Express Duet

by Jody Day

  Dr. Harkin approved Scott to go on with the wedding, as long as he cut down on his workload and adhered to his medicine and diet plan. Privately he’d warned me about Scott’s mood swings. Things would get back to normal, or rather, a new normal, with time.

  I’d make sure things ran smoothly at his businesses.

  I let my head sink into the throw pillow. I prayed over all these things. Images of recent events flickered through my mind like a silent movie. The first tree-canopied drive down Exit 477 segued to Peeps shaking his cane at me the first time we’d met. My mind’s eye played Scott running into the Pinewood Manor inferno risking his life to save my precious letter box. The wedding. My plans formed before my mind as I nearly dozed.

  A knock at the door startled me.

  “Bailey, can I come in?” Tracy used her key to open the door and stuck her nose in.

  I don’t know what I’d have done without her help these last few weeks. I’d planned a surprise party to award her scholarship. Anticipation of getting that rolling energized me. “Yes, of course. I’m glad you came by. We haven’t had a chance to really visit since, well, you know.” I rose from the couch and patted the seat.

  She plopped down. “You know, I feel kind of bad about something.”

  “Oh? What’s up?” What could this great young lady have to confess?

  “I feel bad about how ugly I acted about Toppy hiring Phoebe. I guess I kind of took up an offense for you. I remembered later that she helped you out. She did look kind of desperate.” She crossed her arms and leaned into my shoulder.

  “I reacted the same way. But I think West House is famous for taking in strays. Scott tried to shut the situation down, probably for my sake, but it’s a moot point now. She got a job in town.”

  “She did? Well, that’s that, then. Hope it works out. We dodged a bullet. Whew!” She sat up and slapped her knees then deflated with a sigh.

  “What is it now?”

  “I’m just heartless, I guess.”

  “You? Not at all. I understand. I think we should pray for her though. She seems kind of lost.”

  “Good idea. That will make me feel better. I mean that will make her feel better. Oh, shoot. I don’t know what I mean.” She shook her head.

  “It’s OK. Hard to know what to think these days.”

  “How’s Scott?”

  “Well, physically improving by all accounts, but I think he’s struggling mentally. Maybe even spiritually.” I’d only scratched the surface of understanding.

  “We’re all praying for him.” She gave me a hug. Sweet, wise girl. She was nearly ten years my junior but so responsible. “What do you have here?” She picked up my crochet bag from the coffee table.

  “Oh, it’s a wedding gift for Scott. He loves that I’ve learned to crochet, thanks to you and all the inspiration his mother left here. I’m making a lap afghan for him. I imagine cozy evenings snuggled together under it.” I pulled it out and worked on the half-finished project.

  Tracy ran her hands across the completed section. “Soft. Why aquamarine? Looks just like the Washout Express building.”

  I laughed. “Exactly. I hope Scott recognizes that. It kind of represents my journey since I wandered this way.”

  “There’s no wandering to it. God intended for you to take that exit. We’re all the better for it.” She propped her feet up on the coffee table and watched me crochet.

  “Do you have guests this weekend?” She closed her eyes and leaned back.

  “No, things sort of leveled off when school started. But I’m booked solid between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Mom and the girls have promised to help since I’ll be getting married, and then away on my honeymoon.”

  “I’ll help all I can. Since your gal pals, Mandy and Macy, are sweet on Scott’s boys, I can count on them to help me. They are here all the time. And speaking of being sweet on someone, where’s the honeymoon going to be?”

  “Would you believe we haven’t decided yet? I’ve always wanted to see Carlsbad Caverns, and Scott’s always wanted to ski in Colorado. I don’t know how well he’ll feel for either trip.” I let the afghan fall into my lap.

  “You know how to ski?” Tracy raised her head and pulled the completed part of the afghan across her knees.

  “No, but I imagine hot chocolate, fireplaces, and beautiful romantic scenery.”

  “Now that sounds nice. I vote for that.”

  I smirked and giggled at her. “OK, I’ll let Scott know you’ve made up our minds.”

  “Maybe I should come along.” She nudged my shin with her foot.

  “Uh, No. Thank. You.” I shook my finger at my young friend.

