Chapter 23. Jenny
JENNY
Simon took the gun from her, set it on the counter, then scrubbed at his shoes with the damp towel. Jenny’s eyes burned and her throat ached from holding back tears. Why wouldn’t he tell her what had happened? He told her everything was fine, but it clearly wasn’t.
She’d seen the van arrive and watched the people get out.
She’d been so angry when the girls touched Simon.
Anger had turned to fear when they all went into the church, but then the people left.
She didn’t understand why Simon wanted to go back inside.
They were gone for an eternity while Jenny sat there, useless.
A dog barked in the distance. Simon peeked out the small window above the sink. He pulled a clean T-shirt out of his pack and slipped it on.
Alice was sitting sideways in the driver’s seat.
The barking was growing louder. Now a woman’s voice. Yelling something at the dog. The words became clearer as the dog and the woman reached the RV.
“Bones! You stop that.”
Simon hid the gun under his shirt and looked at them. “Be cool.”
He opened the door and took one step down, his hand gripping the side of the doorframe. Jenny could see his shoulder and back.
“Good morning,” he said to whoever was standing outside.
“Morning,” the woman said. “You lost?”
“Yes, ma’am. We were turning around when we got stuck. I’ll have us dug out soon.”
“You got your folks with you?” The woman already sounded suspicious. Jenny rubbed at her shaky legs. Everything was going wrong.
“My sister and girlfriend.” He poked his head into the RV. “Alice, Jenny, come say hi.”
Jenny moved toward the doorway. Simon had stepped down and was now standing in front of an old woman dressed in a blue gingham housedress with a lace collar. She had a round face, pink cheeks, and wisps of silver hair escaping from the coiled braid on top of her head.
The dog was reddish brown, shaggy, and looked equally as old, with white around his eyes and muzzle. He weaved between Simon and the woman, panting, his tail smacking their legs.
“Hi.” Jenny left the RV to stand next to Simon.
The woman gave her a friendly smile, which Jenny tried to return, but her lips felt dry and tight and there was still a lump in her throat. She stroked the dog’s head.
Alice stepped out next. She was wiping her hands on her shorts, and her ponytail was falling apart, curls springing wildly. Jenny hoped that the old woman would think Alice’s eyes were puffy and bloodshot from fatigue.
“I’m so sorry. I hope we haven’t damaged your field.” Alice smoothed her hair back away from her face, and her wedding ring flashed gold in the sun. Jenny should have apologized too. She didn’t think about it. She never thought as fast as Simon and Alice.
The woman peered over Alice’s shoulder into the RV.
“Your husband still sleeping?”
“Oh. Um…” Alice looked at Simon. The old woman’s forehead scrunched together as she waited. She seemed more confused than suspicious, but Jenny held her breath.
“My brother-in-law’s sick.” Simon lowered his voice. “He couldn’t come on our trip.”
“I see. That’s too bad.” The woman paused. “Well, don’t worry about digging. My husband can pull you out with the tractor. Come on up to the house.”
“We don’t want to disturb your family,” Alice said, and Jenny caught the annoyed look that Simon gave Alice—out of view from the woman.
“Just me and William, and we’ve been awake since the crack of dawn.”
“In that case, a tow would be great.” Simon held his hand out. “My name’s Blue.”
The woman gave his hand a quick shake. “Ruth Polanski.”
Simon gestured to Jenny. “This is my girlfriend Ocean, and my sister Alice.”
“Blue and Ocean? You hippies?”
“Something like that.” Simon smiled. “We enjoy traveling and meeting good people like you.” For a moment Jenny thought he’d gone too far with his friendliness because Ruth looked confused again, but she turned around to head back through the field with the dog at her side.
“Come on, then.”
Jenny stared at Simon’s back all the way up the driveway until they’d made it to the top, where it leveled out. He didn’t turn to look at her. Not even one time. Her heart was beating too fast, her blood rushing everywhere all at once. She had to calm down. She paused to take a breath.
The farmhouse, with white peeling paint, was on the right side of the hill, and faced out at the pasture. The porch was missing railings but there were flower boxes and two rocking chairs. Beside the house, a garage looked like it had been built from mismatched wood boards.
On the opposite side of the driveway, a weathered barn leaned into the hill, and next to it, a green tractor was parked under a carport.
The fields were dotted with cows, and two horses grazed in a paddock.
Chickens were everywhere. Scratching in the dirt and the garden beds overgrown with flowering bushes and roses. The sweet scent drifted toward her.
They were standing in front of the barn when an old man in baggy pants held up by suspenders walked out. He looked at them from under the brim of his battered red baseball hat.
“Good morning.”
They returned the greeting in an uneven chorus. Simon’s voice was upbeat, Alice’s flat, and Jenny’s so quiet she wasn’t even sure herself if she’d spoken.
“William, dear, these folks have gotten their RV stuck in our field.”
“The lower field?”
“In a ditch,” Simon said. “We tried to get it out, but it won’t budge.”
