Rueben

Description

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Benny is a small time crook who travels the United States within an old RV affectionately dubbed Susie Q. Having always possessed something of a restless spirit, the idea of settling down has never been an attractive one. He prefers the freedom of the open road and actively avoids having to answer to anyone.

He maintains contacts all over the states, mostly in the southwest and pacific northwest. The majority of these are people he's worked with in the past, old friends, other travelers and a few women he'd spent time with for short periods. It isn't unreasonable to say his past couldn't bite him in the ass one day.

Home

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Since November 8th, 2007, Rue's lived in an old relic of a motorhome, a teal travco he affectionately refers to as Susie Q. She could use a new coat of paint, her body carrying signs of rust around the skirts. The grill is speckled in the bodies of insects and more often than not a fine layer of dirt coats her. Inside, the overhead lights are long since broken, any attempts at flicking the switch would be met with unsatisfactory results, and instead, he's made due with old Christmas lights, a motley mess of colors tacked against the ceiling.

Upon entering, to the right there is a pair of seats, the passenger's seat and dashboard normally covered in map books, an old Polaroid camera always within reach. Photos are strewn just above the window, pinned up here and there with old hat-pins, mostly polaroids of scenic views in the wilderness and a couple of old friends.

There is an old looking foldout, upholstered in pale yellow and green plaid with a knitted blanket thrown haphazardly across it, mostly tan but for the southwestern designs bordering the edges in vibrant oranges and reds, the ends tied in purposeful fray. Across from the uncomfortable looking sofa is a small dinette, square in shape with a bench to the wall of the closet behind it that has a liftable cushion inside of which is his entire cassette collection, and what looks like a seat from an old school bus bolted to the floor on the other side with another blanket thrown on it, this time a striped fleece. An old black suitcase is wedged beneath. An old looking boombox covered in juvenile stickers that simply screamed 'I somehow made it out of the 90's alive' and whiteout designs sits on top of it, including a FOX racing sticker on the front, worn on the edges and the letters RF on the front of the cassette player.

Its mostly clean inside his living space though admittedly a little cluttered, books stashed here and there on the edges of seats, on the table and on the dashboard. Most of the windows are covered loosely by somewhat gauzy looking white curtains that have yellowed with time, especially nearer to where the kitchen was carved out of the wall.

The kitchen area, while cramped, is well utilized, a coffee maker and an ancient looking toaster secured to butcher board countertops with small blocks of wood. The sink is just one large basin with an extendable tap. The countertop houses a dorm sized, dark red Craftsman fridge. A small oven and stovetop show very little wear despite being an older model. At eye level are sturdy looking cupboards, filled with a variety of dishes with no common theme amongst them, like most of them had been plucked from different sets, and spices as well as dried goods.

Past the kitchen is a narrow hall. Beneath the covering of a long garrishly colored shag rug is a metal trap door custom cut into the floor between the water tanks on the RV's undercarriage. On one side of the hall is a closet packed with an assortment of signs advertising 'Psychic' services along with a varied amount of clothing that doesn't seem to have any running theme. From sharp, expensive looking suits to an exterminator's uniform and beyond. On the other side is a bathroom not much larger than the closet with corrugated metal lining the walls and a drain in the center of the floor. An old looking basin juts from the corner, a showerhead hanging off a hook pinned just above and a camper toilet against the other side. A large wire basket is mounted to the wall beside a mirror, holding an impressive array of hair products along with combs, razors and a travel toothbrush among other toiletries. Bleach stained towels hang from a bar closer to the rolling door.

Beyond a tattered looking rainbow colored beaded curtain is his bed, nearly encompassing the entire __ x __ space. The mattress itself is supported on a wood frame which can be pulled forward and folded back to reveal more storage beneath the mattress for more of his belongings. His bedspread is mismatched, often in disarray with gray jersey knit sheets and a gray and red plaid comforter. An old navy sleeping bag is usually tucked messily into the narrow alcove between the foot of the bed and the wall, there for when the heater just weren't cutting it. A flattened, naked body pillow crammed against the wall, its white surface made discolored by age and the four pillows stacked at the head of the bed are mismatched in their coverings, one gray, one black, another holding a forest scene printed in rustic theme across its surface and one that seemed the match the blanket with crisscrossing red and white lines on the charcoal gray surface.

The contents of the shelves above the head of the bed are concealed by small rolling doors, the inside little more than disorganized chaos. Heavy books, old drawings, random junk, and often a couple bottles of assorted booze are housed here.

The windows that extended over the back end of the rv are covered by a stretch of thicker gray curtains printed with rather ridiculous pink flamingos in scattered disarray, frayed and ancient in appearance. They hardly let much light in around the large back window.