Page 23 of Hairpin Curves

She hoped to find herself on this road trip. But she was all tangled up in thinking of Scarlett, and not about herself and what she wanted. Maybe with Scarlett sleeping, she could sit on the beach and gather her own thoughts. But they had to get there first.

Chapter Six

By the time they arrived in Myrtle Beach that afternoon, after almost five hours of driving from Tybee Island, Megan was starving and really sick of being in the car. The mediocre McDonalds breakfast sandwich was a long time ago. Scarlett had slept for the whole drive, or at least faked it, and Megan had listened to the same CD three times before switching to the radio and trying to find some likable local station. Eventually, she found a channel playing Led Zeppelin, and it was nearly enough to distract her from her stomach as she drove into downtown Myrtle Beach.

“Hey.” Megan slapped Scarlett’s arm. “Wake up.”

Scarlett jumped and made an undignified noise. “What the hell?” She rubbed her eyes. “Why’d you hit me?”

“We’re here. I want to eat.” Megan leaned forward to peer more closely at the buildings as they drove by. “Everything looks closed.”

Scarlett’s voice came out all mumbly. “Somebody’s got to be open. A diner or something.”

A diner. Megan had spent the last ten years of her life in a diner, and apparently she wasn’t going to escape. “Can you find one?”

“Just drive around until you see something,” Scarlett mumbled, tucking herself back into her ball.

Irritation flared up in Megan. “I haven’t eaten and I want some lunch.”

Scarlett sat back up and blinked owlishly over at her. “My god. You’re serious, aren’t you?” Grumbling, she straightened herself out and pulled the snack bag out of the back. “Here.” She handed her a granola bar. “Eat this. I’ll find us some place for lunch.”

Megan grimaced at the granola bar, but Scarlett was probably right that she should eat something rather than nothing, and she took it.

“This is your second new state.” Scarlett stifled a yawn. “I have to pee.”

“We can pee when we get to lunch.” Megan had to go, too, but she was determined to get the prospect of food figured out first.

Scarlett directed them to a local restaurant a few blocks over, and Megan pulled in right up front. That was one nice thing about being in a beach town on the off-season: easy parking.

They got a booth near the door, and after using the bathroom, returned to their table to stare at each other across the expanse of table between them. Megan looked around her at the familiar decor.

“Whatcha thinking?” Scarlett asked.

Megan grimaced. “It looks like the Starlite.”

“All diners kind of look alike.” Scarlett’s tone was apologetic, surprisingly. “Too many bad memories?”

“They’re not bad memories. Just memories.” Megan looked into her glass of ice water like it might give her the answers. “I grew up there. And now it’s going to be a Winn-Dixie expansion. I dunno.” She shrugged one shoulder. “I guess things change.”

“Things are supposed to change.” Scarlett’s tone was blunt, like she often tended to be. “You can’t hold them back.”

“I know.”

Megan was saved from having to say more by the waitress’s arrival. She looked like every waitress at a local diner in the off-season: bored, friendly because of obligation, distant but professional. “Can I help y’all?”

Scarlett ordered, and then it was Megan’s turn. Despite having the menu and having made up her mind a while ago, Megan suddenly had a thought flash to mind. “I’ll have...the turkey club, and some fried green tomatoes as an appetizer.”

The waitress left. “I’ve never had those,” Megan announced, because she felt like she should. “Fried green tomatoes, I mean.”

“Okay?” Scarlett was looking at her like she was being weird again. “Why do I need to know this?”

“You don’t. I thought, though, that I should try something new.” Megan found herself saying more though she wasn’t planning on it. “I feel like I should try something new as often as I can on this trip.”

Scarlett stifled another yawn. “You do you, I guess.”

She may not care, but Megan did. Making this assertion out loud felt like an important first step. Maybe this was how she learned to do more with her life. Maybe she could step beyond her comfort zone in more ways than just this road trip.

Scarlett didn’t need to approve. She didn’t need Scarlett’s admiration or approval; she just needed to keep moving forward on her own. Fuck approval.