Just A Friend: Small Town Stories Novella #3

by Merri Maywether

  Sam hid his hand behind his back, and Nancy stuck her tongue out at him. It was obvious to Pam that the two of them were longtime friends. If anyone else had been that rude, Nancy would have given them a different kind of scolding.

  When the game ended, as Jorgen predicted, with a bad back complaint, Nancy suggested they leave. “I don’t want to ruin your fun, but I have to go in for my shift in the morning.”

  Jorgen, William, and Sam began the goodbyes that took them to the door. Ten minutes after they started to leave, Pam and Nancy found themselves in the parking lot separating to go to their cars. The door opened abruptly behind them, and Jorgen appeared.

  He called out, “Pam, can I talk to you for a quick second.”

  Nancy raised her eyebrow in warning.

  “I had a good time hanging out with you tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner or something like that.”

  Pam grimaced. She wanted to say yes. He was attractive and funny and charming. However, Nancy who positioned herself out of his field of vision shook her head. To make her point known she mouthed the word, “No,” several times and waved her hand to say cut him off.

  Fighting to resist her friend’s disapproval of Jorgen, Pam replied, “I had a lot of fun with you.”

  Nancy waved both of her arms to say stop.

  Pam fought to keep the struggle hidden. She did want to go out with Jorgen. He was sweet, and funny, and didn’t seem to mind that Pam was her own person. Carefully measuring her words to leave room for a second request later, she said, “It’s just that I’m not looking for a boyfriend right now. I think it would be better if we were just friends.”

  Nancy released a giant sigh of relief. Pam felt like she just walked away from a cookie jar with a carrot stick in her hand. While her decision may have been healthy in her friend’s eyes, it didn’t bring Pam any satisfaction. She just turned down the only man who had ever had the power to make time and space fade into background noise.

  Jorgen shrugged his resignation, "If that's the way you want it, that's the way it'll be."

  “That’s the way I want it,” Pam said it more for herself than him. It wasn’t the way she wanted it, but her friend knew more about who they were dealing with.

  Just then a flake of snow landed on Pam’s cheek. She touched the spot where it landed and looked up at the sky. The diamonds that decorated their evening were hidden behind the clouds. Apparently, the forecaster’s prediction of the weather system bypassing their small town needed some revising.

  Looking up at the sky, Jorgen said, “That’s the thing about Montana. You never know what life is going to be like from one minute to the next.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” A cloud of unhappiness formed over Pam's head.

  “Are you sure you’re able to handle the drive home?” Jorgen asked.

  “Yes, I’ve been in harsh conditions,” Pam answered.

  The cloud above her head loomed heavier. Perhaps because it was the second time in less than two minutes, she had lied.

  Only In Montana

  At first, Pam didn’t have time to regret rejecting Jorgen’s offer. The further she drove away from the microbrewery the stronger the wind blew. She had to drive with both hands on the steering wheel to prevent the wind from altering her course. It was as though the brewery was protected from the elements and once she left the safety of the parking lot, nature took charge of the night.

  To maintain some level of confidence, Pam spoke aloud her encouragement to herself. “You are ten minutes away from home. You can make it.”

  As though it responded to her statement, the wind hissed louder than the radio and taunted her. “You should have said yes to Jorgen.”

  Pam strained to hear the words to the song playing on the radio. The wind’s deep tones beat on the windows and muffled the words. She wasn’t sure, if it was “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” by Garth Brooks or “Don’t Blink” by Kenny Chesney. She hunched to listen to the speaker in the door. A woman’s voice broke through the rattling. “Talk about not knowing your music,” Pam joked at how far her guess was from what the radio played. For the moment she felt better about her situation. If she could joke, she could make it home in one piece.

  A gust of wind pushed against the side of her car and forced it into the next lane. Pam gripped the steering wheel and corrected the course. Her eyes widened at what was in front of her. The back of a semi swayed in the wind. She couldn’t be certain, but if she were forced to guess, Pam would have sworn she saw the lights rise an inch in the air and fall. Since the radio was no help, Pam talked to herself. “Did that semi just take to the air?”

