All Aboard! Romance on Route 66

by Waggoner, Robert C.

  Lilly looked at him and shook her head knowing sure enough he was a salesman with a silver tongue. He was nice looking and never took off his sunglasses. He had on a silk shirt dark green in color with the top button open revealing a thick mat of chest hair. A visible pot gut stuck out from what looked like too much rich food and alcohol to all that looked at him. His tan golf slacks ended in argyle socks with oxblood loafers. His speech ended by asking the just entered room waitress has been if he could get a cold beer. He appeared in Lilly as arrogant and self-centered.

  While the two waitresses were pouring coffee and asking what drinks everyone wanted, a very nice looking man about sixty stood up across from Lilly and said, “My name is Jasper and this is my wife Frieda.” We are from Oregon and I’m a minister of our church up the river from Eugene in a small town called Blue River. We just got married a few months ago and this is our honeymoon to see the USA.”

  He sat down and next to his wife sat a woman who had on heavy makeup and looked like she was looking for a party to go to. When she stood up she was a tall, bleach blonde, blue eyes, red lipstick on full lips and a very nice body. Her eyes sparkled as she said “My name is Sue Sweet,”

  And then she went to say, she was a showgirl from Vegas, just divorced, and when the other passengers heard divorce, a gasp could be heard from the mostly conservative passengers.

  “Don’t blame me for the divorce, the bastard was doing my sister and that were just too much for me to take.”

  She sat down and put her glasses back on and it was plain to see she had trouble with her vision.

  By then the crab sandwiches had arrived and bowls of chowder filled the room with a nice smell. While they ate, talk flew back and forth across the table and Lilly was really starting to like this trip and being around nice folks. One passenger she was a little nervous about and it looked like he was trouble. His name was Al; a quiet guy sitting at the end of the table with a scowl on his face and beady eyes. The man looked short and had a stocky powerful body. His black hair looked like it needed washing, but as the days went by; Lilly noticed even after a shower it still looked greasy. His hands had the look of a mechanic with permanent grease under the fingernails and in the deep lines on his palms. He always was grouchy and acted like he hated the world and the world hated him. She found out later he was between jobs and headed to Chicago to see what he could muster up for a living.

  Everyone enjoyed lunch except Al ‘Greasy’ Weeks. After lunch he left to have a quiet beer and a smoke by himself. The pie was served and while they ate homemade apple pie with hot cinnamon sauce, an old couple introduced themselves.

  “Hugh Slick is my name and this is my life time partner Gloria. We own a hardware store in Pasadena named, Hugh Slick and Son’s Hardware. I’m officially retired now and we are taking our first real vacation while our son takes care of the business. We aim to see the east coast after Chicago and then down to Florida. After that, we just don’t know, do we honey?”

  He smiled down at his wife through yellow teeth, but dark twinkling eyes. You could see her love for him and anyone who was looking would see two very middle class folks enjoying their first vacation.

  Slim had sat quietly eating and Lilly had barely noticed he had three crab sandwiches, two bowls of chowder and three pieces of apple pie! She was amazed at how much he ate. After he finished he seemed he looked around for some leftovers to snack on the road with. Three cokes to wash it down he stood up and said, “Folks, take a little rest while I check the bus and top off the fuel tanks. I’ll give a honk when I’m ready to hit the road.”

  Lilly had wrapped up Diane’s sandwiches and saved it for her later. She ate some soup, but that was about all. Ricky, Lilly had noticed, kept looking at Diane and it didn’t take long to see he had something on his mind about this lovely creature that looked so sad. Everyone, but Diane and Lilly were bantering back and forth about politics and baseball. Slick was telling anyone who listened about how smart his son was running the store. Across the table the car salesmen were telling Jasper about his new Thunderbird with portholes in the side of the top. He asked Jasper what he drove and Jasper replied stoically they drove a forty nine Studebaker and he planned on driving it till it quit running. That shut the car salesmen up and he sat their drinking cup after cup of Boyd’s coffee.

