Felice sat in her parked car, tapping the wheel impatiently and waiting for a message or a sign of life. Sunrise was still two hours away, and the cloudless sky was a dark, empty vault, the only light coming from a small number of haphazardly spaced street lights. Across the road her friend Mini's house was dark and still, no lights visible in the upper floor of the duplex, no signs of movement behind drawn curtains. Mini lived in a quiet neighborhood of low-rise buildings, duplexes and expensive family homes, arrayed neatly along a two-lane street. Many of the houses had small front yards, in most of which the national flag hung limp from slanted white flagpoles. Since loyalty to the Party was synonymous with loyalty to the country, many of the houses had a second flagpole hanging the President's Flag, its black and red squares a stark contrast to the brighter colors and shapes of the national flag. Mini's house had no flagpole, but someone had stuck two small plastic flags on the postbox. Across the road from the house, a short distance in front of Felice's windshield, the smiling face of a man in uniform beamed down at her from an official-looking plastic placard fastened to a telegraph pole, his name and service dates embossed above and below the picture in silver writing. She could not tell in the morning darkness whether it was a memorial or an honor plaque.
Felice was just about to pick up her phone to call her friend when the second floor door opened and Mini emerged, walking lightly down the stairs followed by her man. At the bottom she looked around, peering into the darkness until she saw the car, waved and crossed the street. Felice opened her door and stepped out of the car into the fierce heat, feeling its muggy embrace instantly on her skin. She waved back to Mini and came forward to meet her, embracing her as she stepped off the road onto the grassy verge by the car.
"Mini," she greeted her, speaking barely louder than a whisper. Mini's parents had named her after a female character in a famous children's book about a wizard's school but she hated the name, and insisted on being called by her diminutive, even at work. The nickname suited her, though – she was a short, bouncy, slightly rounded young woman with cheerful blue eyes and blonde hair falling in confused tumbles and waves around pale shoulders that almost shone in the dim street light. Felice was also short, and they could look each other in the eye as they gripped each other in greeting. "Thank you for coming. I was worried you had forgotten."
"Of course not, 'Lise," Mini replied in the same quiet voice. "This is going to be an adventure. And you're right, it's so hot!" She brushed her hand across her forehead, drawing away a sheen of sweat. "It'll be nice to get away if it's going to be this hot until the weekend."
"We should get into the car," Felice said, turning to greet Mini's man. "It's cool inside. Aaron," She called to the man quietly as he staggered up behind Mini. While Mini had dressed nicely for a road trip in summer dress and pumps, Aaron was wearing sandals, sloppy shorts and a plain light-colored t-shirt, his clothing lazy as always. He was a handsome, slender man with very white skin, messy short dark hair and a vague, unfocused expression. "You can put them in the trunk," she told him, gesturing to the three bags he was struggling with and dangling her keys, but he shook his head.
"Just in the back is fine," he replied. "Y'all can sit in the front and gossip, there'll be room in the back for our stuff." Felice did not know Aaron well, but he was always attentive to her friendship with Mini, comfortable letting them socialize together while he lazed around in the background. He pulled open the back door of the car and began slinging in bags, first two duffel bags and then a longer, slim black bag that he fed in between the front and back seats, resting it on the icebox. "I'll jump in before the heat gets in," he said and hustled around the car, brow already slick with sweat.
Felice turned back to Mini. "Do you need to hide anything?" She asked, voice dropping lower and conspiratorial. "I have a small space behind the wheel in the trunk."
Mini waved her hand dismissively. "No 'Lise, it's fine. I have an injectable, I get it from my mom when I go back to Maryland. No need to hide anything. Do you have anything in there?"
"Not really," Felice replied adding in a slightly crestfallen tone, "Jared refused to come. Did you bring everything else you need? I booked three nights."
Mini nodded. "We're good. Let's get in the car, it's stinking out here."