The Wild Orchid

Travelers in the Night: Part 3

She found Leland's car at the spot where they decided he would wait for her. He was sitting in his car humming some tune. She didn't know what it was, perhaps something he made up himself.

"Were you bored waiting for me?" she asked as he opened the car door and stepped out.

"You're ten minutes late," he said and took her suitcase from her. "I thought that you would have more luggage than this. Eloise usually brings ten trunks whenever we would go on a trip."

"I'm not Eloise, and I like to travel light," she said and walked to the other side of the car and opened the door. She sat down in the passenger's seat and waited for him to get inside after putting her suitcase in the trunk.

He was quiet about it seeing that it was the middle of the night, and he didn't want to draw any attention. He turned on the engine of the car and pulled out onto the street. Zorell was tapping on the dashboard to the rhythm of the song that she heard Leland humming earlier.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he looked over at her tapping on everything.

"That tune you were humming," she said as she stopped her tapping and looked him in the face. All he could do was blush after he had been busted for his guilty pleasure. He would only hum or sing songs when he thought no one was listening. "It needs a drum sound, so start humming...unless it has actual words."

"You heard that?" he asked and looked fully embarrassed. "It's just a song I wrote."

"Oh, really, for who?" she asked, but he suddenly lost his ability to speak. "Let me guess. Shanee."

"You got me, it's back when we were together that I wrote it for her," he said and his eyes turned back to the road. "You should have seen the look in her eyes the first time I sang it to her. I played it on that little beat up banjo of mine."

Zorell laughed while throwing her head back. "Not that old dirty red banjo you played when we were kids."

"Yes, and I still have it in my apartment in Chicago," he said and turned back to the road. "I wish nothing more than to play that song for her again."

"You will, but in the meantime, sing it for me," she said, and he turned back and smiled.

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked and she nodded. "You asked for it," he said and opened his mouth to sing the sappy love song he wrote for his love.

Sweet September rain

Falling down on me

Please bring my love

Back to me

I want to smell the flowers

And lie on the soft grass

Alone here with my sweet Shanee

He stopped looking embarrassed just as Zorell was humming along to the melody. "Oh, why did you stop? That was beautiful."

"It's embarrassing, that's why? The only person who was ever supposed to hear that song was Shanee, and I don't..."

"She's going to be fine, Lee," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He turned to her with a sullen look in his eyes. "You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," she said and had a look of determination in her eyes. Leland didn't look convinced. "Okay, I'll bet you."

"On what?" he asked confused.

"Your Banjo," she said, and he burst out laughing. She laughed too.

"Fine, it's a bet," he said and turned his eyes back to the road.

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After driving for a few hours, Zorell became tired and fell asleep. Leland didn't want to stop driving, and drove straight through the night. He found that it relaxed him more, but in no way, did it keep his mind off Shanee. The trip would take another day but putting as many miles between them and Zorell's father would be best for both of them.

She drifted in and out of sleep tossing and turning and it seemed like she was having nightmares, but he just kept driving. It was becoming apparent to him why she had no second thoughts about leaving home. He always knew Mister Depree was strict and that he and Zorell didn't get along, but this was the first time he suspected any real abuse.

It went on like that, until he was starting to drift of too. He didn't want to take the chance of getting into an accident, so he stopped when he saw a motel. A few hours' sleep would do the trick for both of them. He nudged Zorell to get her to wake up, but she just grumbled and swiped her hand at him.

"Come on, Zo, wake up," he said, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked at the blurred image of a man leaning over her.

"Get away from me!" she shouted and turned over and opened her eyes. She was in a haze and didn't realize that the sleeve of her coat rolled up a bit and revealed the bruise that she received earlier that evening.

"Hey, what happened here?" he asked her as he gently took her hand. She was still unfocused but no longer fighting him. "He did this to you, didn't he?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said and hid the bruise once again. "Where are we, anyway?"

"About fifty miles outside Chicago," he said and looked up at the sky through the window on the passenger side of the car. "The sun is about to come up."

"That means my father is about to find out that I'm missing," she said and stretched out her arms. "I thought we could get something to eat and find a motel to stay at for a few hours and get some sleep."

"Sure, why not," she said and opened the car door so she could stretch her legs.

She could see the sun coming up from the dirt road they were traveling on, and Chicago was just a day away. It seemed that Leland didn't want to stop on their journey, but it wasn't safe to drive while tired and after everything that transpired over the last twenty-four hours he needed a rest. Zorell knew in her heart that he wouldn't have any kind of peace of mind, until he saw Shanee and knew that she was going to be alright.

"You'll feel better once you get something to eat," she said and took his arm. They walked together putting the past behind them and only thoughts they had was about what the future would hold.

That the end of chapter three and I hope you are all enjoying it. The picture I included was the banjo that Leland and Zorell placed the bet over. 

I got one paragraph on chapter four done but it will be up in a few days. Thanks for reading.