  Just when the conversation was dying down, the bus horn sounded and all jumped up to get on board. Lilly and some of the others left a nice tip, including Jasper, but the car salesmen never bothered. Diane with Rick in tow walked to the bus. Both sat down behind the driver. Lilly thought she would take a risk and check out the upstairs. Slim was standing outside the door and when all were loaded in, he climbed the stairs to the upper level banging his head once again. He took another head count to make sure no one was left behind and then very carefully made his way to his driver’s seat. Lilly sat down across the aisle from Herm and Viola Schmidt. So much talk after lunch no one bothered to say anything to the two rather odd looking couple sitting at the lunch table minding their own business; and while they waited for Slim to head east, they told Lilly they were from Germany in broken English. They were headed to Chicago to see their son and first grandson whom they hadn’t seen for many years.

  Herm said, ‘I’m an appliance repairman and I work for Hotpoint. We came right after the war and have the Americans to thank for letting us come to this wonderful country.”

  At that he left his wife to chat with Lilly and Herm closed his eyes for a nap. Lilly noticed Viola was sleepy so she suggested both of them take a short nap. Lilly fell asleep and a bump in the road woke her up an hour later.

  Chapter 2

  Slim, the ever diligent driver took his job very seriously. When he left the restaurant thanking the staff and signing the tab, he gave the head waitress ten dollars. She tried to give it back to him, but he walked quickly to the door and when leaving he rang the bells over the door with his head. He turned and waved walking to his pride and joy. He checked the lug nuts on the wheels. He noticed a slight bump in one of the front tires and cussed the new BF Goodrich tires which had a reputation of separating. He would keep the speed down in the hot desert as so much heat builds up in the tires on hot summer days. Moving to the back of the bus he checked the oil and all were well there and the water level too. He’d parked next to the diesel pumps so the attendant had already topped the tanks off. He went inside the office of the station and signed the bill. He hung around talking to the owner about his new bus and how she handled and what nice power she had over the older models. Bill, the service station owner said, “Slim where are you going to stop for the night?”

  “I think Needles, ’” Slim answered.

  “That place is always the hottest place in America in the summer time.

  “Yes, I know, but I was at liberty to choose where I wanted to stop as this is a special run for the new Lady Greyhound edition.”

  At that he said, “So long and see you next time,” walking back out into the blast furnace of heat from the relentless sun in the desert.

  Slim had already started the motor and had the a/c on full so it would be nice and cool when the passengers came back on board. He made a trip to the restroom and washed up before climbing back on the bus. He gave the horn a toot and soon all came to the bus hurrying due to the oppressive heat.

  Motoring down the highway at a reduced speed, Slim noticed Ricky and Diane, sitting behind him, talking together, and she was laughing at his bad jokes. Well things are not so bad after all he thought. He concentrated on his driving but his thoughts came back to Lilly. Slim had never married and his parents passed on a long time ago when he was in his twenties. An uncle helped him with the sale of the house. His uncle, a banker, invested the money in blue chips like General Motors and General Electric along with his salary. He lived on an allowance and that provided him with all he needed. Twice a month he had fifty dollars to spend and that was more than enough for his extra food as lodging and a daily food allowance by G
reyhound was provided for the drivers.

  A smile came across his face when he thought about a relationship with a woman. He was nearing fifty and for reasons he could not identify, along with a funny feeling in his stomach, not from too much lunch, he knew that, his brain was firing on all eight cylinders. Common sense took over and suggested to him maybe it was his time. She sure is nice, he thought, and maybe not the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but something inside of her was attracting him like a duck to water. Why fight it, he mused. He remembered his grandfather telling him to let it flow. Don’t buck the tide, let it wash over you and just tinker with the small things that come to the surface.

  Slim glanced into the passenger mirror and saw most all were taking a nice nap and even behind him both Ricky and Diane were head to head sleeping. Looking in his mirrors, glancing at his speedometer, checking the motor water temperature and oil pressure, all was well as he headed into the final leg of the first day’s journey.

