Chapter 2

An hour and a half later and we were out of the worst of the traffic and I had the cruise control locked in at seventy, letting that diesel engine do what it did best, eat up miles. I'd noted that, despite a cup of coffee and a coke, Miss Tina'd seen fit to doze off for an hour or so. She woke up to the rhythm of the interstate under our wheels.

"Are we gonna get there this evening?" she asked.

"Nope. If I drove straight through, maybe we'd get there sometime after midnight. I'm not up to that kind of driving if I don't have to," I said.

"I've got my license. I could drive," she said.

That was an interesting thought that I hadn't entertained. But, "No, you're not on my insurance, Tina. But I appreciate the offer. Really."

"So what are we going to do? For the night, I mean?"

"Let's see," I said. "Open this map." I still had some paper maps. She complied. "In two more hours we'll be here," I pointed to a town in Mississippi. "If you check my cellphone under "Holiday Inn" you'll see a number for them. Tell 'em we need a room with two beds, non-smoking. Uh ... you don't smoke, do you?"

"Yecchhhhh!" she spat. "Uh ... I have a problem," she said. "Actually, a couple of 'em."

"What sort of problem?"

"One, I'm ... Uh ... let me put it delicately ... I'm on my period, and I have two tampons left. And two, all the clothes that I own are in that Wal-mart bag behind the seat."

"Oh," I said. "I thought you said "problem". Make the hotel reservation. That town's big enough to have a mall and we'll hit town at six or so. We go to the mall, you get what you need. No problem as far as I can see."

"Nuh-uh. Problem. I almost got the crap slapped out of me for forty bucks. That's all the money I have."

"You keep arguing," I smiled. "I got a gold card in my pocket and it needs exercise."

"But I can't pay you back, Mister Alan. At least not right now."

"Look, Miss Tina, first thing is, we get rid of this "Mister – Miss" stuff. I'll be Alan and you'll be Tina, okay?"

"Uh, okay..."

"And second, buying you a few things you need is NOT going to inconvenience me in the least. You need stuff. I'm getting you stuff. Pretty simple. And I didn't say anything about paying back. So stop worrying."

"Okay ... Alan." And she smiled. Just a little bit. And it was wonderful.

I listened to her reserve us a room, reading numbers off my Visa card as I drove. An hour later we were at the mall, and I followed her part time, led her the other part, forcing her to get a few changes of clothes, bought both of us pajamas, extra bath towels, an inordinate amount of strange substances apparently needed by young ladies in the bath, a hair dryer, and as we were heading out, me carrying six huge bags, her carrying one, we happened past one of those accursed perfume counters and she got whiffed by a charming, perfectly coiffed lady wielding a sample spritzer like an artillery piece.

"Mmmmmm," Tina said. "I love that stuff. Always have."

I dropped my load of bags and reached for my wallet. She put her hand on my arm. Electricity coursed through me at this, the first touch. "No, Alan. I understand all this other stuff. I need things. But I don't NEED perfume."

"Hush!" I told her, slapping the gold card on the counter. To the lady with the spritzer I said, "Which do you recommend? The cologne or the perfume?"

And Tina added another bag. We guarded our treasures as each of us made a run at the food court for dinner.

We got back in the truck and drove up the highway away from the mall to the hotel on the side of the interstate. I checked us in and we started unloading bags into the room. I had my one overnight bag, the remainder of my stuff being stored in the trailer. Tina had two loads.

And now I began to see how sticky things might be. At this point, I was being completely non-lecherous. I was truthful when I told both Tina and Deputy Hurley that I had no intention of Tina being my sex toy. I was as serious to myself. In my own mind, she was as untouchable as a vestal virgin. And here we were in the same hotel room.

First line of business was for us to rifle through the bags for pajamas. She continued past that point to locate panties (hip-hugger, in pastel colors. I bit the inside of my mouth) and a new bra, 34-B. She also chose the next day's ensemble, jeans and of all things, a rugby shirt. Those were all carefully laid out, along with my shirt for the next day. My pants had yet to suffer to the point that I determine a fresh pair is needed.

Next, it's shower time for Tina. I plopped my ass down in a comfy chair and found TV channels to surf while she hauled her bag of goodies into the bathroom and shut the door. I heard shower for a while, then various noises including gargling sounds and then ten minutes of hair dryer. And the door opened, and out of the darkness came a vision. Clean, sweet-smelling, hair washed, dried, and brushed to a shine, her bangs glistening like jewels above those blue eyes, the slightest curl where her hair stopped just short of her shoulders. And she was smiling.

