The Bear’s Mail Order Menage

She began learning English from a rare, kind nun who watched over her for a time when she was first in the orphanage, before her caregivers had become sickeningly uninterested in her well-being. She found that she had a knack for languages, the same way some people just saw the way pieces of a puzzle were supposed to fit together.

She had learned her craft well but it couldn’t strip her of her thick Russian accent or exotic looks. Clearly, the man she was attempting to elicit help from was not accustomed to dealing with the likes of her. She didn’t really blame him, but she had just been on a ten hour flight and then, after spending a rocky day and a half in New York City, a thirty-five hour bus ride.

At the end of that much travel she had expected to find herself at her destination, but apparently that was not yet the case. Add to that, the fact that this man who was supposed to be some kind of authority was looking at her like she had spontaneously sprung a third eye, and she was beginning to get frustrated. She had no idea what she would find waiting for her when she reached Charlotte, but at least she would know that was where she was supposed to be. That would have to be enough.

“Well ma’am, I can’t say I’m not surprised by that question.”

“Really? Can you tell me how come?”

“Because, that isn’t a place we see a whole lot of people asking to go to. People just don’t go that way, if you catch my drift.”

She most definitely did not catch his drift, but she wasn’t eager to tell him so. She already felt at a huge disadvantage as it was. The last thing she wanted to do was make herself seem more out of place than she already was. She couldn’t pretend that she had the smallest idea of what he was getting at, however, and so she opted to just watch him in silence until he decided to give her more information.

“Well,  the people who live out there like to keep themselves to themselves, you know ? They don’t exactly have a whole hell of a lot of tourism out that way. The people out there are odd. They just aren’t the kind of people we mix with. Not usually.”

Despite her desire to get along well in this foreign country that was supposed to be hers from here on out, Alina was starting to get angry. Why wouldn’t this man just help her? She did not want or need his opinion on where she was choosing to spend her time. She just wanted to get there. Still, she bit her tongue. She would not let her temper get the best of her. She would not lash out and make a spectacle of herself. Apparently she didn’t have to. The man could clearly see the strain on her pretty milky white face and he forced himself to stand a little taller, suck in the gut hanging over his belt.

“The bottom line is that we don’t have any buses going out there. We stopped running ‘em. You ain’t going to find a one.”

“Well then what am I supposed to do?”

“You’ve got two legs, don’t you? I reckon you could walk yourself on out there. Especially if that’s all the luggage you got with you. It’ll take you a little while and you’ll have to pay close attention or you’ll blow right past it, but you’ll get there. Only other option is taking a cab, but that’ll cost you a hundred bucks at least. You got that kind of money?”

He looked at her with hungry eyes, suddenly seeming much more menacing than he had only moments before. Did she have a hundred dollars? What a question. She would never tell this wretched man, but she had only thirteen dollars in her purse. Thirteen dollars and some change, if she was lucky. That wasn’t going to get her much of anywhere.

She felt trapped, like a caged animal just now becoming aware of her prison. He must have seen the wheels turning in her head because he moved himself one step closer to her, then another, then another. He was so close to her now that she could smell the onions on his breath from whatever disgusting lunch he had recently consumed and it was all she could do to keep herself from gagging. She was pretty sure that wasn’t her best strategy here.

“You know what? You seem like kind of a sweetheart and you’re prettier than all hell. I’ve got half a mind to help you out with this. How about this: I’ll drive you to Charlotte myself, we can just hop in my truck and get you there in no time. All’s you’ve got to do is tell me what kind of money you’ve got and we’ll go from there. I’m sure we can work out a deal. I like to think of myself as a reasonable man. I bet you can see that in me, too. Smart, pretty little thing like you.”

Alina started backing up before she even offered the man a reply. She knew this kind of man. She had been harassed and terrorized by his type since she was a very small girl. If he was anything like what she thought, this man was not only repulsive but dangerous.

If she got into a car with him, forget about having to perform unsavory acts to get to where she needed to be. She might very well wind up one of those girls in a ditch she had thought so much about. She couldn’t have that. Not for making such a stupid mistake.

“Thank you, but no. You are very right; I have my two legs. I’m sure I can walk myself to where I need to go. I’m sorry for troubling you. Have a nice day.”

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going, you ungrateful bi*ch?”

But she was already out the door as he shouted his insults, hefting her one small duffle bag over a shoulder. If she had been unsure of her decision before, now she felt almost sick with relief over choosing to decline this man’s help. It seemed to her that if given the opportunity, most people presented their true colors to you without much prompting. Especially men, and especially when they were being denied something they dearly wanted. Lucky for her, this guy had an exceptionally bad poker face and he had looked in one particular direction multiple times while speaking to her about the direction of this strange little town Charlotte, Idaho. She knew where she needed to go and she moved that way as quickly as she possibly could. The last thing she wanted was to be followed.