The main drag of New Hazelton was the highway in and out of town. There was little to invite you to feel welcome or even to stay long enough to say you’ve been there. The strip mall was small and mostly vacant. Every indication was it had nothing to do with the current world crisis. There was one spot that appeared to be thriving. It was a 24 hour deli style restaurant. The huge lot adjacent had a few long-haul transport trucks parked within. Hallam pulled into the lot and parked facing the deli. There was a large window giving those inside to keep an eye on their vehicles. Sam and Hallam sat still for a few moments watching the activity inside. The watched were watching the watchers and neither knew which was which. Sam and Hallam retrieved their masks from the rear-view and made their way inside the deli.
A bell affixed to the door signalled their entry. A voice from the kitchen are to their left told them to have a seat and someone would be wit them shortly. Hallam pointed Sam in the direction of an unoccupied booth towards the front by the window. There were three other patrons in the restaurant part and neither of them seemed to notice the new arrivals.
This was the first time since their first encounter they’d been together out in public. Neither Sam nor Hallam was oblivious to this fact. In the light of the restaurant and now sitting across from her Hallam got a good look at her. The contours of her face were smooth, defined though haggard, no doubt from the last twelve months of pandemic. Her eyes, a radiant blue made him think of a sky. Her hair, which she kept in a loose bun held in place by chop sticks. Both sides of her face displayed dimples which gave her a charm he now felt himself warming up to.
Sam snapped her fingers drawing him out of his daze.
“What’s got you in such a far away place?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me!”
“Be careful what you wish for or I just might.”
They ordered a large Mexican pizza with the intention of having some for later as they drove. As they waited for the food to arrive, they talked about a variety of things. She wanted to know his dreams, his plans, where his money to spend on this trip was coming from. He wanted to know who she was leaving behind, if there was a Mr. Sam, what she did for work before this trip.
She learned Hallam had inherited a small fortune from his parents upon their tragic deaths some years earlier. When his grandmother had died shortly after the pandemic had begun, he was her sole heir. In Hallam’s words he didn’t have to do anything if he didn’t want to. He also made her aware he was doing exactly what he wanted to be doing right now with her.
Hallam had learned there was no Mr. Sam and at the onset of the pandemic she worked in her father’s business which, like most other small businesses were forced to close.
The waiter, who was also probably the cook delivered the pizza to the table and then suggested they save room for a frozen yogurt. As they ate, they talked about what they expected to see when they got to being where they were going. Sam ordered a large strawberry, banana, kiwi frozen yogurt to go. Hallam opted not to order.
Hallam took over the driving to let Sam eat her frozen concoction. He hated the thought of death by frozen yogurt. No sooner were they on the highway to their next location, Sam was making airplane noises with her lips and flying a spoon towards his mouth.
“C’mon, take a bite.”
“Off the same spoon? Only couples do that.”
“Well, you are one, and I am one, but together we make two, which by my calculations, technically makes us a couple. Wouldn’t you agree?”
He opened his mouth wide and let her feed him the now dripping yogurt delight. It was cold, too cold to speak but he tried just the same.
“I have to admit, I like your logic.”
It sounded like something totally different.
Hallam drove on as Sam continued to share her dessert. She was playful now, like a kitten with a ball of wool. The being f ,Mace to face in the deli had changed her, it had changed him. Sam soon fell asleep with her head on his shoulder. It had been so long since a woman outside of being a family member had even touched him.
Some two and a half hours later Hallam felt the beginning call of nature building. The sign on the highway indicated hotel and dining locations another 50km from Meziadin, where he was now about to drive through.
“Don’t blink Hallam. Stewart it is then”
By the time they arrived in Stewart, nature was now screaming, and not waiting for a response. The gas station was closed, but the bathroom was unlocked. Whether this was intentional or not, Hallam was grateful.
Back at the car Sam had cleaned the windshields and was now working on the side windows.
“I was bored.”
“Too bad there isn’t a vacuum cleaner available. Go freshen up I need a nap.”
By the time Sam returned to the car Hallam had already fallen asleep. He had taken advantage of the reclining seat. Sam walked around the car making a cursory inspection. She kicked at the tires, not really knowing why, but she had seen other people, truckers mostly, doing it and figured she should too.
She had to adjust the seat to accommodate for the space Hallam needed for his long legs, which also meant the rear-view would have to be adjusted. She thought about how this must be the way married people share their lives. A thought which made her smile, and blush.
She never had time for men and therefore she was not accustomed to thinking about the, especially in the context of marriage, or couples as Hallam had insinuated.
The radio seemed to have hit a dead spot and was only receiving static. Sam plugged her phone in and selected her cleaning playlist to drive to. It was either the cleaning or the bath playlist, and right now she figured she did not need a soothing or relaxing playlist while at the wheel.
She had been singing along to Pat Benatar\s Hell is for Children and her volume increased as the song did. Hallam stirred and popped his head up off the headrest taking a quick look around.
“Are we there yet?”
“You’re sounding just the like the children might, I mean if I ever had any.”
“Look what happens when I leave you to drive and be alone with your thoughts. Now you’re having children. Who are you, Mary Poppins?”
“That’s Ms. Poppins to you.”
Hallam adjusted his seat and joined the land of the living. The phone indicated he had been asleep for nearly five hours. He didn’t recall having stopped anywhere in the past five hours, which either meant there was no place to stop or there was no need to stop. He was betting on the former. A sign on the highway showed they were 55km from Dease Lake which had all the necessary amenities.
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