  It was only a few hours run to Needles and as six pm approached so did the sign saying Needles. Slim pulled into the Old Trails End motel where reservations had been made prior to departure from LA. Slim, over the mike he told the passengers to sign in at the office and make yourself at home.

  After that he said, “There are a few cafes around here and all are good, but my favorite is the Diner by the river. See you tomorrow on the bus as we leave at nine am.”

  Slim opened the door to a rush of dry hot desert. The passengers began to file out and head for the office. Lilly was one of the last ones off and smiled at Slim and he smiled back tipping his hat at her.

  The Old Trails End was more like cabins than a motel. Small faded pink cabins underneath palm trees cast some shade on the hot little ovens for their overnight stay. Lilly found herself with a roommate as not enough cabins were available. She was roomed with Diane and that was fine with her. They walked to the cabin amid the sounds of big diesel trucks going by carrying freight to LA or vegetables and fruit east from L.A. for anxious shoppers east of the Mississippi.

  Lilly opened the door to a stuffy cabin and opened all the windows to let the stale air out. A swamp cooler or water cooler took up all of a window for cool air and she turned it on. It sounded like her Hot Point mixer at the full mix as the machine spit out warm air. The desk clerk told her it would take a little time to cool down, but give it an hour and all would be fine.

  Lilly’s first look at the room reveled two single beds occupying the room with pink bedspreads.

  Sitting down on the bed it made the same sound as a farmer’s screen door opening and closing. The walls, a faded avocado color had Norman Rockwell prints of crazy scenes where maybe desert pictures should have been. The linoleum floor was light in color worn almost through from years of tracks in and out. Lilly then took a look at the bathroom which was tiny, but clean. The old yellow paint was flaking off, but it was only for a night she thought to herself. Diane was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling when Lilly sat down with a heavy thump on the creaking bed. A nightstand separated the two single beds with a double light on the top curved to each bed. On top of the lamps were cowboys riding bulls for light shades. Lilly fanned herself with an old magazine she found under the night stand on a shelf. The swamp cooler was starting to work so she went to the door and closed it and the one window that was open. She looked at the magazine and saw in was a nineteen fifty five Life magazine with Humphrey Bogart on the cover.

  Lilly said to Diane, “I think I will take a shower after the long trip we just took. If you don’t need the bathroom for a little while I won’t be long.”

  Diane had fallen asleep and didn’t hear Lilly. Lilly smiled at herself and stripped down for a nice shower. Turning the water on full and waiting to adjust the temperature, the flow of water was hardly enough to get wet. She waited and waited and finally went into the night stand to call the desk. Sitting naked on the bed waiting for someone to answer the phone, she thought about Slim and then her thoughts were interrupted by a voice on the other end saying, “Front desk.”

  Lilly said, “I have no water pressure on my cabin number four.”

  “I’m sorry miss, but that is normal for August here as the water level is way down. Sorry again, but if you leave it running into the tub, you can have a nice bath in about an hour.”

  Lilly hung up and then instead of being mad, she broke out laughing waking Diane up. Diane looked at the naked woman on the bed and rolled over and went back to sleep. Lilly took a sponge bath and left to find something to eat. She had on her best and newest summer dress and hair combed; with a touch of lipstick, thought she looked fairly nice if she ran into Slim.

  Summers in the west are long days. In Needles, on the border of California and Arizona is no exception. The sun was still hanging on before dropping below the horizon at eight at night. To the west a pink red color was beginning to give a promise of another hot day. Lilly thought it was a little cooler as the sounds of insects and birds filled the air when the ubiquitous trucks weren’t going by. She walked less than a block and found the ‘Diner’ and walked in. She noticed most of the passengers were sitting in the booths eating and not saying too much. Slim was in the first booth head down fighting a greasy hamburger the size of his head. Lilly stood there a moment not knowing whether to bother him or not. Slim raised his head and with a mouth full of burger said, “Sit down please.”

