Authors: Stella White
*****
''Men are bastards,'' Sophie said the next morning. She and Jess were sitting at the kitchen table in Sophie's apartment. It was a typical student's place. She shared it with four other girls and as usual, the sink was stacked with dirty dishes and the sideboard was full of empty cereal boxes. ''They
really
are.''
''Jake isn't,'' Jess said. ''Maybe he just needs some time. I mean guys sometimes get cold feet when a relationship gets serious.'' Her eyes had red
circles around
them where the salt in her tears had irritated her skin.
''Jess. Stop dreaming. Yesterday he told you he didn't want you anymore. Accept it and move on.''
''But I love him. How the hell can I move on, just like that? I can't just flick a switch and turn off all my feelings.''
''Well if you ask me, he's a real bastard. Dumping you like that, no warning, no explanation, nothing.'' Sophie took a mouthful of tea and bumped her mug back on the table with more force than she'd intended.
Suddenly
Jess turned
white. ''Do you thinks he's got someone else?'' It hadn't occurred to her before. She'd just thought he needed a break. The thought that another woman may have
him
made her nauseous.
''I wouldn't rule anything out,'' Sophie said without thinking. Jess began to cry at the thought. ''No, I'm sure he hasn't. He probably wants his freedom. You know, to be with the boys for a beer and football.''
''If he had someone else I
really
don't think I could bear it,'' Jess said, wiping her hand across her cheek.
''You're as hot as hell. You're by far the most attractive girl in college. You could have any man you want to, unlike me.'' Sophie said in a moment of self-pity.
''You're okay. You could get a boyfriend easily. You just don't try.''
''What do you mean?'' Sophie was confused. She'd always tried. She knew she was short and a bit dumpy, but she always wore makeup and got her hair done once a week.
''You don't flirt with them. You should relax a little more and joke with men.'' Jess put her hand on Sophie's pajama sleeve. Lighten up. I think a lot of men are interested in you. Its' just every time one talks
to
you, you get so nervous, you clam up.''
Sophie blushed. She couldn't complain, Jess was right. She wanted a boyfriend so desperately she was a bag of nerves. ''You're correct. Totally.'' She looked into her mug and swirled the rest of her drink around. ''Okay, I'll give it a try.'' They smiled at each other.
Someone knocked on the door. Sophie got up and went to see who it was. ''Mike, what a
nice
surprise. What can I do for you?'' She noticed Mike had trimmed his beard and combed his hair.
''Er......'' he shifted from one leg to the next on the doorstep. ''Is Jess here?'' Sophie was disappointed. For one split second, she'd thought that he'd finally noticed her. ''Yes, come in.''
''Hi Jess,'' he said when they reached the kitchen.
Jess was pleased to see him. He was Jake's
confidant
. Maybe he could shed some light on his friend's decision. ''Hi Mike.''
''You look awful,'' was all he could say. She did, but as soon as he'd said it, he knew it wasn't the right thing to have said. It was just that she always looked so immaculate, and now sitting in a dressing gown in the disgusting kitchen, she looked disheveled. Out of place.
''Thanks for your kind words,'' Jess said. ''So what did he tell you?''
''Who?'
''Jake, of course, who else?'' He may be
a great
law
student,
but just sometimes he had the brain of a fly, she thought.
He hadn't bargained for that. Not for a moment had he thought that she would ask him what Jake had said. All Mike had wanted to do was ask Jess out, to take her mind off it. Either he had to lie to protect her or tell her the truth. ''He's screwing Alice.''
Jess screamed and threw her mug across the room. It smashed against the wall and broke into pieces. ''What? I don't believe it. How could he?''
Sophie looked daggers at Mike. ''You insensitive bastard,'' she said to him. ''Couldn't you have kept that to yourself?''
''But it's the truth,'' he complained.
Jess screamed again and swiped the teapot from the table. '' Bastard. I'll kill him. Who the hell does he think he is?''
''We're talking about Alice Brearley, aren't we?'' Sophie asked him. When he nodded Jess slammed her fists on the table, sending a teaspoon hurtling to the ceiling.
''I'm going to get her. She shouldn't
be involved
with one of her students. I'm
gonna
get the bitch fired,'' Jess said before huge sobs engulfed her.
Mike stood up, sheepishly. ''I think I'd better go.''
''Yes you had. I didn't realize you were quite so unthinking,'' Sophie said as she scowled at him.
When he'd
gone,
she put an arm around her friend and let her cry.
*****
Jess checked her makeup in the rear-view mirror. It was the first time she'd worn makeup since the day Jake had dumped her. The roads weren't
busy,
and
she
'd made remarkably good time so far.
After she'd found out that Jake was cheating on her, she been very depressed, for weeks. The deaths of all her grandparents put
together
hadn't caused her as much pain as Jake.
In an effort to
forget things, she'd decided to take herself on vacation. She needed peace and quiet.
Somewhere to think.
She was also painfully aware that since she'd split with Jake, she hadn't done any college work. She'd promised herself she would study each morning.
The cabin she'd found on the internet looked ideal. It was secluded, only a day's drive from Seattle. Her old Fiat was crammed full of supplies, clothes and study books, and as she drove along the
freeway,
she sang along to a few well-chosen songs. When 'I Will Survive,' by Gloria Gaynor played, she sang at the top of her voice and thumped the steering wheel to the beat. She worked herself up into quite an aggressive
frenzy,
and she wished she had some heavy metal with her.
