Bill’s Place was the only eating establishment we saw for quite a few miles. All we passed were pine trees and some old broken down trailers. Of course, it might have seemed longer because I was so hungry.
Lewis got to talking, though, and he told me about where he came from and how he got to be a magician. “When I was five,” he said, “my family moved from Queens to Florida. I was just starting first grade when we bought a house in Miami. It was awful. All of the kids at school made fun of my New York accent and called me names. My dad thought it would be a good idea to teach me some magic tricks that I could do for the kids at school. I guess he figured it would help me be accepted. The kids still made fun of me but I fell in love with magic and I’ve been a magician even since.”
“I hope you’ll show me some of your magic.”
“Now that’ll cost you.”
“I told you I don’t have any money.”
“Not money, I want you to tell me about yourself. Like why you’re on your way to California?”
“Well, I wanted to get out of the state and California was about as far away from Florida as I could get.”
“Just about. Why do you want to get out of Florida so badly?”
“Let’s just say I had some man troubles and leave it at that.”
“Okay. I didn’t mean to pry.”
We drove for a while and I got a chance to take a good look at Lewis. He had the appearance of a boy who was just becoming a man. He still had a smooth face, not too much hair growth yet. And he had the finest curls I ever did see on a man’s head. His hair was as dark as street tar that had just been laid. Now being that I was what you’d call fair-haired, I sure was attracted to Lewis’s dark features.
“Well, would you look at that?” Lewis said pointing up the road. “I think we’ve found us some grub.”
“I have me a big appetite right now,” I said.
“How does McDonald’s sound?”
“I’m not going to complain about that.”
“McDonald’s it is, then.”
Lewis pulled up to the drive-in window and both ordered a couple of burgers and some pop.
“Do you want any fries with that?’ Lewis asked.
“No. I don’t much care for French fries,” I said.
“Me neither. See how much we have in common?”
“I suppose we do,” I said.
Lewis kept driving while we ate our supper. It felt good to have a full belly again. I could see that it would be getting dark soon and I wondered if Lewis would want to stop and have a rest. And if we did make a stop, what would the sleeping arrangements be? I had never slept beside a man before, except, of course, for Billy.
"It's getting pretty late,” Lewis said. “Maybe we should think about finding a place to stay."
"You read my mind. I was just thinking the same thing.”
“Well, I am a magician.”
“I just want you to know I don't have much money to put toward accommodations. But I sure don't mind sleeping in the car."
"Don't be silly. I don't want you sleeping out in the car. It wouldn't be comfortable and it isn't safe. I don't mind sharing a room with you, Ally. I have three sisters. You'll be like an honorary sister. And I'll make sure we get a room with two separate beds. Okay?"
"I suppose that would be okay."
"Then it's settled. The next decent motel we see, we'll stop for the night."
It wasn't too long before we found us a Discount Inn and decided to stop. Lewis kept his promise and ordered a room with two beds. I was glad to see he was a man of his word. My mama always said that a man of his word was the type of man that was hard to come by. Before I met Lewis, I would have had to agree.
Lewis let me have the bed closest to the bathroom, which I thought was right gentlemanly of him. He took the bed nearest the window. He had a large black suitcase and when he opened it, I was surprised to see the suitcase was nearly full of his magician stuff.
"You sure have yourself a suitcase full of unusual items," I said.
"These are a few of my props. I'm bringing them for the audition. Just in case."
I sat myself down on Lewis's bed while he unpacked some of his things. "Would you show me one of your magic tricks?" I asked.
"Sure. This is a good one." He took the magician's hat and a colorful handkerchief from his suitcase. "Would you mind getting me a glass of water?"
I went into the bathroom, filled a glass with water, and brought it out to Lewis. He took the water and poured every last drop of it in his hat. Then he covered his hat with the handkerchief, took a magician's wand from his suitcase, tapped the wand on the side of the hat, said "Out Damn Spot! Out I say!" took the handkerchief from the hat, flipped the hat over, and put it on his head. He didn't get the slightest bit wet.
"Where did the water go?" I asked.
"It's magic. It vanished."
"Come on, Lewis. You can tell me. What happened to all that water?"
"A magician never reveals his secrets. Besides, it's getting late. We should be getting to sleep."
"One more trick?"
"Maybe in the morning."
"I'm holding you to that."
"I said maybe. Now let's get some sleep. To sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream, for in that sleep of death what dream may come."
"Goodnight, Lewis."
"Goodnight."
I found it kind of hard to sleep that night. I believe it was in part because I was nervous sleeping next to Lewis. He had put most of my fears to rest when he told me he was going to think of me as a sister. But then again, I didn't ever have a brother to know what that would feel like. Since my mama died, I noticed an empty place in my heart that never seemed to get full. I thought maybe when I had a man of my own, that empty place would feel smaller. Of course, the likes of Billy made the empty spots feel all the more empty. Having Lewis as an honorary brother was starting to make my heart fill up again.
Chapter Three
Lewis woke me up at the crack of dawn and told me to get ready as we had a long day of driving ahead
