As he reached
for the soap his eyes caught sight of the little, ornate bottle
with pink writing. This was Miriam’s favourite shampoo. She’d been
buying the same brand since she was nineteen and all John had to do
was open the bottle, and he’d be right back on their first date at
the drive-thru. How much he longed to see Miriam even if it was
just one last time to say how much he loved her. Not that she
didn’t know this. John had given her the best life any woman could
have wanted and treated her like a princess. He hoped if he passed
down one trait to Carl it would the way you should treat a lady. He
imagined his son would someday make a great husband and father, and
for all he knew he could be already.
He placed the
shampoo bottle back on the side of the bath and sighed solemnly.
More than ever he missed Miriam. But in a way he was thankful she
was dead. That way she would never have had to live through the
ordeal he did. Despite working in law enforcement for his entire
adult life he tried his best to shelter her from what happened in
the world. He hoped she went to the grave thinking everybody’s life
was rainbows and lollipops.
As John dried
himself he focussed on feeling better. His strength was coming back
to him along with his motivation and he was eager to get on the
road. But he needed to formulate a plan. As he dressed in clean
clothes and looked into the bedroom mirror he noticed the liver
spots on his hands, his thinning hair and of course his injuries.
For a moment he doubted himself. Who did he think he was? He was no
spring chicken and could barely walk let alone save his son. But he
could at least try. He could never live out his remaining years
knowing he didn’t try.
Carl thought
his father didn’t know him at all but John knew that was wrong. He
knew his son more than he knew himself because he’d created him
hadn’t he? He was made in his father’s image and as he grew up he
saw the young man grow up to be a spitting image of him. He sat on
the edge of the bed for a moment to gather his thoughts.
So the kid was
in trouble but where would he hide out? And why wasn’t he fighting
his way out of trouble? The questions perplexed him and he felt the
need to look through his old photo albums for inspiration. He
picked out one labelled Mexico ’88. He saw Carl’s smiling face in
each photo as he ran through the landscape of Monterrey.
It was such a
beautiful place, and with John’s early retirement money he’d
managed to buy a luxurious holiday home in the city. His family and
friends often wondered why he’d pick such a place, but it was
somewhere he’d often travelled to as a child to visit distant
cousins. He had an affinity for the landscape and as Carl grew up
he did too.
As he flicked
through the photos, he thought this was the time in which his boy
was his happiest. His last vacation there was just before he
enlisted in the Navy. And when he came back home the light had gone
out of his eyes. John had a feeling that if anywhere could
recapture Carl’s happiness that was it.
John Reiner
quickly packed a small suitcase, grabbed as much packaged food out
the kitchen cupboards as he could and hurried to his car. Mexico
was a long way from Chicago but he’d make it.
CHAPTER 20
The line at the bus station was exhausting Anna, and she leaned against Carl.
“What’s taking so long,” she huffed.
“I don’t know sweetheart,” Carl put his arm around her. “Shouldn’t be much longer,”
“And I still don’t understand how you’re getting me to Mexico. I don’t have a passport and just… I dunno. It all seems so crazy,”
“Look, trust me,” he spun her round to meet his gaze. “I know what I’m doing…. Kinda. At least I have a plan. We’re gonna get on a bus to San Antonio first,”
“Why the hell are we going there?” Anna seemed tired of it all and outraged.
“I have a person…. Who I can call,”
“Who?”
“I can’t tell you. You’ll just have to wait and see. But after that we’ll be only a couple hours away from the border I promise. Then we’ll be in Mexico,”
“But where will we live?” tears began to sting her eyes.
“Don’t worry, I have a place. Besides, there’s a lot to do in Mexico. There’s a nice art museum I’d love for you to see,”
Anna raised her eyebrows. “An art museum? Now you’re some lover of art?”
He laughed. “Not in general, but this museum is very important to me. I’m just trying to cheer you up. Everything will be fine.”