The next morning, well before dawn, I spotted Chartreuse going into the van while we sat having our coffee in the Pudding Shop. I waited. A few moments later I saw him taking his guitar case back to his van. The side door was wide open and I saw the guitar there on the bed.
I’d taken to keeping away from Chartreuse while I puzzled out what exactly it was he’d done. Certainly I knew what he was capable of. Hadn’t I even excused his behavior from the start, judged his crimes purely mischief and misdemeanor?
I’ll fix him, I thought. When he was busy in the front looking over his map, I reached in and snatched his guitar in the case and brought it into Harry’s van. It was going to be a long ride. He would be driving and wouldn’t even realize it was missing.
When I got to Harry’s van I checked for the sheaf of gems. Sure enough, he’d moved them. The dickens! No doubt he’d stashed them in the case to carry them back.
A few hours later when we were well under way and had moved from coffee to tea and Harry was peeling himself a second banana, I was sitting in the copilot spot in his van, deliberating what to do. I even thought whether or not I should leave the caravan altogether. It occurred to me I might stick with them until the next big town and then take a flight to … where? Well. I could plan that out as I went. I’d been treated shabbily by both Blacky and Tupelo, that was clear. What reason was there to stay on, really? I’d thought Blacky’s kiss was an answer, a beginning. Apparently I’d only been a diversion. I couldn’t help thinking I’d asked for it.
“What’s with you?” Harry confronted my silence.
“I hate washing teacups in cold water. You never really get the grit out and the tea tastes funny.”
He glanced at me knowingly.
“I was just thinking of bailing out,” I admitted, sipping the last of my tea.
He was silent. Then he said, “If you go, Claire, remember this. The microcosm we’re just now living in is a reflection of the whole world. There will always be another disappointment to run away from.”
I looked at him. He kept his eyes on the road. I wondered just how much he knew. I wondered if I ought to confide in him.
“Would you mind keeping that guitar out of my line of vision, Claire? It really is annoying!”
“Would you mind putting your banana skin out the window?” I said. But I put the guitar to the other side.
“Didn’t Chartreuse ask you not to take his guitar?”
“He doesn’t know. He’s driving. Oh, all right. I knew I should have left it in his van but I wanted to practice.”
“He specifically asked you not to, though.”
“I know. It’s just, I thought I’d crack with boredom.”
“Claire. Do practice somewhere else. You’re really dreadful. I can’t take it anymore!”
“Oh, all right.” I crab-walked to the back. “I’ll put it on the bed.” I knew very well I ought to tell Harry about the gems. Of course he’d be outraged. He was so ethical. I was, I realized, forever protecting Chartreuse.
“You know, of course,” he called over his shoulder, “you know who’s quite mad for you?”
“Who?”
“Wolfgang.”
“Oh.” My heart sank.
“Yes. And it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to give him a try. He’d be a sublime catch. He’s a professional. On a world scale, mind you. Any girl would give her eyeteeth to date such an important filmmaker. Can you imagine all the potential events?” He shifted gears. I could just imagine his eyes gleaming. “The mind boggles,” he said.
“I know, I know. He’s very sweet. It’s just every time I look at him I think of a gnome.”
“You could close your eyes and think of England, you know.”
“No. Sorry. I couldn’t. I’m a Yank, remember?”
“I wouldn’t go around spouting the news. They don’t much care for Yanks abroad anymore.” Harry sighed. “But you would have such an absolutely first-rate life, Claire. Even if you went with him for a couple of years. Imagine. He could teach you the ropes of the business.”
I gazed out the window at the monotonous landscape. “We’ve been having such a good time together. Well, that’s all ruined. In my experience when someone falls for you it always ruins the relationship. They lose their sense of humor altogether and you always have to bend over backward to be understanding and kind no matter what sort of fools they made of themselves.”
He started to say something but suddenly we screeched to a halt. Chartreuse’s guitar toppled onto me and I braced myself.
“Claire! Claire!” Harry sobbed. Before us on the road, the cabin
of a truck was stopped and facing us. The front of it had been sheered off and two men with absolutely nothing before them, both dead, stared back at us.
A herd of cattle must have run into them as they’d turned the blind curve. All the cows had been decapitated and were strewn up and down the hill. The dawn was just lifting through a mist. A smattering of country people sat on the hill waiting for what would happen next. There was a sound, a humming. It was flies, I realized, come for the blood.
Harry left the van and was sick. I took the wheel and maneuvered us through the mayhem. It was terrible. Terrible. I thought I’d better get us quickly through before some ambulance or the police arrived. I might not be much use in ordinary life but in an emergency I spring to action. All the vans followed ours and then we pulled over to the side of the road to regroup.
Harry came running and jumping over the carcasses. He’d thought we were going to leave him behind, I guess, and he was hollering and waving for all his salt.
We waited while Blacky went back and made sure the men were dead. I went back, too. We all knew they were but he couldn’t go on unless he was sure. When I mentioned getting the vans out of the way for the ambulances Blacky gave a snort and said, “There are no ambulances here, only vultures.” I looked to the wreck. Already people picked around the edges of the mayhem looking for scraps of value. I hurried back to the van. I hesitated. Often in my life I remember that moment and I still don’t know if I was right or wrong to do it, but I took out my camera. I got the shot.