Greater Easthaven Gasoline

[Hanna Chao]

Yasala’s hesitance was obvious to Hanna, and she found it more endearing than anything else. A child’s forthright behavior became tempered with age, until you got too old to care anymore. Hanna was well past that point now, and prone to speak truth. Though, two millennia on this earth sometimes made a mockery of truth.

Mindful of this tenuous moment, Hanna bent to gently squeeze Yasala’s hand. She gave it a pump, looking the child in the eye as she did. There was depth in Hanna’s gaze. Unfathomable age boiled down to a blink of the eye. Hanna slackened her grip and rose to her full height as the handshake ended.

Soon, they headed back to the truck, Hanna lingering at the periphery of the father-daughter duo. At the question, she raised her voice. “For me. Your father rescued me from the side of the road. You see, my car broke down and I was stranded.” Hanna explained, saying more in this moment than she had previously. She spared Jon a glance, leaning into the story. “He was very kind and offered to take me into town so I may find my way home.”

[Jonathan Crowhurst]

Jon thought Hanna was laying it on thick, but at the same time, if it made him look good to his daughter, well... He wasn't going to be modest about it. A smile sparked on his face when Hanna looked up at him. Meanwhile, Yasala replied, “Oh, good...” Then, after chewing her lip a moment as they ambled up to the car, she asked with a tinge of hope, “Daddy, can we go to McDonald's when we're downtown?”

Trips downtown were outside of routine, and when things were outside of routine, all bets were off. Jon huffed a laugh and opened the door for her on the passengerside. “Yeah, alright,” he said, ever a pushover. He shut the door behind Yasala and then opened the forward door for Hanna. “Your chariot,” he joked, with a short bow.

[Hanna Chao]

Hanna assumed silence after Yasala agreed with her story, and then turned to her father, concerned that he would deny her request. This was a tender moment between father and daughter, and one she wouldn’t interrupt.

She stepped up into the cab, adjusting the fall of her jacket as she did, and settled into the passenger seat. His ‘chariot’ remark drew a grin, and Hanna bowed back, though it appeared little more than a nod. The door closed and the cabin sealed, it was just her and Yasala as Jon rounded the truck. Hanna turned to grace the girl with a small smile, her eyes fixed upon her.

“Yasala,” she said, and gave the word an Arabic inflection. “That is a beautiful name. Do you know its meaning?”

[Jonathan Crowhurst]

In the shadows of the back seat, Yasala tracked her father as he rounded the car, taking a moment to register that Hanna was addressing her. The girl's mind was still on her unanswered request for McDonald's. Just as Jon got in the car, she opened her mouth to reiterate the question when Hanna's question distracted her. Jon started the car.

“Thank you- Daddy says it means 'pest',” she announced with an impish grin. “Or 'grub', or 'butthead'.”

“That's not true!” Jon protested, as he adjusted the rear view mirror. He grinned at his daughter and then winked over at Hanna. “I said it means stinky grub.”

[Hanna Chao]

At first blush, she hadn’t recognized Yasala’s joke. That her father would call her a pest was inciting. Surely, he couldn’t mean such things? Yet as the girl continued, the other shoe fell so that when Jon chimed in, Hanna got with the program. She nodded severely. “Stinky grub?” She repeated with a quirked grin, turning to the back seat.

“How cruel.” Hanna scowled. “You should not allow this.”

[Jonathan Crowhurst]

While Yasala would not have said it quite this way, she at least innately understood that an injustice had been done. She grinned at Hanna’s proclamation, her little legs kicking and betraying her delight to have someone on her side.

“Yeah,” she agreed, before tilting her head and adding, “But if I’m a stinky grub, that means Daddy is a big stinky grub.”

“Hey now,” Jon said, offended and glaring at the girl in the mirror. She squeaked a laugh. “See if I get you a burger now.” he looked over at Hanna, and asked seriously, “You want a burger?”

If he was going, he thought it was worthwhile to at least offer. That said, he had a hard time seeing this woman standing under the hard fluorescents and garish colors of a McDonald’s, buying a subpar burger.

[Hanna Chao]

Jon extended an invitation. Tonight had been one of escalation. It started with him trying to fix her car by the side of the road, and she cajoled him into giving her a lift. They picked up Yasala along the way, and now she was riding in his truck with his daughter on the way to McDonalds. While surreal, Hanna saw where this led.

She didn’t reply immediately, still turned to watch the girl in the back seat. It had been so long, decades in fact, since she’d been around children, that she’d forgotten the simple joy of them. She wanted to agree; wanted to go to McDonalds, but hesitated. Hanna was in Easthaven to do a job, and burgers with a father and his daughter were not on the itinerary. But this distraction was something she was reluctant to cast aside so quickly, even if she knew it to be folly.

Slowly, a ghost of a smile turned up the corners of Hanna’s lips. She met Jon’s eye and nodded.

[Jonathan Crowhurst]

Jon didn't miss the pause and understood that Hanna was weighing her options. He was aware that the night was probably not turning out as she expected. He'd resisted her commandeering attitude at first, but given in by degrees, in direct correlation with how he warmed to the woman. Now, he found he didn't mind having her about. It helped immensely that she was speaking so charmingly with Yasala.

Just before he withdrew the offer, and tried to give her a polite out--he still didn't imagine McDonald's was worthy of her palate, indulging in the idea that rich folks preferred champagne and caviar for breakfast, lunch, and dinner--he caught her eye. Again, the man nodded, pleased.

“You'll have to set a limit on the number of questions the kid can ask you,” he warned with good humor. “Or you'll be spilling your guts over fries. She's persistent.”

[Hanna Chao]

Hanna almost grinned at a private joke; it wouldn’t be the first time her guts were spilled. The fries were new, however. She nodded to him, understanding all too well, then turned to Yasala in the back seat. “Three,” she proclaimed, some of her imperiousness returning, yet her eyes shone. She held up three fingers on her right hand as so there could be no misunderstanding.

It was cool inside the McDonalds, temperature and décor. The floor was dark tile, and the counters were white. Everything gleamed, reflecting the cold blue light from above. Little could be said of a crowd; a few sat at tables, but most were content to order and leave. Hanna lingered beside the others, paying close attention to the mood, and the order of things.

Studying the menu above her, her eyes glazed over with the bewildering list of options. Big Macs, Quarter Pounders, Double Quarter Pounders, McChickens. In truth, the last time she had McDonalds, a burger cost 15 cents. Cheese was extra.

She deferred to Jon, letting him lead the way with Yasala.