Black Balloon

Chapter 15

When I was a few miles outside of Yoder, as the 'Welcome To" signs faded behind me and nothing but Joshua trees and telephone poles lay ahead, I pulled the Caddy onto a gravel spot beside the highway and popped the trunk. Inside was a stack of men's clothing, including a rather dapper fedora. I rifled through the pile until finding the most casual outfit; a white collared shirt and khaki pants. I stripped down to my Air Force undies and changed clothes. Moments later, I looked the part of the travelling billboard salesmen I was pretending to be. I sat the fedora atop my head, tilted it forward slightly, and looked a little like a young Frank Sinatra.

At the bottom of the pile of clothes, wrapped in newspaper, was a rolled wad of even more money, hundreds and twenties. The rubber band popped off and went flying, allowing the wad to unfurl like a blooming flower of dead presidents. The sweet musty smell of cash wafted into my nostrils.

"Holy shit, Frank, you magnificent bastard."

It was around two grand. I didn't know what the equivalent value would have been in 2011, but I knew that in 1956 it must be a lot of money. I mean a Coke cost like five cents! I stuffed the wad into my pocket and looked around to make sure no one had seen. But only the watchful eyes of a thousand Joshua trees knew my secret.

It took a while but I eventually figured out how to fold the El Dorado's leather top down. I stuffed the canvas sloppily into the designated compartment and secured all the little snaps. It felt good, putting the top down, like I had unlocked the Caddy's full potential. She sparkled in the morning sun, my shiny blue chariot of leather and chrome. I hopped in and was on the road once more.

With the wind in my hair and sufficient mileage behind me, my anxiety faded somewhat, giving way to excitement, partially the result of fatigue manifesting itself as jittery energy in that way it sometimes does. Whatever the cause, I experienced a rush of elation. There was a dawning realization that I was alive...and I was free. I had done the impossible, thanks to the help of Frank. I had escaped a top-secret, ultra-secure government compound. The positive aspects of my situation, the things that had been clouded behind fear, anxiety, and uncertainty, began to surface. I was in 1950s America, the biggest boomtown in the world; a thriving post war economy, record high wages relative to the cost of living, and pollution, global warming, and resource scarcity non-existent (or at least not yet realized) concepts, problems for the unknowing distant future. Sure, this was also a time of Cold War fear with everyone expecting a hell-storm of nuclear weapons to rain down at any moment, but I had insider knowledge. I knew it would never actually happen. I could enjoy all of the good without worrying about any of the bad. I essentially possessed a super power. I was "Future Man". It was all so surreal. There was, of course, the threat of being captured and tortured by the government, but I held out hope that Frank's plan would succeed. He was a genius after all, so I shouldn't worry about it. Shut up. Trust the plan. Drive.

I continued northwest on the 58 and by early afternoon I was somewhere west of Bakersfield. Save for the Coke and Cracker Jacks, I had not eaten in sixteen hours. Masked by my adrenaline were stabbing hunger pains. There was no food in the car. Fifty miles ago, I had zoomed through a farming community about the size of a modern-day Wal-Mart but had seen no sign of civilization since. I almost stopped and picked some oranges, except the last thing I needed was to get arrested for stealing fruit. That would surely put a damper on my escapades.

Werner Auerbach, Charged with the crimes, of treason, espionage, and fruit theft.

I finally saw a sign, small and sloppily hand painted, for 'Martha's Kitchen'. The "restaurant", if you could call it that, was several hundred yards off the main highway and many miles from civilization. It was an island, an oasis in the middle of a big ole bunch of dirt and orange groves. I was skeptical but my hunger overruled my apprehension. I decided to give it a shot.