Chapter Sixteen
“dude!’ Question exclaims when he realizes that Vincent has been lavishing his wardrobe.
‘didn’t anybody ever tell you to be prepared when you are on a mission? I have nothing to wear back to Gabs and I hadn’t done laundry and we need to leave in an hour.’
‘stop being a girl Q.’ I say as I lazily zip my bag, ‘at least you had a toothbrush and socks.’
‘have you no sympathy?’
‘you’ll be in the car the whole time anyway and we have bigger things to worry about.’ I nod towards Vincent who is sitting in a chair waiting for us to finish but his mind is miles away.
‘nah he has bigger things to worry about—this is as far as we can go for this favour we are doing. Let him brainstorm this on his own.’
I let out a short laugh, ‘you think this was a favour? We were ordered here.’
Question nods, ‘yes we were—missed a week of work too.’
I scoff, ‘yeah right, first time I am hearing the owner of a company worried about working hours.’
‘and the result is having people who ectually want to come to work, you should try it sometime.’
I roll my eyes, ‘if I actually owned the whole organisation I’d fire everybody.’
Question is about to say something when Vincent barks at us, ‘guys, you seriously can not have a normal conversation while I am way in over my head here.’
‘dude,’ Question throws his hands in the air, ‘you stalked your woman all the way here, wrestled with her nutty friends and finally won her back on her own accord and you hadn’t realized up until now that you were in over your head?’
Vincent presses his lips together, ‘I don’t know what to do.’
‘there’s a first time for everything.’ Question mumbles with a shrugs and marches purposefully to my zipped bag. He zips it open and throws the cover off with one movement.
‘don’t touch my stuff I just packed that.’
The bastard snickers, ‘who’s a girl now.’ He ploughs his crabby fingers into my neat clothes pile and shovels them out on the bed before tearing through them to lift a white t-shirt, ‘your neat ways make me sick.’
‘the truth Vince—whats there to think about? Just tell the truth.’ I focus on encouraging Vincent before I end up a murderer.
‘I will remind you of this day when you two jerks are in trouble.’
Vincent mutters as he hurriedly walks out of the room.
Question and I exchange glances.
‘did he just admit he is in trouble?’ I ask him
Question shakes his head, ‘strange things are happening to me.’
I wince a little when I see my scattered clothes on the bed
JULY
Nancy slaps my hand away as I try to reach for the radio off button.
‘have mercy guys seriously.’ I whine from the back seat.
‘live a little,’ Nancy beams at me, ‘you said that to me remember.’
‘wait what?’ Ludo fixes the rearview mirror to settle her icy gaze at me through it. She is still sore about the incident at the airport, ‘you changed Nancy’s mind with the live a little speech? Why do people always follow motivations from other people who don’t even do what they preach?’
I glare at her, ‘well I’m sorry that I cant live the way you want but at least I love the way I am.’
Ludo gasps, ‘you think you have any idea what is going on in my life?’
‘oh God!’ I throw my hands in the air, ‘I have no idea excuse me—but you keep trying to fix other people’s lives because you couldn’t fix yours.’
Ludo grunts angrily and stomps her fist on the hooter scaring a by-passer in the middle of the zebra crossing.
‘stop sainting yourself here July, I was doing exactly what you were doing—looking out for a friend, don’t you dare take the highseat and think that you are more reasonable than me.’
‘sometimes that seems to be the case.’
‘okay stop.’ Nancy exclaims and the car grows silent, ‘what is wrong with you two—you are fighting worse than you did in highschool.’
‘we did not.’ Ludo and I spoke at the same time.
‘yes you are—the words—you always slayed each other with words when you got mad at each other—like the time when Henry asked Ludo out instead of you.’
‘because he liked me better,’ Ludo says airily, ‘I still don’t get what all the fuss was all about.’
‘you flirted with him until he thought you were the best creature in the world—I was glad when it backfired.’
All I hear is a loud gasp and then screeching tyres followed by Nancy’s exclaim, ‘run.’
By the time Ludo jumps out of the car and slams the door looking as mad as a hornet I am like ten metres away from the car laughing my lungs out.
‘you want to bring back embarrassing moments? Do you have any clue what you are starting?’
I roll my eyes, ‘I know I am dealing with a mean person—its not like you are going to say something I haven’t heard before.’
Nancy comes out of the car and folds her arms—wait, is she giving us a mom look right now? We’ll deal with her later---
‘why cant you just give me a little credit? No one is getting a trophy.’
‘and you obviously want one.’ I flash her a smug smile.
ludo bares her teeth at me before she says through clenched teeth, ‘well a trophy for all the hell I’ve been through the past days wont be so bad as an incentive to not keep in touch with you crazy people.’
‘oh ho, you wont get rid of me that easily.’
‘do try me.’
And then Nancy decides its time to step in when the glare contest was just about to begin, party crasher.
