By Kat Harlander from Blood and Pudding

     Holly took me to a quiet place where we could think.  It looked like a nature preserve but there were people fishing in the ponds and rivers. It was a large area and we drove past everyone until she found her spot.  We took our journals to a secluded spot and made our way down to the water.           
     Holly stopped right in her tracks and pointed at something in the water. On a large rock in the middle of the river there were about thirty rubber ducks.  
     “We must have them!”  I said, jumping up and down clapping my hands.
     “ Okay, so let’s get in the water and we’ll start walking towards the rock,” Holly said to me as she took off her sandals.
     “No, keep those on.  It may be slippery or there might be sharp objects in there.”
     “Good idea.”  She put her sandals back on and stepped into the water.
     I followed and halfway through she slipped and I hit a deep patch.  We were both drenched and made our way to the edge of the river to sit on the grass.
     “Okay, so I have an idea. There are fishermen all over the place here and I’m sure one of them could help us get the rubber ducks.  I mean, they have big rubber boots and they’re probably used to the river.”
     “I say we find fishermen, then.”  
     We ran to the car and drove around for a while until we saw two motorcycles parked by a small pond.  Two men in fishing boots were casting lines into the water.  We stopped the car and ran towards them.

Artwork by Katelan Foisy

     “Excuse me! Can you help us?” I yelled as we ran.
     They turned around and made their way out of the pond.  “What’s wrong?” the bearded one asked.
     “There’s some rubber ducks in the middle of the river and they’re sitting perfectly on a rock but every time we get in the water we end up slipping and falling,” I complained.
     “So you need our help getting rubber ducks?” the one in the plaid shirt asked.
     “Precisely.”
     “Okay, let’s go.” The men hopped on their bikes and followed us back to the river.  We led them down the path and showed them where the ducks were.  The bearded man took my hand and led me into the water.  He guided my movements so I would only step on certain stones.  I was trying hard to hold my dress up out of the water but I did not succeed.  
     “You have nice legs,” He said to me as we got closer to the rock.  
     “Um, thanks,” I answered.  I started to get really nervous.  There didn’t seem to be anyone around and these men were twice our size.  We got to the rock and I sat down and loaded ducks into my skirt.
     “So what do you do?” Holly asked.
     “We actually just got out of jail, so right now we’re just relaxing until we can find jobs.”
     I shot Holly a Look.  “ That’s so cool,” she replied, smiling.
     The bearded one kept looking at my face, like he was trying to see deep into my soul or, at least, check if I was scared.
     “You have eyes like my daughter.” He smiled at me.
     “And what exactly were you in jail for?”  I asked.
     “ Nothing worth talking about.”
     “Holly, don’t we have to meet up with Jim and Sally in a little bit?  We should go so we can get there on time.”
     “Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that.”
     The guys took their sweet time getting us back to the grass. I tried to hold all the rubber ducks in my dress.  When we got back on dry land, the one in the plaid shirt asked Holly for our phone numbers.  She wrote down some random number and gave it to him.  
     “We should all get together once a week, go someplace secluded and have wet t-shirt contests.”
     “Sounds like a plan,” she said, and smiled again.
     “So are we going to get kisses?” the bearded one asked.
     “No.  We’re gay,” I said to him politely.
     “Show us then that you’re really into women.  Kiss each other.”
     “That is an insult to women everywhere,” I replied angrily. “  I will kiss no one for the pleasure of a man.”
     The bearded one pointed to me.  “She’s a feisty one.”
     “Let’s go!” I said to Holly.  She waved to them as we drove off, the rubber ducks still in my lap.

As soon as we were out of sight we start screaming.  “Virginia? I don’t want these ducks anymore.  I feel really dirty just holding them.  And why the fuck did you agree to meet up with them?”
“I just figured it was easier to agree and say we would than get raped and murdered on the spot.”
“Okay true.”
“Who the fuck are ‘Jim and Sally’?”  She asked me.
“I don’t know.  I made them up so we could get the fuck out of there.  What are we going to do with these ducks?”
“Hmmm.  Good question.”
“Oh I got it.  Let’s get some duct tape and tape them to the car.”
“I love it.”
Holly drove to the store and we bought the tape.  In the parking lot we taped the ducks to the car and I snapped a picture.  As we drove around the town, we stopped at random telephone poles to tape a duck to them or placed them gently on people’s porches or in their mailboxes.  By the end of the ride all the ducks had fallen off the car and we were both over the whole incident.  Holly later pointed out to me that the house in the picture was one where she used to by drugs at.  “That’s good to know.” I said to her sarcastically.