Shawn Huelle

An Experiment, pt. 4

Amber was already puking by the time I got the car pulled over and stopped, which is when Jill pushed her the rest of the way through the window and therefore out of the car so that she wouldn't soil the upholstery.

I checked the rearview mirror again; the Toyota really wasn't coming back.

I heard Amber retching, and told Jill to get ("the fuck") out of the car and help her, take her some water or something. Jill shot me a look, but grabbed a bottle with one hand and the door's latch with the other.

The person in the passenger seat reached over, turned the key in the ignition, and said, "We have to get her back in the car as soon as possible. It would be best if we were on our way. In the meantime, there's no sense in wasting gas and befouling the atmosphere."

I closed my eyes, and the image of the body exploding on the shoulder flashed, rewound itself, and flashed again. I opened my eyes, and wondered why I had no memories of my mother cutting my fingernails for me when I was still too young to be able to do so myself. I thought about telling the person in the passenger seat about this thought, and opened my mouth to do so, but instead said, "I'm not at all surprised the Toyota's not coming back. I don't know why I keep checking for it." The person in the passenger seat just nodded and then jingled the car keys.

Amber had finished dry-heaving, and was now sobbing. I heard Jill tell her she could cry in the car, we needed to get going. I assumed the noises Amber made in response were a refusal to get back in the car, so I got out, walked around, opened Amber's door, and put her in the car the way a cop would. She understood the connection, and didn't fight me.

The person in the passenger seat started the car while I was helping Amber, and Jill splashed some water on the rear quarter-panel to get some of the puke off. Amber wept silently while she fastened her seatbelt.

I made sure the doors were locked before putting the car into drive, and listened to the gravel crunch as I turned the wheels back toward the road. I checked the rearview mirror again. Nothing.