BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (148 page)

Inside, she went to the ladies room, and then at the sink, washed her hands, looking at herself in the mirror. The bright fluorescent light showed how oily her skin was, how swollen her lips, how bright her eyes. She was completely devoid of make-up and looked very young. Bending over the sink, she splashed her face with cold water two or three times and rinsed out her mouth. Going into her purse, she pulled out her small tooth brush that she used at work after eating lunch, and the small tube of tooth paste and brushed her teeth, rinsing her mouth twice more. Next, the pick to shape her hair, pat it into place. She pulled a couple of hand towels, dried her skin and applied a bit of tinted lip balm to her lips. She smiled seeing bright white teeth, and a fresh young face. Happy she left the bathroom to look for her two men. She noticed Paul at the Sub-way counter right away, he had been looking for her and waved her to him.

"Dad said get all three of us a sandwich, what would you like?"

"Tuna sub, on wheat, everything else, and Jalapeño peppers."

"You got it." Paul nodded.

Vivian headed off to look through the aisles of the truck stop, picking up a few packs of gum, mints, Halls cough drops because she was addicted to them, and seemed to suck on them a great deal at that time of the month. At the end of the aisle, was a man who'd stopped in his tracks, heading into the aisle - the sight of her, was the cause of him pausing. Picking him up in her peripheral, Vivian glanced up, to see an older white male, gazing at her. She smiled, nodded and went back to what she was doing.

"My my my, if you aren't the prettiest lil'thing, where you come from?" He spoke to her as he walked slowly towards her. He was a trucker, filling up, picking up goods.

Vivian thought she'd heard wrong and looked up at him again. He looked to be in his mid fifties, dressed as truckers do, arms filled, and his eyes going over her in a way that left little to her imagination as to what was on his mind, the lust was so sharp and intense, she was glad she wasn't alone and traveling the roads in a car. "If you'll excuse me." She turned away.

"Hang on now, not so fast, where you headin'? You out here by yourself?"

Vivian tried to ignore him, speeding up her steps to widen the distance between them and turned at the end of the aisle right into Jake, who had just come into the next aisle behind her, so she never saw him. But he saw her, and the man with lust filled eyes trying to follow her; he'd immediately put down what he'd been looking at to make his way to her.

"Jake!" She gasped surprised with his hands at her arms, gripping them possessively.

"Jake?" The man called out his name behind her, surprising her so, she turned to look back at him as he stared up at her fiancé.

"Leigh." Jake called out his name, not a lot of friendly greeting in his tone.

The man, Leigh looked from Jake, down to Vivian, whom Jake started moving aside towards the back of him. "Long time no see," He went on, his eyes still on Vivian, instead of Jake, whom he'd been speaking with.

"Yes, it has been, last time you saw me, I was still single. Now, I'm engaged to be married, soon."

That brought his eyes up to him, "You, gettin' married? To who?" Now this is where common sense should have kicked in, but didn't.

"To the beautiful woman you were just eying so lustfully." Jake nodded towards Vivian, "My fiancée." He offered, without her name.

"Sh-she - her - you - you're engaged to her?"

"Yeah, to her."

"Ah, where'd you meet her?"

"Excuse me, my name is Vivian." Vivian spoke up, resenting being spoken about as if she wasn't there.

"He doesn't need to know your name, reason I didn't give it to him." Jake corrected her right away.

"Why wouldn't you want me to know her name? That's a pretty name, Vivian, for a pretty lady." The lust was still there to see, Vivian couldn't believe it. "Lord'o'mercy, you a lucky man, woman like that." His breathing had actually deepened. Vivian wanted to shudder. Not because he was an ugly man, but one that made her flesh crawl. There was something seedy nasty about him, her instincts told her he was a man you would not want to be alone with, he put off an aura that made her feel, "No" would not be a word he would understand or heed.

Jake stepped into his view of her, "You got a nasty drool problem there, Leigh. Don't particularly care for a man looking at my fiancée that way - I'd advise you to be careful about that." He turned to Vivian, "Go where Paul is, now." He ordered low. Vivian did as he said simply because she wanted to be away from the man Leigh. Jake turned back to Leigh to hear him advising, low, so only he could hear it, "You gone actually marry her? What a waste. I know of a place, some men, you can join; they'ah pay high price to you for a night with that one - all you got to do is deliver her. I'm talkin' big money - you need to think about that 'fore you-..."