"Gah, Alan, I feel so much better."

"You look much happier," I said. "Lemme go see if the works for me."

Half an hour later I was shaved, showered, deodorized, and after-shaved. I told myself that the aftershave was because it made my face feel good. For me. I slid into a new set of pajamas, a big change since my usual bed-time garb was a t-shirt and drawers. But there I was, in PJ's, walking out of the bathroom.

To a smiling Tina. "Wow! You smell better."

"Uh ... I'm sorry. I didn't know I smelt BAD..."

She smirked. "Maybe it was the adrenaline."

"Yeah ... probably so." I turned down my bed and stretched out in it.

"Are we gonna fight over the remote control?" she laughed.

"Nope. Tonight I relinquish the control to you. Whatever you want to watch."

She flipped channels. Paused on "Cops". "Hmph!" she snorted. "That's where Mom's guys get their career tips." Kept flipping. "Oooooooh! Do you mind? Animal Planet. "The Blue Seas"? I LOVE this!"

I was pleasantly surprised. I figured, oh, I don't know what I figured. This was good. No, great. "You like this stuff?"

"Oh, gosh, yes! My favorites. Learn stuff."

"Well, then be my guest, little princess. We're not going to argue about TV."

"Really?"

"Really," I said.

She turned her own bed down. We watched and talked. And what I didn't hear was as important as what I did hear. I didn't hear "like" and "ya know" and "He's like" and other contemporary argot. That left me to parse the "high-school dropout" angle.

Ten o'clock came around and I noted that we needed to get rolling by 0700.

"Okay," she said. "Can I set the sleep timer on the TV?"

"Sure," I said.

She set the timer and I reached to turn out the lights, and I heard in the room, dimly lit by the flicker of the TV screen, "Alan, thank you."

"No, thank you, Tina. You've added a new adventure to my life." And that is the note I went to sleep on. And strange dreams.

The alarm woke me up from a sound sleep. I looked over at the next bed and saw the lump that was Tina. She stirred.

I turned on the light. "Owwwwww," she complained. Then, "oh, yeah..." And she sat up, rubbed her eyes, looked at me, and smiled. "Hi, Alan."

"Hi, Tina. I hate to be a party pooper, but we have to get in gear, dear."

"Yes, dear," she teased.

"You want the bathroom to get dressed, or here? I'll take the other one."

"Bathroom," she said.

"Wait," I said. "Before you take over."

I went and relieved my bladder. When I got out, there was Tina, eyebrow raised, baby-talking, "Did my widdle boy have to go potty?"

"Like a racehorse," I countered.

She took over the bathroom. I heard face being washed, teeth being brushed, and in ten minutes a Tina showed up, ready for the day. I did the teeth thing and I was ready to go, that is as soon as we packed up. Two trips to the truck. I stopped by the front desk and paid the tab, and we made a short run across the interstate to a diner for breakfast.

Pancakes and coffee, and conversation. "Maybe we won't have to shoot our way out of this one, babe," she smirked.

I noted with interest the term "babe" used in reference to me. "Gosh," I said, "At least not until next week."

Walking back across the parking lot to the truck and trailer, I noticed that there was less distance between us than before.

In the truck, in five minutes we were back on the open road, locked in at seventy. She loosened her seatbelt and turned sideways.

"So if we're gonna be living together, don't you think we should know something about each other?"

"That might be good. I figured you'd tell me what you wanted, whenever you felt up to it."

"I'm talkin' about you, Alan," she said.

"Okay. What do you want to know? If I don't want to answer, I'll tell you. Between us, that's gonna be the rule. If you don't want to tell, just say no. No lies, okay?"

"Okay. Wife?"

"Nope," I said. "Divorced four years ago. She left with a high school sweetheart. Living in California with new husband and our daughter."

"Daughter?"

"Yeah. Terri will be seven this year. Have her a month in the summer. Might fly her in for Christmas or Thanksgiving, IF the ex will submit to such horrors. You want to know what's sad?"

"What's sadder than that?" Tina asked.

"She had complications during the pregnancy and delivery and her doctor said another baby might be very bad for her or the baby, so she talked ME into getting a ... uh ... fixed. Of course, now that I'm forty, that's not as big a deal, but to some women..."

"Yeah, I guess some women would see that as a minus. Girlfriends?"

"Nope. Not in the last two years. Gave up on the dating scene. Don't do one-night stands. Morals, and all that."

"Really? It's been a long time since I heard that," she said.

