Truth or Consequences

“There’s a Motel 6 out by the McDonald’s past the high school, but that is a bit of a walk.” Flo rested her chin on her hand as she thought. “You have luggage, right?”

“Uh-huh, Margo is watching it.” Beatrice had waited until Flo wasn’t busy to ask her about cheap local motels, after confessing that she didn’t really have a place to live.

Flo nodded slightly, “Yeah, that’s too far to walk with luggage. I can give you a ride up there in about a half an hour, when I take lunch. Can you hang tight until then?”

“Yeah.”

“You might want to explore town, or read one of the brochures by the door or something while you wait. It would be a good idea to get familiar with the town since you’re going to be here for a while,” Flo suggested. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay,” Beatrice said as she pushed away from the counter she was leaning on. She was trying to think about where she had been before. She couldn’t remember much from the walk because she spent most of it looking for the sign that said S Foch St, rather than looking around at the various businesses. Since it looked like she would be in town for a while, it seemed worth it to start learning her way around town.

She exited the diner and found her way back to North Broadway. She stopped on the corner, headed right and crossed the street. Everything around her seemed tan, like someone had put a sepia lens over her eyes. The side walk, the buildings, and even the road, which was supposed to be black, had a tan tinge to it. It must be because of all the dirt, she thought, looking around to see if there were any other colors. The buildings were all rectangular, and most of them were single story, with the exception of a few buildings which were two. There was something about this town reminded Beatrice of the little wooden bricks that represented houses in a Monopoly board game.

As she walked down the street she began noting what stores were in town. She passed a office supply store on the corner, walked by a couple of clothing stores, and paused to look in the window of a music store. Across the street sat a RadioShack, a couple of nondescript businesses with their signs in small letters on the doors, and a locksmith in a two story, log cabin type building. She soon realized that T or C wasn’t so small that it didn’t allow businesses from large corporations. She didn’t stray too far from The Main Road in fear that she wouldn’t be able to find it again, and turned around when she reached a bookstore on the corner of N Broadway and Daniel St. As she returned to S Foch street, she noticed an office supply store, and a standalone building that was painted bright blue. She decided there were definitely some places that she would need to explore. Beatrice decided that she would be able to at least survive living there for a few months.

By the time she returned from her walk, Flo was ready to go, waiting behind the counter. “Did you have a nice walk?” she asked.

Beatrice nodded. “Yeah.”

Flo came out from behind the counter, “We should pick up your gear from Margo first, then we’ll go to the motel.”

“Okay.”

She followed Flo to her car, which was parked down the street. Flo owned a dusty, dark green Subaru Outback. Beatrice waited outside of the car, even though Flo had unlocked it. In the back of the car were various blankets, toys, and art supplies, and in the front seat was a large pile of mail.

“Sorry it’s a bit messing, but when you have a seven, almost eight, year old son, things tend to get out of order,” Flo explained after she noticed Beatrice eying the inside of the car. She opened the passenger door and began moving the contents of the front seat into the back.

Beatrice was somewhat surprised by the fact that Flo had a son. It wasn’t like she looked like she was twenty-five or anything, but she still looked pretty young to have a child. It might have been because Beatrice had a warped sense of how old one should be before they have a child. Her own mother waited until almost the end of her time slot to have a baby, because she had to get ahead in her career first.

She got into the car once the passenger seat was cleared. The inside of the car smelled musty with heat and dust. Once Flo had started the car, Beatrice discovered that she wasn’t blasted with the AC, like should would have been in her Mom’s car, and her own. She half expected Flo to turn it on after they started driving, but she didn’t; instead, she rolled down the driver’s side window.

“It’s been shot for the last few months, and I haven’t had the time to get it fixed,” Flo said after she asked about the AC.

Flo followed S Foch until it turned into N Foch and took a left out onto Main St. Beatrice noticed a small, rectangular, black and white sign that read: one way. It was then that she realized T or C had at least one, one way street. She had assumed that the town was the type of small town that was dominated by two way traffic though out the whole town. She was used to cities being the only places where one way streets existed. As she thought about it, N Broadway had also been a one way street, and she was surprised that she had missed the biggest give away of this fact: the cars were all parked the same way.

“How long do you think it will take me to make enough money to get out of here?” Beatrice asked after Main St had turned into S Broadway and they were passing a small car dealership.

Flo chuckled. “I’m still trying to make enough money to get out of here.” She paused. “You’re trying to go to New York, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Rent’s high there, as well as most everything else. On about a thousand a month..” Flo tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “It will probably take you about nine months to get enough money to get there and afford a tiny apartment.”

“Nine months?”

“Be realistic about this, and make it your goal. You can’t plan for everything. Things come up, and things change.”

Flo pulled into the dirt parking lot in front of Michel’s garage, and parked right up, next to the building.

“I see she found you,” Margo said, looking up from her computer when they walked through the front door.

“Indeed she did, and she’s now my new dishwasher,” Flo announced.

Margo looked at Beatrice. “So you’ve come to pick up your bag?”

Beatrice nodded. “Yeah.”

“So you’ve found a place to stay?” Margo asked as she pulled Beatrice’s large duffle bag from behind her desk and brought it around to her.

“Not exactly…”

“I’m going to take her up to the Motel 6,” Flo told her friend.

“Good.” Margo paused, then changed the subject. “Have you found a sitter for Friday night yet?”

Flo sighed and shook her head. “No, not yet. As it turns out, both my sister and Denise have dates for Friday night.”

“I hope you can find one, because I seriously need help picking out flower arrangements, and I haven’t even started thinking about color schemes. And it doesn’t help that Quinn doesn’t help, and says that he’s waiting for the cake tasting. Men, they only think through their stomachs.”

“I’ll figure something out, and I’ll call you the minute I’ve got a sitter.”

“I know you will.”

Flo said good-bye to her friend and started towards the door. Beatrice picked up her duffle bag and followed her outside. Flo opened the hatchback and helped Beatrice lug it into the back.

“So why do you want to go to New York?” Flo asked casually as they drove to the Motel 6. “What makes it so appealing?”

Beatrice shrugged. “It just kind sounds exciting to go there.”

“What do you plan on doing once you get there?”

“I don’t know. I’ll figure it out when I get there.”

“That’s a pretty risky plan you have there.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You could get into some pretty undesirable situations without a plan, especially when you need money.” The man from Las Cruses appeared in Beatrice’s mind. Just the thought of him made her want to shudder. “But it’s not to say that you won’t get lucky either.”