When the Bus Stopped

Chapter 20

She could see from her companion's eyebrows that he wasn't in agreement with that final sentence. "You don't need to act like that Detective. If it weren't for me you wouldn't have found anything to pin on him."

"You are quite right!"

"You know it is really hard at times trying to get where I want to go... and that lady taking every single bit of my upcycled clothing, well... I just feel hopeless, you know?" Lucy continued.

"Please let me give you the money to fix the bus."

"I can't. I'm so sorry."

"Well, you know the offer will always stand."

"Did you hear that possum noise I made?" Lucy asked. "Lots of practice through my childhood has paid off."

"I must be honest," Daniello admitted. "You might not have made a magnificent detective - what with your erratic behavior - but you definitely made a magnificent possum."

#

Lucy dragged her feet as she walked toward her house bus. She could see Krishna was perched on a camp seat, a lantern lighting his surroundings, as he held one of Lucy's necklaces aloft in one hand while his other clutched at his kindle.

Lucy sat down sadly beside her brother. "What are you doing?"

"Practicing. I knew you wouldn't mind my borrowing your necklace... I needed a prop for my rosary beads."

"Oh, right." She propped her feet up on the chair in front of her and sighed deeply.

"Jesus, you look a fright!"

Lucy made a buzzing noise like a game show. "Blasphemy! Twenty push-ups!"

Without a sigh Krishna jumped down and gave her twenty. It was something he'd requested earlier so he could reach his dreams. He was using the military style he'd become familiar with. After he'd finished his punishment he sat beside her. "Sorry, I just thought you were out with that detective again. He seems like a nice enough guy - if you like that kind of thing - and yet you are wearing all that... like a shower cap... on a date? Are you trying to scare him off?"

"I guess I kind of was."

"From the sounds of it you succeeded?"

"Uh huh." She sighed deeply.

"And now you don't feel half as good as you expected you'd feel?"

"Yeah."

"So you like him then?"

"He's really nice. A bit anal retentive, and sometimes he can be too materialistic but he is nice."

"So?"

"I can't keep throwing myself at every man I meet or I'll end up being one of those dried up old hags that you see traveling around with no one to keep them company but all of their venereal diseases."

"Quite right."

"So I have this magic code. What I like to call my "Open Sesame"."

"Gross."

"But no one has said it and I don't think anyone ever will. I'm going to die unloved."

"Don't you have any girlfriends you can talk to about this?"

"Not really."

"Well don't you worry because I can channel my inner female and I'll give you some advice my older sister gives me regularly..."

"Oh... what is that?"

"If you like something enough then you go get it."

"Simple yet effective," Lucy sighed. "Unfortunately my words of wisdom don't help me at all here. I'm being pulled in too many directions. I like him, but yet I'd be lost without the endless road in front of me."