“Sounds like you need a tow.” The man rested his hands inside his suspenders and rocked back on the heels of his gum boots with a pleased smile.
“Yes, sir. We’d appreciate it. Only a few days into our trip, and wouldn’t you know it, we hit an elk with the RV, and then I got us lost,” Simon said.
“That can happen,” William said. “Once you get on these old country roads, all the fields start looking the same. But don’t worry. I’ll have you out in no time.”
“You’re welcome to wait in the house,” Ruth said. “It’s a lot cooler.”
Alice looked toward Simon. “I’m not sure.”
“We should stick together,” Simon said. “Might need extra hands.”
Ruth gave a shrug like it made no difference to her.
William walked over to the tractor, and it started up with a loud rumble that sent all the chickens scattering.
He backed it out of the carport and turned down the driveway, gesturing that they should follow.
Simon, Alice, and Jenny began walking, but Ruth had separated off and was climbing the house’s front steps.
Simon stopped. “You’re not coming?”
“I’ll be along in a minute.” Ruth opened the screen door and disappeared inside. Jenny turned to Simon, who was still watching Ruth. Alice had also stopped walking.
“What’s wrong?” Jenny said.
“What if she recognized us? She might be calling the cops.”
“She would’ve just left us in the ditch,” Alice said.
Alice sounded so firm, like she really wanted Simon to listen. Jenny looked between the two of them.
“They’ve seen the RV now,” Simon said.
“They’re farmers. They probably only listen to the news for the weather report.”
Jenny was missing something. A crucial piece, but she could fit part of it together. They’d been parked in front of the church—and the people in the van saw them. Then Simon had done something inside the church. He knew the police would be looking for the RV.
Simon stared at the screen door for another moment, then reached for Jenny’s hand. She held his back tightly, needing the solid feel of him. Their connection, still there.
“Let’s go.”
The three of them walked down the driveway, staying far enough behind the tractor to avoid dust and exhaust fumes. Bones trotted after them, barking at the air. When they reached the RV, William gave Simon instructions on how to attach the towrope.
Alice and Jenny watched from nearby. Alice was frowning at the RV.
Once the tractor’s towrope was hooked onto the front axle, Simon shimmied out from under the RV. He stood, wiping his hands on his jeans, and squinted toward the house.
Jenny followed his gaze. Ruth was walking down the driveway. As she reached them, Jenny realized she was carrying a carton of eggs and two large zucchinis.
“Little something for the road.”
Simon took the eggs and zucchini from her hands. “That’s very kind of you.” He passed them to Jenny. “Can you put them inside, babe?”
Jenny remembered to mumble thanks to Ruth before stepping into the RV. She slid the food into the fridge. Tom was watching from the bed.
“Water. Please,” Tom whispered.
Simon would be upset if she took too long, but Tom’s face was red, his forehead beading with sweat.
She filled a glass, and held it for Tom, who drank it all.
Then she took a bag of peas and a bag of corn from the freezer.
She put the peas over Tom’s injured shoulder, and the corn across his forehead.
He closed his eyes, looking so grateful that she wanted to cry.
“I’ll open the window,” she whispered. “But you can’t make a sound.”
He nodded, and she carefully, and quietly, slid open the window. Luckily, it was on the opposite side of where everyone was standing. A light breeze blew through.
When she came back out, William was sitting up on the tractor.
“Sorry. I had to get a drink,” she said. Simon gave her a long look. She pretended to study the towrope.
“Okay, everyone. Stand back,” William said.
The group moved away and watched as the tractor started to pull. Meaty tires rolled over the furrows. The line went taut. The tractor got louder. It didn’t look like the RV was going to move an inch. Simon began to pace, but at last the RV surged forward.
William towed the RV onto the driveway and steered the tractor up toward the house.
He was shouting something about turning around at the top.
Simon jogged after him, while Alice, Jenny, and Ruth walked together.
Ruth asked Alice about their trip, where they were going, and somehow Alice was managing to answer.
Jenny was glad that Ruth hadn’t asked her anything.
When they reached the house, the tractor was circling a dirt turnaround farther up the hill. It stopped when it was pointed in their direction and the RV was horizontal under the shade of some large maple trees.
William got off the tractor and spoke to Simon, who’d been waiting in the center of the turnaround. The women stood near the garage, which provided a small amount of relief from the sun. Bones had trotted over to the barn and was noisily drinking the horses’ water.
Simon slid under the RV to unhook the towrope, and William coiled it up.
After Simon had wiggled out and was back on his feet, he wiped his arm across his sweaty forehead, then rested his hands on his hips. He looked toward them.
“Wow. It’s hot as blazes out here.”
“Would you like to stay for a glass of iced tea?” Ruth said.
“We don’t want to be a bother, but I am parched,” Simon said.
Jenny stared at him. What was he doing? They needed to get back on the road. What would he want with these old people? She glanced at Alice, who’d gone pale.
“No bother at all,” William said. “We’d love to have the company.”
“That case, a glass of iced tea would be great.”