Living the dream
By Elaine Weddle

You look a picture Mary Beth said Earl as they drove from Mississippi, top down and wind whipped in the silver Sudan, across miles of dust bowl. Mary Beth knew that it was true and smiled behind her gold-rimmed sunglasses. The highway stretched out and disappeared into a shimmering heat haze but the hours passed by well enough as they watched eagles hang and rise. God I am lucky, she said to herself, so lucky to be travelling every day with a man like Earl, staying in fine hotels, swimming in bath tubs bigger than my own front room. Who’d ever guessed and at my time of life?

They pulled into a motel just outside of Bakersville. Mary Beth didn’t like to make a fuss, but a motel? And, the air conditioning was broke just a little whirring and buzzin’ so the air remained thick like a bowl of hot potato soup. She was reminded of her years working in the little Bank in Brunswick, where the ice cold air con had proved nothing less than a godsend for a woman of her age.

In fact, thought Mary Beth, life hadn’t been so bad at the little bank. She and co-worker Marge would close up and take an hour picnic-ing on chicken, slaw and potato salad in the park. If it was quiet in the afternoon they’d make ice tea and finish their knitting before closing up just a little bit early. That was until they appointed Mr J D Hoppen Hauser who jogged to work and ate Sushi at his desk. He called Mary Beth into his office. He said it simply wasn’t professional to see a woman sucking on mints morning, noon and night. Said she would end up looking like a Halloween pumpkin and it wasn’t doing her waistline no favours either. Well, Mary Beth did not take at all kindly to JD’s personal remarks.

Still, that was in the past. She was travelling with Earl now. She’d met him in the diner across the street from the bank. He’d been sitting on the stoop rolling a cigarette, lean limbed and white whiskered. It was serendipity Earl said.

They were married soon after. It was all a bit of a rush. And, in truth, Mary Beth was a bit surprised when JD asked her on their wedding night if she would rob the bank. And If JD Hoppen Hausen hadn’t been making Mary Beth’s life a misery she wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
On the day, no-one expected JD to play the hero, when Earl burst in brandishing a baseball bat JD did not drop straight to his knees. Mary Beth didn’t want Earl him having a stroke or nothing so she pulled a gun. One clean shot was what her daddy always told her, straight through the head of Mr don’t-you-go-sucking-those mints Hoppen Hausen.

So they left pretty Brunswick pretty quick after that. Still, Mary Beth didn’t complain about the fast cars and the fancy hotels.
I’m living the dream she told herself.