The Novelty of Existence

11

𝙼𝙱 ⋆ 𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝 ⋆ 𝙰𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗

We weren't going to spend a long time in Manitoba or Saskatchewan. Wes was itching to get to Alberta so that he could live out his country boy fantasies. Mo was excited to see the lakes and rolling hills of BC. I felt a little bad as we rushed into Manitoba, only staying a couple of nights and visiting two cities. It's possible there were interesting things to do in the prairies. 

When we stopped in Winnipeg, we hit our first major hurdle. I had been driving for 5 hours and needed a nap. It was closing in on midnight. 

"Guys, none of the hotels in this area have availability." Danny hit us with the bombshell. We'd been doing well so far with hitting up random motels, but something about Danny's cadence told me that we were out of luck. Thanks, Manitoba. 

"What?" Wes grumbled, peeling his face off of the passenger side window. 

"We can go further north in the city if we get off the Trans Canada and try somewhere there?" Danny suggested weakly. 

Mo groaned. "See more of Winnipeg?" She said, peering out the window, "No thanks." 

"Then what do we do?" Danny asked with a rare snap in his voice. We were all tired, uncomfortable, and full of Wendy's fries. 

Wes smiled sleepily, and my eyes widened. "I don't want to." I whined. 

"Francesca is open for business." He interrupted me mid-gripe. 

"Don't say it like that." 

Wes was already climbing into the way back of the van as I pulled into a gas station parking lot off the highway. We all got out into the breezy air and helped push our luggage to the front of the van. Mo was surprisingly quiet about the whole ordeal, dutifully pushing the back seats down. She must have been especially tired to not complain. 

Wes pulled his stash of blankets and pillows usually reserved for the drive-in movie theater out from the storage space under the seats. He carefully placed the first blanket down and threw mismatched pillows into the van. 

We all climbed into the back, resigned to our fate for the night. Me on one end, Mo on the other. Danny and Wes in the middle. "You want big spoon or little spoon?" Wes whispered in my ear as he pulled the blanket up to his chest. I flicked him away with a little laugh. 

All of us were cramped in the back. It sucked, but I loved it at the same time. I stayed awake for most of the night, listening to Danny's low snore, trying to keep the blanket as Mo pulled on it, getting kicked by Wes. And I felt happy. 

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

The next morning, bright and early, Danny was already planning our day. I knew he was overcompensating for the guilt he felt. 

"Portage la Prairie." 

"World's largest soda can." Mo read off of Danny's phone. I watched a single brow raise, and then drop. "Sounds cool." She feigned. 

"No it doesn't," Wes corrected, "Wake me up when we get there."

So, we got ourselves into position, pushing our bags into the way back while Wes dozed happily, unaffected by the pile. Mo got in the back, dutifully hanging on to the half-truth that Danny got car sick in the back. I climbed into the passenger seat, ruffling my hair to try and get it to lay down normally. Danny turned over the engine, and we were off on the Trans Canada again. 

Even at the speed that we were travelling, I noticed the girl on the side of the highway, her thumb sticking out. The Trans Canada isn't really a hitchhiking highway. "That girl is hitchhiking," I scoffed, mostly to myself. I looked at Danny, who was already checking the rearview. 

"Is she hot?" Wes asked from the back. 

I felt like I could hear Mo's eye roll. I laughed and turned around to see Wes sitting up in the way back of the van, looking out the big back windows. "Let's give her a ride." He said sleepily, cheekily. 

"Wes..." Mo started. 

The van pulled over suddenly. We all looked at Danny. He had a look on his face that I saw very rarely. Pure curiosity. He flicked the hazards on and honked the horn. 

"What are you doing?" Mo asked, unbuckling her seat belt and turning around to look out the back windows. The girl had started jogging towards the van, "Let's go, she's actually coming over." 

"Why not offer her a ride?" Danny responded, still staring into the rear-view. Oh boy. I unbuckled and climbed through the middle of the front two seats to get in the back. 

"What are you doing?" Mo asked, brows still drawn together in a frown. 

"You want to sit next to a stranger?" I asked. 

She sighed and looked away. 

"Oh dude, she's a total babe," Wes whispered as the girl approached the van. She looked into the back windows and smiled, then walked around to the front. Her hair was bouncy and blonde, blonder than Wes's. Her skin was fair and smooth, and she wore a Ramone's t-shirt with ripped jeans. 

Danny rolled down the passenger side window. "Where are you headed?" He asked. 

"California." She responded, sparkles in her deep green eyes. 

"Our last stop is Vancouver," Danny responded, eliciting an annoyed scoff from Mo. 

"Perfect." She girl responded. 

"You can put your stuff in the back if you want." 

The girl practically skipped to the back, where Wes opened one of the double doors and grabbed her guitar and bag. "I'm Wes." He said, pushing his scruffy hair back. 

"Isla." She responded, sticking her hand out for a handshake. 

On her way back around to the front, Wes said, "Finally, a girl. I love you, man." 

No one responded. Not even Mo. She looked hurt, and I felt bad. I mean, I guess I felt a little hurt too. Halfway through our last trip as a group, Danny had invited some random girl to join us. I watched her jump into the front seat and buckle her seat belt. 

"I'm so happy you guys pulled over." She said, "The only people offering me rides were creepy old men." 

"Happy to help." Danny said, a little too quickly. 

She smiled at him. "What are your names?" She asked, still only looking at him. 

"I'm Danny." Danny responded. 

After a long moment, she turned to look at Mo and me. "Aiden." I said, and looked at Mo, knowing her brain was reeling. 

"Paloma." She said flatly. She never introduced herself with her full name.

"That's a really pretty name." Isla was clueless. 

"We aren't going straight to Vancouver." Mo blurted out before Isla could get another word in, "We're doing our last trip together. We won't get to Vancouver for two weeks." 

Wes was surprisingly quiet. Everyone was quiet.

"Oh," Isla chewed on her bottom lip and turned to the front, "I don't want to be an intruder." 

"You aren't." Danny took it upon himself to talk for the group. I turned my head to look at Wes, but he was staring at the back of Mo's head. Concern or annoyance? I wasn't sure yet. 

"I can get out in the next town." She offered, looking into her lap. 

Danny pulled back onto the highway. "Let's figure that out when we get there, okay?" He was using his soft voice. 

Mo looked out the window.