Lilly listened when they walked up to the door of the café; she held it open for her. Walking in was cool and the sound of cowboy music filled the smoky air. Lilly noticed the stools at the counter were full of truck drivers drinking coffee and smoking. The sounds of cowboy music and loud truck drivers at first bothered her and then after she sat down in a booth next to the window, she gradually came to like the atmosphere. Slim followed her in and sat down with all the grace of a bull in a china shop. The waitress had brought water and Lilly had both glasses in her hands when he attempted to sit down.
Lilly had her back to Carl and Carol and couldn’t help but overhear his loud voice complaining about the service. Slim ignored the chatter and when the waitress came back for their order, she slapped Slim on the shoulder and asked, “Where have you been lately? You are lucky we have a new batch of pies that came in today. How many pieces of pie would you like Slim?”
His face turned red and introduced Lilly to Veronica. After he told her he was going to get married, Veronica sat next to Lilly and told her how lucky she was. “You know Lilly, Slim has been coming in here since I started work here ten years ago. A nicer guy than he is hard to find. He is always nice and never loud like those idiots over there,” as she flung an arm towards the counter of burly drivers in dirty T-shirts with tattoos running up and down their arms.
“Besides," she said with a big smile, ‘he is a big tipper!”
Veronica excused herself and went back to work. Not but a few steps away from their table, Carl yelled out, “Hey miss how about some more coffee?”
Veronica, the professional she was, stopped and turned around and said, “Hold on to your shorts, pop, you’re not the only customer in this joint.”
Carl was not used to being talked to that way and said, “Well, I never, I want to see your boss right now.”
Veronica walked up to his table and said, “Well fat man, I am the boss and what would you like to tell me?”
The whole café had turned quiet and when she told him she was the boss, the whole pace erupted in laughter. Carl’s face turned beet red and stood up and threw some money on the table and walked out leaving his very embarrassed wife sitting there alone. Lilly turned around and told Carol to come to their table and finish her pie and coffee. Carol came over and sat down with tears in her eyes and Lilly put her arm around her for comfort. Slim meanwhile had wolfed down two pieces of pumpkin pie and two cups of coffee and knew he’d better keep his mouth shut.
Slim got out of the booth without mishap and paid for their pie and coffee and joked around with some drivers he knew. Lilly and Carol sat there and talked for a few minutes about her husband.
Carol said, “I’m glad that lady put him in his place. More people should do that, but he is a big man around town and nobody will challenge him. He’s probably walking around outside fuming and as it is so hot out, sweat will be pouring off him. I’m afraid he will have a heart attack if he doesn’t listen to the doctors and our kids.”
Slim walked up and said they should be going now as it is a long haul to Amarillo. Lilly and Carol plus the other passengers followed him out to the bus and there was Carl leaning on the bus in the shade. There was no sign of his being embarrassed or sorry for the way he acted and told Slim to hurry up and open the door as it was too hot to wait around outside the bus.
Slim opened the door to a blast of cold air coming out. The passengers climbed aboard, Carl first of course, and found their seats. Slim did a head count and pulled the bus out on the highway to Amarillo. Lilly sat back and listened to the drone of the engine and the slight swaying put her to sleep again. She didn’t wake up again until Slim slowed down coming into Amarillo. The sun was setting behind them and the lights of the city were coming on. They passed most of the way through the city and just outside of downtown sat a rustic motel with a cowboy dancing with the neon lights welcoming them to the Pecos Motel. A ‘No vacancy’ sign winked at them as Slim pulled into a wide parking place next to the motel.
“Folks,” he said over the intercom, “Sign in and if you are as hungry as I am, the restaurant has some of the best steaks in the world. Take it from me, a steak lover, you will not find a better steak in Texas than right here.”
Slim opened the door to a hot summer night in Amarillo and opened up the baggage compartment. Two local guys from the motel helped him unload and carry the bags to the passenger’s rooms. Slim and Lilly took Slim’s room and turned the swamp cooler on while the door remained open to let the hot stuffy air out.
Lilly said, “I need a shower and some good food.”
She looked at her watch and it read eight thirty. “My I slept a long time and now I’m wide awake.”
Slim laughed and told her to, “Hurry up the shower as I’m all sweaty too.”
Thirty minutes later they were sitting down at a table looking over the menu. Slim didn’t need the menu and joked with the waitress. They both knew each other from his many times eating here.
She said, ‘Slim you wanna try the big one tonight? It’s eighty ounces of top sirloin.”
Lilly loved her accent. Pure Texan and on top of that she was very pretty. When she mentioned eighty ounces of steak, she nearly dropped her water glass. Slim looked at Lilly and then to the waitress and then to the ceiling. He said, “Naw, best I learn to eat like most people as my fiancé here says I must take care of myself.”
Lilly told her she would have the rib eye and on the medium side please. Slim said,” Bring me the two pounder and make it rare please with a baked potato and French dressing on my salad.”
Lilly had the same potato and dressing and the place turned a little quiet as the customers looked at the TV. A weather man from Amarillo was pointing at a map on a board with a long stick showing a large storm system in the Gulf almost on top of the coast of Texas.
