The Restoration Project

4.20 - Lovely

By the time she saw Wheel's cabin poking through the trees and bramble, her feet hurt, her back hurt, and she almost forgot about what Barbie Q did to the Baldies. Almost. In the swatch of land outside of Frankie's town, there was a Baldie laying on the road, in the ditch, or on the shoulder every few feet. As she put distance between herself and Frankie, the space between the Baldies grew as well, to the point that she didn't see any during the last third of her trip. It made the trek eerily lonely.

"What're you doing standing out there?" a voice shouted from inside the cabin. A second later, Wheels appeared in the doorway, wiping wet hands on his pants, a dish towel flung over a shoulder. Domestic.

"Just taking it in. Glad I finally got here," Lovely said, and then flashed a smile. "And that you're not dead."

"Not yet," Wheels said. "Was told about what happened out there."

Lovely's heart beat in her chest. "You were? By who?" She didn't want to mention Marybelle. It might seem too desperate.

Wheels scrunched his face up. "No one I knew before today. You might know 'em though."

Her heart stilled. "She's not back yet?"

Wheels shook his head again, more emphatically this time. "No, but she'll come, don't worry," he said, and then stepped aside to issue her inside.

Lovely nodded and then ambled toward the open front door. Voices drifted out of the cabin. She recognized one with an animated, energetic clip: Tiara. The other she couldn't place, it was deeper and nasally. One of Wheels' unexpected guests.

When she stepped inside, she was immediately hit with the scents of diced onion and boiled potatoes. The sources were a frying pan and pot on the stove, steam bubbling from the pot. She looked beyond that to the sitting area at the back of the cabin. Tiara sat in the chair, playing on her portable console. Across from her, on the couch, sat a man Lovely recognized only through various descriptions: Harry the Scary Faery. He was currently looking out the window, his conversation with Tiara coming to a stop with Lovely's entrance.

"If you don't mind, you're kinda blockin' my way back in," Wheels said.

"Oops, sorry," she added and then stepped deeper into the cabin. As she did so, she passed the guest bedroom. Its door was open, showing a massive man lying on the bed and a woman with short hair sitting beside him. Her back was to Lovely so she couldn't make out her features.

"You're back!" Tiara exclaimed as Lovely approached from her chair.

"I am," Lovely replied, not knowing what else to say. "What're you playing there?"

"Just a racing game. There's also a game on here where you shoot zombies but I don't like it," Tiara explained.

"She likes to talk you through her process," Harry observed, chuckling, although it sounded more like a squeaking rat. "Oh, I'm Harry," he added, leaning forward to offer a sweaty hand to Lovely. She glanced over at Wheels, who gave her a slight nod. She took Harry's clammy hand and they quickly shook. She wanted to wipe her hand on her pants after but resisted the urge.

"Lovely," Lovely replied.

"Pleasure," Harry said, and then returned to looking out the window with the occasional glance at Tiara's progress in her game.

"He doesn't talk much," Tiara explained and that made Lovely chuckle. She leaned back in the couch—sitting down felt great after the trek—and turned her body toward Wheels. "Who are the other guests?" she tilted her head to the bedroom.

"That's uh, Charley and Screwball," Wheels said, as he used a big knife to dice up some sort of meat.

"Skillet," Tiara corrected. "He's on the bed. I didn't want him on mine because he might break it."