The clouds had parted, and the little patch of sky she could see through the rear window held more stars than she knew existed. She watched them while the day’s events played in her mind. Why did everything she ever tried to do get fouled up somehow? After a while, she heard a car door slam and an engine start, and she rose up to see the pickup pull onto the road with a spatter of gravel. The bar’s neon lights were gray shadows against the black window.
Lainie squirmed to get comfortable. She tried to remember when she had ever heard such silence and could not. She was no stranger to loneliness, but she was to being alone, and it frightened her. Tomorrow she’d find a way to get to El Paso and the new start she knew was waiting for her there. What was it those signs said? Last Chance for rest, for the good life? She was still gazing at the stars when, enveloped by the hot smell of her cooling engine, she fell asleep. Maybe one more chance was all she needed.
2
Sunlight was pouring through the back window of Lainie’s car when she opened her eyes. She was hot and sticky, and her mouth felt like cotton. Pain knifed through her neck and shoulder when she lifted her arm to check her watch, and she thought she’d never be able to straighten her legs again.
She slowly pulled herself into a sitting position and looked around. Last Chance looked no more encouraging than it had the night before; she was still stuck in the back of beyond. A promise in the air of searing heat to come reached her through the open window, but the early morning was cool. Long shadows still stretched west across gravel and asphalt, and the distant rocks and hills were blue and pink and purple against a vivid turquoise sky. A postcard with a view just like that had been what drew her to the Southwest in the first place, but for the life of her, at that moment, she couldn’t remember what the attraction had been.
Lainie got out of her car and stretched, listening to the pop of each joint. “Okay, deep breath. You are going to get out of here somehow.”
The High Lonesome Saloon was still closed, but in the window across the road three neon doughnuts progressively lowered their way into a large neon coffee cup while wafting neon steam formed the words Dip ’n’ Dine.
“I need coffee.” Lainie opened her trunk, hauled out a battered red backpack, and headed across the road. “And a place to wash up.”
“Honey! You didn’t sleep in that car, did you?” The waitress who greeted her when she came in was just too perky for 6:45.
Lainie turned and looked out the window. Her car was in plain view, and the waitress had obviously seen her get out of the car. She was in no mood for either idle chat or nosy questions. “Yeah. And I’d sure like to clean up. Where’s the restroom?”
“Right through there. Oh, wait, I can do you one better.” The waitress, who had a plastic tag over her pocket that read “Fayette,” led Lainie past a door marked “Employees Only” and through a storage room to a small bathroom.
“How’d you like a shower? I use this sometimes when I have to work breakfast shift clear through supper. It gets so hot, and I don’t have time to go home to freshen up after the lunch crowd thins out.”
Lainie managed a real smile. “I would kill for a shower. Thanks.”
“Well, that won’t be a bit necessary. You just take all the time you want, and when you get done, I’ll give you some breakfast.”
Never had something as simple as a shower felt so good. The shampoo Lainie found on the shower shelf smelled like raspberries, and as the hot water sluiced around her shoulders and down her back, she closed her eyes and inhaled the fragrant steam, feeling her aches and stiffness slipping away.
Combing the tangles from her wet hair, she felt like a new woman. The shorts and tank top she pulled from her backpack were wrinkled but clean. She pulled her wet hair back, caught it with an elastic band, and smiled at herself in the mirror. Just a touch of lipstick, and you’re human again.
As she searched the inside of her backpack, a bulge in the lining grazed her knuckles. Yanking the bag open wide, she held it to the light and discovered a slit just wider than her hand cut under the zipper. Her fingers felt numb, almost as if they didn’t belong to her, as she worked her hand through the slit and down the side of the pack. She knew what she had even before she pulled the plastic bag of crystals into the light.
