Prom Night in Purgatory(44)

“You stole an Edsel?” Johnny’s voice was filled with incredulous mirth, and he covered his mouth as if trying to hold in a belly laugh.

“A what?” Maggie was clueless.

“If you’re going steal a car, baby, at least steal something classy. Shoot! The Edsel is the biggest waste of metal on the road. Mark my words, in a couple years that car isn’t gonna be worth a damn dime.” Johnny squeezed the bridge of his nose as if he were afraid he might start to howl and draw unwanted attention.

“What?” Maggie was baffled. She’d never even heard of an Edsel. “I didn’t steal it to make a buck, silly!” she hissed at him, and whacked him with her little silver purse. She looked back at the car and at Johnny, who was still shaking his head and laughing, albeit silently. She couldn’t help but smile at his enjoyment of the situation. Her smile quickly faded, however, as the gravity of her problem started to sink in. She couldn’t go back to Lizzie’s house. Surely the police would return the car, which solved that problem. But Lizzie was going to be frantic. And Maggie had no place to go. Maggie walked several steps and sank down on the curb, her legs suddenly too weak to stand.

“Hey....hey, Maggie. I’m sorry, Doll. Don’t feel bad. I’m sure you’ll make a better choice on your next heist.” Johnny sank down next to her. “Hey....I’m teasing.” He tipped her chin up with a long finger. “Are you okay?”

Maggie felt the sudden urge to cry and looked away. “I don’t have anywhere to go....and I don’t know what to do. I have no money....I don’t have a set of wheels. Even an....an Ethel?”

“Edsel.”

“Right. Even an Edsel is better than nothing.”

“I see.” Johnny was quiet for a moment, and then he looked at her, and his eyes were soft and his voice gentle. “Well. First things first. Let’s grab something to eat. The Malt stays open late on Prom Night. We’ll beat the rush. Then we’ll find somewhere nice and quiet to have our picnic, and you’ll tell me your story. And then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

Maggie gave him a wobbly smile and a small nod of her head. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Johnny.”

Johnny stood, brushing off the black trousers he wore with his white sports coat. He extended his hand and pulled her to her feet beside him. He didn’t release her hand but kept it enveloped in his as he made his way to his car. He opened her door and waited until she was settled before he ran to his own, and without a backwards glance at the police car or the beleaguered Edsel, he spun out of the school parking lot and headed to The Malt.





~13~

A Time to Embrace





“She’s going to be worried about me,” Maggie murmured to herself.

“Who?”

“Lizzie Honeycutt. The car back there? It’s their housekeeper’s car. Lizzie and I thought she would never never notice it was gone. I was going to bring it back, really.”

“You stole the Honeycutt’s housekeeper’s car? Oh, this is rich,” Johnny sighed, a smile playing around his lips. He swung into The Malt’s parking lot.

“Maybe you should stay in the car, Bonnie. We don’t want any witnesses.” Johnny stepped out of the car, shutting the door firmly behind him. Maggie decided to stay put. He was back about ten minutes later, a brown bag of food in one hand and two glass bottles of coke in the other.

A car pulled up beside them in front of the diner. For a brief moment, Irene Honeycutt’s pale face was illuminated in the light pouring out of The Malt’s windows. Irene looked right at Maggie, and Maggie stared back, transfixed. Then Roger opened his door and stepped out, obscuring Maggie’s view, and Johnny backed out of the space and headed out of the lot. Maggie quickly rolled the window down, calling for Johnny to stop.

“Irene! Irene Honeycutt!” Maggie called. Irene stopped, confused, and looked around in surprise.

“Hold on, please!” Maggie implored Johnny.

“Maggie--”

Maggie jumped out of the car and hurried back to where Irene stood, Roger at her arm, watching her run across the lot toward them.

“Irene. Please tell Lizzie I’m just fine. Tell her not to worry; tell her I’m with Johnny,” Maggie blurted out when she was within ten feet.

“Wh-what?” Irene stammered.

“Just tell her, please? She’ll understand.”

Irene looked at Roger and then back at Maggie. Roger smirked at Maggie and turned to go inside.

“Oh, and Irene?”

“Yes?” Irene looked extremely dubious, and she kept eyeing Maggie’s dress suspiciously.

“You need to get a new boyfriend. That one’s bad news.” Maggie’s voice was loud enough for several other couples entering the restaurant to hear. She tossed her head toward Roger, who had stopped in his tracks and was staring at her open-mouthed. Irene looked like she’d been slapped. Maggie didn’t know if it would make a difference, but she had to try. “If you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

She couldn’t say more. The insistent tugging from the pit of her stomach had started as soon as she had opened her mouth to warn Irene. Frantically, she turned and ran back to Johnny’s car. He had stepped out of the still running Bel Air and stood framed in his open car door, hands in his pockets, waiting for her. She could tell by the expression on his face that he’d heard the entire exchange. She hustled to the passenger side and got in as he slid back in beside her.