Week 18: Shirene Rafie- Going on a Spontaneous European Trip

Full Prompt: “Going on a spontaneous European trip”

Story:

Rain pounded against the small square window. A lizard sat on a desk and stared with one eye at the rain and with the other at the woman seated at the desk- her head rested on her crossed arms.

A window pane cracked against the barrage of water pounding against it. “That’s it!” The woman slammed her hands down on the table startling the lizard as lightning flashed outside and illuminated the small room. She turned from the desk and walked with considerable determination to the closet. A barrage of items began to mirror the rain as they were thrown from the closet and about the room. The woman mumbled to herself at a level inaudible to the lizard.

“Ah- hah!” She emerged triumphantly. 

The woman brandished a well loved, leather suitcase. “Charlie,” she directed toward the lizard, “lets you and me go on a trip. Waddaya say??…” The lizard looked at her and then outside. “I’ll take that as a yes!” Her enthusiasm not dampened by the lack-luster response from her small green friend. 

“I know what you’re thinking- we don’t have enough money to go anywhere… well, we don’t have enough money to stay here either! We only ever have enough to get by so why don’t we get by somewhere else… somewhere fun, new…somewhere in Europe? Yes. Europe.” The lizard flicked its tongue and turned its head toward the voice monologuing at it. “Yes!” She stuck her tongue out as well, “tongues out!”

She returned to her enthusiastic packing, when a wave of panic washed over her- when did her passport expire?? She’d had it for quite some time. She found the small but valuable booklet and closed her eyes to open it. She slowly cracked one eye to verify its  expiration date- she still had two years. “Well that’s one hurdle.” She said aloud.  

Soon her bag was packed and Cornelia and Charlie were on a bus to the coast. Clad in an exceptionally fluffy infinity scarf, to conceal the lizard wrapped around her neck, Cornelia had plans to travel by ship. She watched the lines of the road zip by out the windows of the double decker bus. As a child yelled, someone smelled in desperate need of a shower, and the bus driver wasn’t breaking any speed limits, Cornelia reconsidered not going by plane, but quickly disregarded it. There was no way she was going without Charlie and who knows what would happen to him with baggage handlers.

She mentally reviewed the variety of outfits she had packed, most of her meager, but appreciated belongings were riding under this bus and beneath the seat in front of her. She reached down and pulled her journal from her backpack as Charlie repositioned himself on her neck. Hills rolled by outside and Cornelia did her best to sketch impressions of them in the journal. She had always loved drawing, but she wasn’t what one would consider “good.” She had worked hard to not let that bother her. She consistently reminded herself people are good at all different kinds of things. She was better at others. But none of it made any never-mind at all because she liked to draw, so she did.

Her mind wandered. She considered all the possibilities that lay ahead in her journey. A shake up of things. A lemon- shake up of things she smiled to herself. Then her smile faded as she realized this might be a terrible idea. How would she find work? How would she make money? How long would the trip be? “Stop.” She said louder than intended, drawing the attention of a fellow passenger across the aisle. “Sorry,” she offered and returned to her thoughts. “It’s just me and Charlie. I don’t like the life I’ve got going here. I’ll find work… bag groceries, walk dogs, I’ll… I’ll do whatever it takes. At the very least this will be scary and interesting and full of new experiences.  Even if I fail- the word hung in her mind like a single rain cloud on an otherwise clear skied day- then I’ll know I failed. At least I’ll know. 

It was a long bus ride and just over halfway to their destination, the bus pulled off the road to refuel and allow everyone to get a bite to eat. The choices were fast food, gas station cuisine, or a diner that looked like it had seen better days. Cornelia chose the diner. It was an aluminum clad thing, which must have been standing there for seventy years. She entered and a chime rang from above the door as its opening struck a brass bell. She sat down at the bar. 

“What can I get you hun?” The waitress asked. “Just coffee, please.” Cornelia replied. “Cream? Sugar?” “No thank you.” She politely retorted. “Ahh, diesel.” A voice came from the left of her. An older woman with a perm and pearls sat at the bar, which surprised Cornelia as she had not seen her when she sat down. “Excuse me?” She asked. “Diesel… black coffee. I had a friend who used to refer to it that way. He was a good-natured fella, took things a little too seriously, but that’s only because he cared.” Cornelia smiled at the woman and replied, “diesel, I like it” and tried to politely turn away. Instead, the woman rose from her seat and took a stool closer to Cornelia. “This is part of traveling” Cornelia mentally reminded herself. “My name is Dot. Dot Butt. Isn’t that a hoot?” She laughed to Cornelia who politely smiled again, “I’m Cornelia.” “Well that is a beautiful name, sweetheart.” 

Cornelia and Dot chit chatted over their coffees. Cornelia liked Dot- she was warm and lighthearted. Before long the bell at the front door rang out and the bus driver poked his head in, “10 minutes,” he called to the diner. “That’s actually my bus,’ Cornelia divulged to Dot as the waitress brought over the check. Cornelia moved for the check and Dot’s hand landed atop hers, both on the small piece of paper. “Listen, kiddo- you can do it.” “What do you mean?” Cornelia questioned, caught off guard; they had not discussed the trip she was embarking on or her apprehension around its ambiguity. “I’m talking about this thing you’re doing. Whatever it is- you can do it. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for and fear is the only thing that holds us back. Holds us back from trying. Holds us back from pursuing things we want. Don’t let it do that to you. So I’ll say it again: you CAN do this. Now go get ‘em.” Dot said as she threw a ten-dollar-bill down on the bar top and handed Cornelia a twenty. “Here- let me buy your next couple cups of coffee too.” Cornelia’s  striking smile spread across her face as she extended her hand to accept the kind gesture.“Dot, thank you, I really needed to hear that.” “I know,” the older of the two replied.

The bus safely reached its destination and Cornelia grabbed her bags and headed toward the pier. She had been to the city many times but she walked a little slower this time. She took in the sights and smells; gazed about wondering what all the other people were doing. Were they considering anything daring at the moment? A wry grin crept upon her face, “not as daring as I,” she said to herself.  

She left the ticket kiosk, ticket in hand, and went to the bathroom. She checked on Charlie, who stared back up at her, happy as could be, and she readjusted her scarf. She caught her own eye in the sink’s mirror. Everyone had always told her she had her mothers eyes. She lingered on them. “You can do this,” she breathed out. 

On the last step of the dock Charlie poked his small head out of the infinity scarf and they both took one last look around before boarding. Armed with a new-found reassurance and her little reptilian friend, Cornelia knew this trip would change her life, because she was daring to let it.