  “Seriously, though, you guys have stuff happen to you all the time.” She put her arm around me.

  “I know, right? But it’s more good than bad. I can feel it in my bones.”

  “Prayer can do it, and we both know it can. Thanks for the morning off. I better head to the diner.”

  I nodded, busy counting stitches.

  She reached into the bag and pulled out a skein. “Soft Royal,” she read from the wrapping. “What a pretty purple.” She looked deep in thought for a moment and then realization brightened her face.

  “And I suppose there will be exactly three rows of this soft, royal purple?” A tear pooled in the corner of her eyes.

  “Yes, exactly three.” I smiled and choked back my own tears.

  I took a breath to speak and Tracy recited with me, “Queen o’ Sheba, Queen o’ Sheba, Queen o’ Sheba.”

  ~*~

  The solace of the tree-canopied stretch of road bolstered me like medicine. I turned up the heat in Toppy’s SUV.

  “It’s been great having Bailey’s roommates take over the cooking so I could be up at the hospital with you.” Toppy pulled up to the diner. “But I’m ready to get back to work.”

  “Mandy and Macy are great, aren’t they? And with Greg and Todd running across the street all the time, it must be pretty mushy around here.” I pushed open the car door and stood.

  “Lot of that going on around here,” he said. Was that a blush splashing across his cheek?

  “I’d say you know more about that than anyone.” I grinned at my uncle, who pretended to ignore me. His ever reddening cheeks said otherwise.

  “I guess you taught them everything you know.” I changed the subject.

  “Not much to teach about cooking hamburgers; although,” he stopped and lifted an eyebrow at me, “you’ll find a few new items on the menu in honor of your new healthy lifestyle.”

  “Like what?” They hadn’t asked me before making changes in my own place of business? Well, I’m back.

  “There’s a green salad on the menu, and hold on to your hat, a veggie burger.” My uncle avoided my eyes as he reached in the back for my suitcase.

  “Oh, yeah, like that’s gonna go over with the truckers. And we already had a green salad on the menu.” They really took advantage of my absence to wreck the place.

  “A little bowl of iceberg lettuce is not a healthy, green salad. The truck drivers don’t order the veggie burger, but people are coming from town just for that. The girls have taken to serving turkey as well.”

  Whatever. At least I was home. I could deal with the diner later. I needed to find Bailey first.

  Tracy came running out the door. “Scott!” She threw her arms around me and play socked me on the shoulder. “It’s about time you got home.”

  Liz came out right behind her. “Scott, how wonderful to see you. We’ve missed you.”

  “I appreciate it, but I saw both of you rather often during visiting hours.” My cheeks warmed at all the kissing and hugs.

  “It’s just not the same around here without you. You’re the heart of this place.” Liz took my hand and led me to the door.

  Her comment caused emotion to well up. If they only knew how much that meant to me. But Bailey was the one who got the heart of the place beating again. Backbone. That was my role in all this. At l
east it used to be.

  Liz reached for the door handle, but I stopped her.

  “Since when do you open doors for me?” I dropped her hand and immediately regretted the irritation in my voice.

  “Sorry, just feeling motherly, that’s all.” She stepped back and let me open the door for her. She entered, followed by Liz and finally Toppy, who gave me a frosty look as he passed. He headed upstairs with my suitcase.

  Mandy and Macy hustled out the kitchen door to greet me.

  “I don’t know what we would have done without you ladies. Thanks so much for helping out.” And thanks for putting veggie burgers on the menu-not. Ought to be a law.

  “No problem at all; we’ve loved every minute.” Mandy craned her neck to look at the washout across the street.

  It’s a wonder anything got done with all the romance in the air. I needed to go see my beloved. I worried a little that she’d visited me so infrequently the last few days of my hospital stay. I certainly deserved it, ‘cause I’d acted like a horse’s behind. She claimed to forgive me, but I couldn’t quite decide how she really felt.

  Everyone dispersed to continue with their work, leaving me at a table with a glass of tea, no sugar. I downed it. Yuck. What was the point of living in Texas if you couldn’t drink sweet tea?

