Chapter Ten:

Rocky Mountain Elk

(One Week Later)

 

 

Happiness

I-15 Northbound

 

Past the lavender farms, now on their left, they travelled north on the freeway. Rebecca sitting in the front seat as Lee drove. Becca was in the backseat, sleeping, or pretending to sleep.

They had spent the last week in the desert. The first two days were at the hospital in St. George with Rebecca, but then she and Lee had finally gone camping like they’d wanted to do in Bryce and Capitol Reef. Now they were back in St. George to drive Rebecca back home to Provo.

“You know what I could use?” she heard her mom say. Her mom’s left arm was in a blue sling and her right hand was in a small, white cast. Her face was still bruised but was now free of bandages and nicely brightened by a small application of makeup.

“Hmmm?” said Lee.

“A cigarette.”

“What?” Becca sat up. “Mom, you don’t smoke!”

“No, not anymore, not since I had you.” She winked at Becca. “But still, doesn’t that sound nice? Lee, why don’t you stop at the gas station up here.”

“Okay.” Lee smiled.

“Mom!”

“It’s just one, sweetie.”

Lee pulled off I-15, found the nearest gas station to his right, put the car in park, and promptly ran around to the front passenger seat to open the door and help Rebecca out.

“Crutches,” said Rebecca to Lee.

“Oh, yes, of course.”

He retrieved them from the hatch. Rebecca managed to get out of the car with relative ease and placed the crutches under her armpits. The two of them waved at Becca as they headed inside, taunting her, who stayed in the car with Analise. Becca rolled her eyes.

Lee and Rebecca walked in and were met with an aisle of work gloves and pocketknives. Red, green, and blue soda bottles. Shiny bags of chips. More colored assortments and sizes of candy bars. Trail mix. Cheap beer. Beef jerky. Gum. Donuts. Cigarettes. Sunglasses. Various items of “food” warming on hot rollers. Fridges stocked with everything from orange juice to Arizona iced teas, energy drinks, and Miller Lite.

“What should I get?” Rebecca whispered to Lee, in line.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I smoke Spirits.”

Lee had smoked the rest of the pack he bought at Duck Village and even finished another. So, he was once again cigarette-less.

“Spirits?”

“Yes, American Spirits. They’re natural cigarettes.”

“Natural cigarettes?” asked Rebecca. “My. How times have changed. Next you’re going to tell me they have organic and fair-trade cigarettes.”

“Actually–”

They were interrupted by the cashier.

“Yes?”

“Um,” said Rebecca. “American Spirits, please.”

“What color?”

She looked at Lee.

“Yellow,” Lee said, to both Rebecca and the cashier, and then pulled out his wallet to pay for them.

They walked back outside and lit up outside the car, leaning on the hood, taunting Becca.

“Oh, come on, sweetie just have one with us,” said Rebecca to her as she and Lee smoked outside the car in the gas station parking lot.

“What?! Who are you?” Becca responded.

“Come on, babe,” said Lee. “Analise won’t mind. She doesn’t know what’s happening!”

But Lee saw a smile behind Becca’s façade of disgust.