He said, “A very large hurricane is headed our way folks and storm warning are out for most of Texas. The coast will take a beating and inland will receive heavy rain with hailstones and lightning. We got a message from the Texas Department of Transportation warning travelers to not get on the highways until the warning is lifted in a couple of days.”
He went on to say that in Oklahoma and north could expect twisters due to the hot air and the low pressure system coming.
Slim took a drink of coffee and said, “Well, looks like we will hold up here until the storm passes.”
Lilly noticed it didn’t seem to bother him and why should it bother her? The salads came and then the steaks arrived on sizzling hot iron plates. Slim’s steak was fully three inches thick and as big around as a basketball. He grabbed the BBQ sauce and emptied the bottle across the top of the giant steak. Lilly looked on with amazement in her face. Next Slim opened up his potato and scrapped the sour cream bowl empty. Alongside the sour cream bowl a bowl of bacon bits soon disappeared on top of the sour cream. Ready to go he took the steak knife and sliced off a hunk and stuck it in his large mouth. Slowly he chewed the steak and made moaning sounds like she heard when they made love.
Lilly tried not to look and delicately sliced her steak and when it hit her mouth, she knew why Slim was making sounds of goodness. Half way through dinner lightning flashed and soon after thunder rocked the restaurant. Lilly was scared and looked at Slim paying no attention to the storm brewing. Lilly was almost finished and she was happy as more thunder and lightning lit up the sky hurting her ears. Twenty minutes later as Slim finished up the steak and potato she was getting used to the weather. Slim said, “That was good and I wonder what they have for dessert?”
Lilly shook her head and smiled saying, “Really Slim, aren’t you full?”
“A little, but I always have room for dessert. I think chocolate cake is on my menu if they have some.”
The waitress came by with a cart and loaded up the spent dishes. Slim inquired about the cake and she said, “Let me look as it would seem a rush on the cake for dessert tonight is most people’s selection for dessert.”
; Slim and Lilly drank their coffee and he talked about the weather. He told her it was company policy to park and wait out the storm if a traffic warning came across the news.
“Greyhound picks up the extra costs so don’t worry about that,” he said while the waitress came back with a dessert cart for his inspection. Two pieces of chocolate cake and two pieces of carrot cake sat begging him to eat them. He told her he would like both the chocolate and carrot cake. Then he said, “Please bring me a large glass of moo juice.”
Lilly laughed and the waitress just shook her head walking away pushing the cart. She sipped her coffee watching him gobble down the cake and when he finished the cake, drank the milk in one gulp. He took his napkin and wiped his face and looked at Lilly with admiration.
“You got it all Slim, your face is clean as a whistle. What should we do now,” as the thunder and lightning shook the restaurant.
“I suggest we take a walk before the rains come. My experience tells me we have a few hours or less before all hell breaks loose. We should stick around the motel area in case the weather lets loose. The hailstones will simply amaze you as they are the size of golf and tennis balls.”
“This scares me a little and I would like to make sure we are safe under a roof before that happens,” she said with a little fear in her tiny voice.
“That’s fine by me, let’s go to the motel and wait for the storm to hit.”
They got up and he paid the bill as Lilly stared outside the door. The other passengers were leaving too and she heard it said from the others they were headed for their rooms to wait out the storm.
Outside she took his arm and they walked to the motel. The wind was picking up and the smell of lightning was in the air. Lilly had never experienced much of this type of weather before and Slim aware of her nervousness put his arm around her as they hurried to the motel room.
Once inside she looked out the window and saw the wind blowing dust into the air. The trees were swaying a little and as yet no rain was falling. Slim turned the TV on to watch the news about the storm. He sat down and waited for the commercial to end. Lilly was a little chilly so she put on a sweater and buttoned it up to the top. She too stared at the TV as a weatherman came on with his long pointed stick in front of a large map of Texas.
“Well folks, we are in for a doozy this time. The first reports from Galveston tell us the Hurricane is just starting to hit the coast. Winds so far have been clocked at fifty miles per hour and are increasing. A smattering of rain is beginning and at our next report in two hours we will update you on the storm.”
Slim and Lilly looked at each other and she said, “I am glad we are not on the coast.”
“You got that right Lilly. I think Texas and Oklahoma are in for a beating. I am going to run to the store and see if I can buy some candles. The power most likely will go out and it would be nice to have a little light for bathroom use and reading.”
“I’m going with you. I don’t want to stay here alone.”
Slim smiled and opened the door for her. They walked quickly down the street to find a store open. The wind was blowing dust into their eyes and they walked with their heads down. Lightning lit up the sky and it was followed by ear splitting thunder. Lilly covered her ears and so did Slim.
They found a hardware store open and went inside as the door bells rang like a church from the wind and door. They both wiped their eyes and walked to the counter where a young man stood looking up at the tall man and short lady.
Slim said, “would you have any candles left?’
“Sure do. Over next to the wall you will find what you are looking for.”
Slim hurried over and brought back about six boxes of candles and a box of stick matches. Lilly dug in her purse and paid the young man. Sack in hand they hurried back to the motel as some drops of rain started to fall. By the time they reached the motel door the first of the hailstones arrived.
