Andrea Donovan Pt. 03

"No, I think I'll be OK, Tim." Andrea responded, adjusting the inside mirror on the windshield.

I had already programmed the GPS to take us to a large mattress outlet in Casa Grande so I just decided to remain quiet as Andrea got used to the truck. ...I now watched the Desert scenery glide past the passenger's side window as I listened to the little six cylinder churning and thought of our new friend, Pippi Longstocking. I was genuinely glad that Andrea had finally managed to find a horse that she seemed comfortable with, owning another horse had been Andrea's dream for decades now. She had previously owned a horse when she had been married to Mick, and raising Connie, but it had just proven to be too much of a responsibility for her at that time and she had finally been forced to reluctantly sell the animal to some friends. The horse had been named "Duncan" and Andrea still missed him, even though Duncan had been in "The Happy Grazing Land" in the sky, for years now. Andrea didn't miss Mick ...that much I did know.

Vic was another story altogether. Vic, an L.A. cop, was Bob and Gail's boy, Gail being Andrea's sister. Andrea loved her nephew as if he was her own and I knew Andrea was heartbroken over the disintegration of Vic's marriage to Angela. However, Andrea had explained to me that the ending of the marriage had been inevitable, with Angela's drinking. I had only met Vic one time, briefly, when I had been introduced to Bob and Gail, Connie had also been present during that meeting.

"There's no Jake Brake on this thing, is there?" Andrea now asked, glancing over at me.

"No Honey" I replied, smiling at her question.

"K, I didn't think so" Andrea nodded as we stopped at the light which would lead us to the I-10 ramp.

Andrea did better this time, at shifting from second to third gear, as we turned on the green arrow and headed out to I-10, she then shifted smoothly to fourth and we were off and running it seemed. ...Probably the best looking driver that this old crate's ever had, I thought to myself while I sat looking at Andrea's side profile. Damn, woman, you are one sexy wench, I nodded to myself. Andrea had driven a stick-shift before and I honestly believed that she would soon get comfortable with the truck, which was good because she may have need to drive it in the future with the arrival of our new friend, Pippi. Bales of hay would need to be hauled and quite honestly, we'd have to haul away horse poop if no one wanted it for compost. Duffy's words now echoed within my mind. "...Marriage is about SERVICE, we SERV our spouse, Tim." As a trucker, I'd hauled a lot of different commodities in my life over the years, but I never thought I'd be considering the haulage of horse poop. I was a cowboy that spoke "Truck" not "Horse" but as with so many things pertaining to Andrea Millhouse -- my life was now subject to change.

As I watched the scenery passing by the passenger window I thought about the "Desert Belle" -- the name which had been the actual designation of the little Texaco station. The sun faded letters in the name could still, just barely, be read on the concrete block walls of the little gas station. ...How many guys have an ol' lady that surprises them with a gas station, I wondered in awe. I knew in my heart that part of the Texaco station's purchase had been for the sake of Andrea's own sanity. Smiling to myself now, I knew that the days of rebuilding bicycles and carburetors on the living room table were now a thing of the very distant past for me.

Ricky is going to go nuts when he sees that place...

According to County records, the little station had been built in nineteen fifty three by a couple with the names of Mr. and Mrs. Juan Lane, the lady's name appearing as Mindy Lane. The couple had apparently built and then operated the little Texaco station themselves until the mid - nineteen eighties when construction of the larger hi-ways had made it no longer profitable to operate because of the drastic decrease in traffic volume within the little station's local. The couple, in their sixties by then, had simply closed the doors and retired. This was an all too common scenario associated with the large interstates of America's hi-ways. Many Mom and Pop businesses found that they just couldn't compete with the large national franchises which seemingly appeared over night with the introduction of the interstate hi-way system. I personally, felt that part of America's charm had been lost with the demise of these Mom and Pop stores. Mom and Pop stores just had a different feel than the large national chains did.

Andrea had also explained to me, earlier in this afternoon, that county records indicated that for a brief time, the little Texaco station had been reopened and leased to a very reputable local machine shop but as their business had grown, the two brothers owning the machine equipment had apparently located to a larger and more modern building in two thousand and eleven, leaving the station dormant once more. By this time, Juan and Mindy had passed, leaving the station and property as inheritance to their only child, Mrs. Mary Hollingsworth. Mary had thus put the station and property on the market then, later selling it to Andrea. In thinking of the Texaco station now, I realized that I was still in shock at the thought of Andrea having presented me with such a wonderful and selfless gift. ...She had confided in me, earlier today, that her actual purchase of the little Texaco had actually occurred six earlier during the acquisition of our home and ranch land. Andrea had apparently negotiated for both pieces of land, simultaneously, without either of the other two parties having known of the other, which was just good business sense she had told me.

...Andrea Millhouse, what a wonderful mystery you are to me I thought, as I studied her side profile again now. My God, woman, you are a stone cold fox...

We purchased a queen size bed and mattresses along with pillows and blankets which were brightly adorned with Native American art. Andrea didn't have any trouble backing up to the loading dock and I was actually quite proud of her skills in maneuvering the raggedy Chevy. ...An hour and a half later Andrea and I were once again back home and had the new bed set up nicely within the extra bedroom. The bed was made and now covered with the colorful blankets and pillows which gave the room a warm and inviting feel to it. Our hope was to make Vic feel as welcome as possible and hopefully give him some much needed respite from his current feelings of frustration and abandonment.

"I'm going to park the Chevy and then we can take a long bubble bath, OK, Honey?" I asked.

"Sure babe, I'm ready for some cuddle time" Andrea replied looking at her watch.

I parked the old green Chevy by the stables again and then walked back to the front doorway of the house as Andrea held the screen door open for me, it was nine forty five PM now and I was ready to call it a day. Just as I neared the door, Wolfie walked from within the bushes as he drug a small dead snake from within his mouth. He then made his way up to the front door and dropping the snake, sat down and looked up at Andrea.

"You just come right on in now honey, you're welcome in this house anytime" Andrea said as she held the door wide open for the cat. Wolfie silently got up and walked inside the house.

"Could you please get rid of that, Tim" Andrea said nodding and indicating the snake.

...That is one smart cat; I thought to myself, as I grabbed a stick and slung the snake back into the bushes.

____________(6)____________

More to come