Stolen Goods

Stolen Goods
    I see it was finally my opportunity.  To sweep her off her feet.  She was alone, smoothly striding down the sidewalk, going away from the city when I was coming.  I had my car today for a purpose.  I park next to her and glance at the back of her next and when I noticed she was still wearing that shiny necklace I just started at her through my peripherals.  She turns back, looks in my direction as if she knew me, not yet, and I just keep the car running as I slyly slide out.  I walk behind her, resembling her pace, not to close, don't get to close, and she checks her surroundings dubiously barely even caring.  The cracks in the sidewalk are causing her to slightly stumble and lose balance with her red high heels.  I wait till we are underneath a bridge, about a minutes run back to the car to take my approach.  As she goes down again because of these cracks, she uses her hands to sway back to safety and I lunge forward, grabbing her left wrist and I jerk her toward me into my protection.   She wont have to fall again.  I lock my elbow in with hers like we were walking down the yellow brick road as she silently screams into my sleeve.  Panic flares up her cheeks and her eyes are barely visible as water opaques her yellow auburn eyes as I continue to pull, calming her down with regularity.  The usual, nice weather, her vanity, I applaud her as she tries to kick around aimlessly only losing her high heel in the process. I open up the passenger side door, pull a black towel from my car floor and toss it over he head for safety precautions.  I tie the safety belt around her just in case she tries anything noisy while we are in transit.  I lock the door and get her high heel for her and return to the car.

    She just sits in her seat as silently as she can possibly be.  Her heaving breathing muffles out the wind that passes through both cracks of the window that we need for some fresh air.  Air that clears our minds and helps us, maybe just me, reanalyze our current situation.  I take Jackson road out of the city. It’s the least busiest street that I can think of but I usually don’t take back streets out of the city.  I take the interstate but I am for the first time trying to get in the mind set as a criminal.  I don’t know why because I don’t have any malicious intent but an official might see the clues as benevolent. 
    We hit the suburbs and I still don’t know exactly where I could possibly go.  I just realized that this could possibly be considered a kidnapping and I am currently freaking out.   I try to calm down my passenger too by asking her, her, name but she is still hyper ventilating.  It sounds like sobs coming through the black tower I placed to hide my whereabouts.  I look over to see if everything is all right and the towel looks quite damp.  Maybe she is crying.
    “What would make you feel better?”
    I get no reply so I continue on my path to no where.  I zip by a park that looks unfamiliar out in Wheatley.  I lower the windows some more  because it’s a nice day so I figure I should enjoy it as much as I could.  I look over again and I just realized her serene blond hair is actually revealed on her shoulders.  As I stare at her beauty, the reason I fell in unconditional love with her, I pass over the yellow lines.  Those dashes pass underneath my tires.  I could barely see the road through my peripherals but I knew I wasn’t paying enough attention to the seriousness of the situation.  But I continue to stare.  As I regain consciousness from my vanity filled spectrum, I take a look up and notice my distraction and come in control of the vehicle once again.  I pass the end of the park and notice a cop that was mysteriously trying to park behind some trees but I see the blue stripes just before and remain calm. 
    I pass easily but I feel the farther I get into this mess the harder it will be to dodge anything.  Not only will someone be worrying about the whereabouts of this lady but the more anxiety will sweep me.  Right now I am dealing with a tad bit but anxiety doesn’t just hit you in waves.  It keeps on stacking.  Each event keeps building up in your mind.  I just need to play it safe.  And breathe.  But I am currently leaving the suburbs and heading for the abandon locations we all call rural.  We keep passing small town after small town always ending with “lake” or “vill.”  They all look surreal and the only difference between each one is either a natural landmark or a on-ramp to the interstate.  Their faces staring at my car like I was a foreigner while I just kept my eyes watching the road.  I try to take the least turns and stay on a designated path to seem like I was only doing business.  But it feels like each stranger I drive by seems to be staring at me with wide, content eyes like they know.  I carry on.
    A wave of hunger starts to inflict me and I am pretty dumbfounded on what I should possibly do.  Should I leave her in a car all alone while I go shopping for some groceries?  If I did go grocery shopping, how much food would I actually get?  I have no idea how long I will be on this miscalculated adventure.  It could be for the rest of my life.  Maybe I should just get some fast food because then it will be all calm and simple and we can get our food and get a move on the road.  The drive through attendant could see me though.  Or even worse, see her.  She would serve us food and our stomachs will be cured but I would probably only have about 10 minutes of solace before I got caught.  Then I would be humiliated, arrested and shown all over the local news as some creep.  I would obviously get fired after the word got passed down to my boss and a my mistake would turn into a big, lifelong, fuck up.  I don’t know what I got myself into.  Maybe I’ll just pass all my responsibilities onto her.
    “Do you need anything?”
    Still no answer but I can feel her resistance starting to fade.  Her knees didn’t clench as tight this time.  The first time they squeezed like she was trying to crack a coconut but this time she actually just sat their silently.  She could possibly be sleeping but I don’t think that is the case.  Whenever I sleep sitting up, or a friend, they usually slouch over like they have to weight in their head.  Their neck bends down slightly and rests on their shoulder.  Her neck though is like a crane.  It’s supporting and casually stiff.  She resembles a statue that would either be in an art gallery.  I think about nudging her but this should be as pacifist as possible.  The less I do, the better I’ll be in the end.  So I’ll just nudge her with my words.
    “Hey, I was wondering if you were asleep?”
    “No.”