  I retrieved my truck keys and took off. I found Bailey sleeping so hard that she didn’t wake as I opened the door. So beautiful. The sight of her snuggled under an afghan that my Mom made touched me. Dad loved Bailey, and Mom would have too. The depth of that incredible loss tightened my throat. Yes, I had to acknowledge what I’d been given. “Beloved.” I hadn’t meant to wake her, but she opened her eyes and smiled.

  She sat and held out one end of the afghan. She didn’t need to ask me twice. I rushed to her side. I slipped my arm around her and pulled her close. Her hair brushed my cheek like silken ribbons. I kissed her. “Bailey, I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?” There was no use trying to explain what I couldn’t understand. I ventured another kiss, relieved that she responded. I gave her the autumn spray bouquet.

  Her eyes lit up like Christmas. She set the flowers on the coffee table and then put her hands on my face and pulled our foreheads together. “No need to say anything, my love. I didn’t lose you. That’s all that matters.”

  I rested in her gentle embrace.

  Forgiveness and peace glowed from her brimming eyes.

  She still loves me.

  10

  No way on God’s green earth could they make a vegetarian out of me. That was just wrong. The Doc said I could have lean meat, but limited carbs. Bailey wanted me to try the diner’s new veggie burger. She’d be here in ten minutes, and I couldn’t even get out of bed. Why was I so tired? I’d been trying to follow all the doc’s orders. I ought to be feeling a hundred percent by now. I never took naps, but after helping out at the diner that morning, I’d come upstairs and collapsed on my bed. How long was getting better going to take anyway? I had work to do, and most importantly, our wedding raced toward me at full speed. I was only working in second gear at best. I rolled out of bed.

  The bell on the diner entrance jingled. Probably my beloved. I washed my face and ran a comb through my hair. Moving around gave me a little energy. Coffee. I needed coffee. But that was on the limited list as well. I used to fly down the stairs from my apartment, two and three steps at a time, but now I walked down, one step at a time. I couldn’t afford to appear winded. Everyone would look at me with fear in their eyes.

  The scent of coffee, fried eggs, and hash browns mingled with random chatter, forks clinking plates, and an occasional laugh, helped shake off my mood.

  Bailey loved those scented wax burning things she’d set up in my mother’s bed and breakfast. I’d told her if they could capture the essence of my diner in the mornings, they might have something.

  “Well, hey, sleepyhead.” Toppy wiped down the counter and motioned me to a barstool.

  OK, I’d ignore that. Surely my uncle, above all people, knew that I didn’t usually take naps. Why’d he have to announce it to the whole world? Great. Here came Bailey with a plate in her hand. That could only mean one thing. Yep, the dreaded veggie burger. She smiled, kissed me on the cheek, and plunked it down in front of me. She’d pinned a bit of the flowers I’d given her on her apron.

  “Go on, you’ll love it, I promise.” She sat on the stool next to me, elbow resting on the counter, chin in hand.

  Toppy leaned back and crossed his arms.

  “I didn’t think I’d have an audience.” I could see Tracy and Liz gaping through the kitchen window. I glanced over my shoulder. Diner patrons watched too. I recognized a few truckers. If I acted as if I liked it for Bailey’s sake, I’d be a sissy in front of those grizzled men. Oh, well, making her happy trumped embarrassment. I took a bite. Garlic. I did love garlic. Good texture. Definitely not beef, but not bad, especially with the fresh tomato from Toppy’s garden, and grilled onions. I nodded my head at Bailey and then took another bite. No, not bad at all. I reached for the ketchup.

  Bailey slapped my hand and put the bottle behind her back. “Wait, that has sugar in it.”

  “Can’t be much,” I pried the bottle from her hands.

  “Try this instead. Homemade. No sugar.” Toppy slid a bottle of salsa toward me.

  I smirked at him, shoved away the ketchup, and poured the salsa on my plate. I dipped my burger into it and took another bite. That manned it up a bit, didn’t it?

  The hush in the diner reverted to the usual conversational buzz.

  Bailey’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. Which made eating a veggie burger worth it, after all.

  “I knew you’d like it. We’ll get you healthy in no time.” She patted me on the back. “I’ve got to get back to work.” She scribbled a note on her order pad, tore it away, and stuffed it into my pocket.

