14.6.2009
Impala Cruise 4
http://www.netsaga.is/media/files/remix-leaving.mp3 She glanced over at Obadiah. "So, where’s your car?" "Huh?" "A guy like you has a car. Where is it?" "It got repossessed." "Where’s your stuff? You don’t even have a backpack." "Don’t rub it in." "I guess that’s why you were gonna rob that convenience store." He looked away. "How did you get in such bad shape? Weren’t you a pastor of a church?" He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Yes." "What happened?" "When I graduated from seminary, I was contacted by the search committee of a small country church. I went there ‘in view of a call’ one Sunday. ‘In view of a call’ means—" "—I know. It means you went there to preach and meet everybody, for them to decide if they wanted you as their pastor." Obadiah looked surprised. "Zeela explained it to me." "Oh. Well, I ended up accepting the call. And it was wonderful…for the first year or so." "Isn’t it unusual for a pastor to be single?" "It’s not the norm. But they really liked me. And everything was fine…until this young woman came to me for counseling." "Was she pretty?" "Yes." "But married, right?" "She and her husband were having problems. They’d only been married two years. I told her their issues were fixable." "But then you made a move on her." "No. She’s the one who made the move. One day as she was about leave my office, she broke down and started crying. I tried to console her, and then…she kissed me." Obadiah’s guilt overcame him for a moment. "One thing led to another…" "You had an affair with her." "It didn’t last long before I came to my senses. I told her it was over." "She said she loved me and that she would tell her husband about us if I broke it off." "But you broke if off anyway, and now her husband wants to kill you. The cowboy in the bathroom with the knife, right?" "Yeah. But it’s much worse than that. She went home and took a handful of sleeping pills. They said it wasn’t a lethal dose though, and that she probably would have survived…if she hadn’t drowned." "Drowned?" Obadiah began to cry. He could barely speak. "She got in the bathtub." "You loved her." "I had no right to love her," he shouted, fighting the tears. "Not in that way." "But it wasn’t your fault she killed herself." "Yes, it was. If I hadn’t given into temptation she’d still be alive." Tears gushed down his checks. "How did her husband find out about the affair? Did she tell him?" "I don’t think so. But he must have suspected that something was going on. And then at the funeral, I think I gave it away. He could probably see it in my eyes. I think everybody could. I resigned the next week. Then he confronted me, and I confessed. He looked like he wanted to kill me right then. But I guess he didn’t have his knife with him." "No. He just wasn’t mad enough yet. He could have stabbed you with a letter opener." "Yeah, I guess you’re right," said Obadiah. "I had to get out of the parsonage right away, so I threw some clothes in my car and took off. I tried to get a job, but nothing worked out. I ran out of money and started sleeping in my car. Then my car broke down." "Man, you’ve got nothing but bad luck." "Luck has nothing to do with it. God is punishing me." "You’re punishing yourself," she said. "Here it is." She pulled into the motel parking lot and drove up to the lobby entrance. After Impala had checked them in, she drove around to their room and they went inside. She insisted that Obadiah shower first. "I need to make a phone call anyway." "Okay. But you know I don’t have any fresh clothes to change into. I don’t even have anything to sleep in." "That’s no problem. Sleep in the buff. Your clothes can air out overnight." "Well, I…" "Just wear a towel." She winked at him. Obadiah went into the bathroom and closed the door. He knew Impala was making a phone call, and he didn’t much care who she was calling. Probably Zeela. Whatever. If he had to meet with her, he would. But he would not stick around for long. That much he knew. When he was finished, he came out of the bathroom with one towel around his waist and another draped over his shoulders. "Hope you saved a couple of towels for me." "I did." "Okay. Sleep well," said Impala as she went into the bathroom. He pulled back the covers, let his towels drop to the floor and got into bed. Obadiah was not accustomed to sleeping in the nude. He ran his hands across the sheets, trying to determine if they were fresh. Maybe the maid skipped the sheet washing occasionally. His bare skin could well be rubbing up against the dried sweat of a previous night’s lathery sex. He considered holding the sheet up to his nose for a sniff test. But some things are better left unknown. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it. When she came out of the bathroom, he pretended to be asleep. "You okay?" she said. He opened his eyes. She was standing beside his bed in a towel. Then she pulled it off—revealing a very naked, sexy body. Impala was much hotter than he would have imagined—if he had even thought about it. Who could think of her in that way? When a woman talks and acts tough and beats up men—you don’t tend to think about how womanly she is. "You like?" He couldn’t find words. Impala pulled up his covers to take a look. "Nice." She got in with him. His body was going nuts. "Are you okay?" Suddenly she was standing beside his bed again. But this time she was wearing a baggy T-shirt and gym shorts. "Uh—yeah." What a dream, he thought. "Sorry I woke you up. It’s just that you were mumbling something." He gulped. "What did I say?" "I couldn’t quite make it out." "Well, I’m fine. Really. I’ll try not to talk in my sleep anymore." "Okay. Goodnight." She got into her bed and clicked off the lamp. His body was still buzzing with titillation. It would be hard to get back to sleep. Not that he minded. And like it or not, he would never see Impala the same way again.
Impala had spotted a Motel 6 billboard a few miles back. They were getting close.