Mazie Baby (23 page)

“Clementine?” Edward called, and
looked at her in the rear-view mirror. “Like the song?” He broke into a
gravelly rendition of
My Darling Clementine
, his wife joined in near the
end and they shared a laugh.

 “Our son is OPP,” Effie said. “We
hear all kinds of stories about what happens to girls who hitchhike. You’re
lucky we came along.”

Mazie swallowed and nodded. “Yes
ma’am, we certainly are.”

Effie opened the centre console. “You
look thirsty.” She handed Ariel a juice box and opened a plastic container of
cookies. “Homemade.”

Ariel took a big bite of a ginger
snap. “Thank you,” she said with her mouth full.

Effie flashed a sweet and genuine
smile at her. “You remind me of my granddaughter. Though she’s only five, and
her hair is longer. But it’s the eyes. Beautiful green eyes.”

Mazie glanced out the window.

Cullen’s eyes.

~~~~~~~~

 “Charlotte, dear. Wake up.”

Mazie started at the hand on her
arm and bolted upright. Ariel snoozed beside her in the back of a strange minivan.

Right. Edward and Effie.

She rubbed crud from the corner of
one eye. “Are we in Sudbury?”

“At the bus station. Eddie is
getting your bags. You girls must have had a rough night, you both conked out
almost two hours ago. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

“That’s very kind of you.” Mazie
turned and grazed Ariel’s cheek with the back of her fingers. “Bug, time to
go.”

“What?” Ariel jerked awake. “Where
are we?”

“Sudbury. Let’s get our things and
thank these nice people for the ride.”

Mazie climbed out of the van and
stretched.

Effie handed Ariel two more cookies,
turned, and gave Mazie a hug. “Where are you headed?”

Mazie hesitated. “We’re on our way
home. Regina.”

Effie’s eyes grew big. “That’s a
long bus trip!”

“Yes ma’am.”

Ariel slipped her hand into her
mother’s.

That simple gesture said more than
words could ever convey. It meant Ariel still loved her, still trusted her. If
only she could believe it meant forgiveness.

Mazie squeezed Ariel’s hand.

They thanked Effie and Edward and
made their way into the bus station. Within the hour, they boarded a Greyhound
bus and headed for the back row. “You want the window seat?”

Ariel nodded. She sat, retrieved
the tablet from her backpack and pressed the power button.

“It works without a plug?” Mazie
looked over her shoulder.

“As long as there’s a Wi-Fi hot-spot.
And until the battery dies.” She pulled up a map of their route. “About an hour
and forty minutes to North Bay.”

“How long did she say the bus stops
there?” The thought of passing through her home town again brought Mazie’s
heart into her throat.

“An hour.” Ariel took Mazie’s hand.
“You look freaked out. We could get off now. Change the route?”

“No. We’d have to be nuts to travel
back through North Bay.”

Ariel grinned. “So, we’re nuts?”

~~~~~~~~

The bus rolled to a stop at the
North Bay Greyhound station. Mazie scanned the area. No police cars, no foot
patrol. She rested her forehead against Ariel’s temple. “Let’s grab a bite
inside. Keep your head down and don’t look at any cameras,” she whispered.

“That’s why you keep telling me to
put my hood up?”

“Yeah.”

“And that’s why the haircuts and
the makeup and the fake names? Not a game, not breaking Daddy’s rules? To
hide?”

“Afraid so.”

“And I thought you were just being
cool. And weird.”

They put their hoods up, exited the
bus and headed for a small café in the station.

Ariel picked at a roast beef
sandwich. “This sucks.”

“We’ll try to find a place with a
kitchen in Cornwall. Make our own food.” Mazie sipped at her coffee. At least that
didn’t suck.

Ten minutes before the bus was
scheduled to leave, they gathered their things and approached the exit. Mazie
pushed the door open. It hit the back of a police officer who stood just
outside.

Maze grasped Ariel’s sleeve. “Shit.”
She shook her head. “I mean, I’m so sorry.”

