Even at forty-five, Wendy thought they were going too fast on the small streets, but kept going. Reaching the square, they saw a courthouse and several buildings looked burned down as the sun continued to drop below the horizon.
Hitting some railroad tracks that crossed the road, Wendy cursed for not slowing, feeling the tiny trailer yanking on them and throwing a fit. Seeing more tracks ahead, Wendy slowed.
“People on the right,” Sally called out and Wendy looked over to see people loading stuff in trucks at a house. The group barely paused as they rode past.
By the time they reached the edge of town it was dark and Wendy put the harness on her head and turned the NVG on. “We only stop to pee and put gas in the truck,” Wendy said, looking at the road ahead.
“Glad we filled the cans before going to sleep,” Jo Ann said.
“It was hard going to sleep after drinking those little bottles,” Sally admitted, looking ahead. “It’s flat here.”
“These are fields where crops are grown, baby,” Wendy told her. “Give me a bottle of the good stuff.”
Sally giggled and passed out the tiny bottles and all three turned them up, threw them outside, and settled in.
Chapter Thirty Six
That is your child
May 21
Taking the harness off her head, Wendy set it on the dash with the M4 as the sun reached over the horizon. Stretching her arms over her head Wendy let out a groan, making Jo Ann jerk beside her and glance over. “I don’t like the roads here,” Jo Ann announced as Wendy finished her stretch.
“Why?” Wendy asked, flexing her legs.
“They twist and turn, going up and down,” Jo Ann said, lifting the thermal up. “You can’t see far ahead of you.”
“True, but that means people won’t see us until we pass them by,” Wendy answered.
Looking over at Wendy, “We’ve almost hit more stuff in the road in Arkansas than anywhere else,” Jo Ann cried out in alarm. “Why do cows get in the road? There isn’t any grass there!”
Laughing, Wendy glanced back and saw Sally holding Ryan and looking out the window. Noah had his head in Sally’s lap and was sound asleep. “Baby, I have to tell you, cows are very stupid,” Wendy chuckled.
“How much longer?” Sally asked.
Looking down at the gas gauge, “Let’s stop and fill up the tank and stretch,” Wendy told her. “I know these roads, but we are still seventy miles from home. We should be there around nine.”
Stopping on a long stretch of road, Wendy put the Tahoe in park. Even Noah jumped out with them. Seeing Noah just run in a wide circle, Wendy grinned while undoing the straps over the cans. “That’s it, Noah, get that energy out,” Wendy said as Jo Ann opened the gas tank and put the funnel in.
With Ryan in her arms, Sally had to watch as Jo Ann helped Wendy lift the gas can up. “Will Arthur be mad if I take a nap before working on the farm?” Sally asked.
Lowering the empty can, Wendy looked over at Sally and laughed. “Baby, Arthur will rock you to sleep if you’ll let him,” Wendy bet, putting the empty can back on the trailer. “Our son is on a delayed timeline giving us grandkids, so you guys will have to fill that role.”
Jo Ann gave a grunt as she pushed up on the next can to help Wendy pour it in. “Can we sleep with you and Arthur tonight, Momma?” Jo Ann asked as Wendy lowered the empty jug.
“Of course,” Wendy said and then hugged Jo Ann.
When the tank was full, they only had one full gas can left, but Wendy wasn’t stopping to fill up shit now. She walked around doing lunges on the road and turned to see Noah copying her. They all climbed back in with Sally and Jo Ann swapping seats.
After Jo Ann handed out MREs, they ate as Wendy set the cruise. Driving with the back of her hand, Wendy ate the cold meal with a grimace, “Last bottles of sport drinks,” Jo Ann said, passing two up.
“We have little bottles of super drinks,” Sally laughed out and Wendy glanced over and could almost see Sally vibrating in the seat.
“I told you, only one every six hours,” Wendy chuckled, opening the package of dessert.
“I was getting sleepy,” Sally whined, pausing her eating and lifting the thermal. “There are more cows in the road,” Sally groaned, feeling Wendy tap the brake.
“That’s a herd in the road,” Wendy corrected, putting her MRE package down. Slowing to a crawl, Wendy had to use the push bumper to ‘help’ a cow out of their way.
Rolling down her window, Sally stuck her head out. “Move, stupid cows!” None of the cows moved, but several did turn and look.
“Our cows better be smarter,” Sally grumbled, rolling the window back up.
It took them ten minutes of crawling before they reached the end of the herd of cows and Wendy resumed her speed. Hearing Velcro rip apart, a smell assaulted Wendy’s nose. “Oh,” she gasped and reached up to cover her nose.
“Ryan, don’t move,” Jo Ann whined in the backseat, but Ryan just laughed. “This is so gross.”
“You have to do it fast or Ryan puts his hands in it,” Sally instructed, cracking her window.
Taking her sister’s advice, Jo Ann grabbed Ryan’s ankles and held him up while using handfuls of baby wipes. “Roll my window down,” Jo Ann gagged out. Sally hit the button and rolled down the window behind her.
Not even closing the diaper, Jo Ann just tossed it out along with the wipes she’d used. “Leave it down,” Jo Ann gasped, taking deep breaths. She finished cleaning Ryan off and then grabbed a new