    I finally got a word out of her.  I’m a little relieved actually.  I figured she would just accept the kidnapping and bow down to everything I declared which hasn’t even sunk into my mind yet.  But now that she has said “no,” it shows that she actually put a sliver of trust in me and herself.  Even if she finally just is relentless it is still progress.  How can I separate this boundary between us?  I all ready prodded myself this far so I figure I will just try and build this relationship. 
    “So do you need anything?”
    “Nope.”
    “Aren’t you a little bit hungry?”
    “Nope”
    “Okay, well what about the bathroom?”
    “No I am okay.”   
    “I find that hard to believe.  I have to go so bad.”
    “Well stop.”
    “I wish I could but I don’t really know what I got myself into.”
    She actually chuckled.
    That is when I knew everything could possibly be okay.  The breakthrough that I was need to happen actually occurred.  I could breathe easy and start to worry about the plan.  I had many options to try and widdle away at.  Like what am I to do about food?  We seem both hungry since I have at least been on the road for about 3 hours.  My stomach needed an extra something, maybe a burger or some french fries after all than anxiety just left.  I would assume she was at least thirsty.  But really I didn’t know any places out here.  The towns are getting scarcer the farther I leave the city.  Gas stations hardly exist, just rickety mechanics litter the areas of these distant houses.  That and general stores with no fluorescent lights that beam at all hours.  Maybe she could possibly spit ball an idea but is a kidnapper supposed to listen to a kidnappee?  Probably not.
    “So what would you want to do?”
    She remained silent for a few moments and let the words linger in the car so she could think it over.  It feels weird that I do not even know her name or anything about her.  It’s like talking seeing someone and saying opening remarks without knowing anything about them.  Then she perked up a little bit from her seat and began talking.
    “I think we should stop somewhere and take a break from driving.  My ass is starting to hurt.”
    “Yeah we can do that, I guess.  Let me see if I can find a place like that.”
    “Okay good.”   
    So I kept on driving, making not for a park reserve or any place kind of out in the middle of knowwhere while I am out in the middle of know where.  I didn’t want to give her to much control because I was still afraid of the cops.  Everyone is always afraid of them when ever one might commit a crime.  It’s just a little scratch on the back of your arm but it’s always distracting and making you concentrate less on the situation and more on the outcome. 
    The buildings seem to be sprouting up again.  I think I am getting closer to the river.  The next big attraction, population wise outside of suburbs, our rivers.  They used to provide great transportation and now they are just touristy towns related on their history.  Also they have thriving wetlands and plant life so they welcome campers and hikers.    This would be the perfect place to take a break from all of this.  She could possibly run away.  That would actually help but I don’t want to strand her out here.  It would take a long time to come home because she didn’t have a cell phone on her.  She might want to leave though.  She hasn’t struggled yet, tried to run.  She hasn’t even started any commotions.  She has just talked soothingly and relaxed.  Has this happened before to her?  She probably has watched so many America’s Most Wanted television shows or Unsolved mysteries to figure out the equation for the easiest way out. 
    “I saw a sign back there.  In 3 miles take a right.”
    “Okay. Do you mind if I say something?”
    “I guess.  What’s on your mind?”
    “Has this happened to you before?”
    “No, no kidnappings in my record.  One time it felt like I was being kidnapped but it was just an ex.”
    “Oh well I would just want to congratulate you on your will.”
    “Well thank you, I suppose.  I might just be taking a swing at it but can I say this must be your first time.”
    “Umm.” 
    We both laugh.
    “I bet this is your first time committing any crime.”
    “Not true, one time I double parked.”
    “Well I should tell you that this might not be the right area.  To much problem solving.”
    “I guess I just went on impulse.”
    The kidnapping was questionable.  I really can’t comprehend why I did it.  I have just seen her around town a few times.  Her blonde hair ran past her shoulders and hung mostly on the perches over her shoulder blade running across her upper chest.  And her blue eyes could be seen on the cloudiest of days.  Her legs supported her frame with simplicity and grace.  It wasn’t just her physical attributes but I could tell the way that she worked with strangers.  Handing over the money with both hands as if she was giving them a gift and always tipping them with her spare change.  Not caring if people stared like myself but also staying modest and superb.
    “But why me?”
    “I have no clue.  I have see you around the city.  It was an event of ambiguous spontaneity.”
    “Thanks for the honor but what did you think you would get with such a meeting?  A date?”
    “Like you said, I am not to good with problem solving.  I try to stay away from problems but something about today kept me on my feet.”
    Her black towel seemed to crease and I am guessing she was smiling.  I see the road coming up, the only one since the road sign and I pull into it.  The road was all gravel and only could fit about a car an a half.  The native grass on both sides was very high and rigid.  I kept going, trying to embrace the bumps in the road, and see a picnic area with a few cars but no people around.  A campsite.  I put the car in park on the left side where there was a least amount of cars.  I reach over and untie her seat belt that was resisting her from moving her arms.  You can hear the clink of metal and the zip of the seat belt retractor.  She didn’t flinch or move. Then I extended my arm and unlocked her door.  She still didn’t move.  I just opened my door and stepped out and looked in and said
    “You can take it at your pace and do whatever you want.”
    I went over to the picnic table and waited for her.  I just looked around for a few minutes and still nothing happened.  She was still in there with the towel over her head.  I walk back to the car.
    “So what’s wrong?”
    “I want to keep going.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yes.”
    I got back into the car and turned it on and let it sit for a little bit.  She reached up and took off her mask and turn and said to me
    “And my name’s Mary.”