That giggle of hers fell from her lips, and it washed over my ears like silk. It had this innocent ring to it, and it reminded me of this inner strength she seemed to possess. It was like she refused to let the world knock the last of her innocence from her body, and I had to commend her on that ideal. Her giggle and how effortless it was seemed to be her last reminder that she still had something to cling onto. It was like it symbolized her last effort to stay positive, even in situations like this.
It seemed that the less she talked, the more I came to understand her.
I pulled on my suit, and we set out in search of the vending machines. The first one Abby found was frozen up, and it looked to have dents in it from where people had apparently tried to make it work. She sighed, wrapping her arms around her chest. Then, we continued walking around the small motel complex. After about ten minutes of searching while the snow flurried around us, we found another machine right up at the front.
I watched Abby dig around in her pocket for some change before I stopped her.
“I’ve got it,” I said.
I pulled out a few dollars and started ringing up some items. I got us a couple more bags of chips and a thing of cookies. There were two more honeybuns left, as well as an oatmeal cookie. We got five dollars’ worth of snacks before I heard the vending machine slowing down with the cold, so I turned my sights onto the soda machine.
I was holding my last two dollars in my hand as I turned to Abby.
“What would you like to drink?” I asked.
“Water’s fine,” she said.
I stuck both of the dollars into the vending machine and pressed the water button twice. The machine roared to life, shook a little bit, then whirred itself back down. Furrowing my brow, I checked the dispenser before I pressed the water button again.
But when I did, the entire machine shut down.
The damn thing ate my last two dollar bills without giving us an ounce of water.
I couldn’t believe it. I simply couldn’t process all of it. The busted water heater. The rickety bed. The chance encounter with a woman I couldn’t stand and still wanted to get to know. The incompetent front desk and this damn weather that was keeping me from the most important meeting of my life.
And now, we didn’t even have decent water to drink.
I heard Abby’s giggle start up, and I couldn’t help but feel a tickle in the back of my throat. Her giggle grew to a laugh, and before I knew it, I was joining her. A smile spread across my cheeks while her head lobbed back, and my stomach jumped as I simply shook my head in shock.
We laughed until we couldn’t laugh anymore, and then it was Abby’s words that pierced through the blustering air.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard you laugh,” she said.
“There are rumors surrounding that sound. Most people don’t even know it exists.”
“Oh, and he’s got jokes!” she exclaimed. “I’m impressed.”
“You should be. I don’t bust out the big guns for just anyone.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t have to blow the dust off your vocal chords before you tried that,” she said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve had plenty of time internally groaning to warm them up for this moment.”
She looked up at me with her big brown eyes, and I could see the reflection of snow falling in her gaze. It was hard to think that the woman whose face seemed so innocent had endured such pain. Pain she couldn't talk about. Pain that trapped her in a tightened cocoon of solitude. Pain that ripped away the only thing she really seemed to enjoy.
Conversing with other people.
“We should get back before we freeze,” I said.
“Good idea.”
It took all I had to rip my gaze from her so we could start back for the room. We would just have to suck it up and drink the water from the tap. I grimaced at the thought. Abby carried all the snacks in her arms, and as I opened the door of our hotel room, I could see the television no longer had a signal.
“So much for background noise,” Abby said.
I went and turned the television off, and she dumped the snacks onto the bed. We sat there in silence, opening the junk food and filling our stomachs for the night. I hoped and prayed the weather would settle down so we could at least find a decent coffee place in the morning. Coffee could get me through anything if I had enough of it to shove into my system.
We ate silently while we sat next to one another, and I wondered about her again. Was this how curious she’d been in the car? I didn’t know if it was because of the sex we didn’t want to acknowledge or if it was because of a dichotomy in her personality I’d detected, but I suddenly wanted to know everything about her. What made her tick? What happened between her and her boyfriend? What she was talking about on the phone with her mother?
I suddenly wanted to know it all.
“You looking forward to getting home?” I asked.
“Yeah, I miss my parents,” she said.
“Are they looking forward to you being home?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah. They’re worried, too. But I kept trying to reassure my mom I was okay.”
“Have you told them yet?” I asked.
“Told them what?”
“About your boyfriend?” I asked.
She fell silent at my question, and I took another bite of my honeybun.
“Or do you just not talk to your parents about that kind of thing?” I
