Chapter 4: The Van

For the second time that day, Angela found herself attempting to melt into the upholstery of the backseat of a car. She lay flat across the seat, gripping a seat-belt with her left hand. Tammy drove, more jerkily than Angela would have preferred, and her mother sat in the passenger seat, making casual, oblivious conversation.

“Why are all these trucks honking at us today?” Tammy’s mother asked her, making Angela try to sink even further into the car-seat.

They soon arrived at the hospital. Tammy pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car with her mother. Angela raised her head slightly to peer out of the window. There were quite a few cars in the lot, so she was sure the hospital would be busy. During the trip, she had been thinking about how she would politely but firmly insist that Tammy leave her in the car. Would Tammy cause a problem? She didn’t know, couldn’t tell what this crazy chick was thinking.

Deserted malls and quiet suburbs were one thing, but a hospital was making things very public. Even if she had wanted to, Angela couldn’t just waltz in there naked. Surely Tammy understood that. Surely she knew that she was in danger of having Angela arrested for public indecency. And then who was she going to play dress-up with? Or dress-down, rather.

“You can stay in the car if you want,” Tammy told Angela, preempting her protestations, and showing that she had indeed thought of the practicalities of the current situation. “We should be back soon.”

Angela smiled and was about the assent, but then she noticed a big, distinctively painted van in the parking lot, sitting between Tammy’s car and the hospital entrance. A sign read “Travelling Thrift Store”, and she remembered reading about it in the local paper a few weeks back. It was a mobile second-hand clothing store, operated by a local charity.

Possibilities flew through Angela’s brain. She had to make a decision now. Back at the house, Tammy had probably been deliberate in spilling her drink. And the whole outfit thing had gone on for really long too. Who knew what Tammy had planned when they got back. Would she keep her promise about also getting naked? Then what would happen?

But the alternative ... the alternative involved running naked through a public parking lot.

Angela made up her mind. She had to take her fate into her own hands, even if it terrified her. “Actually, I think I’ll come out,” she said, clicking open the car door in front of her. She cringed as the breeze brushed her bare flesh, but screwed up her resolve. “I want to see if that van has any good vintage clothes.”

“You girls and clothes,” said Tammy’s mother. “Clothes, clothes, clothes! One would think you had tried on enough clothes by now, Angela.”

“A girl can never have too many clothes,” replied Angela, shooting a dark look at Tammy as she shut the door behind her. “Anyway, I’ll see you back at the car.”

Tammy was silent. She took one last long look at Angela, and then turned and led her mother toward the hospital.

Alone now, Angela felt sick. She staggered back to Tammy’s car and leaned on it for support. She was in the middle of a large parking lot, cars all around. For the moment, no-one seemed to have noticed her, but that could change in an instant.

She crouched low and focused on the van a few feet away. Then she took off in a crouching sprint, ducking between cars for maximum coverage. Her running shoes smacked against the tarmac.

The van’s sliding door entrance was mere feet from where she crouched ass-to-heels in front of a large SUV. It was open, and Angela could see it was full almost to bursting with racks of jackets, shirts, dresses, skirts and slacks. Heaven in fabrics.

Angela scanned the parking lot ahead of her. The coast was clear. In almost a single leap, she bounded from her hiding place in front of the SUV to the van’s entrance. Catching a glimpse of a pimply girl of about nineteen at the front, engrossed in a magazine, she turned on the ball of her foot and disappeared into the stacks of clothing. She’d made it.

Angela buried herself in a rack of thick winter coats, losing herself in the euphoria of fur and leather against skin that was cold and had been exposed too long. She almost moaned in ecstasy, but stopped herself to prevent the cashier from coming to investigate.

Now she could relax and pick an outfit. But she wasn’t going to agonize over each choice like she normally would on a shopping trip. This wasn’t going to be a repeat of Tammy’s bedroom. She would pick a couple of things—that skirt, that blouse—and pay for them, not even pausing to look in the mirror.

Angela took a long, frumpy skirt detailed with flower patterns and stepped into it. She had briefly considered the pair of jeans next to it, but to put on jeans she’d have to take off her shoes, and she didn’t want to spend any time taking things off. Imagine: getting more naked!

The skirt now secured around her waist, she grabbed the pink blouse she’d spotted and pulled it over her head.

From a fashion perspective, the outfit was awful. Tammy would certainly not approve and neither, on a normal day, would Angela. But right now these two garments were the best clothes Angela had ever owned.

Angela breathed a deep sigh of relief, releasing the tension that had been building up inside her all morning, through every setback and moment of fake triumph. She was fully clothed, and there was no Sharon or Tammy around to change that.

Feeling calm, collected, and quite warm, Angela spent a few minutes browsing the racks. She considered a hat, a cardigan, a pair of shorts. But now was no time to get greedy. Her current outfit would be enough to get her home, barring any sudden up-drafts or cold snaps.

Angela walked up to the payment counter, startling the cashier from her magazine. “Oh, hello, ma’am. I didn’t see you come in.”