We crept closer, staying low and trying to keep ourselves hidden from direct view, by keeping the truck between us and his mother’s car.
Upon reaching the truck we peered around and Meek let go a gasp, “My dad and some old guy are inside.”
I looked around and recognized Grandfather instantly.
“That’s my grandfather!” I exclaimed, “They must be searching for us together. What are we going to do?”
“Come on!” Meek said and started to pull me around the pickup toward his mothers’ car, but we didn’t make it very far.
No, we weren’t spotted by my grandfather or Meek’s dad; we stopped because we ran into the owner of the pickup.
Now, Meek is from Maine, he isn’t used to seeing the…uh…oddities of humanity that I’ve seen growing up in Southern California.
Meek sat crouched, leaning against the tailgate with a slack jaw up at a black man dressed as a woman. I’m sure Meek didn’t have a clue that she was a man in drag, but I spotted his/her secret instantly. In addition, I’m not sure when he actually picked up on it. I guess I missed that revelation.
He was a black woman who looked bothered about something and I got the feeling it wasn’t Meek and me.
“Why… you…” she pointed back to the gas station, “Are you the boys trying to get to California?”
God bless him, Meek actually nodded his head.
She looked back to the gas station and sneered. “Get in! I’ll take you as far as I can.” She said and we obeyed without question.
Alright that isn’t true; I did question that option for all of a millisecond before doing a duck walk behind Meek to the passenger side door and climbing into the pickup. We both huddled down near the floor as the man in drag quietly pulled out of the gas station and started down the road.
“Alright, we got away.” She said.
We got up in the seat. Meek, who was sitting in the middle couldn’t stop staring at her.
I gave him an elbow and whispered, “Don’t stare.”
However, Meek didn’t stop staring but my elbow did manage to get him out of his stupor. His mouth opened and he began to speak, “You are beautiful!”
My eyes opened wide because that was not what I was expecting him to say. It was also how he said it…it was the gayest I had ever heard Meek sound.
Meek was taking in every inch of her dress, which was too tight and too short, her big Diana Ross hair, and her eyelashes that were as long as my… uh… fingers.
“Destiny by name and Destiny by design!” She said extending her hand like a true lady.
Meek grabbed it and shook it.
I elbowed him again, “Not like that.” I said and leaned past him to take her hand like capturing a butterfly and kissing the back.
“Oh my!” she said putting a hand to her chest and cooed, “What a little gentleman.”
I started to introduce us but all I got out was, “He’s Mee…”
She cut me off and said, “Minkus Dawson, but you go by Meek and you are surfing legend, Alvin Holloway. I know. I ran into those two old fuddy-duddies back there. Besides you boys are all over the news.”
“We are?” Meek asked with shock.
“Honey, you two are the talk of the entire North East of this fine land and I bet before long the entire country.” Destiny told us.
“Oh no!” I groaned as I looked out the window.
Destiny went on to tell us what she had seen on the news. She also told us how mean Meek’s father and my grandfather had been when they encountered her at the gas station.
I looked back over and saw that Meek was again staring at Destiny.
“Stop staring!” I whispered, but apparently not soft enough because Destiny heard me.
“So I already know that you sweet baby boys are trying to get to California to surf, but tell me something else about you.”
“Well,” Meek began, “Did they say on the news about Alvin’s dad?”
“Meek, no!” I whisper-whined and elbowed him yet again.
“Oh no baby boy. Let me tell you something about Destiny. I don’t care who you are, where you came from, or what your story is, I respect who you are or who you want to be. Shoot, just look at me!”
Though it pained me to hear him tell it, I let Meek tell Destiny about how John died and I must admit, the way he told it, made it sound more heroic then I’d yet heard.
We continued to talk as Destiny drove nonstop for four and a half hours where we stopped for gas in the capital city of Ohio. When we stopped and got out of the truck, I realized that sometime along the way I had wet my pants without knowing I’d done so. Thankfully, Destiny’s truck had one of those aftermarket vinyl seat covers instead of cloth. That would have been very, very bad.
“Meek, look!” I whimpered.
He shook his head, “We should have got you those Pampers.”
“What am I going to do?” I pleaded.
Destiny came around the backside of the truck and thankfully Meek was between me and her. She reached into her purse and pulled out the biggest roll of cash I’d ever seen in my life.
“Why don’t you sweet babes go inside and get whatever you want while I fill up the truck. I’ll be in momentarily.”
She handed Meek two twenties and then said, “Afterward we’ll stop and get you boys some different clothes.”
She looked right at my wet pants, but never once said a word about the noticeable wet mark. She did say to me, “Baby doll, if you want to wait in the truck that is fine with Destiny.”
I smiled weakly up at her and then asked Meek, “Get me some chips please?”
“I have an idea,” Destiny started to say as she was twisting off the gas cap, “how about after we get you two precious boys some new threads the three of us go get a great big meal?”
