Interchange
Card One
“What are you looking for?”
She had been rummaging through her bag for what seemed like the past half an hour. They hadn’t even been on the road for three hours and she lost something. She looked up at him and sighed. “I bought conversation starters and now I can’t find them.”
Liam raised his eye brow. “Conversation starters?”
“Yeah. Road trip specific conversation starters. It’s a pack of forty cards that have a question on each. Since our trip might end up being about forty days long, I was thinking we could answer one each day. If I could find them that is…” She continued looking through her bag.
Liam took a drag of his cigarette, then rested his arm back on the car door, letting the smoke leak out through the half open window. “You really don’t think that we’ll be able to come up with our own conversations?”
“It’s not like that..”
“Oh, it is. You bought them because you thought that you would have nothing to say to me. I am basically your hired driver after all…” He glanced at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit in the back seat?” She looked up and glared at him. “Are you sure you packed them?”
“Yes!”
“Have you checked every pocket?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Have you unzipped every zipper?”
“Yes!”
“Are you sure you put it in that bag and not your duffle?”
“Ye…..no..”
“When we reach the next rest stop, you can get out and look for them.”
“Fine.”
“You don’t need to be so pouty. You’ll have your precious conversation cards in another half an hour or so. I’m sure we’ll find something to talk about between then and now.”
She stared out the window for the next five minutes or so. Her eyes were focused on the passing landscape of eastern Washington. “Were you serious when you said that you’d never been outside of the state of Washington?”
“See, you don’t need those cards.”
“Liam.”
He chucked to himself. “Is it really that hard to believe that I’ve never been outside of Washington?”
“One would think that you’d at least would have gone to Idaho, ‘cus come on,it’s only 15 minutes to Moscow from Pullman.”
Liam took a moment to consider this. “Okay, fine, I’ve been to Idaho, but barely. I’ve almost never been out of Washington.”
“You never went to Lewiston or even Silverwood?”
“Taking road trips, even short ones, cost money. Money that I don’t have.”
“Yeah, because you waste it on all those damn cigarettes.”
Liam rolled his eyes. She didn’t exactly understand that it also usually took money to quit smoking. If you wanted to do it right anyway. If he was going to “waste” money on anything, it might as well be on a vice.
“But it’s not just the lack of money that stopped you, is it?” She asked.
He shook his head.
“Then what do you think it is?”
“I’ve never really wanted to go anywhere.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s not one of those things that’s easy to explain.”
The car was silent after that. Liam focused on the road ahead. He found hard to stay alert and began to slip into a of haze of highway tunnel vision. Eastern Washington wasn’t the most interesting place to drive though. It was prairie land, flat and pale yellow. They were headed South, towards Eastern Oregon’s deserts, and then onto California from there. He had originally hoped to avoid California altogether. There was something about the state that he just didn’t like. Maybe it was just Hollywood he didn’t like, the people who lived there, or the idea of California in general. It didn’t matter either way, in the end, because that particular section of the itinerary was out of his hands.
How do you don’t like it, if you don’t try it? He smirked when the question entered his mind. It was something mothers were supposed to say when their children were afraid to try new food. His mother sure never said anything of the sort.
“Okay, Card number one, question number one. You ready?” She asked cheerfully after settling into the passenger seat again. Liam was sure the speed in which she leaped out of the car, opened the hatchback, found her cards, and returned was unnatural. He’d never seen someone move that fast, let alone find something that fast. She must have used the time it took for the rest stop to come along to mentally search for the cards.
“Yes.”
“What autograph would you most like to have?”
“Can I have a different question?”
“No! We only have forty of these, and if we use them all up right now because you don’t like the one you were given, we won’t have any for later!”
“I don’t know whose autograph I’d want. It’s not something I sit around thinking about.”
“I know whose I’d want.”
“Whose?”
“Katharine Hepburn’s autograph.”
“Who’s that.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes wide open. “You don’t know who Katharine Hepburn is?”
“Is she an actress or something?”
“She’s only Hollywood’s top legend, well according to the American Film Institute anyway. She was in over forty-four moves, lived a relatively private life, and focused on her career. Are you sure you've never heard of her?”
“I don’t really watch movies.”
“You. Don’t. Really. Watch. Movies.”
“What?”
“I’m having a hard time absorbing this information. If you don’t really watch movies, please tell me you’ve at least seen the Lion King.”
“I’ve seen the Lion King. Everyone has seen the Lion King.”
“Have you seen the Princess Bride?”
“Never heard of it.”
“You’ve never heard… I think you’ve spent most of your life under a rock.”
“When I was a kid, I watched kid movies. When I was a teenager, I hung out with friends. I didn’t really take the time to delve into the realm of film and movies.”
“You know what? By the end of this trip, you’re going to see more movies in the span of five weeks than you ever thought possible.”