  Her shoulders tensed as she gripped the wheel to stay between the lines. “This is ridiculous,” she continued the conversation with herself. Pam considered pulling off at the next exit. It was better if she created distance between her and the semi. The last thing she wanted was to end up alone in a ditch.

  Across the highway, two lanes and a grassy divider away, the back of another semi-truck toppled on its side. Time came to a standstill as she watched the events unfold in slow motion. She saw flakes of snow drifting in the light from the side of the highway. Then she saw the light from the semi curve away from her. In the absence of illumination from the headlights, darkness filled the space. Within the darkness, the sound of metal sliding against the asphalt took over her senses. Pam cringed as the sound made everything down to her teeth jolt. The sound amplified a warning to Pam. The back of the semi was sliding in her direction. Instinct kicked in, and Pam pressed the brake pedal and swerved right. Her intention was to swerve, straighten out and then stop parallel to the highway. The slick road condition made it an impossible feat. The laws of gravity and force exceeded Pam’s ability to control her vehicle.

  Time returned to normal, and her face met the airbag. It was the first time she experienced it in real life. The videos made an airbag deployment seem less violent. Then again, they were in slow motion. In comparison to the jostling she had just endured, the world fell silent. The wind still blew, but it didn’t have any effect on her pickup.

  Pam reached for her cell phone. Her hand roamed around the empty console and returned with nothing. Not as much as a pen was in the tray that held her easy to reach items.

  It fell in line with her luck since leaving the brewery. Her mama said life would teach her right when Pam did wrong. If she had known it included lying to attractive men, Pam would have told Nancy and that Amanda woman to keep their opinions about Jorgen to themselves.

  Obviously, the cell phone had fallen with all the motion. It couldn’t be too far from where Pam laid it. She loosened her seat belt and felt around the passenger seat of her pickup to find it.

  Beginning with those lies she told Jorgen, her night went from bad to worse. She wished she could go back in time and undo what she had done and told Jorgen that she didn’t like driving in inclement weather. Maybe then on the ride home, she would have asked him about what Amanda said. Then he’d convince her that it was just like the programs she watched on the Hallmark Channel. Small towns have a way of holding on to the past. Perhaps since making his mistake, he became a new person. Then he’d say something like they should go out on that date to prove his change of heart.

  If she told the truth, she’d have a date. And, she wouldn’t be on the side of a road in a ditch.

  A knock on the window and the glow of a flashlight changed her stream of thoughts. Someone cared enough to stop and help her. To whoever it was she was eternally grateful. Pam pressed the button to lower the window. The papers in her car shuffled with the introduction of the wind. She squinted to see who was on the other side of the light. Then she recognized the familiar voice.

  “Are you okay?”

  The first thing that came to her mind was “Maybe I died, and I’m just dreaming.” Pam cautiously asked, “Jorgen?”

  “Pam,” he exclaimed, “I knew I should have driven you home.”

  A prick of light broke
through the cloud that followed her since she lied. Her world was about to be righted. It was only a matter of time before reality matched what was in her head. She smiled and thought of the stories she’d tell her children—like the one about how she was able to find the love that she almost lost when she got stuck in a ditch.

  When Your Words Come Back To Haunt You

  From the way her headlights reflected off the snow coated grass on the side of the road, Pam had a hunch that her pickup was stuck. Beyond stuck. Years of driving in the Oklahoma back roads taught her how to get out of the worst of situations. This was not one of them. If that wasn’t bad enough, she could tell by the big chunks of snow sticking to her window that the storm was closer.

