An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes (16 page)

“. . . not learning anything real yet . . .”

“. . . call every day . . .”

“. . . fine . . .”

“. . . how about one month . . .”

“. . . that's fair . . .”

“. . . yeah, okay . . .”

“. . . I love you, too . . .”

“. . . love you . . .”

“. . . I'm sorry . . .”

The calls end at nearly the same time, like rain stopping all at once. Mari, Archie, and Dante hang their heads, contrite but relieved, ready but disbelieving.

“You guys should have texted,” Sam says. His phone starts to vibrate with a call. He turns it off.

“Maybe we should change seats. Sam can move up front, and Mari can come back here with me,” Archie says.

Dante looks at Mari.

“I'm good,” she says, stretching out her legs.

Dante restarts the engine. He waits for an opening in the traffic and then pulls back onto the highway, onward to discover.

Archie squints, gripping the steering wheel like it might fly away. He guides the car past hilly farmland dotted with grazing cows beneath clouds that stretch across the sky like cotton pulled thin. Country music plays on the radio. He'd change the station, but it's
all
country.

Also, he's afraid to take even one hand off the wheel.

“Why do I keep swerving?” he asks.

“You're trying too hard. Just relax. Keep your eyes fixed on where you want to go, not where you are,” Mari advises from the passenger seat. “And keep your speed up.”

Archie relaxes a bit too much and drifts into the adjacent lane. A driver blares his car horn as he accelerates past them.

“You'll get the hang of it,” Dante says, crammed into the seat behind Mari.

“Is the engine supposed to be making that sound?” Archie asks. “It's like a gerbil suffering a slow, painful death.”

Mari laughs and slaps him on the shoulder. “It's always made that sound. My car's a plucky heroine.”

“The road bends up ahead—what do I do?” Archie asks.

“Use the Force,” Dante says.

Mari answers Archie in a soothing voice. “Just turn the car with the road. Be gentle. Remember: look where you want to go.”

“Okay. All right. I think I'm getting this.” He smiles.

Another car honks as it overtakes them.

“What's that in the road?” Archie asks.

Everyone looks. “Roadkill,” says Sam.

“What do I do? Should I stop?”

“Just drive around it,” Mari says.

“I can't—it's right in the middle,” Archie says, his voice rising with panic as they close the distance.

“Then just drive over it,” Sam says.

Archie glances at Sam and then back at the road. “And kill it?!”

“It's already dead.”

“Yeah, but still, it seems like—Oh, God! It's right there—what do I—”

There's a
thump-thump
as the tires drive over the creature's carcass. Archie shudders and then checks his rearview mirror. “You think it's okay?”

Sam shakes his head. Dante laughs. Mari pats Archie on the shoulder again.

“Maybe someone else should take over,” Sam says. “He's going like ten miles an hour. We'll be lucky to make it to Seattle by Christmas at this rate. Assuming we don't die in a fiery crash.”

“There's no way we're going to make it twenty-something more hours
and
back with just Dante and me driving,” says Mari. “So unless you want to put down that phone and take the wheel, I suggest you shut up and enjoy the ride.”

Sam sneers at Mari and then drops his eyes back to his phone.

“Still can't get ahold of her?” Dante asks.

“No,” says Sam. “Maybe she forgot her phone somewhere. She's lost it before. Plenty of times.”

Archie takes his eyes off the road for an instant and exchanges a look with Mari. The car vibrates as it drifts over the rumble strip and then vibrates again as it swerves back onto the road.

“Aquaman,” says Dante.

Sam thinks for a moment and then says, “Nick Fury.”

“Nope,” says Archie, both hands still gripping the wheel, though not as tightly as before. “Mari already used him.”

“Who fucking cares?” Sam replies. “There's only so many superhero names that begin with
N
, but every other one ends with it.”

“Those are the rules,” says Archie.

There's a tense silence for a few miles. But just when it seems like the game has died, Sam mumbles, “Naruto.”

Archie nods his approval. “Omega Red.”

“Doctor Manhattan,” says Mari.

“See?” Sam says.

