Chapter 11

            Studying the bus as it pulled up Lenny thought it had travelled to many rough neighborhoods, and had one too many encounters with thugs. The sides were covered with unintelligible scribbles in spray paint hiding ancient advertisements from one lawyer or another. The windows rattled in their frame as the bus skidded to a stop; a few cracked ones had duct tape holding the glass in. the tires were wore thin and struggled under the buses weight.

            As the driver opened the door and discharged current passengers. The smells of stale cigarette smoke, booze, and sweat violently assaulted Lenny and Flora’s senses, both of them covered their mouths to avoid gagging.

            Glancing at the driver he was a short round man with inadequate legs straining to reach the petals, and keep them depressed. His hair was in disarray as if he just woke from a terrifying nightmare. He had beady little eyes partly hidden by his eye brows, which rivaled those of a shaggy dog. His nose was pointed with a slightly downward hook at the end.

            Hesitantly climbing aboard Lenny noticed the interior of the bus was even worse than the outside. The seats lost their color long ago, and hid behind stains. Some were ripped with the insides clearly visible; others had rag tag patches attempting to hold the frayed material together. The back wall of the bus was covered with graffiti, and derogatory remarks.

            Lenny searched for the cleanest seats he could find, finally settling for a pair about half way back the bus. He offered the window sit to Flora she politely declined. Taking their seats the both double checked to make sure nothing was going to rub off or infect them. Settling in Lenny said “This makes me wish I would have tried to drive.”

            Bemused Flora flashed a grin that said you’re out of your mind. Lenny coupled hands with her and stared out his window. Soon the city was behind them, and he stared across rolling green fields, speckled with wildflowers and the occasional rabbit.

            Shaking Lenny awake Flora announced “We’re here.”

            Wiping the sleep from his eyes he noticed they were pulling into a larger bus terminal than the one left behind. Reading the destination signs, they hosted twice as many options as Benton’s bus terminal did. Pulling all the way in there four ticket counters protruding from the walls, and a large assortment of vending machines to the left of the windows. Standing at stations like sentries were security guards and people offering a welcome off the bus.

            Lenny and Flora exited the bus offering only a courtesy nod to the attendant standing by. Scanning the terminal they located the nearest exit and made their way too it. like a gentleman Lenny held the door for Flora then followed her out. Their exit landed them on a busy side street near an intersection. The foot traffic was intense, and a flood of fears gripped Lenny most intensely than a rattle snake strike. Seeing his eyes flare Flora automatically took him by the arm and began to whisper comforting words to him as she tried to coax him down the street. Moving slowly she found a small café for them to duck into, still whispering to Lenny she waited for a large crowd to pass the pulled him into the café. Helping him carefully into a chair she took the one next too him.

            Staring intently into his eyes she asked “Are you okay?”

            Taking a deep breath Lenny squeaked out “In a couple minutes I will be.”

            Reaching across the table she took his hand and began to rub in a gentle calming pattern her mom had taught her as a little girl. Almost immediately she could tell it was working, she saw life creeping back into Lenny’s eyes. Taking slow deep breathes Lenny kept his heart from breaking free of his chest, and slowly his heart rate returned to normal.

            “That was an amazing trick.” He told Flora.

            “It was just something my mom taught me to help deal with stress. Care to elaborate on what happened back there?”

            “It was the first time I’ve ever had something like that happen.” Lenny promised.

            “When we are done here you should really see a doctor about it then.” Flora said making it clear she wouldn’t take no for an answer. But at the same time concern and caring radiated from her eyes.

            “Excuse me kids, can I get you something.” Looking up at the same time Lenny and Flora saw a waitress hovering over them tapping a pen on a pad. They both ordered coke’s and asked for a few minutes to look over the menu.

            Really looking around for the first time the café was a nice little place. Each table had a crisp white linen table cloth, with silverware wrapped delicately in a cloth napkin. Candles graced each table and the overhead lights were kept low. The cash register was well concealed behind a beautiful flower arrangement. The waitress’s all wore black shirts and white collared shirts, with a red and black apron tied around their waists.

            With the waitress coming back to the table they both paged through the menu, but found nothing appealing. Setting the sodas down she asked “Anything else for you?”

            Both of them shook their heads, as Lenny produced a ten from his pocket and paid for the cokes. Taking a long swallow from his coke Lenny asked “What do you think we should do next?”

            “”If we are going anywhere you need to get your thing under control, or we’ll have to wait until traffic calms down.”

            Lenny curtly nodded his head in agreement.

            “From here I guess we should find a computer so you can work your magic again and make sure your grandfather is still here.”

            “A library would be a place to start.” Lenny suggested.

            Summoning the waitress over Flora asked her “Is there a library nearby?”

            She scratched her head for a second then said “I think there is one a few blocks down the street. If memory serves me right just head right when you leave.”

            Thanking her couple rose, Lenny dropped a tip on the table and they left. Flora took Lenny’s hand even before they made it out the door and began doing her special pattern. The directions were correct and they made it to the library without Lenny breaking down.

            The building stood old and proud towering over the street. The red brick glistened in the afternoon heat, and each brick had a story to tell. Limestone steps led to the double doors atop the stairs. On the right side of the doors was a date stamp that couldn’t be made out anymore.

            Swinging open the door the smell of old paper flew out at them and an icy blast of air conditioning hit them in the face. Standing in front of them were rows of shelves almost as high as the building itself, and they stretched as far back as the building would allow. On the left the shelves ran all the way to the outer wall, on the right there was a librarian’s desk and a bank of computers set against the wall.

            “Excuse me miss, what do I need to do to use your computers?” Lenny asked strolling up to the desk.

            “You just need to read the rules and sign in right here young man.”

            Lenny blushed, being referred to as a young man as he scribbled his name and rushed off towards the computers with Flora in tow. Selecting the station furthest from the librarian’s desk he sat down and started entering commands. Soon the same map popped onto the screen and the red dot was still in the same location. Grabbing a piece of paper sitting in a nearby printer he wrote down the address, and logged off the computer. Walking past the librarian’s desk he bid her a farewell, and Flora gave a wave.

            Stepping back into the heat Flora asked “So what next?”

            “We have an address so I figured we could check it out, see what’s there.”

            “Isn’t that a little risky?”

            “I have a plan.” Lenny said with a mischievous grin.