"So let me get this straight so far..." Charles said, seated in a folding chair on the patio mat outside the motorhome. "So you and Julia get to this house for abused women. She stays there, but you take off to leave with Angela. So who is Dora and who is Annette?"
Lara stood in front of Charles trying to tell her entire story, detail by detail, hoping to explain everything thus far. She was very animated in the use of her arms, hands, legs, and feet to help tell the story of how she tore down branches, climbed into a waterfall, and even expressed tenderness in the way she made love to Julia. She also explained how she floated in lakes, raising her arms up the air and tilting her head to illustrate herself floating. She also illustrated herself jumping from rock to rock by crouching down in front of Charles and then springing up.
She even used facial expressions to explain her fear, her surprise, her joy, and her pain, along with vocal noises like "swish", "boom", and the sound of tires screeching.
Lara had found a unique place within her psyche that was brought out by Charles. She found in him a large man who seemed both strong and intelligent, generous and refined, and seemingly shared the same interest in camping and being outdoors. She was envious of his motorhome, but moreover felt safe with him, even so far as to stand nude on the patio mat, in view of other campers passing by. He had brought out the little girl in her.
But unlike other situations she had been in like this, Charles was a man. There was no mother figure to be found with him. Lara felt an attraction that she had never felt before.
"Ok... So Annette is the one who's friends with Angela." Lara began to explain in her little girl persona. "Dora is the one who works at the women's home. Angela is the nice one. She's the one who was sweet to us, and she called up Annette to come over and meet us by the dock. Dora is the mean one. She's the one everyone watches out for."
"I see." Charles said. "OK, so you and Angela are waiting at the dock. Now go on."
Lara went on and on with great excitement.
Thus far, however, Charles only heard the story beginning with Lara leaving home. He still hadn't learned anything about Lara's childhood.
He sank back into his folding chair, taking a sip of coffee from his cup, and following along to Lara's story. In the back of his mind was the bigger question of how long Lara would remain with him. He was trying to figure out if it was right to leave behind a naked young woman to fend for herself. He did entertain the thought of calling the police. But he also recognized that Lara was an adult woman, assuming she was truthful about being a high school graduate, and was free to be on her own, even if she was naked, digging through trash, and telling tales of great adventure.
Charles knew he was paid up at the campground at least for the next few days, and thus opted to let things ride out.
"And what the Hell are you doing in my house!" Lara snarled in a crotchety old woman's voice.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She switched to her little girl voice.
Charles' cellphone began to ring. He set his coffee cup down, then picked up the phone. He also held a finger up to Lara, signaling her to stop while he answered the call.
Lara stopped, but channeled her energy into mimicking a ballet dance, gracefully kicking her leg up and doing a pirouette.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Hey sweetie! How are you?"
Lara stopped. She looked at Charles. She didn't want to be obvious, but she was curious.
"Oh fine. Just enjoying things up here in the mountains."
"Yeah? Well that's good!"
"Ok. Ok."
"Of course! I would love to!"
"I'm pretty sure I can. I had planned to be in Arizona by November, but Taos won't be a problem for me."
"Ha! Ha! OK!"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
"Oh come on! You think I wouldn't forget your flowers?"
"OK. OK. I'm looking forward to it."
"OK. Bye sweetie. I love you!"
Charles ended the call and put his cellphone down. He looked at Lara and found her standing still, staring at him. She like she did this morning, unresponsive and frightened.
"You OK Lara?" He asked.
Lara raised her hands to her chest and folded them together, pressing her elbows to her sides, and making herself small.
He remained seated, unsure of what to think.
"How about you have a seat. Let me get you a cup of coffee."
Lara remained standing.
"Go ahead. Have a seat."
Lara reluctantly walked to another folding chair and sat down on the edge, not making a sound. Charles had gotten up to reheat the coffee pot sitting on the propane stove.
Swirling in Lara's mind was the idea that there was another woman in Charles' life. The notion that she could not be his little sweetheart anymore started a chain reaction of thoughts leading to the conclusion that she had found the wrong place. She felt embarrassed more than anything, and wanted to run and hide. But she had already convinced herself that she wanted to be with him. She was just waiting for a another sign to run away.
Charles lowered a cup of coffee to Lara's level. She slowly took it and held it by the handle.
"Nothing like a good cup of coffee to help relax with." He said, taking a seat and sipping from his cup. "And that was quite a little ballet move I saw you do there."
Lara remained still.
"I bet you were just the cutest little ballet dancer all up in your tutu and tights."
Lara made an uneasy smile. She took a careful sip of coffee.
"Yeah, my daughters used to be in ballet. My middle girl really took to it. I remember going to her recitals. We spent so much money on clothes, shoes, lessons. I used to complain a lot back then. But aw Hell. It's just all good memories now."
"You have daughters?" Lara asked quietly.
"Three of them. They're all grown up now. That was my oldest on the phone. She was inviting me to her house for Thanksgiving."
"Are you still married?" Lara asked.
"Me, no! I've been divorced for about 15 years now. After we had our last daughter, my wife decided she didn't like moving around so much. You see, I married my high school sweetheart right after graduation. And then right after that, I joined Navy. Boy, she really upset about that! But we got moved to Illinois and had our first daughter, then had our second in Okinawa, and our third in Hawaii. Then I got reassigned to Anchorage and she didn't want to go. She wanted to settle down in Mississippi which is where we're originally from and buy some land. She wanted to raise chickens and pigs, build a greenhouse, put in a pond. I just wasn't ready to quit the Navy. I wanted to get my 20 years in, and she wanted to quit after 8. So, she hit with me divorce papers and took our girls with her. I never got to raise them the way I thought I'd be able to."
Lara didn't respond. Instead she absorbed what he had to say and tried to figure out where she might possibly stand in all this.
"What about you?" Charles asked. "Seeing you're just out of high school, what are your plans?"
"Just keep moving around I guess."
"Hey, nothing wrong with that!:
Lara remained quiet.
"Oh, so you're telling me about Lucy. What went on there?"
Lara took in a deep breath and thought about it. She no longer felt the little girl who had been excited to tell her daddy about an exciting adventure. She was still trying to figure out if she was wasting her time.
"I don't know. I don't feel like talking about it anymore."
