Bus Ride and Phone Calls

Nachton's bus station wasn't ginormus like the one she'd been in in New York that one time, but it was roomy and clean and the maps on the wall were very detailed and quite impressive. Wren stood staring at the maps and the bus schedule in her hand. She decided that she would stop in Brighton, two towns south and set up a PO Box and then have lunch, then hop the bus and go fifty miles west and make her phone calls on the calling cards she picked up in the bus station gift shop.

It seemed really silly to go seventy five miles away from where she had chosen to live just to make phone calls, but she just couldn't be too careful, he might have a trace on her parents phone or something and she just couldn't risk it.


Tickets bought and a very sticky pastry and a cup of coffee in hand, Wren boarded the bus and enjoyed the lovely winter scenery as the she traveled south along the coast. The bus made three stops on its way to Brighton and by the time her stop came she had had the company of a bubblegum popping, pink haired, walkman blaring teenager that gave her a smile and nod as she sat down and another when Wren got up to leave the bus.

Brighton was a picturesque little town and the post office was easy to find. She opened the PO Box easily under her assumed name from the court papers and left the post office smiling happily. She stepped out into the cold sunshine and looked up and down the street. It was one of those cute little main streets with kitschy shops that sold organic soaps and funky little tchotchkes. She glanced down at her watch. She had about an hour and a half until the bus came so, she would do a little shopping then get some lunch at one of the little cafes.


She felt free and optimistic as she strolled along the main street. For the first time in her life she had nothing to fear, no obligations, almost zero responsiblities and a date with a sexy rock star on the horizon. The breeze caused her pony tail to flutter around her head and she laughed as she pulled strands of hair out of her mouth. She walked into a shop that seemed to sell all manner of stuffed animals and nothing but. She saw a display of Ty Beanie Babies and chuckled. She had had a room mate that collected them like a religion and their room had been filled with hundreds of the little animals.

Wren wanted something she could hold and worry the ears or play with the tail as she read or watched tv. She'd had to leave her old kitten behind for storage when she left, but she'd find a replacement here. She very nearly squealed when she came upon a display of thirty or so different kinds of cats in almost as many different poses and colors. She touched all of them, running her fingers over their fur and touching noses, pulling tails, and finally settled on a black and gray tabby that was curled on himself with his head resting on his forepaws, and his long tail loos and easily played with.

She chatted briefly with the sales girl as her selection was rung up, paid for and put in a cardboard kitty carrier that made Wren laugh. She asked the girl for a recommendation for a quick light lunch and was directed to the Flower Garden four doors down. "They have a sort of high tea thing that's great for a light lunch."

She swung her new purchase from arm to arm as she strolled to the storefront that housed the Flower Garden. It was a cute place painted in muted pastels and tons of living greenery. Wren was given a table next to a side window, it looked out onto a small rock garden and was surrounded with like nine different plants. She glanced over the menu and chose to have the high tea, which was three courses served with it's own kind/flavor of tea. The first course was four kinds of salads, the second was finger sandwiches and fruit, and the third was an assortment of little pastries.

Wren finished her lunch with ten minutes to spare and decided to have a last cup of tea before heading back up the street to catch her bus. She rode in contented fullness and dozed lightly as the bus traveled it's hour and twenty minutes to the western city.