Prom Night in Purgatory(48)

“Maggie?” Her name was a question on his lips, and she whispered back the answer.

“Johnny.”

Then the whisper was chased away by the roaring in her ears and the pounding of her heart. He kissed her madly, his hands leaving her face to wrap around her waist, and he lifted her off the ground as his mouth plundered hers in a kiss as thorough and complete as the solitude was around them. The world tilted, and Maggie felt herself go with it, unaligned with the natural order of things, but in complete harmony with the boy in her arms.

“There...” Johnny tore his lips away, gasping. “There...did you feel that?”

Maggie stared up at him, waiting, her chest heaving.

“Deja vu.” They said the word in unison. Johnny shook his head, almost like he needed to clear it.

“Time changing its mind,” he whispered.

“From what was to what is,” Maggie finished, her voice as hushed as his.

***

The car battery had died but neither of them really cared. Johnny said there would be a park ranger at the ranger station on the north side of the reservoir first thing in the morning now that warmer weather had brought the Sunday crowds. He would run for cables and the attendant’s car and they would be on their way first thing in the morning.

It had grown late, and the summer was still a little more than a month away. The night air suddenly felt cold on Maggie’s bare arms and shoulders, and she was thankful for the nylons she had wished to be rid of only a couple of hours before.

Johnny pulled another scratchy blanket from the back seat of his car and wrapped her in his jacket. They lay side by side on one blanket, pulling the other over the top of them both. He pulled her into his arms, a solid presence at her back, his chin resting on her head, her head cushioned on his shoulder. The blankets smelled of a greasy mechanics shop, but Maggie was too happy to care. Her eyes slid closed, confident that she would be safe from time’s pull in the circle of Johnny’s arms.

“How do you keep a blonde in suspense?” Maggie yawned and let her heavy eyes rest.

“How?”

“I’ll tell you tomorrow...”

Johnny laughed, and Maggie felt the rumble against her cheek.

“Well, Bonnie. It’s official. You’ve left the straight and narrow. Car theft, evading the police, and spending the night in a stranger’s arms. All in the space of a few hours.”

“Well Clyde. I guess you’re right...but you helped me evade the police, provided the getaway car, and you are now about to sleep next to a known criminal.” Maggie felt his laughter flutter her hair. She smiled drowsily. She really couldn’t keep her eyes open.

“I like it when you call me Bonnie,” she mumbled.

“Why, Bonnie?”

“My dad used to call me bonny Maggie,” she sighed. “It makes me think of him.”

“Bonny means pretty, right?”

Maggie nodded, almost asleep.

“Maggie? Where are your parents?”

She didn’t answer right away, and Johnny thought she must have fallen asleep. So it almost startled him when she answered softly, her voice heavy with impending slumber. “They haven’t even been born...and when I return - they will already be dead.” Maggie’s voice drifted off as sleep overcame her, and she offered nothing more.

Johnny lay beside her and held her as she slept, his mind a jumble with the impossibility of the girl in his arms and the frightening way he felt about her. She was beautiful, but there were other beautiful girls. She was funny and zany and different from any girl he’d ever met. But even that couldn’t account for the almost desperate attraction he felt after such a short time. Sleep evaded him until the first blush of dawn pinked the eastern horizon, and the birds kicked up their sunrise chatter. Then he fell into an exhausted sleep, where even dreams could not disturb him.





~14~

A Time to Keep Silent





Maggie didn’t know what awakened her. Maybe it was the weight of Johnny’s arm or the heat that his body produced. Most likely it was the pressing need of a very full bladder, but Maggie resisted movement for as along as she could, filled with an inexpressible joy that morning had come and Johnny lay beside her. Hope filled her chest like a yellow balloon, and Maggie felt a sudden urge to leap from the blankets and have a “Sound of Music” moment, complete with spread arms and joyful singing. But her body insisted that she find a bathroom or a grove of trees first. She eased out from Johnny’s arm, trying not to disturb him. He slept deeply, not even stirring when she picked her way across the distance from the blankets to his car. With luck he would have a comb in his jockey box or some tic tacs or something. Did they make tic tacs in the ‘50s? Did they have jockey boxes? Maggie giggled softly and looked back at Johnny, hoping she hadn’t awakened him. One arm was flung over his face, and the other lay against the blankets where she had slipped from his embrace.

Maggie eased the car door open and slid inside, looking for anything to make her morning self more attractive. The rear view mirror showed that her makeup hadn’t really survived the campout. Her mascara was flaky, and her lipstick had been kissed off. Well and truly kissed off. Maggie flushed and grinned at her reflection. After a few moments, she still hadn’t found a comb or a breath mint. She reached under the seat and felt around, hoping for a miracle.