She left the freeway at a sign for Evansville, and as she followed the road it began to get narrower and steeper. She slowed down, taking each corner carefully. She didn't want to meet a truck at speed on one of the bends. At one point the road became so steep, she was worried her old car wouldn't make it. Her dad had given her the car as a present for doing so well at school. ''It's not a new car because you're an inexperienced driver,'' he'd told her. ''But it'll get you from A to B, just fine.''
She reached a fork in the road and stopped to look at the instructions she'd written down. 'Left at the
junction
marked Marshall's Cave' she read. She turned left and followed the road over a plateau before it began to climb again.
''You're joking. No, stop,'' she shouted when she saw steam
bellowing
out of the front of the Italian vehicle. She stopped and released the hood catch. When she lifted the hood, there was steam everywhere. When most of the steam had blown away, she saw a steady trickle of water running from the radiator. ''Do I
really
deserve this,'' she shouted to the sky. Her voice echoed back from the cliff face across the road.
''Hi, is that AB breakdown service?'' she asked.
'Yes,'' a gruff voice confirmed.
''I've broken down. Do you think you can come out and fix my car?'' There was a long
silence,
and Jess looked at her cell phone to make sure there was still a connection. There was.
''Where?''
She didn't know exactly. ''Er........''
''I can't come and get you unless I know where you are,'' he said.
Yes
, obviously,
you half-wit, she thought. ''Sure. Just give me a second.'' She reached into the car and took out her map and instructions. ''I turned left at a signpost for Marshall's Cave a few miles back.''
''And did you get there yet?''
''Where?''
''To Marshall's Cave?''
''What is it exactly?''
''A village. Where our garage is,'' he said.
''Er...no. I didn't reach the village yet.''
''Then you'll be between the sign and the village,'' he concluded.
Jess shook her head. ''Sherlock Holmes the second,'' she muttered.
''What was that?''
''
Er.
I just said, that's right.''
''Well stay put and I'll come and get you.''
''Thank you.'' Jess closed her phone.
She sat on the fender and looked around her. She was in
very
rugged countryside. To the left of the road were pine trees and to the
right,
a sheer cliff face, stretching up for about sixty yards. Real mountain country she thought. As time went by, she wondered if the breakdown service would reach her before dark. Surely it couldn't be so far to the village.
After an hour, she heard the rumble of a heavy vehicle up ahead. After a few seconds, she saw it rounding the corner. It was an old truck, covered in rust, with a platform and a winch at the rear. When it pulled
up,
the driver got out. She could tell
by the voice
it was the same man she'd spoken to on the phone. He was well over six
feet,
and Jess thought maybe two hundred and fifty pounds. He was too fat to wear a
belt;
his brown pants were held up by red suspenders. They matched his ginger hair and beard. He rolled the cigarette he was smoking from one side of his mouth to the
other,
and she saw how black his teeth were.
''Fiat. Not surprised you broke down. That
ain't
a car for mountains,'' he said as she peered under the hood. ''Bust radiator,'' he concluded. ''I'll have to take you back to the village on the truck.''
''Do you think you'll be able to fix it today?'' she asked, anxious to continue her journey.
''No, tomorrow.'' It's too late now. By the time we get back, it'll be time to go fishing.''
Blissful, she thought. ''Is there somewhere to stay in the village?'' she asked.
''Yes, a good motel. It'll be
fine
for a night.''
He positioned his truck in front of Jess's car and pulled it up a ramp and onto the back of his truck. ''Jump up, next to me,'' he said when he
was finished
. Jess had thought she would be able to sit in her car. ''You can't sit in your car, it's too dangerous. In the cab next to me,'' he said. She climbed in through the passenger door and sat on the seat. Inside it smelled of grease, cigarettes, and stale sweat.
It was twenty miles to the
village,
and it took them forty minutes. The further they drove, the more spectacular the scenery became. ''Were are you from?'' he asked.
''Seattle, I'm a student. Law.''
''Ah I studied law.'' She looked at him in disbelief. ''Don't believe me?''
''Er.....you just seem to be so suited to what you are doing now,'' she said.
''Well, I'm a law graduate. But it's
an awful
subject. It's much nicer staying up here in the mountains, helping young women in distress.'' She felt him look at her legs which
were bronzed
and shiny.
''Yes, I'm sure you're much happier here,'' she said.
''Where are you going?''
''To a cabin seventy miles away. For a small vacation.''
She felt him looking at her, this time, her top. She wished she'd put on a T-shirt and not a vest. She felt suddenly very vulnerable.
''Well, when we get to Marshall's Cave, I'll take you to the Motel and show you to your room. If you need a bit of company I could...''
''No I'll be fine, thanks,'' she said, trying to discourage him.
The truck rumbled up the mountain slowly. Too slowly for Jess. She wanted to get to the Motel out of this guy’s way.
''What's your name?'' he asked.
''Jess.''
''I'm Brian.''
''Where did you study law, Brian?'' Jess wasn't
really
interested but thought that asking him questions might stop him looking at her.
''Bethel Business School.''
''Business School? How did you study law there?''
''Er..... So what's a lady doing going on vacation alone?''
She knew he'd lied to her about his law degree.
Why
pretend. Insecurity, she thought. ''I'm not going to be alone,'' she lied.