Sometimes the Good Guy Wins

The man in a suit called up, "Is Linda in there?"

"Who's askin?"

"I own this truck stop! My name is Reynolds, Hank Reynolds. She left a note inside saying she locked everything up and went to find a warm truck."

"She found one. Linda, wake up. The storm is over and I think your boss wants to talk to you."

Linda came out of the sleeper dressed and sat in the driver's seat. "Let me put my boots on and I'll come inside, Mr. Reynolds."

"Take your time. Are you Ok?"

"Yes, Nick and his wife were nice enough to let me stay warm in here."

"His wife?"

Donna came out of the sleeper dressed and looked over Linda at the owner. She waved. The owner asked, "Where was Mitchell when the power went out?"

"He took the night off. At least that's the message he left on my machine."

"Oh really? Well, come inside as soon as you can. In fact I'd like to see all three of you inside. Ok?"

I answered, "Sure, we'll pull on some boots and be in shortly."

Mr. Reynolds and his two muscles walked away. We pulled on boots and jackets and followed them inside.

The staff were mostly back at work, opening up and getting ready for a busy day. We sat with Mr. Reynolds in the café. A young waitress brought coffee. Mr. Reynolds said, "Have Willi make up a big breakfast for these three, and an English muffin for me." The young waitress said, "Yes Sir" and disappeared into the kitchen.

He asked Linda if she could remotely retrieve messages from her home machine. She nodded. He handed her his cell, after he put it on speaker. She dialed and put in her code. We heard, "Linda, not much happening around here. I'm going home. Hank never comes by late so it'll be Ok. Thanks." A mechanical voice said, "You have no new messages." She gave Mr. Reynolds back his phone.

Breakfast arrived. Mr. Reynolds said, "Before you go, fill up your rig. No charge. Did you buy that jacket here?"

Donna nodded and Reynolds said, "I'll give you back your money. It's the only way I can think of to thank you properly."

I said, "That's nice and all, but not necessary. We didn't do anything with a reward in mind. Opening the door to Linda was just the right thing to do."

"I'll be insulted if you won't accept my thanks."

"Then, thank you. We accept."

Hank turned and faced Linda. "As for you. As of last night you are the manager. I can finally get rid of my wife's lazy, no good brother! I can have someone I trust manage the night shift!"

"Does that mean more money?"

"Damn right! Night manager gets six hundred a week more than you've been getting. You get hiring and firing power on your shift as well. I already know you know how to do the job, you've been trying to cover for numb-nuts for two years. Congratulations."

He excused himself and left us. As we finished the huge breakfast Linda said, "This ought to be fun to watch."

We looked around and asked, "Why?"

"Cause numb-nuts just walked in."

The clock above the door read 7:52am. Night shift was officially over at 8:00am, Linda told us. He spotted the three of us having breakfast and walked over.

"Linda, your shift isn't over yet."

"It's OK. All my work for this shift is done. Can't I have a little breakfast with friends?"

"Is everything around here Ok?"

"Everything around here is better than it's been in two years!"

"I want to see the logs for last night. Go get them and bring them to my office." He turned as if to leave and Linda said, "Sorry. That's going to be impossible."

"What? Why can't you do it?"

"Two reasons. One: because Mr. Reynolds has the reports and Two: because you don't have an office anymore."

"You are so full of shit! Hank hasn't been here this early once in two years."

"But, three years ago when we had a power outage, in the middle of the night, he was here by sun up."

A voice was heard from the other side of the café, "Where have you been all night, numb-nuts?"

"You know my sister doesn't like it when you call me that."

"Ok, just this once, Mitchell, where were you for the last ten hours?"

I could almost smell the cobwebs burning between Mitchell's ears. He said, "I didn't feel good, so I had to go home."

"Did you tell Linda you were going home sick? Did you call me and tell me you were sick?"

"It was late. I didn't want to wake you."

"You did tell Linda, before you left? Didn't you?"

"I couldn't find her, so I left her a message on her machine."

"Here is the cash register tape. For the fifteen minutes before you called Linda and the fifteen minutes after, she was at the register. But you couldn't find her."

"Maybe we should talk about all this in private?" Mitchell said when he realized that almost every employee was watching and listening.

"Not necessary." He waved and the two muscles from before came forward. "Pete and Jack will escort you to your office. You can take your personal items with you in a box. If you attempt to take something that belongs to me or the truck stop they will take pleasure in beating the hell out of you and tossing your bloody carcass in the snow outside. If you are inside this building fifteen minutes from now I'm not responsible for any accident that may befall you."

He turned and faced Linda, "Can you be back to work tonight?"

She nodded. He said, "I'll put an ad in the papers for a new cashier. You'll do the interviews."

I saw Donna's face. I said, "I'm afraid we're guilty of misleading you earlier. When Linda saw me buy dinner and a jacket for Donna she assumed we were married. We aren't. We're friends and she needed a change of domicile. I happen to know she used to be a cashier. Give her a chance to be the cashier and I think you'll be happy with the results."

Reynolds turned, smiling and said, "Linda's job to hire. Up to her. But before she decides I need a private word with her." He stepped away from us about twenty feet. Linda followed. He said one sentence and walked away. Linda looked stunned.

She came back to the table and sat down. Donna said, "Do I have a job?"

"Yes." Linda said, totally distracted.

I asked, "What did he say?"

"Take her home and get the smell of sex off both of you."

All three of us blushed a little and Donna said, "I need my little suitcase."

"I have a two bedroom place." Linda said.

"Think we need two beds?" Donna asked.

"Not really, but it looks better to some of our conservative Christian neighbors."

We walked back to the truck and I let Donna up into the cab to gather her things. Linda went with her. When they came out Linda said, "You better drive with windows open for a while. It does smell like sex in there."

Donna wrapped her arms around me and said, "Until the storm I had been thinking about maybe living in a sleeper, driving all over the country. With you, that would have been a good life. Linda and I talked while I packed. You're welcome with us, anytime, here or at our apartment."

We kissed as the diesel filled my tanks. When I say we I mean I kissed Donna and then I kissed Linda. As I pulled out on the interstate headed for Wyoming I rolled the windows up tight. I've seen rigs that hang those pine shaped air fresheners inside. I prefer the smell of sex.

The last hundred miles to home I ran with the windows open. I stopped just outside Cheyenne and cleaned up. I bagged the clothes I'd worn and promised to somehow get them into the wash without either my sister or mom smelling them. Just before Orin I called Dad and told him I'd be there in about an hour. He said to hurry, his helpers were eating too much.

Forty minutes later I parked the truck with the back doors twenty feet from the front door of the second house. My Dad and six men we standing on the porch. Mom and my sister were not visible.

I greeted the men and opened the back of the truck. Two hours later the truck was empty. My sister had called and wouldn't arrive until the next day. Mom came home after the men left and Dad and I watched as she walked through the second house.

"You'll need to get the boys back again. LeeAnn won't like how things are arranged." As she left the second house she said, "Sleep here tonight. Come for dinner at six." She stepped out on the porch and turned her head to look at me, "And do the laundry. I walked by your truck and it smells like sex!"