  Jorgen opened the door of her pickup. With the light from the overhead cab, Pam found her cell phone. It fell in the space between the gas and brake pedal on the floor. She reached for the phone and her cheek collided with the deflating airbag. Pam rolled her eyes to hide her embarrassment. She shifted her position and tried again. This time she reached the phone. Brandishing it like a prize, she said, “Now I can call for help.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.” Jorgen held out his hand in encouragement. “It is slippery out here.”

  Pam scooched out of the seat intending to land on the steady ground. Except, two inches lower than her mind calculated, the ground failed to meet her. When her feet finally made contact, her ankle turned. She wobbled like a deer taking its first steps. Her arms flailed in front of her. As if to add insult to injury, the cell phone flew into the ditch. An indentation in the snow marked the spot where it landed. A sharp pain shot up the right side of Pam’s ankle and stopped somewhere in the middle of her calf. Somehow, Jorgen caught her before she completely fell to the ground.

  His arms around her weren’t enough to distract her from the pain and embarrassment from the near fall. She hissed to soften the pain coming from her ankle. In her head, Pam prayed, “Mother of Mercy, please transport me to a different place.” She added, “if it is all possible can it have a huge warm tub filled with bubbles and a plate of fudge on the counter?” To Jorgen, she offered a forced grin. “I am so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” The pain was not enough to distract her from realizing that being in Jorgen’s arms felt good. Like being in a hot tub after a long day at work good. At least part of her prayer had been answered.

  “I’m fine,” she said.

  He eyed Pam with a hint of suspicion. The wrinkle in his brow was almost cute. “That was quite the fall. How are you doing?”

  Pam stood a little taller. “Other than my ego being a little dented, I’m alright.” She might have pulled it off if she just stood still. But mid-sentence she took a step away from him to demonstrate her stability. This time her lips puckered in response to the shooting pain and her leg gave in to the weight.

  The next thing she knew, he swooped his arms beneath her legs, and Pam was in Jorgen’s arms. As he carried her up the side of the ditch, she weakly argued, “I can do it by myself.” Secretly, she was thankful for the help. It would have taken her much longer, and a couple more near falls, to get to the sturdier ground on her own.

  If her ex-boyfriend Mark were there, he would have let her try to get out of the situation on her own and then made fun of her every time she toppled. She tried to push away the comparison, but it was too late. It had been made and solidified her assessment of both men. Her mother was right when she said Mark was not good enough. It took being treated right by another man to make Pam understand her mother’s admonitions.

  Jorgen set Pam down on two legs but hadn’t fully released her. He held her against him as her body slid to the ground and she readjusted the weight to regain a sense of balance. At this point, the adrenaline from the situation clouded Pam’s mind. Dizzy from all that happened, she kept a tight hold on Jorgen. She didn’t want to fall. But in a sense, she had. Her heart had fallen into his hands to do whatever he chose.

  They stood there with her wrapped in his arms and gazing into each other’s eyes. The feeling that everything was going to be okay warmed her. Her mind perceived it the same way an astronomer knows the specific stars in the galaxy that she had found her one. Not the perfect one, but the one who was perfect for her.

  A hint of a smile tilted the corner of his mouth. It encouraged her to remain in the safety of his hold. His lips beckoned her. “Why don’t you come a little closer?”

  Pam held her breath and followed the invisible magnet that drew her to him. Their lips were a breath’s distance away when her heart exclaimed, “We are going to kiss!”

  An authoritative voice broke in. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  Pam startled, and Jorgen loosened his grip on her lower back. Their eyes traveled toward the voice. With his flashlight beaming directly into their face, the person said, “I should have known it was you, Backman.” Not only had the voice lacked condemnation, Pam thought she heard a hint of admiration from the man.

  Jorgen shielded his eyes with his hand. “Can you please get the light out of my face, Zach?”

  The man lowered the light to the ground in front of them. “Only you can find a woman on the side of the road and end up with her being all cozy in your arms.”

  With the absence of light, Pam made out the bulky gear around Zach's chest. He was the police officer on duty.