Paul and Vivian quickly turned from picking up their sandwiches to hear, to their shock, a loud racket in the truck stop. It sounded like someone had driven their car into the shop from the sounds of crashing and banging. The store keeper, Bob was shouting, rushing towards the aisle where Vivian had just only moments before left. She knew right away that it was to do with Jake. Paul was faster making his way there before her to the aisle.

"DAD!?! HOLY SHIT, DAD - COME ON MAN!!!" He had to drop what he'd been carrying to try and pull his father off of the man Leigh who was on the ground getting the hell beat out of him. Vivian ran there and immediately started screaming Jake's name. "JAKE - JA-A-AKE STOP IT! OH MY GOD! JAKE STOP!" She had to drop her things as well trying to help Paul get his father off of him, while the man, Bob spun undecided of what to do, wondering if he should phone the police and threatened Jake with it. "GET OFF'EM, I'AH PHONE THE POLICE!!!"

Paul turned to him, "Don't call the police! We're out of here! I swear!" He yelled fighting to haul his dad up off the man. "DAD - THAT'S ENOUGH - STOP!!!"

Leigh was on the floor, rolling to his side, trying to block another blow, nose bleeding, mouth bleeding, "Get'em off me! Get'em off!"

"Want me to call the police!?" Bob, the store clerk, asked. It didn't take a high IQ to try and figure out what he might have said to make Jake jump him. He knew Jake; he knew Leigh; both of them, along with many other truckers who made regular trips through stopping there. He'd seen Jake come in with the young black woman, which had surprised him. Had seen them holding hands. Had also seen the ring on her finger. Working where he did for as long as he had, he'd developed a talent for getting most of the story just by reading body language and adornments. As a man in his seventies, he shook his head at the stupidity of white fools like Leigh - times had changed, even he - a man in his seventies knew enough, saw enough to know that. There were things you just couldn't say and get away with anymore. Blacks had rights now. If he at seventy understood that, certainly someone his age should have known better than to say whatever it was that he said.

"Damn fool, on my watch too!" He also shook his head because that blood on the floor was gonna have to be mopped up. That meant going into all that process of by the book cleaning up of blood nonsense because of all the big words he still couldn't get his tongue around to do with it. Disease and such. "Dammit!" He muttered as Jake backed off of him, breathing hard. He was so mad, he had tears in his eyes.

Shaking his head, he asked Leigh again, "You wantin' me to call the police?"

"No! Just get'em away from me!" He grumbled, staying on the floor, afraid to get up with Jake still eying him with murderous intent.

"Come on dad, let's just go." Paul stood with his hands gripping his father's arm.

Vivian was picking up the things she and Paul dropped. She went into her purse and put a ten dollar bill on the counter to pay for her things she picked up. Even though that was way over what they owed, she didn't care about the change, she just wanted to leave the place.

Jake was too angry to speak. He turned, tears still in his eyes, grabbed Vivian by the arm and rushed with her out the door, Paul moving quickly behind him. Not since the wedding had she seen him as angry as he was right then, in fact, he hadn't been that angry with Shawn, just drunk and acting a fool. Not when he'd gone after Laek Chan, had he been so mad as now. Even though he was hurting her arm, she didn't make a sound. Didn't fight him, or pull against him. She simply rushed to keep up with his long strides toward the truck. They reached it with Paul right on their tails; Jake opened her door, and lifted her up without ceremony or warning. She had to duck quickly in not to hit her head, she'd gone up so fast. The moment she was all in, he slammed her door closed. Turned to walk to his side, he had to remember his son was with him.

"The sandwiches dad." Paul reminded him.

Jake sniffed, wiping at his eyes and face, took a couple of deep breaths, still unable to speak, nodded and took the sandwiches he offered him.

"You okay dad?" He asked gently.

Jake shook his head, he wasn't okay. He felt that he'd been punched in the stomach. The horror of what Leigh was suggesting to him, left him feeling as if he wanted to weep, right after he broke every bone in his body. Right after he peeled every inch of skin from his body.

