Short Story Pt. 2
The two of them turned in a semi-circle and started north to leave the sunflower field. Peaches was so excited that she didn't even realize that she had walked slightly ahead in front of Henry.
"Hey now, wait up for me," he hollered to her.
"Sorry. I'm just a little excited."
"I'll say you are. So, are you sure you know how to get us out of these sunflowers?" he asked as they were walking side-by-side now.
"I'm pretty sure I do. My friend and I have walked out here a few times when our parents have had dinner parties. Her uncle is always telling us that this is the way to get onto the Main Road," she told him confidently, even if she was slightly unsure of herself.
"Well as long as you know where you're at."
The two of them walked along partially in silence, looking around at the unfamiliar territory that they were now exploring. The sun was shining brightly above them, but they didn't feel the spring weather heat underneath the shade provided by the giant sunflowers that still surrounded them. Everything seemed new and untouched to Peaches, and with every step she took, she could feel the excitement radiating throughout her.
They did make conversation though, and learned about each other. Henry told Peaches of his "brave escape" (or fall from the delivery truck), and Peaches told him about her small day-to-day experiences that he found very interesting, but that she thought was boring and mundane. With all of the talking that the two of them were doing, they didn't realize how much time had passed and eventually they found themselves on the Main Road.
It was a quiet two lane road that took the travelers by surprise. They weren't expecting to see the road so soon. Up a little ways ahead of them was an old country truck that was pulled over on the side with a flat tire. It appeared that Peaches journey was already over, even though she wasn't ready to turn around and go back home.
"Well dear Peaches, it has been fun, however, it looks like this is where I shall leave you. I lucked out as well with that truck up there for a ride," Henry said with a bit of sadness in his voice. He tried to sound chipper, but after having Peaches around as a travel friend, he had quickly grown fond of her. She was right as well, and was lovely to travel with.
"Already? That's it? That's my adventure? But we just went for a walk," Peaches said, feeling let down.
"Yes, but wasn't it an exciting walk?" Henry asked her, trying not to sound too patronizing.
"Well, it was nice walking with you, sure, but we didn't really see much else. I just thought that there would be a little more." Henry could hear the disappointment in her voice.
"You should probably head back now. You don't want your family wondering where you are. Thanks again for helping me out of the sunflowers. I couldn't have done it without you," Henry smiled and turned towards the blue truck that was getting ready to take him to his new, unknown destination. He hated to be so short with Peaches, but he never was good with goodbye's.
Henry was halfway down the road, leaving Peaches alone and dumbfounded. She couldn't believe that he had just left her on the side of the road to walk all the way back alone. That wasn't a walk in her mind. It was a rip off. And she wasn't impressed in the slightest.
She had an idea, and decided to hop along without Henry knowing. She figured she could be back before dinner time and nobody would even notice that she was gone. Well, they probably would, but she had to justify leaving in her mind to make her feel less guilty about leaving without telling anyone.
Without thinking or looking back, Peaches began to follow Henry and would surprise him once they were both on the truck. One way or another, she was going to get her adventure.
**
Quietly, she climbed up the back of the blue truck like how she watched Henry do it previously before her. She saw these green, plastic containers that were holding all of these different aluminum cans and decided that would be a good place to hide out until they started moving. Once the truck was en route, she'd surprise Henry and he wouldn't be able to make her go back after that. He'd have to let her stay with him.
While she was hiding out though, he heard something behind her.
"Psst. Hey. You there. The strawberry milkshake. How'd you get on here?" the squeaky voice said to her.
She turned around, but didn't see anything.
"Who said that?" Peaches said out loud to the unknown voice.
"Me, over here," a little hand was sticking out from one of the plastic crates and waving to Peaches.
She walked towards the case and saw that the voice was coming from an aluminum Pepsi Cola can.
"Hello," Peaches said to the stranger.
"Hey. How'd you get up here? You don't belong here," he said to her.
"I'm with a friend. Who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Pete," he told her. "We're all here because we're going to the recycling center. But I've never seen you before. You weren't with the others when we all got picked up, and I'm sure I would have remembered you. Are you lost? The recycling center can be a pretty scary place. Not a place for a sweet, innocent milkshake like yourself," he said to her.
"No, I just climbed aboard with my friend - "
"Peaches!" Henry shouted to her.
"Henry!" she said smiling and excited.
"What are you doing here?' he asked her, but didn't seem as excited as she was.
"I was just explaining to this Pepsi can about our adventure," she told him innocently.
"You're supposed to be on your way back home!" he scolded, almost as if he was her father.
"I thought you'd be excited to see me."
"I am," he said. "But you shouldn't be here. You should be on your way back home."
"That's what I was going to tell her," Pete chimed in.
"Well, I'll go home when I'm ready." Peaches had put her foot down. She wasn't going to be told what to do, just because these two thought she was too delicate to brave the outside world. She was very capable of taking care of herself.
At that moment, the truck lurched forward and began to drive towards the recycling center.
"I supposed there really isn't any turning back now," Henry said.
***
To be continued...