“Nite Owl,” says Dante, staying with
Watchmen
.

“L . . .” says Sam. He rolls down the window and sticks out his head. The air is warm and humid and smells of manure. The wind is loud and kicks up everyone's hair. Sam brings his head back into the car and rolls up the window. “Loki.”

“Did we already use Ironman?” Archie asks. Everyone nods. Archie changes lanes and actually overtakes another car. “Invisible Woman, then.”

“N again?” Mari says.

“I'll give you a hint,” Archie says.

“You can't do that,” Sam says.

“It's not against the rules,” says Archie.

“What fucking rules? There's not like an official Superhero Alphabet Name Game rulebook. You just keep making up shit as you go.”

Archie ignores Sam. “Think blue. And teleportation. Though, somewhat limited.”

“Oh, Nightcrawler.” She high-fives Archie. He smiles.

“Rogue,” says Dante, without skipping a beat.

Sam offers, “Earthworm Jim.”

“Mrs. Marvel,” says Archie.

“It's technically
Ms.
Marvel,” Mari says.

“You lose,” Sam says.

“No, I don't. It's
Mrs
. Isn't she married? To Captain Marvel?”

“I don't think so. Anyways, trust me. It's
Ms
. She was created to attract feminist fans,” Mari says.

“Shouldn't she be wearing more clothes then?” Archie asks. Before Mari can reply, Archie spots a woman in the distance, holding up a thumb while walking along the shoulder. “Speaking of feminists . . .”

“Why are you slowing down?” Sam asks, peering between the seats at the speedometer's dropping needle.

“Because I'm picking her up”

“Why?” asks Sam.

“I'm driving. I have the power.”

“You sound like a super villain,” Dante says.

Mari sits up. “We can't pick up a hitchhiker. What if she's a murderer?”

Sam groans. “We don't have time for this.”

“Calm down, my little Asian buddy,” says Archie, clicking on the turn signal. “We're on an adventure.”

“Then let's stick to the main quest,” Sam says.

Everyone looks at the woman as Archie pulls over and rolls the car past her.

“She looks like a hippie,” Sam adds.

The car comes to a stop. Archie says, “Marigold, be a dear and roll down your window, please.”

Looking into the side mirror, Mari watches the woman approach. She's white, maybe in her twenties or thirties. Skinny. Hair in dreadlocks. Pretty. Mari sighs and then does as Archie asked.

A moment later, the woman is standing outside Mari's window.

“Thanks for stopping,” she says, leaning down and smiling.

Archie smiles back. “Where you headed?”

“Just up ahead to Chicago. If you're going that far. If not, as close as you can get me would be great.”

Archie nods. “We're driving right past the Windy City, so it shouldn't be a problem. Right, guys?” His inquiry is met with silence, so he answers himself. “Right.”

He pops the trunk and she crams her pack inside.

Reluctantly, Sam opens the door and scoots to the middle.

“Thanks again,” she says as she climbs in and pulls the door shut. Her musky odor fills the car. Everyone acts like they don't notice. “My name's Sunshine, by the way.”

“Of course it is,” Sam says under his breath.

“It's really no problem,” Archie says, returning her perpetual smile. “I'm Archie.”

“Mari,” Mari says, turning in her seat to shake hands with Sunshine.

Dante waves from the other side of Sam. “Dante.”

Sunshine waves back.

The only one who doesn't introduce himself is Sam. After a minute, Archie says, “Sam's the grumpy little Filipino next to you. Don't worry, he doesn't bite. He's just sad.”

Sunshine's face turns sympathetic. “Aww, why are you sad, Sam?”

Sam shrugs.

There's a break in traffic, and Archie pulls back onto the highway.

“This is beautiful,” Sunshine says, waving her hands to indicate the car's interior.

“Really?” asks Mari. “It's kind of a piece. When my dad bought it for me it already had nearly 150,000 miles on it. Overheats all the time.”

“No,” Sunshine says. “I meant you guys. You're so multicultural. It's like a microcosm of America.”

“We just need an Indian chief and a cop,” Archie says. Sunshine laughs. But nobody else does.