One of Nick’s new friends had shown him a similar bag in their living room and bragged about what they could get for it on the street. She and Nick had argued after he left, and Nick had promised her he would never deal drugs. But he also promised he’d never see those friends again, and the day Lainie came home to see them pulling away from the curb, she knew she had to leave. She had put nearly a thousand miles between her and Nick, but when she pulled the drugs from her backpack, it was as if he had shoved his way into the room too. Her dream of him letting her go, of moving on, was over. Nick would already be looking for her, and he didn’t give up.
Her hand was shaking as she shoved the plastic bag back behind the lining again, way down this time, clear to the bottom. She needed to get rid of the drugs somehow, but she’d figure that out later. That waitress would probably be checking on her if she didn’t get out there soon.
“Feel better? You sure look like you do.” Fayette gave her a smile.
Lainie climbed onto a stool at the counter and pulled a plastic-coated menu to her. “Yeah. I think I’ll live. Thanks.”
“Now. What can I get you? Want some eggs? Maybe a waffle?”
“Just coffee, thanks. And maybe some toast. I need to get going.”
“Oh, you need more than just toast and coffee! No wonder you’re so skinny. How about a couple of biscuits? I’ve got a pan just about ready to come out of the oven.”
“Just toast.”
“Oh, come on. Carlos is famous for his biscuits. You’ve got to give them a try.”
Lainie sighed. She wasn’t up to an argument and sometimes, though not often, she found it was easiest just to give in. “Okay, I’ll have a biscuit.”
“And some eggs? How do you like them? Over easy? And some sausage? I get it from a guy just over the state line who makes it himself, and it’s the best you’ll ever put in your mouth.” Fayette smiled as she poured Lainie’s coffee and pushed the cream pitcher over to her.
In the kitchen, Carlos must have pulled the biscuits from the oven, because the diner was suddenly filled with the aroma of hot bread. Lainie realized she was hungry. Her dinner had been a packet of peanut butter crackers and some beef jerky she bought at the gas station, and that had been some twelve hours earlier.
She returned Fayette’s smile. “Okay, I’ll take some eggs. Thanks.”
“Carlos? You got that? Two eggs over easy, side of sausage.”
Lainie sipped her coffee and gazed through the window at her defunct car in the middle of the High Lonesome’s parking lot across the road. It had a dejected, abandoned look, and even though Lainie had yet to call Manny at Otero Gas and Oil, she didn’t think he would be able to do much for her. “I really need to get to El Paso today. What’s the best way to do that?”
Fayette stopped on her way to the kitchen and looked thoughtful. “Well, there’s an eastbound bus that goes through San Ramon two or three times a day. That’s about twenty miles from here, but someone’s always heading up there, and I can try to find someone to give you a ride. If that fails, I can take you up myself after I close up here. But the only bus that comes that late doesn’t leave until nearly midnight. Gets you into El Paso at about 2:30 in the morning.”
Lainie thought a minute, then slid off her stool and picked up her backpack. “Do you have a pay phone I can use? I need to make a quick call.”
“Right there by the front door. You walked right past it when you came in. Don’t bother hauling that thing with you, nobody’s going to mess with it.”
“It’s all right.”
She pulled a phone card from her purse and punched in the numbers, turning her back to the dining room. “Come on, Lindsay, be home. Pick up.”
Whe
n she heard the familiar voice on the line, she felt the weight on her shoulders ease. It was the first thing that had gone right since that light on the dash showed up last night.
“Hi, it’s me. Listen, my car broke down, and I’m stuck in some hole off the interstate somewhere.”
“Who? What?” Lindsay’s voice came as a croak.
“Lindsay, wake up. It’s Lainie. My car’s dead. Like, really dead. I’m going to try to get out of here on a bus today, but it may be late before I get in. Do you think you can meet me?” She glanced over her shoulder at Fayette.
“Lainie, where are you?” Lindsay still sounded groggy. “I thought you were going to get here last night. They were only going to hold that job till this morning. What happened?”
Lainie rolled her eyes and was about to repeat herself when Lindsay continued. “Nick called.”
Ice spread like fingers through Lainie’s body. “Nick? When?”
“Yesterday. He seemed pretty sure he’d find you here. Did you tell him you were coming after all?”
