Honeymoon for Three

Penny were leaving on their trip tomorrow, even though tomorrow was Friday.
    Alfred had spent all afternoon sitting in his car in the crowded IBM parking lot. Other cars had come and gone constantly, driven by well-groomed young men in blue suits and rep ties and young women in blue skirts and jackets. This must be some sort of sales office.
    With his beard, hair that hadn’t been cut for too long, khakis, and old sweatshirt, he felt as out of place here as a mongrel at a dog show. He kept himself scrunched down in the front seat, hoping nobody would notice him. Even though he had seen a couple of other Volkswagens, if Gary’s car had pulled into the lot, he would have spotted it instantly, because he had recorded the license plate information the first time he had seen Penny get into the car at her apartment.
    He opened his glove compartment and pulled out a picture of Penny. He had cut it out of their high school yearbook and pasted it on a piece of cardboard. She was wearing a cheerleader uniform consisting of a sweater and skirt, with a large F on the front of the sweater. One of her hands was raised high in the air, and she was smiling at him.
    As he gazed at the black-and-white picture, Alfred saw it in color. Penny’s skirt was light blue, and her sweater was yellow. The F on the sweater was the same blue as the skirt. The green grass of the football field filled the background. Penny’s cheeks were pink, and her smile enticed Alfred and told him she belonged to him. His hand went under his shirt and played with his bellybutton. This went on for several minutes until reality interfered, in the form of bodily needs.
    He desperately had to pee, and he was thirsty and starving. Leaving his car in the lot, now almost empty, he walked across the street to a restaurant. It wasn’t busy, so he was able to get a booth all to himself after he went to the restroom. He ordered a hamburger and iced tea and contemplated his next move. How many apartment buildings were there in Monterey Park—one hundred? Two hundred? Or more? How could he narrow it down?
    What had Penny told her roommate about Gary’s apartment at their Sunday morning breakfasts, other than the location? Think, Alfred. He sipped his tea and tried to think. The rays of the late August sun had heated the interior of his car, making him sleepy, and numbing his brain. He had been sitting in a solar oven.
    He concentrated on the Sunday morning restaurant setting and conjured up Penny’s voice. Hadn’t she said one time that Gary lived in a new building? Alfred had brought a map of the East Los Angeles area into the restaurant. He laid it flat on the table of his booth and focused on Monterey Park. How many streets would he have to cover looking for a new apartment building?
    ***
    Alfred drove south on Atlantic Avenue, feeling the agony of defeat. He couldn’t remember how many new-looking apartment buildings he had stopped at, how many parking lots he had walked through, how many streets in front of apartments he had paced, looking for either Penny’s car or Gary’s car. A few buildings had underground parking with locked gates in front of them. There was nothing he could do about them. However, he seriously doubted that Penny’s car would be parked underground since she was a visitor.
    What else could he do? Hope was gone. Story of his life. He would return to Lomita and beg Keith for his job back. Keith would give it to him because he was a good worker. Maybe he could even get something going with Stephanie. Maybe Stephanie was just shy and that was the reason she didn’t talk to him. If he couldn’t win her with his looks, he would impress her with his personality.
    He passed a building on his right that he hadn’t noticed before. It was on a hill above street level. It looked new, and it looked like an apartment building. Alfred swung a U-turn on the almost-deserted avenue and drove back to the intersection he had just gone through. The entrance to the building—or perhaps several buildings—was on the side street.
    Alfred parked on the street and walked up the driveway into the complex. The gray stucco buildings had apartments on several levels, reached by outside stairways. He walked through the big parking area, dimly lit by a few spotlights. Most of the cars were parked under several long roofs. After ten minutes he spotted Gary’s car. He became excited. Then he calmed down. It was a small victory, but now he had to find Penny’s