Away

Marylou raced down to the pier, unsure of what had just happened. There was good natured chaos all around. People were shouting "What a bust-up!" and "Angela!" She felt a rising sense of exaltation. What was it about George Conley? His poetry unsettled her. It is so easy to weave a hook into a brain, she thought to herself. Is that what he had done to her? She spotted Medicine Dan, selling something from off his boat to a rag-tag crowd.
"Medicine Dan's Grass Spirits!" he called out in a theatrical voice. "Cures what ails you. One hundred percent pure grasoline, for vehicle and body. Rub it on your head, get a full head of hair. Soak your feet, no more bunions! Runs most combustion engines, good to drink too! It's Medicine Dan's Grass Spirits, come and get it!"
Marylou sidled on up to Medicine Dan and saw that he had a crate of bottles, of various colors and sizes. She looked at the label; what a beautiful picture! Marylou felt that this trip to Pouteau had really opened her up to a whole new world of personal expression. She helped Medicine Dan take Mexi-dollars and some trade for his bottles of spirit. After the crowd dispersed, there still remained two men, one holding a dog. They approached Marylou and Medicine Dan casually.
"We're all out for now, boys," Dan said.
"I'm Alberto and this here is Herald. And Sally, our dog." They stood carefully in the sunlight, waiting for the next move.
"May I pet her?" Marylou asked. "I've never touched a real dog before." Sally allowed herself to be petted, closing her brown eyes. "I've got a cat." She didn't mention that he was a talking cat. That was her secret. The men watched Marylou with the dog, eyeing her golden circlet. Her dark curls sprang wildly all around her head, the effect being quite angelic.
"Yeah, she's about due, 'bout to have pups."
"That right?" Medicine Dan was suddenly all ears, and he hustled on over to the dog and felt of her belly. "Where you boys staying?" Dan asked.
"No place yet." They appraised Dan's boat in sidelong glances. Just then, George Conley approached in a hurry.
"Boat for hire?" he called out, hopping on aboard. Behind him in the distance could be seen Leroy, swinging his pantyhose brick around his head like lasso.
"Dern blast you, Conley! I told your Daddy! Get back here!" Leroy spat and swaggered drunkenly toward the boat. He wasn't taking much care aiming his homemade weapon. The others looked at each other and clambered onto the boat.
"All aboard, East Side Express." Medicine Dan called out, and with that he started up the engine and they motored slowly away from the pier just in time. The two men settled into the back of the boat with Sally resting comfortably on an old brown blanket. George Conley sat and calmly began cleaning his fingernails with a knife. "Have a seat, little lady," he said to Marylou. She'd been standing dumbfounded by this recent turn of events.
"I left my boat back there!" she said, looking back at the rapidly diminishing shoreline. She sat down and felt in her pockets. "At least I still have my map." She took it out and smoothed it over her lap.
"What was all that back there, George Conley?" asked Medicine Dan.
"Well, I'm a Baptist so I couldn't say, " George averted. His teeth seemed to glisten even in the shade of his railroad hat. He winked at Marylou, who looked back down at her map. She straightened her back and pursed her lips, trying to seem both uninterested and engaging.
"My boot, you are." Medicine Dan grunted. The river pulled at the boat, wishing to carry it far into the future. Dan held fast to wheel, making slight adjustments to the anti-time device. The weather was turning nasty. Wind blew hard down the Vertigo, that was a fact. Getting across was no cakewalk, but Medicine Dan held strong. Heavy grey clouds unrolled from the southwest and the boat tossed its occupants into each other. They gripped the sides of the boat. Sally moaned.
"What's that map you got there, little lady?" George asked, looking over Marylou's shoulder.
She glared at him and said, "My name is Marylou." Herald and Alberto followed this exchange with great interest. "This is a map of the Vertigo River, passed down the von Fixin de Hoolie clan since before the flood. See here's where we are," the others leaned in to look, " and here's the far side of the river, a place I've never been. And see this island here? How about we go there, Medicine Dan? It might be a good place for Sally to have her pups. See, it's just up the river about two weeks land time, maybe a few hours Vertigo time. Can we try to find it?"
After some passing around of the map, it was decided among the passengers that they would try to find the island. All settled in comfortably, passing around the last bottle of Medicine Dan' s Grass Spirits and enjoying the ride.