Public Purchase - Part Five

Taking a deep breath I watch as the bus pulls out, the warm sun above me feeling almost heavenly and deeply distracting as I feel it on my arms. I hold them out a little past the brim of my hat, taking in the warmth and taking a deep breath of fresh mountain air as a warm smile creeps across my lips.

"Okay... I'm home... I guess..." I giggle, shimmying my hips from side to side with glee as I look over the quiet early afternoon streets. While likely bustling and full on the weekend and holidays, the town seemed largely dead without tourists and visitors to fill the cafes and stores lining the shopping district.

Swallowing hard, running my tongue along my slightly crooked teeth, I try to remember what Aurelia had told me about getting home.

"Up the street?" I mutter, looking around at the intersection I had found myself in. "She said something about a dirt road right? Yeah... I mean..." I huff, struggling to remember everything that happened in the rush to make the bus after our surgery.

As I wander down to the corner, glancing up and down the streets in the hopes of getting some sort of insight into where to go, I spy sight of a tall and lanky young woman waving at me excitedly from down the street.

 

Her hair is wild and frizzy, the warm hair making it fray out into a wild brown mane. A thick set of glasses rest at the tip of her sweat-slickened nose, her hand constantly shooting between a wave and adjusting them as she hastens her stride.

Despite the warm sun baking the the street around us she is dressed in mostly black, with a long black maxi skirt and a black tank top sitting beneath a pale cream cardigan. A pair of shiny black shoes kick up her long skirt with each step, the poor young woman staggering and stumbling as she struggles between walking and jogging down the uneven pavement of the street.

Smiling awkwardly I raise a hand to wave back, wiggling my dainty fingers as she seems to shift to a more hasty pace towards me.

"Lia!" the brunette calls out, her slightly nasal voice wheezing as the burst of exercise winds her. "You're ba..."

Before the words can leave her lips a white pick-up truck screeches to a stop in the street between us. I jump back out of instinct, staggering backwards as my tiny body and my shifted center of gravity leave me struggling to find my footing.

The car is relatively old, more than a decade or so with a build up of dirt and mud that leaves me wondering when it was last cleaned. The bed of the truck contains a tied down citrus tree, the roots bundled up in a bag with soil as it sits ready for replanting.

In the cabin sits a woman in her mid-to-late forties, her long black hair having been pulled back into a tight bun while streaks of gray accent the shimmering dark mass. He skin is slightly tan, a small bit of sunburn resting on the tip of her nose just beyond a set of tortoise shell glasses. A set of deep brown eyes glare at me, narrowing with almost predatory intent as she thin lips twist into a scowl.

"Aurelia Marigold-Primrose Augusta Alice-Elizabeth Daniels!" she barks, the commanding voice riffing through Aurelia's full name sending a chill down my purchased spine. "In the car! Now!" she continues, leaning over and pushing the passenger's side door open. With my blood running cold and my body sweaty nervously on instinct I quickly race around the car, jumping into the passenger seat before the older woman quickly peels out back into the street as the lanky bespectacled girl is left in the dust.

I bounce and jostle in the seat, clutching the door handle as the dark-haired woman speeds down the road. She constantly checks the rear view mirror, glancing up as though to check for someone or potentially their absence.

The woman is dressed in a simple white shirt, the oversized top draping over an exposed shoulder revealing a black bra strap. The shirt itself is covered in all manner of dirt and grass stains, the ragged article of clothing likely only being worn for more outdoorsy activities. A heavy thick set of jeans shroud her legs from view, a set of ratty old sneakers pressing at the pedals as she pulls us both down into a dirt road.

Slowly, the car begins to slow as we find ourselves winding down a long dirt path. The scowl and fury painted across the older woman's face quickly easing off as a more giddy smile begins to form.

"So..." she begins, adjusting herself in the driver's seat before looking at me in the reflection of the rear view mirror. "What did you study?" she asks, tapping her long fingers against the steering wheel in anticipation.

"I... uh..." I blurt out, catching a glance of myself in the mirror as I notice the flop sweat building and the color having drained from my face. "History, English, & Education" I manage to croak, my heart leaping into my throat as I struggle to respond.

"Three degrees? And all in the humanities?!" the woman coos back, shimmying with glee as she fails to restrain her excitement. "Oh I'll have to give you a copy of my latest book, or have you read it before? I mean, not to be forward or presume anything but..."

"Um... who are..." I begin to wheeze, my voice shaking slightly as I wriggle back deeper into the passenger seat. I look out the window, staring at the sparse trees and steep hill passing by as we seem to zigzag our why up the side to someplace further up the mountain side.

"Oh sweetie, I'm your mother" she chuckles, reaching over to ruffle move my hat and ruffle my hair. As she messes up my long red locks she pauses, moving to run a thumb across my now scarred eyebrow before frowning. "We can just say it was a bit of a fall I suppose, or that tree branch from the other week left a little more than a bruise."

My eyes dart over the older woman, tall and slender without much in the way of assets comparable to my shrunken smaller frame. Sensing my gaze she sighs a little, pulling her hand away and returning to the steering wheel.

"No, I'm not you mother mother, but I raised Aurelia since she was born" she states, biting at her bottom lip. "Not that she ever took after me or treated me like her... Doesn't matter, I get to have a little academic around the house from now on. My Lia is finally taking after her mother" she coos, shifting from frustration to glee as the dirt road begins to open out.

A small stone wall wraps around the entrance to the clearing, the older woman bringing the pickup truck to a stop close to a cute little wooden gate. Flower beds and trees dot the landscape beyond the fence, creating an extensive garden in front of a rustic stone cottage sitting beyond.

With a click of her seat belt the older woman turns to climb out of the driver's seat, pausing for a moment to look back at me with a more serious expression.

"Come on, we have to get this thing planted before Sammy gets home" she states, hoping down to the path below before stretching a little. "Besides, you and I need to have a talk. Don't think you can just take over for Aurelia without any ground rules."