Love Condemned: Beginnings Page 2

  “What about you?” Adrian asked. “Have you been to many countries? And where are you from? I cannot place your accent.”

  Miranda couldn't suppress a grin when he said he had been to "Ireland, and even England". The average Englishman would feel utterly humiliated at that, since it had always been "England, and even Ireland" for them. The Irishman popped up in a lot of jokes and pranks as 'the fool'. And besides that, she thought Stonehenge was grossly overrated.

  To her own surprise, she found herself smiling at Adrian. "I'm English," she explained. "I live in Brighton. I never really got to develop a real English accent because my mom is Japanese. I had to lay off the accent for her to be able to understand what I was saying." Miranda glanced out of the window again while her fingers played with one of her colorful necklaces.

  "I've ... been to Scotland a couple of times. I have family there. And Ireland and Wales, too. For the rest, I went to Germany once, to Berlin, but I don't really have an interest in going there again. I hate the language. It seems like they shout everything, and are constantly swearing or something. And uhm, I thought your accent was American. Am I right?"

  It was getting darker outside, both due to the storm and the fact that it was four o'clock local time when they left. Apparently, the travel agency figured that a journey with a full night's sleep would be less exhausting than travelling one full day in a bus. The only thing Miranda could think of was that it was better to travel at night without the sun to turn their vehicle into a greenhouse.

  Just then, she realized she hardly ever spoke this much let alone to someone she had met twenty minutes ago. Miranda glanced sideways, wondering what it was that he had, and others didn't.

  Adrian was not very surprised when Miranda said that she was from England, but he was surprised to learn that her mother was Japanese. That would explain her oriental features that made her so elegant. To his relief, she had a similar opinion to him about the German accents and the way they talked. The Dutch languages definitely had a throaty sound to them that did not appeal to his hearing.

  Her question did not catch him off-guard in the least. Everyone he had come across in his travels knew he was American. It must be the way he talks or something else.

  “Yes, I am American.” Adrian looked down a little, knowing that Americans do not have the best reputation in Europe. “I hope you do not hold that against me.”

  He looked back at Miranda, his green eyes glowing as he saw her playing with her necklace. There was something about this girl that was intriguing to him. More than just a physical attraction, but he could not put his finger on it. He let his gaze linger just a little longer and looked away before she could notice, he hoped.

  The sky was getting very dark and the storm was increasing in intensity. It looked like they were going to be riding all night through the storm. That was ok with Adrian, since he needed the rest. He reached back into his pack to pull out a small blanket that he had used many times, trying to prepare for the temperature to drop even more. He settled back into his chair, waiting for Miranda to respond to his statement, trying not to look too nervous.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  “Yes, I am American," said Adrian. “I hope you do not hold that against me.”

  Miranda looked up in surprise. "Why would I hold that against you?" she said, genuinely puzzled. "I have no reason to have a grudge against the United States, or you..."

  She watched how he pulled a blanket out of his pack, momentarily distracted by the variety of languages and people that sat behind them. She could hear French, German, something she thought could be Dutch, and Spanish. No English whatsoever, though. It seemed like it was just them two. Miranda watched Alice get off her seat once more, announcing they would make the first stop at seven, and that there was a toilet in the middle of the bus next to the stairs if anyone needed to go. Unconsciously, Miranda nodded.

  She took off the light blue flat shoes she was wearing and pulled her feet on the chair. She propped her knees up against her chest, with her arms around them. She wasn't really cold yet, she'd get her blanket out when she did. For some reason, she didn't really feel uncomfortable anymore, not even when she realized it must be a strange sight to see that she was wearing one purple sock with white stripes and one pink one. Miranda would have hunched her shoulders if Adrian wasn't sitting next to her. That was just the way she was. She liked colors.

  Chapter Four

  Adrian was relieved to hear her response that she had nothing against Americans. It had been a long road of travelling and at times he did not meet the nicest people. He quickly replied, “That is good.” Not sure what else to say, he took his seat as Alice made another announcement that he was not listening to.

  Miranda was now sitting with her knees to her chest. “Are you cold?” Adrian asked, offering Miranda the blanket. When she turned down the blanket, he felt stupid. Of course she is not going to take a blanket from a stranger. Adrian slumped back down in his seat and tried not to let his embarrassment show.

  He tried not to push the conversation too much and seem too eager to talk. If she did not want to talk to him, then it would make the next several hours very uncomfortable. It was not until he looked over to see her colorful socks did he relax a little.

  “What type of music do you listen to?” Adrian asked, hoping to keep the conversation going and get to know her a little better. He was secretly hoping that she wouldn’t say Country Music. It was sad and depressing and the accents just made his skin crawl.

  Miranda tried to figure out what was going through Adrian's mind when she politely refused his offer to use his blanket as well. Disappointment? Humiliation? She leaned her chin on her knees in thought. She hadn't exactly turned him down because she'd felt uncomfortable with sharing a blanket.. she was just too shy to accept it. And she wasn't cold yet, either.