  “She hurt herself trying to get out of the ditch,” Jorgen replied. Pam noted that he hadn’t defended himself against the implicit accusation. Jorgen’s reputation for being a Romeo was common knowledge to everyone including himself.

  “I need to ask her some questions.”

  “How about we walk her to my pickup, and you can ask your questions there?” Jorgen offered.

  Zach pointed his flashlight in the direction of Pam’s pickup that remained catawampus on the edge of the ditch. It looked like it wanted to fall in and a well-placed rock was the only thing holding it in place. He nodded his agreement and Jorgen held out his arm to guide Pam in the direction of his vehicle.

  The snow continued to drift around them, and the temperature dropped. The change in the atmosphere was enough to form a mental thermometer. With every passing moment, Pam imagined the fluid dropping closer to the zero mark.

  Every once in a while, she pushed aside a flake that landed on her while she slowly recalled the details that had her pickup stuck in the ditch. Zach echoed back what she said before writing anything and had her read through the report before having her sign it. As he ripped off her copy for her to submit to her insurance company, Jorgen returned.

  Pam thought Jorgen left them alone to give her privacy. His grim face when he returned said otherwise. “It looks like your axle is busted. We’re not going to be able to drive your pickup out of that ditch.”

  “I can call Nancy to come get me.” She didn’t want to make assumptions on how much help Jorgen had to offer. “I’ll have a tow truck pick it up in the morning.”

  “Good luck with that,” Zach said. “This weather system is supposed to drop eight to ten inches of snow tonight. I imagine yours is the first of many cars that’ll get stuck on the side of the road tonight.” Zach pointed at the semi, “The department of transportation is more concerned about hazards than people’s folly.” He spoke to Jorgen, “When are people going to learn to stay home when a severe storm is on the horizon?”

  “When the weather coordinates with the Weather Channel App,” Jorgen smarted. “They’re only right about half the time.”

  Zach was quick to retort, “Half is better than none.”

  The driver of the semi who had been on the phone beside the cab of his truck piped into the conversation. “My boss said the tow truck should be here in about five minutes to get this mess off the road.”

  He stuck his hands in his pocket, “Speaking of. I’m sorry about all this ma’am.” He nodded

  “Thank you for your apology.” It struck Pam as being odd that a person would apologize for causing a collision. Usually,
people were so worried about being sued they avoided conversation. She saw it many times when she worked in the emergency room. Both parties to a collision laid in beds beside each other with only a curtain separating them. Neither party peeked through to make sure the other person wasn’t severely injured let alone apologize. It seemed that legal boundaries had taken precedence over courtesy.

  “I overheard the officer say you couldn’t get a tow. If you need a ride to the hospital to get your injuries checked out, I’d be more than glad to help you get there.” He punctuated his offer with an apologetic smile.

  She replied, “Thank you for the offer. From what I can tell, some ibuprofen and a good night's sleep should take care of them." Pam pat her pocket to find her phone. Once, I find my phone I’ll have my friend….” Pam cut herself off as she remembered that her phone had fallen out of her hands with her tumble. Her eyes scanned over the ditch that had to have at least a half inch of snow in it. They widened in horror with the realization that her phone had most likely been soaked with the moisture and was no longer usable.

  “I might have to take you up on the offer,” she groaned. “My house isn’t far from here. If you wouldn’t mind.”

  “I can take you home,” Jorgen interjected.

  “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize that you two were together.” The driver stepped back making more room between himself and Pam.

  “We’re not,” Jorgen cleared his throat and stepped away from her. Pam’s body whimpered at the absence of his touch. That was nothing compared to how deeply her heart sank when he threw back the words Pam had said earlier that night. “We’re just friends.”

  Faster Than A New York Minute

  It rolled off his tongue so easily. Pam thanked the good Lord that it was too dark for the men to see her cheeks redden. Her eyes darted to where she imagined Jorgen was going to kiss her. Had her mind played tricks on her?