THE DRY CLEANER'S MESS

CHAPTER 3

"So you're good to go now."

Arielle laughed excitedly as she took the ticket from Matt's hand. He brushed his fingers against hers on purpose and she gave him a sultry look. It was obvious he was smitten with her and to be honest, she thought he looked attractive with broad shoulders she'd love to hang her legs on and nice braids she'd want to pull. However she was too tensed to think about sex. For Christ sakes, she was a runaway at the moment.

"Thanks, Matt."

He shrugged and grinned at her. She dropped $700 in front of him, $520 for tickets and the rest as tip. Tip she would have had to work at least 3 days for. Matt counted the money and dropped two $100 notes on the table.

"You don't need to pay me for helping you out. I'll pay the extra $20 for you."

She smiled and watched Eric stare at Matt like he was the most stupid human he had ever seen. Personally, she also thought Matt was the most stupid person too, who rejects $180? But it was favoring her, so she giggled and batted her eyes at him.

"Thank you. You're such a sweetheart."

"I know you're not with a phone at the moment but is there a way I could communicate with you in the future?" He looked at her with hopeful eyes and she couldn't refute those eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe my email." She laughed at the absurd idea but Matt nodded frantically.

"Your email is just fine. I can send a message there and get your number whenever you get a phone." She shrugged and wrote her email address in a piece of paper he provided.

"Thank you very much again, Matt. I'm really grateful." He brushed it off and bade her goodbye. As Arielle walked back to The Tavern, she couldn't help but worry that things were working smoothly. Too smoothly in her opinion. Either God was solidly behind her or the devil just had an insane sense of humor.

In her room, she opened the jewelry-filled handkerchief and started observing all the rings. All 5 rings had patterns and indiscernible inscriptions on the inside. The ring with the biggest stone was really attractive and she wore it on her ring finger. Of course, it slipped off. Her fingers weren't as thick as the ring owner's.

Although she was as exhausted as a newsboy after morning rounds, her mind was alert and restless. Willing spirit, weak flesh. So she sat at the table through the night, never nodding off once. She couldn't be relaxed until she got to France.

Once she had gotten to France, she'd open a business. A tattoo shop. It had always been a dream and with the jeweleries, she'd be able to open a very big one with no stress. Grandpa Max would be elated. He'd be the happiest person on Earth. She was the only child of his only child and that made him treat her extra special. She was sure he'd kill for her if there be a need.

"Mon chou, quand viendras-tu me voir ? Tu me manques tellement, Arielle." He was always asking her to visit whenever they spoke on phone.

The next day, she continued her journey with Jeffery's bike. It went just as smooth and at night, she found another motel for the night. That was how all the days went until the fifth one when she arrived her final destination, Jameston. During the journey, she had abandoned Jeffery's bike in a parking lot and hotwired a sedan parked there.

Her flight was 25 days away so she just had to lay low in the quiet town for the remaining days. An elderly woman she met at the park told her how she could get a short let apartment to rent.

"Are there any specific features you want?" The bespectacled realtor enquired.

"A strong security system. You know, CCTV cameras, laser security, motion sensors, stuffs like that. I want the best you have to offer."