They moved as a group toward the front steps leading up to a wide gallery spotted with rocking chairs and small magazine tables under a pale orange light. The driver led the way inside, and they all flowed in behind him. A spindly man with a blue blazer and a white shirt open at the neck, carrying an arm full of menus greeted them and waved a general hand toward the dining room.

For a pit stop this was more in line with what should have been a dinner break.

Muriel was in charge of the pull-along this time and she was quite careful to keep it between her and her mother as Kate joined them in the entry.

"A little ostentatious, no?" Belinda whispered aside to her daughter.

"Beats vending machines and soap-less washrooms." Kate offered, picking up the remark and bringing a flush to Belinda's powdered features. "You should leave that on the bus, he locks it you know. It would make your enjoyment of walking a little more pleasant." Muriel just smiled weakly and Belinda offered an even weaker thanks-but-no-thanks.

The room was empty except for the bus group and the driver announced that they would be taking a full hour for this stop because he had to make a report to his company.

"Guess he has to tell 'em the bus made it this far." Mickey joked.

"We should be thankful it did." Benjamin said and moved off to find a table and make himself comfortable.

Kate and Virginia agreed on a small table by a curtained window, effectively cutting Mickey out of the picture and he frowned, sauntering off to his own table near the door. The mother and daughter selected a place in the centre of the room and immediately cleaned the glasses and the flatware on the napkins.

Kate placed a napkin on her lap, took a sip of water and introduced herself, offering a hand.

"Kate Semple."

"Virginia Stahl. This is rather nice isn't it?"

"Better than most we've stopped at - anything to get off that bus."

"Travelling home?" Virginia asked, appraising Kate's appearance.

Kate laughed softly. "Maybe. Depends. What about you?"

The question prompted a gush of explanation that consumed most of their mealtime and by the end Kate not only learned Virginia's biography but sadly wished she hadn't.

"I guess I went on a bit." Virginia picked up her wine and just swirled it in the glass without drinking.

"It was certainly more than I expected. I'll try and ask for the Reader's Digest version next time." Her laugh took the bite out the comment and Virginia's eyes flared only briefly, like a faulty firework.

"I tend to narrate extensively about my work."

"It certainly sounds interesting... hectic, but interesting, particularly compared to mine." The conversation continued briefly with a thoroughly edited version of Kate's work.

******

"I just used the old, 'report to company' line." Art, the bus driver chuckled as he fondled the plump breast of the hotel family's young daughter.

"Don't they ever question you?" She mewed, leaning into the caress.

"Nah, why would they?"

"'Cause you take the whole hour." She giggled.

"Ah yeah, but that's 'cause you put on all these clothes when you know I'm comin'." He dropped his hand to her waist and expertly slipped open the button on her shorts, lowered the zipper and then eased them down, pausing on the way to check his goal.

"Art you are a bad man." Another giggle.

"Admitted. How about you bein' a bad girl, Junie?"

She gave him a slow-eyed look and duplicated his previous move. They stood together, each holding what they both wanted and panting in one another's face.

******

"He's an odd one don't you think?" Virginia observed.

"Seems very nervous... and protective of that old briefcase." Kate answered.

"Probably has his life's possessions inside." Virginia said.

Edwin ate rapidly and hurried back to the bus alone. Kate thought about the man and what could be making him so reclusive and wary all the time. She wondered if he was an illegal and was just frightened at the possibility of getting found out.

The other two Mexican men were also very quiet and remote. If anyone was illegal she guessed it might be them. Not her concern really just her exposure to so many mystery stories kicking in; she had a world of problems of her own. She looked across the room at the mother and daughter quietly eating their dinner; they didn't seem to have much going on either. Suddenly the daughter sat back and laughed and Kate revised her observation.

"Mom and daughter seem to be enjoying the stop." Virginia said.

"I didn't think so a moment ago, guess I was wrong." Kate commented.

"They certainly are afraid to leave their luggage alone."

"Maybe they have their life's possessions inside." Kate said with a grin.

"Touché."

"Anyway, things must be okay because they're still laughing."

"Strange, because I overheard them talking about seeing a doctor in Salt Lake."

"I suppose there could be positive spins to that bit of information. Doesn't have to be ominous." Kate said.

"You are a very strange woman, Kate."

"I am?"

"Yes. Life isn't the wonderful story you read in your books. It can be a dirty, tough game played by dirty, tough people."

"That's too cynical for me." She reflected on her fiancé and his rotten behaviour and wondered if she was kidding herself.

"Cynical or not, soft people don't survive in today's business."

"Guess I'm glad to be out of it then... at least for now."

"How old are you, Kate?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I ask because you have all the right features for modelling, and before you object, I know from where I speak. I was a model for six years before I changed careers."

"I don't think I would want any part of that world no matter what it paid."

"Well, like I said. Life isn't for softies."

She finally drank from her glass, draining it in one swig. The driver entered the room looking flushed and upset. He announced that the time was up and they had to get right back on the road. The group finished their drinks and gathered their things, thanking the spindly greeter, and trooped back to the bus.

Muriel was carrying the unfinished portion of her meal in an open carton hastily dug out of the kitchen, so Belinda was responsible for both purses and the luggage.

"Let me help you with that." Kate said, grasping the handle of the pull along. "I hate it when there isn't time to finish after being told how long we'd have."

Belinda let out a small squeak but surrendered the bag because she was struggling and was having trouble managing.

"I'll put it in your seat section for you." Kate walked to the bus door and hoisted the bag up the steps. She pushed the bag ahead and then lifted it up onto the rack over the seats. Belinda nearly fell into her from behind, keeping watch.

"Oh no! I want that down with me." Muriel was fluttering about nervously.

"Leave it, mother, it will be fine." Belinda rolled her eyes at Kate and thanked her for the assistance.

"No problem."

Kate made her way back to her seat, her curiosity over the bag burning a hole in her imagination. What was in that bag that was so important? She paused at her row before sitting down. The Mexican man behind her was sleeping but his briefcase was wedged between his body and the side of the bus. Here's another one, she thought. You'd think they had the crown jewels.

The recent occupational mindset was nudging its way into her thoughts and she sucked her teeth in annoyance, taking her seat and heaving a sigh. Art closed the doors, gunned the bus engine and it leaped back out onto the highway in a spray of gravel.

"Guess his report to the company must have not been well received." Benjamin said with a wry irony.

Kate looked back across the aisle and smiled agreement.