“No, of course not. What did you tell him?”
“That I hadn’t heard from you in months. Isn’t that what I was supposed to say? I’m not sure he bought it, though. He kept asking for you. Why did he think you’d be here?”
“I have no idea. Listen, I’d better not come. Not for a while, anyway. If he calls back, do not tell him you talked to me. Just say you never heard from me. Do you hear me? You never heard from me.”
She hung up and slowly sank, almost as if her knees were refusing to hold her up anymore, until she was sitting on her backpack. She sat with her face buried in her hands until she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Honey? Is everything all right?”
Lainie took a deep breath, held it a moment, and blew it out in a gust. “Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m fine.”
“Well, one thing you can do is come eat. Everything always looks better on a full stomach.”
Lainie shrugged the hand off her shoulder and stood up. What planet was this woman from, anyway?
Fayette slid her arm back around Lainie’s shoulders and guided her across the room to her stool. She went behind the counter, took a plate off the shelf, and placed it in front of Lainie. “Here you go. Here’s some honey for your biscuits and some green chile for your eggs. Enjoy.”
Lainie murmured a curt thanks. She needed to think, and Fayette looked like she wanted to chat. Lainie didn’t look up again until the sound of her coffee cup being refilled brought her out of her reverie.
“There now. Feel better, don’t you?” Fayette smiled down at her. Lainie saw that her plate was completely empty, wiped clean with the scrap of biscuit that she still held. She could not remember the last time she had eaten so much at one sitting. Truth be told, she didn’t remember eating this meal either, and though she’d never admit it, she did feel better.
“I may be stuck here a little longer than I’d planned, and I really don’t want to live in my car. Do you know when the motel is going to open again? The guy in the bar said maybe Friday?”
“That’d be about right. Rita’s due back from the mayors’ convention late Thursday.”
Lainie just looked at her.
“She’s at the small town mayors’ convention. It’s her one official trip every year, and she never misses it. That’s the only reason she’d dream of shutting down the motel, even for a few days. Her sister, Coral Ann, usually takes over for her when she goes to the convention, but her daughter up in Phoenix went into labor three and a half weeks early and she was gone. Rita didn’t have much choice but to close down for a few days.”
“I’m sorry. Whose daughter?”
“Coral Ann’s. Rita has two boys, but one’s in the air force, and the other moved off to Dallas, I think. They neither one of them have kids.”
Lainie tried not to roll her eyes. “So the motel is closed until . . . ?”
“I think you could check in Friday. But you don’t want to sleep in your car till then. Let me think a minute.”
A white-haired couple came in and claimed a booth by the window. Fayette picked up the coffeepot and crossed the room.
“Morning, Juanita, Russ. You need some menus, or you know what you want?”
“Well, you know Russ wants a pancake special with the eggs over medium. I’ve never seen a man for loving his old ruts.” Juanita shot an exasperated glance at her husband.
Russ didn’t look up from stirring cream and sugar into his coffee. “If something’s good, don’t mess with it. That’s why I’ve stuck with you all these years, toots.”
“Well, I’m glad to know I rate right up there with a pancake special.” Juanita shook her head. “I’ll just have toast and grapefruit.”
“Right. Whole wheat, hold the butter. Be right back with that.”
“I see Les Watson’s truck is parked outside the bar at 7:30 on a workday morning.” Juanita cradled her cup in both hands as she gazed out the window. “Think he’s sleeping it off in the cab, or did Ray have to drive him home again?”
Russ didn’t answer and Fayette had disappeared into the kitchen. In a moment she stuck her head back out again.
“I’m trying to think where someone might stay until Rita gets back. Got any ideas?”
“San Ramon? They have some motels up there.”
All three looked at Lainie, still clutching her backpack. She shook her head.
“No, all my stuff is in my car. I need to stay nearby. Don’t worry about it. If I can get some help moving it out of the middle of that parking lot, I’ll just make that my base for a few days.”
