Chapter Text
1970
It was raining as the 1954 Ford rolled along the dirt road kicking up new mud onto the already caked hub caps. The clouded headlights did their best to break through the misery depicted outside and give light to any other moving vehicles. Although, there was no need to watch for other cars. There was none to be found on this night. Everyone was safely and smartly staying inside. All except for the rust-colored 1954 Ford with its driver and passenger.
With the sound of the radio on low and the tinny rain on the roof, the driver focused on the road without appearing to over concentrate. He had a reputation to uphold and didn’t want his passenger to question his driving skills, even in this horrid weather. He was, in fact, supposed to be the expert. Though he only admitted to himself how only in a town that size would his level of skill give him a job as a driving instructor. He knew he wouldn’t be staying long. He was used to the drifter lifestyle. And less than a year after he arrived, he found himself again on the open road. Only this time, he wasn’t alone.
The wrinkles at the corner of his eyes crinkled as he blinked to wake up. His nose sniffed, sucking in a whiff of the damp air mixed with the musty smell of a 16 year old car. Their trip had only just begun, but he was ready to stop for a rest. They had to leave in the middle of the night at her request. But that didn’t align well with his own schedule. He was tired, yes. But his ulterior motives were no secret; Find a cheap motel along the side of the road. Take a room, one room, one bed. Grab a few beers, a few for her and even more for him. Go to sleep… eventually. Then get up the next day and move onward, wherever the road might take them.
These thoughts crossed through his mind again as he told himself to hold off for at least a few more hours. With one hand firmly on the wheel, he casually raised his other to scratch the side of his face through the umber scruff that grew on his cheeks and chin. His mind was too occupied to notice the sign they passed, ‘Town Limit.’
The passenger noticed the sign and breathed a sign of utter relief as it disappeared behind them. She was out. And she was never going back.
Her physicality didn’t show the importance of the milestone event that just occurred. Her legs remained bent at the knees as her stocking feet rested casually against the dashboard. Her slumped shoulders curled into the back of the worn seat, her upper arms showing as the plaid felt jacket fell around her elbows and the pink sleeveless turtleneck peeked through.
In full repose, she rested her head in the palm of her hand as her chin turned to follow the sign behind them. The long locks of golden hair covered the sides of her face, only allowing for her aqua orbs to take in the sight of the places she’s been.
Her head untwisted from its glance and came back to center, looking at the fogy and wet road ahead of her. Her mind was suddenly blank. It was no longer fixated on whether she packed enough dresses or if she should have stolen another pair of her sister’s shoes. She was no longer worried about how her mother would react when she woke up the next morning to find her oldest daughter gone. Any apprehensions she had about what the future held for her suddenly melted away and only the open road stretched ahead of her.
This was her journey, her new chapter. Yes, there was someone else in the car sitting beside her, but they would only be mutually beneficial for a short time. He would get what he came for, and she, what she came for. And that would be it.
Where would she go? She couldn’t possibly answer that question because there were too many possible answers. ‘It will feel right when I’m there,’ she kept telling herself. She had become very good at internalizing the self-confidence she projected.
What would she do to support herself? She wasn’t as worried about that as she should have been. She had skills, lots of them. One of them was sure to be lucrative enough to sustain her. And if her practical skills didn’t get her anywhere, she could always fall back on her looks. She was, after all, Miss Snow Cone, 1970.
What was her life goal? Her life goal was to have a life. And this was the first time she felt like that aim was actually achievable.
Her reverie was broken. She heard him clear his throat.
“You cold?” he asked, looking at her curled position from the corner of his eye.
Her head shook once as her eyes glazed over. “I’m fine.”
Another delightful silence descended. Her toes curled as her hips shifted further into the seat. The song on the radio changed. She found her lips pressing together as they hummed along to the melody. Her eyes closed gently as her head tilted back.
“When do you want to stop?”
Her eyes opened again and her head rolled to glance at her partner’s profile. “Not yet,” she sighed as she rolled her head back. “I want to get as far away as pos-si-ble.” She drew out the last word with a purse of her lips.
“You think someone will come after you?”
Her eyebrows came together as she felt a chuckle build in her throat. “No,” she scoffed. “That’s not it.”
He didn’t respond but gave her a moment to continue.
And she did. Her voice tasted of lead as she uttered her mantra of the last six years. “I needed to get out. I was dying there.” She felt her spine stiffen in determination as she uttered a promise to herself. “And I’m never going back.”
“And now what?” He asked as he squinted into the darkness.
Now what? Moira couldn’t even begin to predict. Her lips curled up in delightful suspense.