  Behind them, it was starting to get a little quieter. When Miranda looked back, she saw an older woman sleeping with open mouth on the shoulder of her husband, whose eyelids seemed rather heavy as well. She smiled, finding the scene rather cute, and guessed they hadn't taken a five minute stroll to get to the bus, but rather a day's travel. The excited chattering had calmed to a quiet muttering, only the group of men in the back still joking around. French, she thought.

  Miranda's attention was drawn back to Adrian with his question.

  “What type of music do you listen to?” he asked. She wondered if he was actually interested in her and wanted to find out more about her or was just trying to make conversation to kill the time. The former being a highly unlikely possibility, according to Miranda.

  "I like folk and rock mostly, but I also listen to punk," she answered, her hand unconsciously shooting to the right pocket of her grey sweat pants, where her mp3 player was hidden. She was glad she had chosen the sweat pants to wear, they had been comfortable in the air plane, and they would be comfortable now. She wasn't tall and her legs were no longer than average for someone for her height, so she could easily fold them beneath her without bothering Adrian.

  Miranda was pleasantly surprised to hear he liked generally the same music, and had to agree on his vision about country music. It was something her father loved listening, but his CD's had been banned to his own car thanks to Miranda and her mother. Her mother thought they were completely barbaric and monstrous, and had threatened more than once to throw them in the container behind their house. Miranda grinned while she told Adrian this story. Home always made her feel good.

  A few hours passed, spent with small talk and an atmosphere that was surprisingly laid back, especially for Miranda's standards. The rain kept hammering against the windows, and an occasional bolt of lightning seemed to split the sky in two. When it was just past 7pm, they reached a gas station, and the bus parked near the shop. The bus driver announced that they could get some dinner and drinks in the shop, and that they would get moving again in twenty minutes. Miranda let her feet glide off the chair and find her shoes again before she fis
hed her bag from under the chair.

  "I'm ... going to stretch my legs and use the loo," she said to Adrian sideways, waiting uncertainly whether he would go out as well or if he planned to stay in the bus. After all, she could understand if he remained. The rain was pouring outside and he had been walking for, how long was it again? Four days.

  Adrian was pleasantly surprised at the way their conversation went. The way Miranda's face lit up when she talked about her father and the way that her mother banned his music. He had to laugh a little because he could feel it when she talked. Her grin made him feel at ease and he would listen to her talk until it was time to stop.

  Like clockwork, at 7pm they stopped to let people off of the bus for a while. The rain had not let up and it still poured. As Adrian thought about whether he would get up or not, he heard Miranda say, "I'm ... going to stretch my legs and use the loo." That was good enough reason for him to get up as well.

  "I think that I will go find something to eat." Adrian replied.

  They both got up to get ready to leave the bus and Miranda dropped something on the floor. Adrian bent quickly to pick it up for Miranda. He had not realized that she had every intention of doing the same. The result was both of them lost a little balance and brushed against each other. Adrian pulled back quickly, "I am sorry, I was just trying to help."

  Adrian turned and walked off the bus with no regard for the rain. As he made his way to the shop, soaked from the rain, he could not help but think of Miranda and what interesting things he would learn about her next. He was just glad that she had not asked too many questions about him. With the way his life had fallen apart before he left, he was not anxious to relive it just yet. How do you tell a total stranger that you barely fumbled your way through college, could not find a decent job, and your girlfriend, who you thought loved you, cheated on you with another man? Some things are better left not told to people you just meet.

  Adrian walked up and down the aisles of the shop and searched for something decent to eat. He never could understand why the French never had anything decent to eat at a shop like this. He definitely was not in the US anymore. He grabbed a couple bottles of soda, potato chips, and some chocolate before he headed back to the bus. This should hold him over for a while and if he was lucky, when he offered to share something else with Miranda, she would accept this time.

  Chapter Five

  Miranda was still grinning a little over the typical moment in the bus when she left the toilets with her bag over her shoulder. The silvery colored hair clip she used to keep her headband in place was of little to no importance, but for some reason both she and Adrian had hurried to pick it up as if it was made of gold. At the same time. Bumping into each other had of course been unavoidable. Miranda placed her bag on the sink next to the mirror, and retrieved a cheerful purple vest from it. She thought it best to use nothing more than this to keep warm before she would actually try and get some sleep. Gazing in the mirror, she adjusted her headband and wondered if she looked well enough to face Adrian again. Before she realized this thought crossed her mind, it had left again, and she shook it off.

  When the door of the restroom fell in its frame behind her, Miranda made her way to the shop where she had seen Adrian going in to. She didn't find him there, so she spent the rest of her twenty minutes trying to get the shopkeeper to understand which ice coffee she wanted. She returned to the bus as one of the last, Alice ushering her up the steps so they could leave again. Miranda shook the rain out of her hair before she looked at Adrian, who was already in his seat again. She smiled a little shyly at him before she wriggled herself past his knees to her own seat by the window. This caused her to make a mental note to let him have the window seat on the way back, if he'd still be sitting next to her then.

  While Miranda took off the lid of her ice cappuccino, she glanced at the food in Adrian's lap. It looked like anything but a decent dinner. She couldn't hold back a grin. After she took a sip from her coffee, she pointed at it.

