Travels and a Tea Party

Adam never meets a stranger and is embarking on his first trip away from home alone.

Strange people always seemed to flock to Adam. This was true even when he was a small child. However, this was not an issue for Adam as he very seldom encountered a stranger. "Stranger danger" was a concept very much lost on Adam much to his mother's chagrin. Always quick to wander, he kept his mother busy with his vanishing acts. His father joked that Adam would grow up to be a magician since he was so skilled in the art of disappearance.

"Hardy har har!" Adam's mother would respond.

She was quick to remind her husband about the time that when he was 3 years old Adam decided he wanted to go to the toy store; a request she promptly denied. In response to this, Adam hopped on his tricycle and hit road in search of the toy store. While his little sister occupied his mother's attention, Adam managed to make it nearly a quarter of a mile from his home before a woman who told him to call her "Sir" picked him up and brought him home. She was a friend of a neighbor's and spotted Adam leaving his home; waiting to intervene until it became apparent he was heading toward the main highway.

"Hon, that shows he's got a sense of adventure! Besides, nothing happened to him"

"His sense of adventure is making me crazy!"

Adam's mother preferred him to stay near the house, inside was best in her opinion. She was frightened of what might happen to him, and often told him stories of monsters that ate little boys who wandered and evil men who prowled the streets looking for children to lure into their cars with promises of puppies and candy.

"Then you'd be on the back of a milk carton like all those other children who didn't listen to their mothers!"

Adam considered his response with some care. He had never seen a monster on his previous outings, he had a dog already, and if he was interested in candy, anyone offering could bring it to him without him getting close enough to be pulled into the vehicle.

"Mom, there are no such things as monster, and I don't go to strangers' cars" Adam said.

"What if they snatch you up?"

He considered again.

"I'll kick and scream and bite them," Adam was certain.

The scenarios would go on until Adam's mother had to go do something else or ran out of ideas. He was always thinking and saying whatever was in his head, so assured of himself; it was her least favorite of his traits. His sister was much more accommodating, and just a small sampling of tales featuring monsters and bad men was enough to break her of any habit Adam tried to pass on to her.

Adam liked being the type of person who talked to people, set out to accomplish a goal even at 3 years old. He retained this quality into adulthood despite his mother's best efforts.

One day just two weeks after graduating from high school Adam decided he would use saved money he had earned from mowing lawns every summer, and take the bus to visit Atlanta three hours away. His first big trip away from home. No amount of fear mongering from his mother deterred him. He reflected on her certainty that he would meet a grisly end in a city like Atlanta as he took in the sights from the bus. To his left, a waif of a woman with cat like features sat, also looking out the window, which gave Adam the sensation someone was looking at the back of his head. He turned to say hello to her and learned her name was Tiffany. She originally grew up in a small town in Alabama, but moved to Memphis with her "deadbeat" husband. She informed him with pride that she was recently discharged from the hospital. Now she was on her way home.

As she paused for a breath, Adam took his turn, "Hi, I'm Adam," his gleaming white smiled accented with dimples.

"Pleasure," Tiffany purred. Her voice was raspy and vibrated in her throat.

She seemed nice enough. They chatted with cheer for a while, which offered to break up some of the monotony that settled in to the trip. Tiffany kept referencing her treatment without offering any further details. Her stop was coming up and Adam wondered what was wrong with her.

"So, what was wrong with you?" he asked.

"Oh, overdose on pain pills," She said matter of fact. "It was delicious!" she declared, rubbing her palms together. A wide smile erupted on her face; she looked half-delirious with pleasure, "I can't wait to do it again."

Adam paused in dumbfounded countenance as the bus came to a stop

.

"This is my stop. See ya!" Tiffany said with a toothy grin, standing and reaching up for her bag before departing into a small gaggle of people gathering toward the front of the bus.

"Huh" Adam said to himself, stunned.

From the street, something bright caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. It was a man dressed in cutoff jeans far too short for him, high heels, and bright purple, midriff baring tube top. A purple feather boa wrapped around his neck and he clutched a black purse while he paced around talking on his cell phone. Frenzied and awkward gestures accompanied a brightly painted animated face possessing a compelling combination of features. When the man flashed a bright smile and waved to him, Adam fumbled and looked away in panic. His face burned with the embarrassment of being caught staring.

A new neighbor settled in next to Adam. He couldn't be older than 25 Adam reasoned. His new neighbor had a long, clean-shaven face, clear eyes, and a smiling mouth

.

"Hi, I'm Adam," he said offering his hand.

The man reached over and gripped Adam's hand with a tightness before releasing.

"What's up man? I'm Chuck."

The two of them passed the time with shallow conversation. Each one explaining their purpose for a trip to Atlanta. Adam detected an accent in Chuck's voice. The more he spoke the more it stood out. Adam couldn't quite place it; although, he knew it meant one thing: Chuck was a Yankee, which was a term Adam's grandparents ascribed to anyone whose accent or dialect wasn't some type of Southern.

Chuck talked about visiting a buddy from college in Alabama, and said he was on his way to Atlanta to visit another before heading back home to Boston. Adam nodded with enthusiasm as understanding washed over him. As their conversation carried on, Chuck revealed a personality that bordered on boastful and arrogant. He was dripping with a confidence Adam found empty and forced. Chuck steered the talk toward his exemplary skills of a having a good time.

"Yeah, man we go wild with our parties in Boston. It's insane dude!"

"I don't doubt it man, I heard about that tea party you guys had," Adam replied.

Chuck's face drained of expression and, adopted a blankness. He paused for several moments before suddenly guffawing,

"Oh, right! That's funny dude!"

The rest of the ride to Atlanta was pleasant enough. Adam was relieved when they finally arrived. He was looking forward to checking into his hotel room and taking a shower before finding something to eat. As the bus lurched to a stop in downtown Atlanta, people came alive and started murmuring and shuffling their belongings. Chuck rose and stepped back allowing Adam to move into the aisle; Adam gather his backpack from the storage compartment over the seats.

"It was nice talking with you," he said to Chuck

'Likewise man."

Adam moved forward transfixed by all the activity. He never noticed Chuck lift the wallet full of cash from his back pocket, and place it into his own bag. Adam stepped off the bus onto the bustling sidewalk and took in the view around him, still unaware of his missing wallet. He smiled to himself. He was certain he was in for an interesting trip.