Apartment For Three

Chapter 29

There we all stood in a line. Paul and Marlon on either side of me and Jackie stood on the end. Paul was still only in his boxers despite the cold air outside, Marlon had thrown on clothes after the fire bell went off along with Jackie who was also dressed.

The owner of the motel was furious at us. Standing there, we all got a bad scolding.

"I can't believe what you've done to my property." The owner shouted. Behind him was a mob of firemen walking away from his scoured pool. The concrete by the poolside was blackened from the fire that once covered it.

"How did it burn so much anyway?" Paul asked as he crossed an arm over his chest and held his hand up to his chin.

"Some kind of oil or substance had been poured into the pool and that fed the fire." The owner shook his head. "Either way, you can't stay here any longer! I want all of you out of here!"

"As if we'd want to stay in this dump in the first place." Marlon huffed as he turned his back toward the owner. "Come on, let's get our things and scoot."

"What can we do?" Paul offered.

"We? This has nothing to do with me. You're the one who decided to throw a fucking cigarette into the pool!" Marlon shouted from where he stood behind us.

Paul turned back around toward the owner. "Listen... I don't have a lot of money."

"I'm assuming this coat belongs to one of you." A fireman interrupted us, holding Paul's particularly crisped coat.

"Damn it." Paul cursed under his breath as he took his coat. "This is my only one."

"We'll get to the west coast eventually, then you won't need a winter coat." I rubbed his shoulder. Jackie, who stood a few steps away, glared at us.

"I feel like I've made a mess of this. If there's anything I can do... I'll do it. Sure, I don't have money but if there's some kind of work I can do I'll make things right." Paul promised as he held his coat in both hands in front of him.

"What you arson-thirsty wackos can do is leave! You're lucky I'm not pressing charges!" The owner shouted with a point.

"It wasn't on purpose." I insisted as I placed my hand on Paul's shoulder once again. "It was a simple mistake."

"If the two of you were in the motel room, this wouldn't have happened at all." Jackie crossed her arms.

"I didn't want the smoke to disturb your sleep." Paul pressed his lips together.

"Well if disturbed a lot more people, now didn't it?" Marlon shouted from where he stood behind us, a cigarette now pressed between his lips.

"Please." The owner put up his hands. "No more smoking. From now own this is a smoke free property."

"What the hell is a smoke free property?" Marlon laughed.

"Just leave! Before I get them to make you leave." The owner pointed toward the authorities.

Paul put both hands up defensively, one holding what was left of his coat. "We'll be on our way."

From there we packed up our things and off we went. On that road there wasn't any radio signal, so we were in complete silence.  Somehow I was left to sit next to Jackie while Paul and Marlon sat in the front. Marlon, who was way too over protective toward his precious car drove.

"Will we stop in Ohio or Indiana. Maybe even Illinois?" Marlon said as we drove along the smooth highway.

"I say we try to go as far as possible. The more we drive the faster we get there." I shouted at him from the backseat.

"You see, I don't know. I've been enjoying myself believe it or not on this little trip. It actually hasn't been terrible getting to know you all." Jackie shrugged.

Paul was genuinely confused by that statement, turning around to look back at his wife. "Did you bump your head when you were doped up?"

After miles of silence in the middle of Ohio, we finally decided to play a little game. "I spy with my little eye... something green."

"Something green? Everything is green here." Marlon huffed as he pointed to both sides of the highway, which were cascaded with trees.

"Fine. Something large and green... and often." Jackie added to her statement.

"The oak trees." Paul looked up from the booklet he held in his hand. "You love oak trees."

"How the hell were we supposed to know she loves oak trees?" Marlon asked, his hand lifting from the wheel.

"Now someone else has to go." Jackie smile toward the men in front seat. None of them seemed keen on playing. Her eyes set on Paul, who was concentrating. With his feet up on the dashboard, his cuffed Levi's exposed his white socks. He seemed occupied with whatever he was reading. "Paul, what's that you're looking over, dear?"

"This script. I'm going to be reciting a monologue there if they'll allow it." Paul said in a mumbling voice.

"If you really want to get it, you'd recite it aloud." Marlon critiqued. Ever since the success of On The Waterfront, he was very confident in his craft. There were even talks of him receiving an Academy Award.

"I don't feel like saying it out loud, Marlon." Paul told him coldly. You could tell he was trying his best to keep calm.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I'm just trying to make this all worth while. You have us all driving across the goddamn country so you can make this happen. The least you can do is take it seriously!" Marlon angrily shouted, his eyes never leaving the road.

"Will you cool it!?" Paul sat up in his seat. "I've got this all under control."

Suddenly in the middle of no where, we saw a couple holding out their thumbs for a ride. Jackie was oblivious. "I spy with my little eye... something golden."

"Hey, what's up with them?" Paul asked.

"I was looking at the same thing." Marlon became alert at the sight of the perky blonde holding out her thumb. "Who's that fella she's got with her?"

"I don't know but—" Paul began but they stopped once they remembered us in the backseat.

Marlon began pulling the car over. "How about we just ask if they need a ride."

"We don't even know them." I crossed my arms.

"They seem like nice, upstanding people." Paul nodded with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Her rack is definitely upstanding." Marlon said under his breath.

"Hiya, I'm Eddie and this is my girl, Judy. We were wondering if you'd give us a lift." The man who held a bag over his shoulder smiled. Judy waved a little too seductively at the boys.

"Well of course." Marlon answered.

"Anything you need, where you headed?" Paul asked.

"Just a few miles down, that's where the both of us work." Judy informed us with a pearly white smile. "We're in no rush to get there so don't you worry about that."

"Trust me, we aren't worrying." Paul hopped over the car door of the Cadillac and landed outside. Then he opened the door, expecting Judy to get inside.

"Judy, why don't you take a seat right in between those two dolls, there and I'll ride in the front with the men." Eddie patted his girlfriend's back.

Once they were all packed in, I found myself wedged in between Jackie and Judy while Eddie sat in the middle of the front seat with Marlon and Paul.

"How is the perfect time to finish my I-Spy question... you know it's disappe— we're about to pass it!" Jackie smiled. "Now listen up, I spy with my little eye something golden."

"The sun." Marlon answered in an aggravated voice. "It's the fucking setting sun."

"You're right but you don't have to be so aggressive, Marlon." Jackie crossed her arms.

"Well I like I-Spy... I'll play!" Judy have a peppy smile to Jackie. Everyone else in the car groaned at the thought of this game continuing any longer.

And oh, they continued it.