Francine & Earl

Epilogue (Earl)

(A/N This seems a little more like a one shot in the future rather than an epilogue from how long this is[3300+ words], but I hope you all enjoy the look into what Earl has been doing!)

"Earl, hurry up!"

Earl rolled his eyes when he heard Mae's call. The door to the small shop that contained trinkets from the town they were in slammed closed, and he winced at the noise. He didn't bother to glance up and see the accusatory look of the woman behind the counter, who had been staring at him ever since he entered the shop. He didn't know if it was because of the fact he wasn't a local, or that she was afraid he was going to steal one of the many candles littered on the shelves.

With a shake of his head, Earl spun on his heel with what he was looking for gripped in his hands. When he approached the counter, the woman looked at him over her glasses and glanced at the item.

"Is that for your girlfriend?" she asked as she rung it up, stuffing the thing in the bag before placing her hand out for the money. Earl dug into his pockets to take out his wallet and laughed.

"No, ma'am," he said, placing a five dollar bill in her awaiting palm. She raised a thin eyebrow to him but didn't press on, leaving him to exit the store without another comment.

Exiting the store, Earl squinted his eyes at the bright California sun that was beating down on him. Mae was sitting on the hood of their beat up car, her cheap flip flops swinging as she waited for him. Her eyes were shielded by her hand, the other one holding up the hair she was now annoyed with because she lost her hair tie. Earl would laugh at the less than amused expression on her face, but he didn't want to face her wrath.

He almost couldn't believe how smooth this trip was going so far. They had a steady income, met new people everyday, and he didn't have to deal with his father. It was a resounding success, if he did say so himself.

"Did you put the post cards in the mail box?" he asked as he slipped into the driver's seat. Mae huffed before giving him a smile that said, yes, she did put them in. Then, she hopped into the passenger seat, grabbing the bag from his hand.

"Earl, I swear," she began, pulling the small bear out of the plastic, "you have a hoarding problem."

Earl just shrugged, starting the car and pulling it out onto a pretty deserted highway. He didn't have to look in the backseat to see the proof of her statement in the form of the many stuffed animals he had collected already on their trip. He knew that Mae found it odd-- even he found it odd-- but it was because she didn't know why he did it and he wasn't sure he was going to tell her.

Mae flicked on the radio as they continued on, waving her arm out of the window as she sang badly in attempt to keep her mind off the fact that the AC in the car wasn't working. She had placed the bear on the dashboard, and Earl glanced over to it, a small smile on his face as he thought about how all of this madness started.

"Mom, please don't make me go," Earl begged, arms wrapped around his mother's leg as he looked up to her imploringly as she did her hair.

The six year old had tried to bargain with her all morning to no avail, and he was growing desperate. His family was planning on driving out to visit his father's parents, and even though he loved them both, Earl was too afraid. His friend had told him that kids got kidnapped on trips like these, and despite how much his younger brothers annoyed him, he loved being with his family.

His mother laughed, stooping down to pry his fingers off her leg only to grab him up into a hug. Her long brown hair was pulled into a bun, mostly to avoid one of the twins pulling on the strands, and she let him bury his face in her neck. Earl closed his eyes, breathing in her familiar scent of talcum powder and lavender from the products she used at the daycare in the town as one of the caregivers. It was faint, but always there, as if she had attempted to scrub the smell away but it still clung fiercely to her skin.