"Let's get back on the road, now! I want you in front of me, not behind - you understand. Put it to 70 and keep it there. Let's go."

Paul nodded and rushed to his truck, his heart pounding because he wasn't sure what was going on, and why his dad had changed from being what he'd always known about him, into this person who was so violent. While he'd heard tails of his father's fights, this was the first time ever, that he'd seen him actually violent. All other times, he'd been getting into mischief, laughing about it, joking with them. But this side of him, was different.

Back in the truck, back on the road, Paul did as Jake instructed, he pulled out in front of them, leading the way home and stayed there. In the semi, Vivian sat quiet, trying to find her breath, daring not to speak. Beside her, Jake drove, still furious. It took five minutes or more, for his tears to stop rolling, for him to stop sniffing and wiping at his face. She couldn't imagine for the life of her, what had been said to make him like that.

Twenty minutes went by before she heard him audibly exhale as if relaxing back into his seat.

"Eat your sandwich." He finally spoke to say.

"I'm okay." She didn't have an appetite now.

They went quiet again, she was dying to ask him what that man Leigh had said to him, but wasn't sure if she should.

"I had contemplated, taking you with me, on a few of my trips. I'm not gonna do that now, not now - no."

She looked at him, surprised that he'd considered that, and now, felt disappointment because she would have loved to go with him. "Can I ask, why?"

"Because I'd end up killing someone, or some two, or three or four, or how ever the hell many I would have to, and - I'd end up serving time, you'd grow tired of waiting for me to get out, and fuckin' divorce me. So, better all the way around, I leave you at home."

"Oh ... okay." She answered quietly, still unwilling to mess with him right now.

"You are - mine now - Vivian Cooke McPherson, mine. It's all done except the vows - you will not have the name, McPherson, and be fucked with, it's just not done. It sure as hell will not be done to mine - no way in hell. No - way - in hell." He took his eyes off the road to gaze at her, and then back again. Reaching over, he took her hand in his, holding it. "I hate all the ugly in this world Lil'girl, I hate it. I never understood, just how ugly it is, until you. I promise you this, with me, you will never have to be afraid. No matter how fucked up I may act at times, no matter what things I may say to offend you, things I might do, that might hurt your heart; that's all just because, I simply - screw up sometimes. But Lil'girl, you have my word, no one - no fucker on this earth, would I stand by, and let hurt you - no no - no no no. I don't like being crazy, but I can be - Lord above knows, I can be." He kissed her hand again. "Eat your food baby - we'll be home soon."

Vivian still wasn't hungry, but she picked up the bag anyway, choosing to open his sandwich. "Here, take a bite, I'll hold it for you." She leaned towards him as close as she could, holding it before his mouth, Jake opened wide and took a bite of his sandwich, glancing at her as he chewed and winked at her. Vivian sat back, and for the rest of the way home, ignored her food, but fed her future husband his, feeling a strange bond swirl and curl around them, that would make it impossible to leave him, no matter what he did.

*

L.A...

Sylvia lay in bed, unable to sleep, she'd been tossing and turning for a while, as Jesse James had been doing the same. Once more, she sighed and turned again, this time facing her husband. She stared at him in the dark of their room, wondering, how could he sleep with her tossing and turning as she was? She scooted closer, with her eyes fully adjusted to the dark, she could make out his features; the low light from their clock radio helped as well. Leaning up a bit, she leaned in and stared. One of his eyes opened to look back at her. She smiled, "I was wondering if you were sleeping." She spoke low, smiling at him.

He quirked a brow, "With you tossing and turning? No, I'm wide awake, what's wrong, your back hurting?"

"No." She answered laying back on her pillow.

"Um, tummy hurt?"

"No."

"Hmmm, Jesse James moving around a lot?"

"Yes, he is. But that's not why I can't sleep." She admitted.

"I see, hungry?"

"Nope."

"Want some water?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm, okay, I give up, what's wrong?"

"Well, I was kind'ah wondering what's wrong with you?"

He leaned up, propping his head with the heal of his hand, brows drawn quizzically, "What's wrong with me? There's nothing wrong with me." He returned, still wondering what was going on with her.

"Oh, I see." She chewed into her bottom lip and then sighing turned to her back, rolling her head to look up at him, "You turned off by me already?" She finally asked.