on the underside of her belly that she hadn’t felt before. She frowned, rubbing at the sore spot. She must have slept awkwardly.
“Jesus Christ.” Simon flipped off the light.
From the back, Tom’s groggy voice said, “What’s going on?”
“Your wife got us lost.”
They drove on in silence, Simon leaning forward like he was trying to see the highway better. Jenny peered into the darkness from her side window. All she could see were trees and flashes of moonlight. It felt like an eternity before Simon broke the thick tension by shouting.
“There! That’s a sign ahead. Slow down.”
Jenny slid to the end of her seat so she could see through the windshield.
“Ten miles until Kimberley,” Simon said. “Keep driving until we find somewhere we can pull over. I want to check the map.”
Not much farther down the highway, Simon spotted a gravel road, and Alice turned off the highway.
When she parked the RV, she left the engine running, and the headlights pointed down the road, narrowing into darkness.
Jenny didn’t like that she couldn’t see what was outside.
She hugged her arms around her middle. Simon flicked on the interior light, which was better because now Simon and the unfolded map were reflected up onto the windshield.
“We’re almost at the bottom of BC.” Simon glared at Alice. “You let me sleep for hours.” He jerked his head around to look at Jenny. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I fell asleep too. Sorry.”
Alice didn’t make any sort of defense or apology. Jenny thought about how Simon had said Alice was smart. Did she miss the turns on purpose? Why would she do that?
Jenny felt stung, the way Simon had spoken to her, like she’d failed. It wasn’t her fault that he’d fallen asleep. She didn’t know.
Simon was studying the map again. “We can still enter Alberta from the south.”
“Can I see?” Jenny said, and Simon nodded. She made her way to the front of the RV.
Simon pointed to the map. “We started here, at Golden.” He drew his finger down the highway, pausing on the two turns that Alice had missed. “We’re not far from the US border.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’ll park here until the morning. No one can see us from the highway. Tomorrow we’ll get groceries and look around for another place to hit.”
Alice turned and gaped at him, her eyes shining in the light. “Are you crazy?”
Simon gave a scoffing laugh. One that Jenny had never heard before.
“Lady, you have no idea.”
In the morning, Alice made coffee and porridge, while Simon pulled out the pillowcases and showed Jenny everything he’d stolen.
She was amazed at how much he’d managed to grab.
She helped him count the cash into tidy stacks.
She knew it wasn’t right, but it was hard not being excited when she saw all that money—money that was going to help them start a new life.
Simon separated the cash out. Some in his wallet. Some in her purse. Some in his backpack. Some in hers. Everything else stayed in the pillowcases, which he stowed again.