  It didn’t come out that way, but she guessed it was an invitation to sit down which she did. Like a gentleman he tried to stand up, but his long legs only served to bang the table spilling his chocolate milk shake. It almost ran onto her lap, but quick thinking by Lilly saved the day. She used her hand and then reached for a ton of napkins while the waitress came running with a towel. Slim, now mouth empty apologized all over himself and tried to help but only managed to tip over his basket of fries. By then people were looking their way and Lilly were getting a little embarrassed. The waitress took control and said, “Slim, don’t move. If you move I’ll swat you with this towel. Now, behave yourself especially in front of this nice looking woman who, for god knows what reason, wants to join you.”

  Lilly started laughing and so did Slim as he froze and didn’t move. Mess all cleaned up she ordered a roast beef sandwich and fries. Slim got a new shake and fries so he was happy again. Lilly drank coffee and ordered milk for dinner. While she waited for her sandwich she sipped her coffee and asked Slim how the trip was going.

  Slim said, “Great, and so far so good and how about you?”

  “Fine except no water for a shower, but that is only a small thing and I’m happy to be out of Pasadena for once in my life.”

  Slim ate a few fries and her sandwich came. Maybe the rest of the town didn’t have much to offer, but the food was sure good. Her sandwich stacked high with thinly sliced roast beef topped with fresh tomato and Swiss cheese dripping with Best Foods mayonnaise was delicious. She gave the fries to Slim and he couldn’t take his eyes off the nice lady across the table from him. She noticed he was having trouble with his legs under the table and moved next to the window so he could stretch his long legs out the side. He slowly ate fries until she finished half the sandwich and gave him the other half. He wolfed that down as she drank her milk.

  He said, “Let’s have some dessert Lilly.”

  Lilly laughed and said, “Go ahead Slim I’m too full for any dessert.”

  Slim raised his arm and hand which looked like a flag pole going up. The nice waitress, named Bonnie came over and said, “Yes Slim, I know you want dessert, but the only thing I want to know are how many pieces of lemon pie you want?”

  Lilly laughed again and Slim’s face turned beat red. He recovered quickly and showed two fingers and Bonnie took off laughing her head off. Lilly thought she would take him off the hook and said, “Slim how many years you been with Greyhound?”

  Slim on familiar ground said, “I’ve been driving for Greyhound for twenty seven years now. Ever since I was twenty one and before th
at I was a Greyhound shop boy waiting for my twenty first birthday to be eligible to drive a bus. I’m proud to say I have a perfect accident free driving record,” as he knocked on the wooden window sill.

  “Now I get the newest and the best buses Greyhound buys.”

  Lilly noticed his eyes never left hers and having never had a boyfriend in her life, wondered if he was ever married or was married. He answered her thinking by saying, “I never married and by the time I gave it some thought, it was too late and besides I’m married to my bus and the mostly nice people I meet each trip I take.”

  “I’ve been sitting all day would you mind taking a walk with me around town?”

  Slim’s mouth dropped open and tried to untangle his long legs to sit up straighter but only managed to spill the coffee on the table. Lucky the cups were empty and Lilly slide out and stood up and said, “Come on Slim, let’s leave before you have to buy the place.”

  They both laughed as he made his way out from under the table and stood up. Lilly went to the cash register and paid for her dinner over Slims protest. Slim as usual left a nice tip for the waitress and Bonnie said, “Have a nice walk kids.”

  Strolling down by the almost dry river they walked along the bank enjoying the twilight of the evening. Slim asked her, “I know you told me your mother just passed away and now that she is gone what are your plans for the future?”

  “I haven’t made any specific plans and after I get to Chicago and along the way, I want to think about some change in my life. I told my boss if he found someone to replace me at the insurance agency to go ahead as my mother, along with my savings have left me very well off. She had a large life insurance policy and I’ve given some thought to a writing career. I took some correspondence courses for learning how to write and one of my teachers said I had a flair for writing.”

  Slim said, “Wow that sounds very good to me; you know I could tell you some real funny and sad stories from my days on the road.”