the undersides of her breasts, which trembled as she shook with the force of the stretch.
“Where are we?” she asked, yawning, her voice muzzy, and something about it felt like the most familiar sound in all the world, somehow.
“Regina, Saskatchewan, or just past it.” I yawned, then, catching it from her. “We’re more than halfway to Alaska, now.”
“Rhys…” she started, and then trailed off. She strode out into the grass beyond the shoulder. I followed. “When are you going to turn around?”
Good question. I picked a long stalk of grass and twisted it in my fingers. “I dunno. Been trying to figure that out, but…”
Her pale brown eyes searched me. “But what?”
“It’s complicated,” I said, avoiding the meaning behind her question.
“No, it’s not. You have to get back to New Haven. You have jobs lined up. Yet here you are in Regina motherfucking Saskatchewan with me. So again, I ask you—how far are you willing to go?”
I swallowed. Dropped my eyes to the grass—watched a big green grasshopper struggle up a stalk of grass. “I don’t know, Torie. I’ve been thinking about it for hours and I don’t fuckin’ know, okay?” I felt honesty rising in my throat like bile. “The thought of just…leaving you outside a bus station makes my stomach hurt. I just don’t know that I can do that.”
“I’d be fine if you did, Rhys. I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself.”
“Maybe I wouldn’t be fine,” I muttered, more to the grass than her. “I know you’re capable—it’s not about that.”
She was rocked back by that answer. “Then what’s it about?”
“It’s about a whole big, deep, hard conversation we’ve been avoiding since fuckin’ Ohio.”
“Oh.” She kicked at the tall grass, walking away a little bit. “Maybe…maybe we should agree to not…to not do anything for right now. Until we do figure that out.”
“Yeah, probably a good plan,” I said. “I’m for sure too tired to talk about it right now.” I yawned again. “We should just go back to Regina and crash.”
She shook her head. “I’m good to go—I’ll stop for gas and coffee at the next stop, but I want to keep going, if you’re okay sleeping in the car again.”
I nodded. “Fine by me. I’ll put the seat back and crash.”
She laughed. “Since we’re driving, maybe don’t use the term ‘crash.’”
“Yeah, good point. Get some sleep, is all I mean.”
We went back to the Jeep, and continued to the next stop, where I refueled and bought coffees and more snacks. I saved my coffee for after I woke up; it’d be cold by then, but I was accustomed to drinking cold coffee in the shop when I was too busy to make more or reheat it.
Once we were well on the way, I fell asleep within minutes to the hum of the tires and the low jangle of the classic rock playlist.
I woke up just outside Saskatoon, drank some coffee and looked over at my driving partner. I could see that Torie was lost in thought, as I’d been when she startled me the day before. We’d been driving without stop for over twenty-four hours.
“How you doing?” I asked.
She started, laughed self-consciously. “Got me back,” she breathed, shaking her head. “I’m about ready to hand it over.”
“You thinking we should keep going? Or grab a motel and rest for the day?”
She shrugged. “I’m tired, but I’m wired, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep anytime soon, so I guess if you’re game to drive a while, we could keep going and stop early.”
I didn’t ask the question. Thought it, but didn’t ask it.
It was another long day on the Canadian prairies. The silence was a little awkward, and it seemed impossible to break. What to say? Where to start?
So we did the ostrich thing, burying our heads in the metaphorical sand and refusing to address the issue––thus, we didn’t talk much at all. Between the elephant and the ostrich, the Jeep was beginning to look like a zoo.
Despite her claim, Torie fell asleep. It was better that way.
She slept through my pit stop for gas and coffee and the restroom.
She was still sleeping when we drove past Edmonton.
I was now in the zone, a captive of highway hypnotism. I had the radio off, my window down, arm out. I forgot about being hungry, tired, horny and the issues between us—I was focused on nothing but the drive.
And Torie slept on. Longer than she’d ever slept since I’d known her—through an