"Besides, I'm weird. Just ask the ex. I listen to the wrong kind of music. Watch the wrong kind of TV. Laugh at the wrong kind of jokes.

"I thought you liked the right kind of TV last night." She paused. "Okay. Let's move on to the music thing. Let me guess. Hip-hop." She smirked again.

"You need a magic marker to help you make a cardboard sign for the side of the road?"

Laughing. "Okay, so what..."

"Look in the console."

She opened the console and pulled out two CD's. "Uh ... if this is the wrong kind ... Alan, I miss this music."

"Are you looking at..."

"Bach. Brandenburg Concertos. Beethoven. Symphonies. Oh, god! Pastorale!"

"W-w-wait! You're a teenaged girl. It's supposed to be boy bands and hip-hop."

"Not when you're looking for a little bit of theology and geometry in your universe."

"Theology and geometry? Like in "Confederacy of Dunces"?"

Squeal. "You know the book?"

"Not the kind of book I expect to be known by a high school dropout, Tina."

"About that," she sighed. "I wanted to explain. This is as good a time as any. When my Grandma was alive and I lived with her, I had a 3.8 average. When she died, and I had to live with Mom, like I said, school after school, never enough days, I gave up." She looked at me with serious eyes. "I'm not stupid. And I'm not lazy. I'm not my mother's daughter, I'm HER mother's grand-daughter, and I want to go back to school."

"That answers that question, then," I said.

"You had a question? Really? About me?"

"Yes, Tina, I did. I was quite happy to help you out, but honestly, I didn't know how much I could do if you were a dropout and done with school. Now I have some hope. 3.8? Really? Wow! I didn't do THAT good."

"So you're thinking about my school now?"

"Yeah. We'll have to figure some stuff out. Get you graduated from high school. College?"

"Was a dream. I was hoping for scholarships. Grandma was going to help, but she was on fixed income. And when she died..." she sighed. "Hope of college died too."

"Don't give up hope, Tina. Let's see where this leads, okay?"

"Okay. Now, back to Alan. You went to college, obviously. Engineering. Isn't that tough?"

"Not if you get your head into the game. And I was Army ROTC, so I spent five years as an engineer lieutenant."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

"And now..." She was paying close attention now.

"And now I'm pretty well known in a small field of people who take care of industrial power systems, and that's what I'm, we're going to go do in Tennessee. It pays good if I'm willing to travel, and with no wife and kids to take care of, I AM willing to travel."

She was smiling. "And rescue young damsels in distress."

"That too. Now, tell me more about Tina."

"I turned seventeen three months ago. I should be starting my senior year in high school. I used to swim on the city team. I am computer literate. I like classical music, although I think Chopin is trying too hard to sound sophisticated and darned little good classical music has been written since 1900. Well, some of Copland's stuff, and a few others. I can stand some ragtime and some bits of other genres."

"Boyfriends?"

"I've dated a few. Nothing serious. Because boys my age, at least the ones I met, AREN'T serious. They're as bad as girls except it's pickup trucks and cars instead of nail polish and hairdos, and there's that ONE thing that's always on their minds when they're on a date and get you alone."

"Ah, yes," I said. "I remember being young and stupid. Thanks for reminding me."

She was on a roll. "So I'm out on a date with a guy I'm thinking is cute and smart and I've just finished reading "Confederacy" and I start talking about it and he's all about, "Can I touch your tits" and I'm pushing hands away. She sighed. "I want to be a MIND."

"I understand," I said.

"No you don't. It's different for guys."

"No, babe," I said. Oops. Called her "babe". Move on. "When the men and women are forty, it gets all screwed up. Women think that if they get you into bed a time or two that you're ready for marriage. And I'm thinking, "Hey, you hated my music. And I supposed to spend the rest of my life in a house without Beethoven?"

Her laughter was like tinkling bells. "Maybe you DO understand."

She continued. "And then I moved back in with Mom. SuperMom. As in, "Oh, baby you're old enough. Go out with HIM. He's got a nice car." And "You might give a little to get a little, you know what I mean?" And "He didn't mean to walk in on you in the shower. And it's no big deal if he saw you naked." And "don't be so sensitive. A lot of people ain't as picky about showing off their bodies. Get over it."

"Really? That bad.?"

"That bad. Grandma cried about how her daughter turned out to be such a, in her words, slut." She sighed. Then I saw her smile. "School. I get to go back to school."

"If that's what you want, Tina."

"That's what I want."