“That’s okay ma’am.” He looked her
up and down, tipped his hat to Ariel. “You in a rush?”

Ariel took her hand.

“Our bus is leaving soon.”

“Where you all headed?”

Before Mazie could reply, Ariel
blurted out, “Regina.”

“Regina? Well you’ve got plenty of
time. The westbound doesn’t leave for a good half hour.” He squinted at Mazie.
“Ma’am are you feeling all right? You’re kind of flushed and sweaty.”

She swallowed. “I think it’s
something I ate.”

“Well, no surprise if you ate
here.”

The radio clipped to his shoulder
stuttered to life. He clicked a button. “Ten-four.” He tipped his hat again.
“Have a safe trip.” He jogged to his car and sped out of the parking lot,
lights flashing.

When he was out of sight, Mazie’s
knees gave out and she fell to the ground. The bus driver lumbered over.

“You okay? It’s Charlotte, right?” He
hitched his pants up under his belly and held his hand out.

“I’m fine. Just a little faint.” She
took his hand and he pulled her to her feet.

“Can I get you some water? I have
to run in for a coffee.”

“That would be nice, thanks.”

He checked his watch. “You folks
get on board. We head out in two minutes.”

~~~~~~~~

Fluffs of high cloud glowed
tangerine against the darkening sky. Teal streaked with purple graduated to a
bright blue glow at the horizon. At first blush, Cornwall was beautiful. As
long as you kept your gaze skyward.

Modest houses of beige brick on
acre-plus sized lots lined the east side of the road, Canadian flags proclaimed
many an owner’s patriotism. Businesses, mostly housed in Quonset huts and
double-wides, lined the west. Antiques, a garden centre, a row of yellow bull
dozers, graders and front loaders, like so many giant Tonka toys lined up in an
adult sandbox.

The deeper into town the bus drove,
the closer together the houses grew and the smaller the lots shrank. Industry slipped
away, and a peaceful neighbourhood — with a highway slicing it down the middle —
took its place.

The rush of airbrakes shook Mazie from
her thoughts. She sat up, a flutter in her chest. Could this be their new home?

The bus slowed and veered right
into the parking lot of a gas station and pulled to a jerky stop. The driver
stood and called out “Cornwall!”

Ariel jolted awake. “Are we here?”

Mazie stared out the window. “I
guess so.”

The driver made his way down the
aisle toward them. “I think you’re the only ones getting off here. I’ll grab
your bags.”

Ariel peered out the window. “This
is a gas station.”

“Yup. Doubles as the Greyhound bus station.”

Mazie retrieved her purse from the
floor at her feet. “Are we anywhere near a hotel? A hostel or something?”

“Sorry, Charlotte. I just drive
through.” He pointed out the window. “There’s a pay phone over there.” He
shifted his finger toward the gas station. “And MacEwen has a decent café. I
bet Loretta’d be happy to give you some ideas.”

“Thanks.”

He lumbered down the aisle. The bus
rocked side to side with each step and lifted with relief when he disembarked.

“Well, bug. Let’s get out of here
and check out our new home.”

“There’s more to it right? Like a
downtown and real restaurants and stuff?”

“Here’s hoping.” Mazie grabbed the
backs of empty seats on her way to the front of the bus and stepped out onto
the asphalt. She took a deep breath of bus fumes, dirt, and grease from the
greasy spoon. It had to get better than this. “You stay here, I’ll go see if
there’s a hotel nearby.”

The phone booth was old-fashioned,
the kind that turned Clark Kent into Superman. But this one had seen better
days. A broken cord dangled where the phone book used to be. Mazie peered out
the Plexiglas, milky with age and smudged with filth.

At the pumps, Ariel spoke with a
man who was filling his gas tank. Who the hell? She jogged to her daughter’s
side, her eyes locked on the stranger who had no business chatting up a young
girl.

He’d watched Mazie approach,
