Shiloh and Other Stories - Bobbie Ann Mason [70]
They stopped at a camp on the border, and Bill filled up the water tank. The camper was dusty but still looked brand-new. Imogene checked to see if anything was broken.
“I don’t see why this gas stove don’t explode,” she said. “All this shaking in this heat. They say not to take a gas can in your car.”
“A camper is different,” Bill said.
They walked around the campground. A lot of vehicles had motorcycles strapped onto them, and some people had already cranked up their motorcycles. The noise bothered Bill, but he liked to see the bikes take off, disappearing behind a swirl of dust.
Bill stopped to pet a friendly collie.
“That’s Ishmael,” said the girl who held the collie by a leash. “He’s so friendly I never have any trouble meeting people. I meet lots of guys that way! People do that with dogs, you know?”
“You’re a good boy,” said Bill, patting the dog. “Nice boy.”
Ishmael licked Bill’s hand and then tried to sniff up Imogene’s dress.
“Ishmael, don’t be so obnoxious. He’s always this friendly,” the girl said apologetically. She had on a halter top and shorts. Her legs were smooth and brown, with golden hairs on her thighs.
“He loves dogs,” said Imogene. “He can’t stand to be without a dog. Or a cow or something! We sold all our cows and everything and here we are. Our whole farm’s tied up in this.” She waved at the camper.
“Wow, that’s nice. That must have cost a fortune,” the girl said, shading her eyes as she looked at the camper.
“Where are you headed?” Bill asked, with unusual politeness, which embarrassed him slightly.
“Oh, I was on the Coast, but it got to be a drag, so now I’m on my way to Atlanta, where I think I know this guy. I met him out in L.A. and he said if I was ever in Atlanta, to look him up. I hope he remembers me.”
The girl said her name was Stephanie. Bill thought she might be college age. He wasn’t sure. She looked very young to be traveling around alone. He thought of Sissy, his youngest daughter. Sissy had come home from San Francisco finally and had lived to tell the tale, though there was not much she would say about it.
“See, Ishmael is number one,” Stephanie was saying. “If a guy can’t take my dog, then I’m going to leave, right?” She looked up at Bill, as if for approval. Bill patted Ishmael, and the dog licked Bill’s hand again.
“I got a ride with this guy who customizes rec-v’s,” Stephanie went on. She pointed to a beige van with designs of blue and red fish painted on the side. “See, people buy them stripped and he outfits them. He’s supposed to be back any minute. He’s checking out a deal.” She looked around the campground. “See his license plate,” she said. “KOOL-II. Isn’t that cute? Here, look inside.”
Bill and Imogene peered inside the van. It was lined with shag rug. In the back, crosswise, was a king-sized bed with a leopard-skin cover. The ceiling was shag carpeting too, white, with a red heart positioned above the bed.
“There’s not a kitchen in it,” said Imogene.
“Just a refrigerator, and a bar,” said Stephanie. “Isn’t it something? This interior just blows me away.”
She let Ishmael inside the van and took his leash off. Ishmael hopped onto the bed and stretched his paws out. The bed seemed to ripple with the dog’s movements.
“It’s a water bed,” Stephanie said with a laugh.
“We’ve been tied down on a farm all this time,” said Imogene.
“We’re going to travel around till we get it out of our system,” said Bill, again feeling embarrassed to be telling the girl things about himself.
“That’s really sweet,” said Stephanie, pulling at her halter. “Wow, that’s really sweet. Here I travel around and don’t think anything about it, but I bet you’ve been waiting all these years!”
“You come and eat some supper with us,” Imogene said. “You don’t have a kitchen.”
“Oh, no, thanks. I better wait for this guy. We were going to check out the McDonald’s up on the highway. I’m sort of waiting around for him, see? Hey, thanks anyway.”
Stephanie waved good-bye and wished them luck.
“We’ll need it,” said Imogene.
After supper Imogene and Bill sat in their folding chairs outside