Lunchtime saw us parked in the back corner of a roadside restaurant, inside for a stretch and a bathroom break and a decent meal. Two o'clock saw us pulling into the RV park we'd be calling home for the next six months. That was the plan, anyway. We got down together and I signed in at the office, meeting the manager, getting the talk about the lay of the park, the amenities, the rules and we got pointed to a spot in the most remote corner, per my request.

I did the much-hated backing of a thirty-five foot trailer into a spot, then with Tina helping, got unhitched, leveled, electricity, water and waste connected, then I climbed a ladder and installed my satellite TV dish. To Tina I said, "There. Animal Planet, Discovery, History, MTV, VH1..."

"Watch it, Alan. You're falling off your white horse." and laughter.

"Okay, princess, it's time to see your new castle," I said, unlocking the door and lowering the retractable step. She stepped in first.

"Wow! This is nice! I haven't lived in anything this nice since Grandma's."

"You like it? Really?'

"Yeah," she said. "It's small, but you've got everything. Kitchen. Little washer and dryer. "Uh ... just one bed..."

"And the sofa makes out into another. I had this one custom made. I didn't plan on company. The desk is where the other bed would normally be. But I've slept on the sofa and..."

"It's nicer than anything I've seen in a year, Alan. This is wonderful."

I wish I heard more assurance in her voice.

We moved her stuff from the truck to one of the two clothes closets. I showed her the bathroom. Storage space. Where to turn water on and off. Gas. Electricity. I also showed her how the sofa made out into a bed, a fairly easy operation but instead she stretched out full length on it in "Sofa" mode.

"This is a sight better than I'm used to. I had a single bed in Mom's apartment and the mattress was shot."

"I'm sorry, b..." I caught myself. "uh, Tina, but when I designed this I didn't plan on a teen girl living with me."

"That's okaaay, Alan, really. If you put up with me, I can put up with this." She got up and opened cabinets. "You got pots and pans. We need to go grocery shopping. Get stuff to cook."

"Uh," I said, "I don't usually cook much past TV dinners."

"But I can cook. So let's make a list. And then go shopping."

She retrieved the little notebook from her purse and started writing. As she wrote, she questioned me about foods I liked and disliked, studiously scribbling in her notebook in a tight and even hand.

"'Kay," she announced. "Now let's go buy groceries."

And we did. Once in the truck, I asked, "Tina, if you're serious about going back to school, I'm gonna call tomorrow and see what it takes to get you in. If you're serious."

"I'm serious. I can't imagine not having at least a high school diploma, Alan. What do people do?"

"I don't know. Some make it without the diploma, but that's not the way to bet."

"I'd really like college."

"That's what you said. Let's get you through high school first."

Giggle. "Yeah. High school."

Driving out of the park, we drove past the pool. There were two couples sitting poolside watching some kids splash around.

"I need a bathing suit. I could enjoy that pool," she said.

"Me too," I responded. "We'll see about getting suits. Maybe tomorrow."

As we drove, she asked, "What's the plan for tomorrow, anyway?"

I glanced at her. "I figured we'd find where I have to work, and see what kind of drive it is. Maybe find the high school. Go into town and get a couple of swimsuits. And YOU get to say, too, you know. I don't start working until next Monday. We have all week."

"'Kay," she smiled.

Groceries collected we retired back to our trailer. It was nearing darkness. "Tina, I'm going to walk a lap around the park. I need the exercise." I tried to do something three or four times a week. Kept the weight down and my health up.

"Uh, okay," she said. "Is this your 'alone' time, or can I walk with you?"

"Let's go. If I need 'alone' time, I'll tell you. I've had plenty enough in that last couple of years. It's nice to have somebody to talk with."

We locked the trailer and started walking. Sunday evening, there were still three other trailers in the park. Two retired couples were sitting outside near one, chatting. We stopped and exchanged pleasantries. Continuing the walk, we caught up with a third retired couple out walking like us, enjoying the evening calm. We made a point of examining the park's pool area. Looked like a good thing. At least through September, before it started getting too cool. So we had a month.

I walk pretty briskly, so I was stepping out. I noted that Tina was matching me step for step without complaint, and carrying on conversation as she did so. Healthy. Okay.

I unlocked the trailer and let us in. "Who goes first?"

"Me, if you don't mind..." she said.

"Okay, but remember to go easy on the hot water. We got a ten-gallon heater. So wet down, soap up, rinse. Same thing on shampoo."

Giggle. "I read that's how you do it on a boat," she said. "I'll leave you some hot water."

"Uh, another problem. These things aren't exactly built for privacy. I'll stay in my end with the curtain closed until you're dressed, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess." She fixed me in a stare. "This is gonna be difficult, huh?"

