Valley of the Dead by Crystal M. Romero

Author:Crystal M. Romero
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2015-09-02T22:00:00+00:00

As soon as the group finished using the toilet, Morales made her own quick stop. When she came out, she saw Reggie and Yvonne sitting huddled together across the street. She noticed the black woman crying as Reggie held her, offering her comfort. When the captain came up behind her, Morales turned and saw that she, too, was looking across the street.

“Is everything ok?” the captain asked.

Morales frowned and then shrugged her shoulders. “After the day we’ve had, is anyone still ok?”

At Morales’ response, Jacqueline watched Yvonne and Reggie. She didn’t know the full story of these two, only the few snatches that they revealed. She knew that Yvonne had finished a bad relationship but didn’t know how or when it ended. As everyone made their way from the store, she had to admit Morales was right. She wasn’t even sure if she herself was ok after the day she’d had.

Morales mentioned the two cars by the buses and her thought of siphoning the gas to refuel. She nodded at the captain’s suggestion of taking some of the men with her.

When Jacqueline went to the passenger side of the car, she looked at the group and was surprised to see all the drag queens in men’s clothes. Their makeup and wigs were gone, and they could have passed for any other tourist visiting a Gold Rush attraction. All except for Al. He wore a blue bandana around his neck tied in a dainty bow on the left side. As Ben, Tran, and Chuy jogged off with Morales, gas can and siphon in hand, Jacqueline felt her brows rising. She stifled a smile as she appraised Al’s new look.

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t include some of my fashion sense to these dungarees, did you?” he asked her.

“No, of course not. Very attractive,” she complimented him.

“I know,” he agreed with her as humor laced his voice.

Before climbing into her seat, she removed the two name plates from her pants’ pocket and dropped them into the large envelope. Their addition caused a tinkling metal sound. Once settled down, she took the notebook from the envelope. Morales and the men quickly returned with gas and some other items. Waiting patiently for Reggie and Yvonne to join them, Jacqueline began writing, occasionally pausing to sip her soda. Before she realized it, the last two stragglers slowly rejoined their group. Jacqueline closed the notebook and returned it to the envelope.

When Yvonne sat behind the steering wheel, she avoided Jacqueline’s gaze. After buckling her belt, Yvonne started the car as the doors were closed.

“Is everything all right?” Jacqueline asked with concern in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

Jacqueline could tell that Yvonne’s words were meant to convince herself more than the captain. She also recognized when a person wasn’t ready to talk. Rather than press the issue, she’d wait patiently until the beautiful woman felt comfortable enough to open up to her. She just nodded and turned away.

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