The Dinner Guest - Chapter 18 : Road Trip

Flying my jet powered rocket car always gets me excited, especially on a trip like this. I was on my way home to save my loving brother’s young bride and flying there made it easy. It’s one thing to take a nice road trip with a dear loved one. It’s something entirely different when you’ve been rocketing across the desert below radar altitude in a jet-powered muscle car. My addiction to Jack-in-the-Box’s Jalapeño Poppers was going to have to wait.

Tucson in the summer heat reminds me of my childhood. Karl and I had such wonderful times in the Arizona desert. Mom and Dad didn’t mind that my brother and I would wander unsupervised for hours in desert. We explored caves, plants and animals as well as each other. We let our imaginations run free and our feelings grow. It was at this time that Karl and I realized our gift. We knew we were special. What better place to get to know your only brother than in the southwestern desert heat? The world was our sandbox and that slut Abita had just buried a huge shit in it for us to discover.

Karl always seemed to be drawn to the cacti. He would always seek the biggest one he could find and sit under it like a pre-pubescent Buddha. He said he admired how the cacti fought against oppressive sunshine and endured the extremes of Mother Nature, just to grow in America. He said I was too young and naïve. He said I wouldn’t understand what it means to fight for something you believe in, something you love.

Even though we aren’t telepathically connected right now, Karl, I understand. I’m woman now. I know what I like, and it doesn’t have a robot vagina.

“How’d you know where to find me.” Kate said.

“Listen big sis, there’ll be plenty of time to talk later. We need to get out of here before he wakes up.” She pointed at a balled up figure on the floor. Kate said his name was Hoagie and he went mental.

“He was making me pay for what that whore dog of your brother’s did!” Kate snapped. She was really shaken up by what had just happened. I needed to get her out of there.

“Grab whatever you can in two minutes. I’ll wait in the car,” I said as I headed towards the door.

The house Kate and Karl found was quite nice. Karl really had his whole life rolled up in this suburban two-bedroom love nest.

I plopped down in the driver’s seat of my Ford Duster. My old boyfriend back in college sold it to me for 39 bucks and a date. With the money I saved working for NASA, I installed the jet upgrade myself, along with the long-range navigation system. Plus I couldn’t turn down a free meal.

Kate came bounding towards the car with a duffle bag full of god knows what. “Where are we headed?” she said with a big smile. Her red hair bounced behind her like rainbows dancing in clouds of joy. Had she already forgotten the homosexual psycho that just attacked her? Damn, this girl is resilient!

“Umm, well I came to find you because we need to talk about stuff. Karl sent me a message saying something happened. I told him to lay low and that I’d come make sure his supple, young bride is safe” I said.

“Awww Megan, that’s so sweet!” squealed Kate as she threw her arms around me. Through the thin cotton blouse she was wearing I could feel the metal wirework of her bra.

“That’s what sisters are for, right? To help each other out in times of stress and to always be honest, right?” I said, looking into her shimmering blue eyes.

“That’s what sisters are for” she said, clinging to me tighter.

After a long, soothing hug I navigated the Duster onto a narrow Arizona highway where there wouldn’t be much traffic. This was going to be a long trip and we needed some time alone. I watched Kate with my peripheral vision while pretending to keep my eyes on the road. She yawned and gave out a sigh of relief.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“Oh yes. I’m just glad to be out of that house.” She said.

“What happened?” I asked.

“It was…confusing,” she said quietly. “I was in my garden when Scott’s friend Hoagie came over. He seemed nice enough. I guess I’m used to seeing gun racks and beer cans, so he didn’t seem like a threat.” She trailed off as tears started to form in her eyes.

“Kate, what did he do to you? You can tell me everything, anything.” I said. My hand moved from the steering wheel towards hers. I felt the soft, warm skin ease from the touch of my fingers. I gave her hand a squeeze as if to say ‘It’s alright now darling’, Daddy’s here’.

“Ever since the wedding and the move, I’ve had this pain in my gut. Maybe I just miss Texas,” she said with a sad tone turning towards me.

“You’ve had a long day, lay back and take a nap,” I said. Her eyes had looked heavy for some time.

“Thanks Megan, I really owe you one.” she said. She leaned back in the passenger seat, stretching and folding her arms under her well-supported breasts.

I thought about the Tucson summers and my brother Karl. Getting a handle on the situation between him and his bone-able wife was my first priority. I gazed at her for what seemed like hours. Suddenly an awful sound began churning from the tires. My eyes whipped forward and I pulled the car back between the lines on the pavement. I looked over to Kate to see if she was still asleep. Her head was unmoved; she’s had a long day.

My cell phone rings.

“Hey Megan, where are you?” a distant voice asked.

“Who is this?”

“Are you okay? Where are you?” the voice asked again.

“Karl?”

“Yeah, this is Karl. Where are you headed?” the voice inquired a third time.

Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t Karl’s number. This person seemed to make sense over the phone, unlike Karl. Hoagie?

“No Karl, I’ll dial you on the ‘other’ phone, alright?” I said and hung up before whomever could answer. I had to be sure about this and risk hanging up on my brother, for Kate’s sake. I reached back in my brain for the telepathy switch.

Oh no, Karl, you didn’t.

Whenever entering into Karl’s mind I feel what he feels, at that moment. My eyes were locked on the road but I felt a warm tongue licking my face, chest and corn hole. I broke out of the mind-lock just before the tongue entered a hole in my body.

This was going to be one crazy game of cat and mouse.