That Horrible Mouth of Yours

NINE.

"Three hundred and twenty-nine dollars!" I yelled from the window of our car. We were speeding down the highway, on our way to another town. It was euphoric, this giddy feeling, like I was on top of the world. "We're rich!"

"We're so rich, Luli! So fucking rich!" Clement grabbed my hand and pressed it to his mouth. "You're my best friend, you know?"

"Me too, Clem. You're mine too." And he was. My best friend in the whole world. I would trust him with my life. At the time, it felt like we had everything figured out. I thought I was an adult, and I sure felt like one. We were doing alright. "You wanna turn around and go to North Dakota?"

"North Dakota? Why would you wanna go there?" He swiveled his head to look at me.

"Well have you ever been? We might like it," I surveyed the map we kept plastered to the dashboard, and pointed my finger directly where I wanted to go. "Right there. Devil's Lake. Seems like a great place for a hooker and a drug dealer."

"You really wanna go? Devil's Lake, North Dakota," he mused, "doesn't sound so bad."

I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Get on highway 52, please."

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Five hours later, we arrive in Devil's Lake, population one thousand, three hundred twenty six.

"You know, maybe if we save a little money, we could rent a room or something. Sleep in a real bed, and have our own bathroom. Groovy, right?" he stared at the buildings we drove past.

I hummed and watched the few people on the street. There was one long main street, lined with shops and diners and bars, with what seemed to be apartments above. As we drove further, I could see small houses here and there.

"I kinda like it already, it feels like a very homey place. Comfortable."

We park in front of a hair salon, and Clement turns to me seriously.

"Hey, if you really want to stay here, we have to come up with new names. What if Frank tries to come after us for robbing him? He'll ask around for Chuck and Lola, and Eddie is looking for Clement and Luli. So, what do you think this go around?" He rests his chin in his hand and waits for me to think.

"How about... Barry and," I pause to ponder, "Martine."

"Martine? That sounds like my grandma's name!" He chuckles and rests back.

"Well, Marty for short. Barry and Martine, from Arkansas," I stop and look at the hair salon in front of us. "Maybe I should dye my hair, you know blondes are very recognizable."

"But blondes have much more fun."

I laugh and get out of the car, "Come on, slowpoke!" We walk up the road a bit, scanning all the stores, until I see a garage across the street. "Hey, Barry, look at that. You're good with cars, you could get a real job!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah, of course dude. Tell them how groovy you are," I tease. He smiles at me and heads across the street.

I'm happy that we might be able to settle down here. I mean, if Eddie was still following us, wouldn't he have found us by now? It's been almost a month.

Almost a month since my life changed forever. If only I had kept my big mouth shut.

I wander up the street some more, and see a bar with a hiring sign in the window. I head inside and see an older woman cleaning tables, and a guy, about thirty, behind the bar.