‘okay time out.’ She exclaims then lets out a sigh, ‘look you two knuckle heads—I am so blessed to have you by my side through this trying time and I know that every thing that you did for me was for the sake of my happiness and I will forever be greatful.’
Silence for a moment and Nancy has that did-i-say-something-wrong look on her face when Ludo turns on her.
‘tell me honestly Nance—were you ever going to leave Vincent? Tell me.’
Nancy shakes her head sadly, her expression similar to the way it was at the beginning of this screwed road trip, ‘well at first I was determined to leave him before that woman Tasha stormed into my room drunk like a sailer threatening to bring amagedon on me.’
We both stare at her.
‘when was that?’ Ludo manages to ask because Nancy has never been able to keep such vital information from us before.
‘the night before the airport. I then decided that the woman was unbalanced somehow and it wasn’t worth it.’
I still don’t get it so I don’t know why Ludo is nodding.
‘so why did you get back together with Vincent?’
Nancy offers a shrug, ‘I know you all think Vincent is some kind of dangerous hot headed man able to talk himself into a hanging.’
‘never has he been described any better.’ Ludo mumbles and I almost nod in agreement before I remember that I am not to agree with her right now even is she told me there are seven days in a week.
‘but he was afraid of losing me—just as I was afraid of losing him…. And we did have a long talk last night. Let out all the spider webs that’s been hanging in the air.’
A silence again as Ludo and I digest all this, making ourselves the sole judges of the matter.
‘did he tell you about him and Tasha being involved in the past?’ Ludo asks and I want to groan and hit her.
‘what?” Nancy’s eyes widens.
We stare at her and both exclaim, ‘he did not!’
Nancy breaks into a smile, ‘just kidding—don’t worry guys—you don’t have to murder the love of my life anymore.’
Suddenly tired as hell from all this I just shake my head and return into the car. Minutes later the two girls do the same and we resume the journey. Minus the music. All I had to go through just to turn off that damn music. This cruel world.
‘so July.’ Ludo breaks the silence with a sore topic as usuall, ‘what exactly is going on between you and Josh.’
Okay I wasn’t expecting that one even though I know they were going to ask at some point but not this point too soon.
‘nothing you haven’t heard before.’ I mumble not wanting to seem as though I am avoiding the conversation because they will bring hell on me if I even try and I am way too exhuasted to try to evade hell by best friends right now.
‘I mean how is he different from all the normal guys I’ve been introducing you to for the past years?’
Oh that’s an easy answer.
‘well he is normal than all the abnormal human beings I have been meeting through you Ludo—I still wonder where you met all those people? Do you run in some secret circles I need to know about?’
‘no there isn’t—you think Josh is normal?’
‘well he does not talk about the great apetheid every time we try to have a normal conversation.’ I point out.
‘you are still sore about Ethan?’
‘I am still traumatized actually so don’t put it midly.’
‘he was a politician.’
‘and you my best friend like a sister to me would try to match make me with a still stuck in the past politician because…?’
Ludo turns to look at me from the front seat, ‘you are a logician—I was simply measuring and matching persoanalities.’
Nancy snorts beside her, ‘oh please July is anything but logical.’
‘excuse me?’
Ludo turns her eyes back on the road of which I am greatly relieved by the way.
‘if you were anything close to logic you would not be head over heels for a man you met in just a few days.’
I shrug, as of that case I have no explanation, ‘look I am willing to let go and look past all the evils of the past with apetheid politicians and flat earthers as long as we don’t talk about Josh for now?’
‘uh no—whats a flat earther?’
‘I introduced her to that cute space scientist we met at the serminar.’
Nancy gasps, ‘oh my god and then what?’
‘well then what? They are not together just because July is opposed to his view of the earth as flat and his dream of proving it.’
Nacny laughs. I would laugh too except I still can’t believe Ludo doesn’t see the point here…
‘well hello near future—I was probably going to end up a widow with my husband dead somewhere in a crappy DIY spaceship trying to prove other scientists wrong.’
Ludo and Nancy laughs.
‘oh big on careers are we?’ Ludo smirks at me from the rearview mirror, ‘what does Josh do for a living?’
Silence. Burning cheeks.
‘a little silent back there.’ Nancy sing-songs.
I grit my teeth, worst part about grilling your best friends is that you cnat escape when they grill you back.
He’s a chef.’
‘holy crow.’ Ludo mumbles, ‘he is just hard to dislike that one.’
The car turns into a filling station where we all get out to stretch our legs, buy some food and put pressure in the tyres. Well I am the one who does that because Nancy cant and Ludo bossed me into doing it and bribed me with curdbury chocolate, rum and raisin to be more precise,
But thankfully a kind gentlemen comes to my aid and soon we are on our way again. The plan is to sleep in Francistown and then proceed to Gabs the following day. Since no crisis has occurred yet, maybe none will be waiting for us at the end of the road.