DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH
Keith Douglas


"Just how fast are we going?"

Savage gave a grunt, "I don't know. Take a look."

Jodie leaned between the bucket seats to peek at the speedometer. The measure read ninety from her angle. That meant they were doing eighty-five or so. It felt like more, but she admitted to herself that the speed was mainly in her mind. This trip had come together much too rapidly, and Rod didn't even seem to notice, let alone mind.

"Are we stopping for lunch?"

"No," he said, looking straight ahead. "No time."

She watched him, noticing his stare. Rod was always intense. Jodie tried to convince herself that he was more so now with the mission ahead, but that would have been a deception. No, she had hooked up with a warp-speed man. Rod Savage moved as fast as this car even when stationary. He was naturally nervous, forward driven. And despite Jodie's wish to slow down the nearing destination, she loved this young man with wild, long hair for his constant; changing rushes. There was little fear in the face, in the hands. Rod wasn't a brute of a man, physical or mental. He was bright and he could hold his own, yet his major asset was his energy - energy that never needed inlet. Life's speed drove Savage and all those around him hitched a ride. A high school girl friend for the last year and a half was no exception to the welcomed trap. Jodie was happy in the car at nearing ease beside this man bringing them both closer to the unknown.

"I'm sorry I didn't say hello to your folks, Joe."

He looked to her now. They had been driving nearly twenty minutes. This was his first flash backwards, brought on by the boredom of the road. She smiled and accepted the invitation to retreat from their nearing arrival.

"Don't sweat it." Jodie looked out the window. "I'm not going to. Never have. Never will."

"You're parents are good people, Joe."

"So I've been told."

"We'll be back at Thanksgiving. I'll say hello then."

Jodie laughed. "They'll be thrilled."

He broke from the road for a long look to her eyes. She had stopped looking after his drive and found refuge in the movement, the slight blur through the glass, the blend of color and form. She wanted out of the car, yet she was molded to it. Rod saw this and his heart came to her.

"Don't they like me?"

"Who?"

"Your parents."

They were eye to eye for the first time this morning. Daylight had been in their faces for hours, but only now did they radiate to each other.

She folded her arms and left the outside world.

"Mom and Dad like you. At least that's what they say. Does anyone like anyone? I mean really? We're all islands. How do islands bridge?"

"I'll show you tonight," he winked with sly smile.

"Why wait. There's a messy little rest stop up ahead."

Rod stared at her as she again looked through the closed window. Jodie was upper middle class. It was a tough time for her, leaving home. She'd been jumpy the last few days, irritable.

"What's with you Joe? It's me. Say it."

"I wish I hadn't run away."

"Run away?"

"When I was twelve."

Rod's voice was firm and controlled. "That's not what we're doing now, running. This is a natural break. Our parents are right behind us. The drive's not that far."

"I know. That's the problem. Far but not so far."

"You don't want to go to college?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I want. I just feel pushed; channeled... from kindergarten onward. Maybe I want to get off this road, see what's going by before I decide to tag along. I want to stop without stopping."

The seriousness of her frustration hung for a second.

Rod laughed light, then he laughed harder until she did likewise. "I love you Joe. Don't ever change."

Her arms unfolded and she gave first sign of smile.

"Don't slow down. With you, I can do this."

"I love today," Rod explained, half ignoring her as he motioned to the back and a cased guitar. "A band. A live band. I'll be a surgeon in ten years, but I'll be playing my tunes tonight."

"And, I'll be at the first table, stage-side."

"Hell no. You'll be right beside me."

"How are the other guys going to feel about that?"

"They're not going to feel anything," he winked again.

"You're bad," she smiled. "You're bad."

"Are you really going to be a doctor? With everything that's happening? You ought to go pre-law. We could fight the system together."

"A doctor is always of value."

She raised a finger, "Not if he's dead."

"Granted. But, I will never be dead."

Jodie smirked.

"No," he insisted. "I'm going to do it all. By the time I'm gone, I won't have missed anything. That's my plan. Live every second."

"Nice plan. About a hundred years too late."

Seriousness had now returned to her face. Rod was reminded of their previous conversations - conversations leading up to the past week. Jodie was politically minded, and a lot had happened lately, so much so that even Savage had taken notice.

"Joe. It's not that bad. This is the U.S.A."

"Not the one in the history books."

He hit the steering wheel.

"I don't want to talk about this!"

"Then, it does bother you."

"Of course it does." Savage hung his head. "Can't we concentrate on what's right ahead of us? Don't worry about tomorrow. There's not much we can do about it anyway."

"Rod, I wonder. Has man ever been free?"