  "Was your quest for a meal that unsuccessful?" she inquired for the obvious, with a slight smile on her face.

  Adrian watched Miranda walk up to the bus and time seemed to slow as she shook her hair. Beads of water dropped off of her as her hair swung back and forth. Miranda made her way onto the bus and Adrian was glad she had to wriggle herself past his legs. The thought of being close to her for just a minute was good enough for him.

  After Miranda had taken her seat, Adrian had fumbled with some of the makeshift dinner that he had bought. Not exactly gourmet. Then he heard Miranda ask, "Was your quest for a meal that unsuccessful?" That was the understatement of the year. Adrian just laughed a little and said, "It could have been worse. At least I can read the labels on this food."

  They both laughed a little because they knew that buying food in a foreign country could be dangerous if you cannot read the labels. With another crack of thunder, the bus doors closed which made the sound of the pouring rain a little more distant. It was time to settle in for another couple hours of the bus ride. Maybe he would get a little rest, but if he was lucky, he would learn more about his new friend Miranda.

  Alice stood up in front of the bus on the speaker and called out everyone's name to make sure we were all on the bus. Adrian did not pay too much attention to the names until she called out Miranda Carroll, then Adrian Hunter. Now that they knew each other’s last name, it was one less question he had to ask. Alice finished up her role call and told everyone to settle in for another 3 hours before they were to stop again. It was now dark outside, people will be asleep quickly.

  The bus pulled back out onto the road and off they went. Adrian listened to the rain mixed with the sound of Miranda with her ice coffee. He turned to her and watched as she pulled her legs up on the seat again. "You changed. It looks nice. That color looks nice on you.' Adrian complemented.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Miranda settled down with her back against the cool window, one of her legs beneath her and one with the knee propped up in the air. She listened to Alice's announcement while she studied the people in the bus, now having a better view. As she had expected, when Alice settled down again, more than half of the bus pulled out pillows in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Most of the bus would be sleeping before long.

  "You changed. It looks nice. That color looks nice on you," said Adrian suddenly. Miranda's head shot back to him, her dark eyes searching his green ones. Oddly, she couldn't detect any hint of sarcasm or irony. That was strange. The only person to compliment her on how she looked was her mom. Her one real friend was a guy, and like her father, he just didn't see things like that. Strangely, Adrian did. He was paying attention?

  "Thank you," Miranda almost blurted out. "It's ... really just a vest that I've put on, though," she added quietly. It wasn't like she had completely changed indeed, but for some reason, what he just said threw her off balance. She was glad when she felt her stomach complain, distracting her mind from going over that scene from just now again.

  She reached down to go through her bag, balancing herself so she wouldn't have to change position or fall off the chair. She pulled back her arm, sliding back into position. Without looking at Adrian, Miranda opened the lid on the plastic bowl she had brought with her. "I've been well informed by my father before I went on this trip," she explained while she took out the white plastic fork and ripped off the top of a transparent, plastic sachet holding a white salad dressing. "He warned me to buy some kind of dinner at the airport, something that I could take along. Apparently..." she took the fork and mixed the green salad, red onions and bits of tuna in the bowl "... the gas stations in France have no idea of the true meaning of the word 'food'. Everything they call food is equal to petrol or gas here."

  Miranda grinned as she thought about his name, Adrian Hunter. It was a name that suited him, somehow. "I doubt that I can eat this all," she continued after she averted her gaze again. "It's really a salad for two. If you like, I can save some for you."


  Her statement struck her after she said it. If it hadn't been for the man at her side, and the window behind her back, Miranda would have turned around and gasped in shock. Was this just a sudden rush of bravery, or could he really make her comfortable enough to say such things? It seemed almost impossible. Somewhere inside Miranda knew that there were probably a lot of people that would consider her regular behavior as childish. Perhaps they saw her as a frightened little girl. Maybe she exaggerated everything. Maybe she was a frightened little girl. But she'd been disappointed too many times to be able to trust that quickly again.

  However, with Adrian, trust came frighteningly easy to her.

  Chapter Six

  The lights went down in the bus and everyone seemed to be settling in for some sleep. Adrian heard a few people still talking, but they were in the back of the bus. It seemed that he and Miranda were alone in their own little world of these two seats. As she settled back into her seat, she pulled out a container and popped open the lid. He was shocked when Miranda had offered to share her salad with him.

  “Uhmm…..no, that is ok. I appreciate the offer.” Adrian felt a little shy and did not know how to exactly share a salad with someone he just met. He was very happy that she was comfortable enough with him to offer, but that could just be her personality. Maybe that is normal in England.

  To Adrian, Miranda seemed to be very confident and at ease with her surroundings. Her attitude had a calming effect on him and he began to relax also. He turned in his chair to face Miranda a little more directly and watched her start to eat her salad.

  “I do not mean to stare. I just would rather look at the face of the person I am talking to, especially now that it is dark.” Adrian laughed a little as he saw a smile cross Miranda’s face. Their eyes had caught each other for the first time directly. Adrian felt the curiosity behind her dark beautiful eyes. He felt drawn to her and was not able to look away.