I
Tammi stepped off the bus and looked around, it was late afternoon and she had
fifty cents in her pocket. She grabbed her hiking pack full of essentials and
moved into the bus station, heading for the bank of payphones. She dug her
diary out of her pack and looked up Tommy's phone number. She dialed and a girl
answered, she vaguely remembered his sister Kathy.
"Can I speak with Tommy please?" Tammi asked hesitantly.
"He's at work, you'll have to call back later," Kathy said curtly.
Tammi knew she was going to hang up, "Kathy, listen this is Tammi, I just got
here and I'm stuck, do you have the number there?"
"Sure, just have to find it," Kathy laughed.
After giving Tammi the number she hung up, happy that people still remembered
her, even after almost a year and a half. Tammi dialed the work number and
waited patiently.
Tommy answered the phone in his DJ voice, and Tammi was hesitant.
"Hello?" He asked again, waiting.
"Tommy?"
"Yeah, who is this?"
"You better know who the fuck this is." She said defiantly, her eyes were
gleaming.
"Tammi?!" he almost shouted. "You sound so close, how's Canada?" He asked.
"I wouldn't know, I'm here," she said holding her breath.
"What do you mean here? Here, here?"
"I'm at the bus station," Tammi heard familiar voices in the background, "Who's
with you?"
"Oh, It's Oz and Spoo," he said off-handedly.
Just my luck, she thought, "I don't suppose either of them would be willing to
pick me up?" she asked curiously.
"That's the dumbest question you've asked yet," Tommy laughed, "about 15
minutes, okay hon?"
"Great, thanks a million Tommy."
"No problem girl, see you in a bit."
She hung up and waited. Spoo she mused, and laughed. She had dated him briefly
last time she had been down. She had been living with her aunt in a suburb; she
had only stayed 7 weeks until her aunt had kicked her out and she had returned
to Canada and Scott.
She stayed with Tommy for a week while his parents were out of town, and then
with Spoo, who's real name was Andy, until his mom called her aunt. This was
enough to piss Tammi off indefinitely. Her aunt told her she could stay for one
night until she found somewhere else to go. She found a shelter for women
trying to get on their feet. They said that they usually didn't take in
teenagers, but that God had given them a sign. Tammi had never been much into
organized religion, and rolled her eyes inwardly but said that she was glad that
they had decided to accept her. One month after leaving Canada, she had a room
and food in her stomach. They urged her to get a pregnancy test and make a
doctor's appointment, get a job and start looking for a place of her own.
She did, and as suspected she wasn't pregnant, the doctor proclaimed she was in
excellent health. She got a job as a telemarketer, which she hated, but it made
money and was less than a mile from the shelter so she could walk. On weekends
she worked in the soup kitchen and clothing bank that the shelter supported.
There were great women there, most didn't speak to her, but she made friends
with another younger woman like herself and they hung out constantly. About a
month into her stay she was told that they were doing a fundraising walk for
their sister house, which was a shelter for pregnant teens. It was mandatory
that all residents participate in the walk to raise the money. Tammi agreed,
reluctantly, but since it was a weekend and the soup kitchen and clothing bank
would be closed for the day because of the walk, she had no excuse not to
attend.
The morning of the walk she woke up and slipped on a pair of short shorts,
bikini top, and white loose vest with a hood. The house mother looked at her
with raised eyebrows, but Tammi just smiled and raised hers in return, asking
her to say something. Tammi usually dressed skimpily, especially for long
walks, it was just easier to stay cool. The walk started like any other, Tammi
wasn't really walking with anyone, or speaking with people, until she saw
something that caught her eye about halfway through. A guy, no a man about
twenty or so feet ahead of her, talking with another boy, which was exactly what
the other one was, he was probably eighteen or older, but he didn't have the
same air as the other. The tall man in front of her was wearing jeans and a
t-shirt and yet seemed like he knew everything. Her heart fluttered, and her
knees felt weak. She didn't want to appear stupid or childish, so she walked up
behind him, gently tapping his arm, she said "Hi" and just continued to pass
him. Little did she know that within a week her whole world would be turned
upside-down.
He caught up with her and they began talking, he had such a commanding stare,
that she couldn't look him straight in the eye. He also reminded her of another
ex, but a more dangerous one, and one she didn't like to think about. Although
he was tender, caring and gentle towards her, some part of her mind, thought
briefly, yeah for now.
She found out his name was Johnny and they spoke about everything. She told him
about coming here and he laughed, most guys didn't like that she was so
spontaneous, everyone told her to slow down and plan, but it didn't seem to be
in her nature.
At the mall where they ended the walk they somehow got separated, she looked for
him everywhere; she wanted to be near him again, never mind want girl, the voice
spoke in her head again, hell you NEED to be near him. She only spotted him
after remembering his six foot six frame and started looking up over people's
head for the hat he had been wearing.