  Every bite of that new-fangled food found its way down my throat. It was the first time I’d felt hungry in days. I took my plate to the kitchen where Tracy washed dishes, so I handed it to her.

  “You really like it? Mom and Toppy worked on that recipe for hours. Lots of people are ordering it. Can you believe it?” She submerged my plate into the soapy water.

  “Frankly, no, I can’t believe it. It tastes pretty good, I’ll give you that, but this is a diner. We get mostly truckers. If we convert to mostly rabbit food, we’ll lose all the clientele.” I pulled a towel from an overhanging rack and dried dishes.

  “That’s just it, Scott,” Toppy said from the grill. “We are getting a different bunch of people from town. Mostly ladies, sure, but they are asking for the veggie burger, the salads, and the fruit platters we’re serving. We still have the greasy fare for the regulars. It’s a win-win. In case you haven’t noticed, we are nearly full all the time, which is why Tracy’s washing dishes while the dishwasher is also running. You might want to consider buying some more plates and silverware.” He flipped a burger and covered it with onions.

  “Look, Scott.” Liz opened the large refrigerator door. One whole shelf resembled the fresh fruit department at the grocery store.

  “Colorful.” I didn’t mean to be belligerent. There were so many changes, and at a rapid-fire pace.

  Liz just laughed it off at me and pulled out a bowl of strawberries. She offered me one.

  “Mmm, these are sweet.” I grabbed a handful and winked at her.

  Everyone seemed so pleased. It was a shame it took a heart attack to discover these things. And they didn’t seem to need me at all.

  “I’m going over to the washout. Call my cell if you need me.” Maybe I could get some work done over there this afternoon.

  I found Bailey taking orders in the dining room. I waited for her to finish. “Hey, Beloved, I’m going across the street to work for a while. Dinner tonight?” I gently rubbed her arm.

  “Sure, I can’t wait to show you more of the wedding plans. Whew, even keeping it simple is work. I’m loving every minute of it, though.” Her
eyes shone.

  I could get lost in that gaze of hers even standing in the middle of a packed diner.

  “I wish it snowed more in Texas. It would be so romantic to leave the church in a sleigh, wouldn’t it?” She looked skyward in her daydream.

  That wasn’t something I could make happen, but I could pray about it. Snow would definitely be a miracle in Texas. Not impossible, but rare. I walked over to the washout in better spirits. Things might be getting back to normal. Well, except for the weird food, the pitying looks, and the fact that nobody would let me do anything without warning me to be careful. Actually, nothing felt normal, except Bailey didn’t seem to be worried about going on with the wedding.

  The wedding. Without my parents. Moving into the inn that had been my mother’s domain. The hurt stung me. What happened to my one-track mind? The anxiety that plagued me, that had finally sent me to the ground with a heart attack, gripped my chest again. Oh, no. Maybe if I just stood still for a minute the pain would subside. Please don’t let Bailey be looking out the window. I willed my breathing to slow and took a few steps toward the washout. The pain eased off. Should I call the doctor? I had to get a grip on this. A few more steps and I felt better.

  “Hey, Boss, I’m glad you’ve got time for a stroll. We’ve been super busy this morning, but that’s a good thing, right?” Greg Pearson took off his cap and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a red rag.

  “A very good thing. Let me go in and take a look at the books, and then I’ll pitch in.” I headed for the cubicle that served as an office. I hadn’t spent much time in there lately.

  “You can if you want, but your sweetheart has already done the reckoning. She said things look pretty good. If you just want to go home for the day, we’ve got this.” Greg put his hat back on and motioned the next truck into the dock.

  “Sure, Scott, we’ve got it down to a science. No need to hang around unless you just want to shoot the bull between trucks.” Todd pulled a chair from against the wall and rolled it over to me.

  Treating me with kid gloves would have to stop. But I did feel tired. And I’d just had a nap. It must be the full stomach making me sleepy. Maybe an hour in the prayer garden would help. Did I have the energy to walk up there this afternoon? I decided to drive. I bid the guys goodbye with a tip of my cap and headed back across the street for my truck. Something was different. It sure didn’t feel like my truck, or look like it inside. My piles of soda cans were gone. A fragrance thingy hung from the rear view mirror.