“So where you all going?” she asks.

“Seattle,” Sam mutters.

She nods, impressed. “That's quite the trip. What's in Seattle?”

“Sam's girlfriend,” Dante says.

“
Ex
-girlfriend,” Archie corrects.

“Ah, I see. That's why he's sad. On a mission to woo her back?”

“Something like that,” Sam says.

“She must be some girl to inspire such a trip.”

“She is,” Sam says. “The best.”

Sunshine nudges him with her shoulder. “That's so cute. You know how to woo her back right?”

“How?” says Sam.

“The clitoris.”

Sam, Dante, and Mari turn to see if she's serious.

Archie glances at her in the rearview mirror. “Elaborate, please.”

Sunshine laughs. “Wait, how old are you guys?”

“Old enough,” Archie says. Mari rolls her eyes.

“Still in school?”

“Yes,” Mari answers. “
High
school.”

“Seniors,” Archie clarifies.

“Aww,” Sunshine says. She leans forward and tousles Archie's hair. He blushes. “You guys are just babies. Is this like your first road trip?”

“Kind of,” Archie says.

“That's awesome. It's so cool that you guys are just hitting the road like this. I'm surprised your parents let you.”

“Not so much,” Mari says.

“That's even more awesome,” Sunshine says and then laughs again. “If you don't mind my asking, how are you paying for everything?”

Archie navigates a bend in the highway like he's been driving for years instead of hours. “Sam stole his dad's credit card, so that's covering our gas. Everybody else chipped in what they could. I ran the numbers, and we should be able to make it back home with a few bucks to spare.”

“Well, I have friends in Minnesota,” Sunshine says. “Their place is close to the highway. If you make it that far tonight, I'm sure they'd let you stay with them. That way you wouldn't have to pay for a hotel. I'm sure they'd even hook you up with some food, too.”

“We're not stopping,” Sam says.

“Just offering is all. You little dudes are like my heroes. I didn't have the balls to just take off like this when I was in high school.”

“Yeah,” Archie says, readjusting his glasses. “We're veritable bad-asses.”

“Well, I was Little Miss Goody-Goody when I was in high school.”

“And then?” Archie asks.

“Life,” Sunshine says. “The Road.”

“What the hell does that even mean?” Sam asks while looking out the window.

“You'll understand by the time you get to Seattle.”

“Isn't hitchhiking dangerous?” Dante asks.

Sunshine reaches into a pocket and pulls out a canister of pepper spray.

“You ever have to use that?” Mari asks.

“More than you think. This one time I was riding with this trucker. We're talking and getting to know each other just fine. Then I look over, and his dick's out. It's just there. Standing straight up like a little one-eyed monster waiting to devour me.”

“Gross,” Mari says. “So you sprayed him?”

“Not yet. I just asked him to put his penis away and let me out. He ignored my first request but pulled over. Then, he reached over like he was going to unlock the door. Instead, he grabbed the back of my head and tried to shove my face into his crotch.”

“Ugh,” Mari says.

“That's when I sprayed the fucker.”

“Damn,” Archie says.

She nods. “Moral of the story: always travel with pepper spray.”

Dante asks, “So why do you keep doing it?”

She shrugs. “I'm a wanderer. It's who I am. I've learned to accept that a bit of danger comes with the territory. I just try to make good decisions about who I ride with and be prepared just in case I'm wrong.”

The conversation sinks into silence. Mari turns the radio up and scans the stations, but it's still all country. The world hums under the tires.

“So we told you what's in Seattle,” Archie says. “What's in Chicago? A boyfriend?”

“No boyfriend,” Sunshine laughs. “I like girls.”

Dante sits up, watching to see how his friends will react.

“That's cool,” Mari says.

“Oh,” Archie says, disappointed.

Sam doesn't say anything.

“Don't actually know anyone in Chicago,” Sunshine says.

“So why go there?” Mari asks.

Sunshine shrugs. “I am a Disciple of the Road, I guess.”

“Where are you from?” asks Mari.

Sunshine shrugs again. “Everywhere. Nowhere.”