Chapter 3...Part 4

Monday morning came and the driver had to leave to take care of some family business but he gave them directions to get to the business office. He never knew what was going to come next and he was probably incredibly mad about what did transpire.

The girl and the guest headed to the business office. The guest did fill out an application and needed to head over to find out about requesting a copy of his social security card. He told the girl that they should go get the money from her friend, head over to social security and then go from there. This seemed like a good plan and they headed to Sparta, Il to pick up the money from Wal-Mart.

After the girl picked up the money the guest started to talk with her about what should be done next. Didn’t she think it would be a better idea to head to Florida and take care of things then return to give the guy and his family the money back that he had spent on helping them? This did seem reasonable for the girl and she agreed.

The couple picked up supplies from Wal-Mart, including an atlas, and headed back on the road. The girl was excited to see an actual map. She could finally see all those places they had been. For the first time in her life she had crossed the Mississippi (and yes, it really is muddy) and she was seeing things she had never seen. Before they left town she even saw the Popeye statue that her brother had taken a picture of while he was on a mission. She was excited about seeing things and an end in sight to this journey.

The couple drove and stopped in Arkansas for the night at a Motel 6. They ordered pizza with the thought that it would last for a few meals. That didn’t happen but it was the thought at the time and it was different from what they had been eating.

They continued on and when they got to Alabama they stopped at a Red Roof Inn near Mobile. It was at this point when the girl realized how little money they really had. One of the agreements the couple had made earlier on was that they would both have some of the money so it would last longer. After she paid the room rate for the night the guest told her that he didn’t have any money.

The girl didn’t know what else to do except try to get a hold of her friend in Missouri again and see if she could wire them a bit more money. They were right near the border between Alabama and Florida. How much further could they really need to travel?

The friend wired them more money. This is when the dreams started to happen again. While waiting for the money to be wired the guest told the girl that they should go look at RV’s because he would be sending her home soon and she needed something that she could travel and sleep in on the way home. He said that once they got to Merrill Lynch he would need to stay but he could send her home. They went and looked for RV’s that she could handle driving. He told the girl and the salesgirl that he could get a cashier’s check from ML/BofA and it wouldn’t be a problem. The girl was confused by this because how would they agree to buy an RV but not to send them money? The guest gave her an explanation that sounded good at the time. They filled out all the paperwork and said they would be back with a check.

The couple went to Wal-Mart to wait for money and the guest went to the pay phone to talk about the cashier’s check for the RV. He told the girl that they were working on it and they should have it by the next day. He said that they needed to stay overnight again to wait for the check to be processed and then they could move on.

They spent one more night in Mobile. It was very peaceful there. It was warm and green, so much green the girl had rarely seen before in her life and never in October. The one very sad thing the girl experienced was the death of a crow. The couple was standing on the balcony when a crow clothes-lined himself on a power line. The girl rushed down to see if there was anything she could do but the crow’s neck was broken. The girl later realized this probably should have been a sign but she didn’t recognize this at the time.