The t-shirt he was wearing was comical and after asking him to turn around so
she could read the back, and admire his ass, she laughed out loud. It was a man
holding a rolled up newspaper, and a dog begging to be hit with it. She asked
where he got it, and he told her about a store called Spencer's. She had never
been to one, and so he offered to take her.
"Now?" she asked slyly.
"Any time you want." He smiled.
"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere."
He followed her instead.
'Well he doesn't take orders well,' she thought, little did she know.
She walked over to where her house-mother was standing and introduced them, she
told her she'd be home by curfew, which was ten o'clock and Johnny promised to
have her back well before.
Tammy and Johnny left in Johnny's car. Tammi couldn't help chastising herself
for wearing such a skimpy outfit, but she didn't know she was going to find any
man, let alone this one. They talked about all kinds of things, nothing sexual,
and nothing even hinting at a relationship. She learned he had had a
relationship that had ended badly within the past few months and she told him
about Scott, not everything, but enough. They wandered through another mall in
a nearby town and window shopped, she didn't notice when he briefly stopped at a
gumball machine on the way out.
At quarter to ten they drove past the shelter. Tammi watched it go by in shock,
she looked over at Johnny who had a slightly evil grin on his face and thought
'Great, I've spent the entire afternoon with a psycho and I didn't even know
it.' She had hitch hiked fairly frequently and usually if it was a bad
situation, or just a bad person her radar would go off, but that hadn't been the
case, 'Or maybe your body was just over taken by lust.' Her brain spoke up. She
squashed the voice, and turned to Johnny.
"I think you passed it," she laughed.
"I know." He said, his voice sounded dangerous suddenly.
"Well then just pull over up here and I'll walk back," she suggested.
"I don't think so." He said in the same voice.
She stared at him blankly, but for some reason she was dripping wet.
"I'm sorry?" She asked.
"Don't act like you didn't hear me, you know exactly what I said." He smiled at
her, an evil shark grin that bared his teeth.
"Okay, now I'm getting pissed, either pullover or don't, I don't give a shit,
but I'm getting out of the car."
"Go ahead," he replied and sped up, smiling that same smile.
Tammi reached for the door handle, and he pumped the gas. She looked over at
her captor in shock, and horror.
"Okay, look, if I'm not back by ten o'clock, they lock the doors and I won't be
able to get in, and then they'll call the police."
"Okay." He smiled; he obviously wasn't concerned.
"At least tell me where we're going," she said resigning herself. She might as
well make the best of it, since the clock already read nine fifty-five, she knew
there was no way she could get back in time.
"Right here," he said as he pulled into a stadium parking lot. She looked
around, there was nobody there.
He stopped the car, opened his door and dropped to one knee on the pavement
below his open door. He pulled something from his pocket and Tammi saw it was a
ring from a bubble gum machine. She laughed out loud, and he smiled sweetly.
"Will you marry me?" He asked.
"Yeah sure," she replied laughing harder. "You're joking right? You don't even
know me; you don't know anything about what I am, where I've been, nothing."
"I know enough, and no, I'm not joking."
She didn't think about it much, she remembered the way he had spoken to her not
five minutes ago, how he had decided she was what he wanted and he was going to
have it. She supposed she could say no, but then what? Back to the shelter,
maybe if they'd let her back, her mundane job, her boring routine life, where
she barely even got to go see friends anymore she was so busy doing everything
else. This man was offering her something, she didn't know if he had a job, but
he had a car, and somewhere to lay his head, although she thought he had said he
lived with his parents, at this point she didn't care, it was better than the
shelter, he had money or he wouldn't have a car, unless mom and dad bought it
and were paying everything. This guy was offering her stability, and she was
attracted to him, and that voice, my God. She finally took a deep breath and
looked at her lap,
"Yes." She breathed.
He smiled at her, and put a finger under her chin, tilting her face to his,
"Look me in the eye and say it again, clearly." He said in that same voice.
She was shocked into sudden silence, and then looked directly into his steel
grey eyes, "Yes, I'd be honored to marry you," she said, while thinking what an
odd color for eyes to be, I never even noticed.
He slipped the ring on her finger, and kissed her. That first kiss took her by
surprise as his hand gripped her hair tightly, she was soaked now and making no
attempt to hide it.
She squirmed over on the seat to be close to him and he gently pulled her back
to her own seat, guiding her by her hair.
She immediately cast her eyes down and looked at the seat, thinking she had done
something wrong.
He smiled but told her that they would spend the night talking, about important
matters and if she still wanted to marry him come 9 am tomorrow they would go.
"Why nine?" She asked.
"That's when the bank opens, dear." He laughed.
She laughed with him, and God that felt good.
