Chapter 123: Gwen and Me

As soon as we were out of sight of the house, and the cop on duty there. Martin pulled to the side of the road. He went to the rear door of th SUV to do a lot of mumbo and jumbo things back there. When he returned to the driver's seat, he had a satisfied look on his face. It was obvious to me that he had rearmed himself. I was still naked in that respect and not liking the feeling a bit. The cops had all my weapons used in the firefight and we hadn't been able to get back to my stash.

When we reached the next largest town, the first thing we did was to find a restaurant. One where we could have a breakfast which was absolutely over the top. We found what we needed in a German Pancake house. We each ordered our fantasy breakfast. It was in celebration of being alive. Not only is sex better after a close call, so is most everything else. That is true at least for a few hours.

I personally had pancakes with fruit, eggs scrambled very soft, hash brown which were stringy and crisp, link sausages, and toast. We had a few words with the waitress because she kept saying you know that will cost extra. But nobody cared at that point, so she finally was convinced that my motley looking crew, could actually afford the breakfast.

I was exhausted and the restaurant was warm, which was a recipe for disaster. It was surprising that I didn't fall sound asleep into my pancakes. I could get down only about half of each item I ordered, but that wasn't the point. The point was just to taste it. It was as if the food represented life to me. It must have worked for the others because the poor waitress was running back and forth for the whole hour we were in the place.

Okay, I need to go shopping, how do we handle this. Do you want to drop me at that Walmart we passed coming in, or do you want to go back to the house and pick up Gwen's car. She and I can come back to town. She can film me trying on clothes."

"Yeah let's do that. I'm thinking Mike and I can ride through town and make a point of being seen. That ought to torque the police chief's jaws."

"Yeah, I imagine by now, he has had the GBI in his face," I agreed.

That's how Gwen and I ended up together. She kept trying to interview me about everything I bought. I wanted to tell her to shut the fuck up, but I resisted, I kept reminding myself that I was making a hell of a lot of money to put up with her shit.

"So why are we in the sporting good section?" she asked.

"I need a new coat, my old one caught fire remember?" I asked it to answer her question.

"Yes but why sporting goods?" she asked.

When I found a hip length hunting coat that was Camouflage, she stopped asking. "Do you get it now," I whispered.

"Yes, you and Martin are going hunting," she said positively.

"It could happen, yes." I moved on to the skinning knives. They had the long, wide bladed Bowie knife, so I tossed one of those into the cart. Then I had to find a clerk to open the looked display case and sell me a Mossberg shotgun. It was a replacement for the one the state police had. Not a single round had been fired from the shotgun, but it was a weapon at a crime scene, so the rules said take it. They took it.

While I was there, I picked up a set of thermal knit underwear tops and bottoms. I had to buy boys sizes but that was okay. Gwen finally had something she could ask me about. She seemed almost orgasmic at the prospect.

"Do you often buy men's clothes?" Gwen asked to try to get me into the whole 'Gender bending' thing I expect.

"Usually its women's or teenage boys clothes." I replied I didn't elaborate, so that she would have a chance to ask more questions.

"Do you feel strange in men's clothes." she asked.

"No sweetie, I just buy what I need. As far as I'm concerned it's just a couple of yards of cloth," I had her in checkmate with that answer. It was just far too logical for her to challenge further.

"So Gwen, how about we stop for some coffee at Hardee's or MeDonald's which ever we come across first?" I asked it while I waited for the cashier to ring my purchases.

"Sure why not, it isn't like we had real jobs to go to," she commented.

"That will be three hundred and twelve dollars and eleven cents," the middle aged casher with very bad skin declared.

"Pay the lady," I said to Gwen. She pulled out the plastic. I had no idea if it was debit or credit and I didn't really care.

I put the new coat on before we went inside the Hardee's for coffee. It smelled new and was stiff, but it was insulated and warm. I needed to be warm more than anything else. I also needed coffee.

"So how is it going with you and Lucas?" I asked over coffee.

"I miss him, and I'm afraid I will never see him again. He wants me to come home."

"You probably should," I said gently. "This is not a place for someone as gentle as you."

"I have something to prove," she said.

"Not to Lucas, and certainly not to Mike," I replied.

"How about you and Martin, do I need to prove anything to you?" she asked.

"Sweetie, if you were to leave this very minute, you would prove to me you had more sense than any of us. Is that stupid TV show really worth dying over?"

"Yes, it is to me," Gwen said.

"Then I guess you need to stay." I replied.

"Lucas said to stick close to you and Martin, if things got nasty. He said you two knew what to do for the best chance of survival." she said looking away.

"The best chance of survival is to drive out of this town right now, and never look back," I replied. "Happiness can me Haymarket Ga. in your rear view mirror." I said.