Braveheart's Son

3

For the first leg of the journey, we stop to get lunch at a local Cracker-barrel and see Rose who found a steady job there. She catches me up on the gossip of the small town and it's mostly the usual gossip grime, crime, and slime in Baltimore, and warned me to steer clear of the place.

"Oh, Lori I still don't believe you went back in time that's just..." She stops trying to find the right word to possibly not offend me or call me crazy.

"Crazy? Rose, please I'm telling the truth! I've seen shit that'll turn you white!" Rose still doesn't believe me for the past two years she still believes I'm making it up.

"Fire and brimstone falling from the sky! Seas boiling! Human sacrifice, Cats and dogs living together mass hysteria! Lori, please we've both seen Ghostbusters just let this go alright! I thought you were gone forever!"
She had a point, I thought I would never see anything or anyone again until well you know I woke up. I don't even know how I got into the hospital funny enough no one not even my parents would shed details of my so-called "return".

"When you went missing in maybe a week or so Dakota Sheriff's Department and tribal police called to let us know they found a woman matching your description on reservation territory clinging to a newborn baby. I had to miss school to identify you!"

She grabs her tray and walks back to the kitchen to serve other customers not just me. Caleb babbles in his seat laughing at the situation. "I'm happy you think this is funny Cal 'cause it isn't."
He continues to laugh and then discovers how to clap and tries to get my attention. "Ma! MA! Look!" He claps again getting my attention.

"Hmm? Oh, good job Cal!" I say snapping out of my trance my thoughts like a train derail and getting robbed by bank robbers how quaint. As Poirot would say, "If the little grey cells are not exercised, they grow the rust." But he is a fictional detective from the 1930s and he's Belgian way different.
Rose comes back with my food giving me a dirty look then after a while comes back with my tab.

"Rose, please I don't want this to ruin our friendship and I know you're just not believing me but just know one day you'll have to accept it. Alright?" I gave her a tip but remained seated finishing my coffee. She sits down at my table having time to spend.

"Remember when we went to see Sioux City with my brother,"
I look at her and nod remembering that faithful day.

"Well after you disappeared I went to the theater begging for a ticket to watch it because well that's how your disappearance affected me and what did they do? Hm, I'll tell you they called security due to how crazy I was acting!"  

I lowered my head shaking it slowly like I was a leaf in the wind and slightly chuckled at the thought of Rose Matthew a Shawnee/Navajo mixed native acting crazy in public.

I get up to hug her then get Caleb out of his booster seat and walk around the gift shop part of the restaurant before paying the tab and buying a bag of Sour Patch Kids and a stuffed teddy Bear for Caleb paying the bill saying goodbye to Rose and proceeded to get back in my truck adjusting the mirror and pulled up the GPS.

"Ok, this is gonna be fine I wished she didn't mention Sioux City cause she didn't like that movie not even the actors, and that movie came out in '94 I went missing in '96 fucking liar."
I mutter reversing out of the parking lot The asphalt growled as I reversed onto the exit waiting for the painted cars to go by.
I put the radio on waiting for this idiot to decide whether he's gonna turn or let me out.