"I'm sorry. You got a better idea?"

"Yeas, I do, if YOU'RE the kind of man I think you are. I mean, locking yourself behind a curtain..."

"What's the alternative?"

She stared at me, her lips belying a firm resolve. "You can just decide that you might see as much of a female as you would on any beach in the country. I won't flash you or tease you. And you try to be the same when it's your turn. I've seen guys before. I think we're both adults and we can restrain ourselves."

"There you go, making sense," I said.

She smiled. "I don't want to mess up your life, Alan. We just both live here, and we get along, and treat each other like adults, okay?"

This from a cute seventeen year old girl. That, yes, part of me definitely wanted to see naked. But I pushed that part back down in my head. "Okay, princess."

She huffed. "Stop calling me princess."

"You ARE a princess."

"I will carry my weight in this house, okay? Really."

"Okay," I said. "Then we'll have a couple of TV dinners. And tomorrow we'll try cooking."

"Okay." She smiled. "Alan, I appreciate what you're doing for me. What you've already done. We'll work this all out, okay?"

"Okay. Get your shower." And I went back to my chair with my back to the bathroom. I heard the water run. Stop. Run again. Stop. Run again. Then bumping and a towel-clad Tina zipped up the narrow aisle to the bedroom where her clothes were. The privacy curtain closed for a minute, then she emerged.

"See!" she laughed. "We made it. Your turn. I'm gonna dry my hair." Pajama-clad, she sat on the steps to my bed and started brushing and blowing.

I'd done enough in this trailer to have a routine, but that had to be altered at the point where I walked around nude. I brought my tighty-whities into the little bathroom and in the confined space, I toweled off and donned them, then opened the door to let the moist air out while I shaved. I emerged and Tina was sitting on the sofa.

"Oh, wow," she laughed. "Tighty-whities. I can hardly contain myself." Sarcasm dripped.

"I didn't know I was sharing a trailer with a smartass," I laughed, as I donned my own pajamas.

"One of my many talents," she smirked. Punching the start button on the microwave, she giggled. "This is another."

TV dinners and soft drinks. "We can do better than this," she said as we sat opposite one another in the dining booth. She was right. We watched TV together, me with my laptop and a wireless card, checking email and a couple of engineering websites. She looked.

"I haven't used a computer since Grandma's house. I had a laptop. It "disappeared" at Mom's."

I picked it up and handed it to her. "Use this one."

"You don't mind?"

"I gotta trust you, huh?"

"You CAN trust me, Alan. Mom didn't raise me. Grandma did. Right." She got serious fast.

"Sorry, Tina. That's YOUR computer now. Just don't erase my old stuff."

Squeal. "This is MINE? But don't you need it for work?"

"Got another one in the truck for work. I can bring it in if I need it. What'd'ya got? Email? FaceBook?"

"Uh-huh. That I haven't checked in months. Only got to a computer at the library. And I didn't get to the library very much."

I flipped through some TV channels as she concentrated on the computer screen. I heard her muttering under her breath, "Nope. Nuh-uh. Nope. No way." A pause, a flurry of keystrokes, the back to "Nope. No way."

"You sound awfully busy," I said.

"Catching up with people I don't really want to catch up with, mostly. I'm answering a couple, though."

I looked at her as she went back to her task. I didn't stare, but I was looking at a cutie who wasn't working at being cute. She just was. I went back to TV. It was safer.

Finally she looked up. "Done!"

"That was fast. How about looking up the local school board? We need to get the ball rolling on getting you back in school."

"Okay," she said. A few more keystrokes and she passed me the laptop. I looked at the website.

"That's where we'll start tomorrow," I said. I looked at my watch. "It's about bedtime. Lemme get you a pillow and some sheets." I retrieved a set of sheets and a pillow from my bed.

"But this is YOUR pillow," she said.

"I had three. I can live with two."

She unfolded a sheet and tucked it into the sofa cushions, making a clean smooth surface, then positioned the pillow and pulled the other sheet over her. "This'll work," she said.

"If you get cold, I can get you a blanket. I like sleeping in a cold room myself."

"I'll be okay," she said, smiling. "G'nite, Alan. Thanks for a nice day."

"No, thank you, Tina. You're fun to hang out with."

She smiled. I made my way to the bed at the opposite end of the trailer, turned down the covers and crawled in. I didn't close the privacy curtain. The light at the other end of the trailer blinked out, leaving a little night light's soft illumination. I went to sleep.