She had been rummaging through her bag for what seemed like the past half an hour. They hadn’t even been on the road for three hours and she lost something. She looked up at him and sighed. “I bought conversation starters and now I can’t find them.”
Liam raised his eye brow. “Conversation starters?”
“Yeah. Road trip specific conversation starters. It’s a pack of forty cards that have a question on each. Since our trip might end up being about forty days long, I was thinking we could answer one each day. If I could find them that is…” She continued looking through her bag.
Liam took a drag of his cigarette, then rested his arm back on the car door, letting the smoke leak out through the half open window. “You really don’t think that we’ll be able to come up with our own conversations?”
“It’s not like that..”
“Oh, it is. You bought them because you thought that you would have nothing to say to me. I am basically your hired driver after all…” He glanced at her. “Are you sure you don’t want to sit in the back seat?” She looked up and glared at him. “Are you sure you packed them?”
“Yes!”
“Have you checked every pocket?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Have you unzipped every zipper?”
“Yes!”
“Are you sure you put it in that bag and not your duffle?”
“Ye…..no..”
“When we reach the next rest stop, you can get out and look for them.”
“Fine.”
“You don’t need to be so pouty. You’ll have your precious conversation cards in another half an hour or so. I’m sure we’ll find something to talk about between then and now.”
She stared out the window for the next five minutes or so. Her eyes were focused on the passing landscape of eastern Washington. “Were you serious when you said that you’d never been outside of the state of Washington?”
“See, you don’t need those cards.”
“Liam.”
He chucked to himself. “Is it really that hard to believe that I’ve never been outside of Washington?”
“One would think that you’d at least would have gone to Idaho, ‘cus come on,it’s only 15 minutes to Moscow from Pullman.”
Liam took a moment to consider this. “Okay, fine, I’ve been to Idaho, but barely. I’ve almost never been out of Washington.”
“You never went to Lewiston or even Silverwood?”
“Taking road trips, even short ones, cost money. Money that I don’t have.”
“Yeah, because you waste it on all those damn cigarettes.”
Liam rolled his eyes. She didn’t exactly understand that it also usually took money to quit smoking. If you wanted to do it right anyway. If he was going to “waste” money on anything, it might as well be on a vice.
“But it’s not just the lack of money that stopped you, is it?” She asked.
He shook his head.
“Then what do you think it is?”
“I’ve never really wanted to go anywhere.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It’s not one of those things that’s easy to explain.”
The car was silent after that. Liam focused on the road ahead. He found hard to stay alert and began to slip into a of haze of highway tunnel vision. Eastern Washington wasn’t the most interesting place to drive though. It was prairie land, flat and pale yellow. They were headed South, towards Eastern Oregon’s deserts, and then onto California from there. He had originally hoped to avoid California altogether. There was something about the state that he just didn’t like. Maybe it was just Hollywood he didn’t like, the people who lived there, or the idea of California in general. It didn’t matter either way, in the end, because that particular section of the itinerary was out of his hands.
How do you don’t like it, if you don’t try it? He smirked when the question entered his mind. It was something mothers were supposed to say when their children were afraid to try new food. His mother sure never said anything of the sort.
~
“Okay, Card number one, question number one. You ready?” She asked cheerfully after settling into the passenger seat again. Liam was sure the speed in which she leaped out of the car, opened the hatchback, found her cards, and returned was unnatural. He’d never seen someone move that fast, let alone find something that fast. She must have used the time it took for the rest stop to come along to mentally search for the cards.
“Yes.”
“What autograph would you most like to have?”
“Can I have a different question?”
“No! We only have forty of these, and if we use them all up right now because you don’t like the one you were given, we won’t have any for later!”
“I don’t know whose autograph I’d want. It’s not something I sit around thinking about.”
“I know whose I’d want.”
“Whose?”
“Katharine Hepburn’s autograph.”
“Who’s that.”
She turned to look at him, her eyes wide open. “You don’t know who Katharine Hepburn is?”
“Is she an actress or something?”
“She’s only Hollywood’s top legend, well according to the American Film Institute anyway. She was in over forty-four moves, lived a relatively private life, and focused on her career. Are you sure you've never heard of her?”
“I don’t really watch movies.”
“You. Don’t. Really. Watch. Movies.”
“What?”
“I’m having a hard time absorbing this information. If you don’t really watch movies, please tell me you’ve at least seen the Lion King.”
“I’ve seen the Lion King. Everyone has seen the Lion King.”
“Have you seen the Princess Bride?”
“Never heard of it.”
“You’ve never heard… I think you’ve spent most of your life under a rock.”
“When I was a kid, I watched kid movies. When I was a teenager, I hung out with friends. I didn’t really take the time to delve into the realm of film and movies.”
“You know what? By the end of this trip, you’re going to see more movies in the span of five weeks than you ever thought possible.”
♠ ♠ ♠
comments? concerns? grammatical errors?