Lilly stood in front of the door staring at the hailstones bouncing off the street. It was noticeably colder and she hugged herself while Slim went in and turned back to the TV. Lilly closed the door as the hailstones pounded the roof. The sound of the hailstones pounding the roof was almost deafening. Slim came up and put his arms around her. Looking through the window against the street light and flashes of lightning she saw golf ball size hail hitting the ground and bouncing into the air.
For twenty minutes they stood there watching out the window with their hands covering their ears. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stopped. Lilly lowered her hands and Slim once again put his arm around her for comfort.
“Slim, I don’t like this at all.”
“I know honey, but we are safe here and think about the folks down south who will be homeless before the night is over.”
“Yes, let’s say some prayers for them.”
She moved to the bed and sat down listening to the wind pick up again from the silence following the hail storm. Slim sat in a chair with his knees sticking up watching the TV.
The weather man came back on and said, “Folks sorry to break into the regular programming, but reports from the coast are rather startling. Winds now are clocked at ninety miles an hour and gust to over a hundred have been recorded at the airport in Huston. The storm appears to be headed in a northwesterly direction. If it continues on this path and speed, it will arrive in Amarillo in about ten hours or more. We will continue to bring you the storm reports as they come in”
Slim said, “We will probably get a lot of rain and not so much wind. By tomorrow afternoon or evening it should be all over with. Meanwhile we will hunker down and wait the storm out.”
Lilly nodded her head and lay down to take a rest. Slim watched TV and occasionally looked out the window. Rain was coming as the outer reaches of the storm engulfed the state.
Lilly fell asleep and so did Slim. An hour later both woke up to the sounds of heavy rain on the roof of the motel. The wind was increasing and Slim knew in a short time the power would go off for the rest of the night and probably, if they were lucky, it would come back on in a couple of days.
Both of them got undressed and crawled into bed. Slim had the candles ready to light and they both fell asleep listening to the rain and wind.
About four hours later, just after midnight a crashing sound woke them both up. Slim jumped out of bed and made his way to the window to look and see what the noise was. It was pitch black out. No Street lights on anywhere and the power was off. Slim put his pants and shirt on. Slipped his shoes on and Lilly asked him where he was going.
“I’m going to check outside to see what happened. I think a tree came down and I hope no one was hurt.”
“Please be careful, the sound of the wind scares me,” she said in a tiny voice.
“I will honey, don’t worry I have my bus flashlight to check the area.”
Slim made his way outside to find him in a full gale force wind and pouring down rain. Instantly he was soaked with rain and shinned his light up and down the motel walkway. He could see nothing wrong so he walked towards the motel office. At first he thought just the top of the tree lay against the motel office but then he investigated further and found the tree had caved in the top of the office.
Slim shouted to anyone in the office and heard no reply. He knew the owner lived behind the front of the office in the back. It appeared the tree had reached into the back portion of the house, but he couldn’t tell for sure. Just then Al came up and asked, “What the hell happened here?”
“I’m not sure,” Slim answered. “But I know this tree came down where the owner and his wife were sleeping.”
“I’m smaller than you so let me crawl in and see if someone is hurt.”
“Good idea,” Slim shouted against the wind.
Al took the flashlight and crawled through the branches and all Slim could see was a light bouncing around. By this time Jasper, Hugh and Bill had appeared to see for themselves what the noise was they heard.
Slim told them, “Al
crawled in and is checking to see if the owner and his wife are not injured or worse yet, dead.”
About ten minutes passed and Slim could see the flashlight beam bouncing around with Al is making his way through the mess.
Al came out and said, “It looks like the tree has killed them both. They are in bed under the tree and not moving. The tree went squarely through the roof down across their bed. They didn’t have a chance.”
“We must get a hold of the police,” Slim said.
“Do we know where the police station is?” Jasper inquired.
“Yes, I do and I will go there to report the accident,” Slim remarked.
Ricky came up then and had been listening to the conversation and he said, “Let me go Slim. I can run fast and be back in no time if you tell me where the police station is.”
Slim gave him directions and Ricky took off on the run. Bill meanwhile turned and went back to his room complaining of being wet.
Jasper said some prayers for the couple and he stepped back out of the rain to wait for the police to come. Slim made his way back to report to Lilly and walking through the door found Diane with Lilly sitting on the bed.
“Honey, I think the owners of the motel have been killed by the falling tree. Ricky is on his way to the police station, but I don’t think much can be done until this storm is over.”
“You need to get out of those wet clothes and dry off for you catch the death of a cold,” Lilly told him like she was his wife already.
Slim went into the bathroom and came out after a shower with dry clothes on. He sat down in a chair and all of them waited for Ricky to come back. The candles burning cast a ghostly light against the pale green walls. The storm raged on and silence was the order of the moment.
Ricky came back out of breathe and his hair was matted to his head making him look very different than when his hair was combed in an Elvis style. He took a minute to catch his breath and said, “The police are nowhere to be found. The door is locked and not a soul is out on the streets.”
All Aboard! Romance on Route 66 Page 7