bodies cracking open on the glass.
6
I open Bert’s door when it’s still early and grey. Out in the ocean there are tankers lining the horizon. They look like Lego boats. I slide down a rocky cliff. The water’s got a sheen to it, a pretty rainbow. When I look back at Bert I can see Jordy standing there, looking out at me. There’s a grotty boat ramp. I go look at it. It looks slippery. I climb back up the little cliff. I’m careful of shards of rock.
Where’s Loretta? I say.
Jordy points to the car. Loretta’s still in the driver’s seat, but half in, half out, with her head hung in her hands. I go look at her. Blonde hair hanging over her face.
This is nice, I say.
She looks up, looks like she’s going to get angry. But it’s like she can’t decide whether I’m being serious or not, so she doesn’tsay anything. She scrapes her hair away from her face. She leans back in the seat and closes her eyes. I go stand at the edge of the little cliff, climb back down it and collect some pebbles. I throw them into the sea. They’re not flat enough to skim. They don’t make much of a splash. The water just swallows them up. Jordy comes, he starts throwing rocks too. His rocks all go further than mine, but they get swallowed up just the same. We hear Bert start and I turn quickly, my heart going, but she just beeps and I see her arm waving out the window for us to hurry up and get in.
We drive through this new town. The highway goes right through the middle of it. It doesn’t feel like a beachside town. It’s too early for any shops to be open, but the sun is up.
They all look the same, says Jordy. Even the Christmas decorations are the same as the last town. I look up at them hanging dull and faded from the streetlights.
We’re nearly there, says Loretta.
Where? says Jordy.
It’s a surprise, says Loretta.
Are we really nearly there? I say.
Yep. Then she laughs, like she can’t quite believe we’ve made it. She slaps the steering wheel. Then we still drive all day. The sun chases me across the back seat, burning one arm and then the other.
She is humming a song, every now and then singing a snatch of words, like she can’t remember the rest. There’s no radio reception, she’s humming to the beat of her fingers on the steering wheel. There’s a welcome sign to a new town. It’s pockmarked with bullet holes. The light shines through it.
Can you feel it? says Loretta. She leans over and pokes Jordy in the stomach. In your belly there, can you feel that feeling?
No, stop it, says Jordy. He pushes her hand away.
She sings louder now and it’s much more obvious that she doesn’t know any of the words, at all. As we drive into the town, I don’t feel anything.
Loretta pulls over. Wait here, she says back at us as she goes into a store. Each of the shops has Christmas greetings and decorations painted on the glass. They look like they’ve all been painted by the same person. Some are just holly, or Happy New Year, or Merry Christmas. This town has got a beach too, but it’s like the town’s ignoring the sea, turning its back towards it.
I open Bert and step out into the sun. It’s still hot, but a different type of afternoon bright. My legs wobble. My shirt is damp with sweat. I wipe my face on my sleeve.
Loretta walks back out through those flappy, coloured fly strips. She looks beautiful again. She smiles at me and I can’t help but smile back. She gets back in the front.
In ya pop, she says. And I get back in.
Here, she says and throws a giant bottle of lemonade back at me. I squeal with the cold of it on my legs. Jordy sniggers. I hold it between my knees and open the top. Lemonade spurts everywhere. I close the lid quick. It dribbles down the sides of the bottle onto my legs.
Loretta looks back at me. I look out the window. A rusted white truck drives past. The street is empty again. Loretta pulls the bottle from me, and opens it hanging her arms out the car window. She waits until
6
I open Bert’s door when it’s still early and grey. Out in the ocean there are tankers lining the horizon. They look like Lego boats. I slide down a rocky cliff. The water’s got a sheen to it, a pretty rainbow. When I look back at Bert I can see Jordy standing there, looking out at me. There’s a grotty boat ramp. I go look at it. It looks slippery. I climb back up the little cliff. I’m careful of shards of rock.
Where’s Loretta? I say.
Jordy points to the car. Loretta’s still in the driver’s seat, but half in, half out, with her head hung in her hands. I go look at her. Blonde hair hanging over her face.
This is nice, I say.
She looks up, looks like she’s going to get angry. But it’s like she can’t decide whether I’m being serious or not, so she doesn’tsay anything. She scrapes her hair away from her face. She leans back in the seat and closes her eyes. I go stand at the edge of the little cliff, climb back down it and collect some pebbles. I throw them into the sea. They’re not flat enough to skim. They don’t make much of a splash. The water just swallows them up. Jordy comes, he starts throwing rocks too. His rocks all go further than mine, but they get swallowed up just the same. We hear Bert start and I turn quickly, my heart going, but she just beeps and I see her arm waving out the window for us to hurry up and get in.
We drive through this new town. The highway goes right through the middle of it. It doesn’t feel like a beachside town. It’s too early for any shops to be open, but the sun is up.
They all look the same, says Jordy. Even the Christmas decorations are the same as the last town. I look up at them hanging dull and faded from the streetlights.
We’re nearly there, says Loretta.
Where? says Jordy.
It’s a surprise, says Loretta.
Are we really nearly there? I say.
Yep. Then she laughs, like she can’t quite believe we’ve made it. She slaps the steering wheel. Then we still drive all day. The sun chases me across the back seat, burning one arm and then the other.
She is humming a song, every now and then singing a snatch of words, like she can’t remember the rest. There’s no radio reception, she’s humming to the beat of her fingers on the steering wheel. There’s a welcome sign to a new town. It’s pockmarked with bullet holes. The light shines through it.
Can you feel it? says Loretta. She leans over and pokes Jordy in the stomach. In your belly there, can you feel that feeling?
No, stop it, says Jordy. He pushes her hand away.
She sings louder now and it’s much more obvious that she doesn’t know any of the words, at all. As we drive into the town, I don’t feel anything.
Loretta pulls over. Wait here, she says back at us as she goes into a store. Each of the shops has Christmas greetings and decorations painted on the glass. They look like they’ve all been painted by the same person. Some are just holly, or Happy New Year, or Merry Christmas. This town has got a beach too, but it’s like the town’s ignoring the sea, turning its back towards it.
I open Bert and step out into the sun. It’s still hot, but a different type of afternoon bright. My legs wobble. My shirt is damp with sweat. I wipe my face on my sleeve.
Loretta walks back out through those flappy, coloured fly strips. She looks beautiful again. She smiles at me and I can’t help but smile back. She gets back in the front.
In ya pop, she says. And I get back in.
Here, she says and throws a giant bottle of lemonade back at me. I squeal with the cold of it on my legs. Jordy sniggers. I hold it between my knees and open the top. Lemonade spurts everywhere. I close the lid quick. It dribbles down the sides of the bottle onto my legs.
Loretta looks back at me. I look out the window. A rusted white truck drives past. The street is empty again. Loretta pulls the bottle from me, and opens it hanging her arms out the car window. She waits until
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