“Just great,” she muttered, and lowered her wet foot to the floor. The tiles felt gritty.
At least there’s probably no pee over here.
She shut off the hot water and turned on the cold. Bending low over the sink, she cupped her hands under the faucet. She splashed the chilly water onto her face and head. Using her fingertips, she rubbed at the blood stains on the side of her neck. Then, with some soap on her thumb and forefinger, she gently cleaned her earlobe. She rinsed off the suds.
Nervous about how much time was going by, she glanced at the restroom door.
So far, so good.
Maybe he won’t be coming in at all. Why should he risk it?
Leaning close to the mirror, she inspected her skinned right shoulder. Without a cloth or paper towel, it would be awfully hard to clean. The same with her other abrasions.
She supposed she could use toilet paper.
Go back into the stall?
With one bare foot?
“No way,” she muttered.
Then she realized she could use her left sock.
Is there time for all this? she wondered.
Why not? Maybe Toby’ll give up waiting and go away.
“Sure he will,” she said.
But she still had the restroom to herself, so why not stay and tend to her injuries? As a Girl Scout, she’d learned that open wounds should be cleaned with soap and water as soon as possible to prevent infection. And in recent years, thanks to television news, she’d developed a terror of the “flesh-eating bacteria.”
Standing on her bare right foot, she pulled off her left shoe and sock. The lower part of the sock was sweaty, but the area from around her ankle seemed dry and clean. She held it under hot water until it was soaking wet, wrung it out, then applied soap and gently swabbed her shoulder abrasion.
When this is all over, she thought, I’ll take a nice, long bath. I’ll soak in the tub for an hour…
He’s got my keys!
When this is all over, she told herself, he won’t have them. Obviously, it won’t be over until I’ve got everything back…
Including Duane?
She supposed she didn’t want him back. He’d gotten her into this, testing the damn rubbers on a slut in the back of his van.
How could he do a thing like that? she wondered. Knowing I was waiting for him in bed? What kind of miserable bastard is he?
I thought he cared about me.
The slut probably has bigger boobs.
Like who doesn’t?
“Fuck him, anyway,” she muttered.
Tears filled her eyes.
Stupid me, she thought. I should’ve just stayed in bed. But no, I had to get all worried and go looking for him and run into my pal Toby.
I’m getting my ass abducted ’cause Duane’s a backstabbing piece of shit…
Sobbing, tears running down her face, she finished cleaning her shoulder, then soaped and rinsed her other abrasions, and finally wrung out her sock. Still crying, she hopped on her right foot and pulled the sock on. Then she struggled into her shoe.
Duane wasn’t that great in the first place, she told herself. I oughta be glad it’s over. And be really glad I didn’t find out what a lying cheating bastard he is after he put it to me. This was my lucky night.
She laughed and shook her head.
It is my lucky night, she told herself. I got away from two dirty rotten bastards. A little the worse for wear, but nothing that won’t heal.
A sadder man, but wiser.
“Woman,” she muttered.
No longer crying, she stared at her face in the mirror and shook her head.
“What a wreck,” she said.
Bending over the sink again, she splashed her face with water. Then she straightened up and turned off the faucet. And stood there, looking at herself.
Her face was dripping.
Her blouse, splashed with water and clinging to her, was open an inch or so all the way down to the single remaining button at her belly. She pulled its edges together, then sighed.
Then flinched as someone knocked on the door.
“Are you all right in there?” a man asked.
“Fine,” she said.
“You can come out any time.”
“The men’s room says Hombres on the door.”
“Yeah, I know. What I’m saying is, you can stop hiding in there. He’s gone.”
“Huh?”
“The chubby guy. He drove off a few minutes ago.”
She shut her blouse all the way, pressed her left hand against it, and opened the restroom door.