grinned at her when she neared. She touched her hand to the side of her face,
shielding it from his stare, and took Ariel by the arm. “We’ll have to go talk
to Loretta. There’s no phone book.” She pulled up the handle of her suitcase
and glanced back at the man. He set the pump back on its cradle, paying not one
whit of attention to them. “What did he say to you?”

“He asked where we were going. I
told him I had no idea.”

A bell over the door announced
their entrance into the café. A woman stood behind the till, engrossed in a worn
paperback.

“Excuse me, are you Loretta?”

“I certainly am.” Loretta dog-eared
the page and tossed the book on the counter.  “Did Bill send you my way?”

Mazie smiled. “Yes, he sure did.
Said you’d know where there was a decent place to stay.” She did a mental
calculation of her resources. “A cheap one.”

“Well, you want decent, or cheap?”
Loretta let out a huge laugh. “Just kidding, honey. I know just the place.” She
scrawled an address on a piece of scrap paper. “It’s not too far, you can grab
the bus just down the road a bit, take you right to it. Should come in…” she
glanced at her watch, “forty minutes or so. You could take a cab, be quicker.
But that’s not as cheap, right?” She winked. She looked at Ariel. “Love your
hair, sweetheart.”

Ariel touched her hair. Her cheeks
pinked.

“Where are you coming from? What
brings you to our sleepy little city?”

Back story. Why hadn’t she thought
of that?

“Just a change of pace. Divorce.
You know how it is.”

“Ah yes. Yes I do. Damn bastards.”

“Hey, Loretta, I gotta jet. Can we
move it along?”

Mazie turned around to face a truck
driver, a wad of chewing tobacco lumped inside one cheek, credit card at the
ready.

“Sorry,” Mazie said. “We’re done.”
She turned back to Loretta. “Thanks for everything.”

“Any time, honey. Good luck.”

Mazie skirted around the trucker
dragging her luggage, battered and beaten, behind her. She bumped right into the
man from the gas pumps. He stood a good eight inches taller than her, his reedy
body drowned by his corduroy pants and tweed jacket.

“Pardon me, miss.” He glanced at
his feet before lifting his eyes to meet her gaze. “I overheard you at the
till. I know you have no idea who I am, but I’d like to offer you a ride. Looks
like you’ve been travelling a while,” he looked away and scratched the back of
his head, “and it’s almost dark.”

“Thanks, but we’re fine.”

“I know, kind of crazy, right?
Complete stranger. Offers a ride.” He held his hand out. “I’m Norman Day.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Day. But we
do all right on our own.”

He held up his hands. “Didn’t mean
to suggest otherwise. Just thought I could save you a long wait. I could have
you to the hotel in ten minutes flat.”

“Norm, you’re up!” Loretta’s voice
boomed across the shop.

“Just let me pay my bill and we can
talk?”

“Thanks, but no.” Mazie grabbed
Ariel’s hand. “Come on Ar ─” She pressed her lips together. “Just come
on.”

“Take the ride, honey.”

Mazie spun around.

Loretta was ringing up Norman’s gas
purchase. “He’s a straight arrow. He’ll just drop you off, get you in safely
before dark. Known him for twenty years. He’s above board.”

Norman blushed and shrugged his
shoulders.

Mazie looked at Ariel. “What do you
think?”

“I think I’m tired. Take the ride,
Mom.”

Mazie nodded. “All right, then.”

Norman had paid his bill and held
the door open for them. His eyes were kind, his smile genuine. And he smelled
familiar. Like vanilla. Or cookies. Oatmeal cookies.

“I’m Charlotte. This is my daughter,
Clementine.”

“Nice to meet you, Charlotte.”

“She likes to be called Charlie.” Ariel’s
face was alight with mischief.

“And what do you like to be
called?”

“Clem is fine.”

“Clem it is. What does the ‘A’
stand for?” Norman pointed to her necklace.

Ariel touched one finger to the
gold pendant that rested in the hollow of her collarbone. Her cheeks paled.
“Uh, it means … Awesome.”