Don Angelo was in his favorite bathtub watching his favorite movie, ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ The tears always came to his eyes at the same point like clockwork and he was getting himself ready. He always loved ending his day with a luxurious soak but wished at times that he had someone to share it with. A nice lady perhaps, but he was rather romantically illiterate and often had to resort to paying for a woman’s company. It turns out that money can’t always buy you love.
He lay back and lifted his eyes to the gold ceiling as if he could see into heaven. He wondered if his parents ever looked down on him and felt proud of his wealth. They had the best marriage and were together until the very end. What he wouldn’t do for a love like that…
There was a knock at the door and it interrupted his thoughts.
“Who the fuck is it?”
“It’s Jerry!”
“Yeah yeah, come on in,”
The small, tubby man walked in with a plateful of fries.
“You read my mind pal, I’m starvin’” and Angelo tucked in. “Any news on Carl?”
“Nothin’ nada,” Jerry waved his arm passionately. “With any luck he’s wacked himself and that girl too,”
“Chance would be a fine thing,” the Don mumbled with chubby, food filled cheeks.
The two men watched the TV for a few minutes until Jerry interrupted.
“This shit’s miserable pal. You watch this all the time and cry like a baby,”
“I can’t help it. It’s beautiful. Anyway… listen. I think I have an idea,”
“Oh yeah?”
“That cop you know… the Irish one,” Angelo thought hard.
“Callahan?”
“Yup, him. I think you oughta pay him a visit. Maybe time we enlist some more help,”
“Sure thing, I’ll call you if – I mean when - he agrees” and Jerry closed the door quietly to not disturb the movie anymore.
~
The sun was beating off Anna’s face as she woke.
“Fuck,” she rubbed her neck. “How long was I asleep?”
“Ages. Like 6 hours,”
“Urgh… must have needed it,” she looked about at the unfamiliar landscape and then to Carl who had dark circles under his eyes. “Where are we?”
“Somewhere on the edge of Oklahoma city,”
“Looks kinda bleak?” she looked out to the country.
“Bleaker than Chicago?” he laughed. “I think I prefer it here,” and he quickly pulled off the highway into a diner. “You hungry kid?”
“Always!”
He laughed and kissed her on the cheek. She hugged him tight and kissed him back.
“Hang on, I just need my backpack,” and Carl moved round to the trunk.
Pulling out the briefcase, then his backpack, something tumbled out but he didn’t notice. He never realized as he closed the door, that his phone had toppled out and fallen into a little nook in the trunk. The couple ventured inside and sat down ready to order.
“What can I get ya?” asked the overly polite waitress with the ginger Buffon.
“Coffee, black and pancakes,” Anna yawned.
“And I’ll have the same,” Carl nodded and smiled.
The waitress scribbled down their order while batting her false eyelashes before sashaying away into the kitchen in her kitten heels.
“She must get up real early to look like that first thing in the morning,” Anna thought out loud.
“Well I guess you’re lucky to get the chance to lie in then,”
They attempted to make small talk through their exhaustion but it was excruciating. There was no excusing the situation they were in. They were surviving hour by hour on the run in a stolen car and they hadn’t even known each other 3 days. Carl especially was feeling the pressure and as he looked to the young, gorgeous girl across the table, he couldn’t help but think of what would have happened if he killed her. He’d have his freedom, his house, his savings, his car and his life. But the more he pondered on it the more he thought he’d done the right thing in sacrificing all of those things for the safety of Anna. For the rest of his life he could sleep easy knowing he’d done the honourable thing.
However, in the moment Carl’s thoughts were scattered and bordered on paranoid. He felt that everyone was looking at them, and he saw danger in the eyes of all the diner’s customers. He began tearing at a sugar packet and pouring its contents onto the table. When he finished he opened another one.
“Hey,” Anna held his hand to soothe him. “What’s goin’ on?”
“Just stressed out. Just feel like I’m goin’ crazy,”
“I get it. I feel the same,”
“Of course you do. But I can’t help shake the feeling that we stand out. That people are noticing us,”
“Well I think that crazy crackhead over there is watchin’ us for sure,” she signalled with her eyes and Carl turned round.
His gaze was immediately met by the wide eyed insanity of a matchstick thin man in leathers.
“Shit. He looks…. Interesting,” Carl grimaced.
Anna looked to the man and saw him scratch wildly at his hands before muttering to himself and drinking a mug of coffee in one go.
“He’s freakin’ wired,”
“Poor guy,”
“Yeah. Some folk get all the luck,” Anna thought about how things could always be worse. “Well at least we’ve always got our health,” she held Carl’s hand.
The waitress strode over with the pancakes and winked at Carl before she left. Anna was instantly infuriated but did nothing. Instead she chewed on the cuff of her coat and began chopping up her pancakes into little pieces with her fork.