“Now that sounds awful. I know we can do better than that.” Juanita clearly loved a project. “If Russ didn’t have our spare room filled up with all that radio equipment, she could stay there.”
“Really, I’ll be fine. It’s only for a few days.”
They went on as if Lainie hadn’t spoken.
“You know who might have a room? Elizabeth Cooley. She was just telling me that since her granddaughter went to college, she’s rattling around like a BB in a boxcar. You know, she always did like a houseful of people.”
“No, I’m fine. Really.” Lainie spoke louder. They ignored her still.
“Elizabeth! Of course! Why didn’t I think of her? She’s perfect. I’ll go give her a call right now. Think she’ll be up yet?”
Lainie slid off her stool and slung her backpack over one shoulder. “Look, I truly appreciate all your help, but I don’t need it. How much do I owe you?”
Fayette pulled her ticket pad out of her apron pocket and handed Lainie the top sheet. “Honey, are you sure? At least let’s get that car over here somehow if Manny can’t fix it, so you’ll have someplace to be during the day besides the front seat of a broken-down car.”
Lainie had never had so many people, strangers at that, show such concern for her well-being. And honestly? It made her want to run like the wind. Without a word, she slapped a ten-dollar bill on the counter and headed for the door, waving away Fayette’s protest that she had change coming.
“Would you look at that?” Lainie pulled up short when Juanita’s disapproving voice drew their attention to the window. A car even more beat-up than Lainie’s had pulled into the parking lot of the High Lonesome Saloon beside the pickup Les had left there the night before.
Juanita pursed her lips. “How she puts up with that, I do not know. I wouldn’t. Not for five minutes, let alone thirty years.”
Russ hadn’t more than glanced up from his breakfast. “Well, you don’t have to. He’s Evelyn’s problem, not yours.”
Les got out of the passenger side and climbed into the cab of his truck. The old car followed him out onto the road.
Juanita tore open another package of sweetener and stirred it into her coffee. “I know that. But it just doesn’t seem right that such a sweet and godly woman should be called to bear such a heavy burden year after year.”
She said more,
but Lainie didn’t hear. She was watching not Les but the county sheriff car that had stopped just outside the Dip ’n’ Dine. The stocky silver-haired deputy stood by his car and waved a greeting that Les returned as he drove away. Lainie slipped into a booth by the door and slid her backpack under the table. Why was he staring at her car? Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he turned and walked in.
“Morning, Ben. On your way home?” Fayette poured a cup of coffee and set it in front of him.
The officer sat on a stool and helped himself to two chocolate doughnuts from the pyramid under a glass dome on the counter.
“Yep. Just got off.”
“Rosalie out of town? Want some breakfast?”
“No, she’s got breakfast for me. Some dang oatmeal and dang decaf coffee.” He bit off half a doughnut and sloshed the other half in his coffee. “Know anything about the car with the California plates in Ray’s parking lot?”
Everyone looked at Lainie. She tried to sound nonchalant. “That’s mine. I had some trouble with it last night and that’s as far as it got me. I’m just waiting for the gas station to open up. I’ll be on my way as soon as it’s fixed.”
“And she’s says she’s going to sleep in it until it’s fixed! Can you believe that?” Juanita seemed to feel every conversation included her. “Rita’s out of town, you know.”
Ben shook his head and bit into his other doughnut. “That’s not going to happen. There’s a vagrancy ordinance. I could find someone to drive you up to San Ramon, though. Got some motels up there.”
“That’s what I told her. But she doesn’t want to leave her car. What do you think about her staying with Elizabeth Cooley?”
The deputy regarded Lainie with dark, hooded eyes. “Might work. For a few days, anyway.”
“That’s all we need. Rita’s due back Friday. I’ll go give Elizabeth a call.”
Ben stood and picked up his hat. “Oh, by the way, the station’s open. Saw Manny opening things up when I drove by.” He tossed a few bills on the counter, waved to Russ and Juanita, and left. Fayette was already on the phone.
Welcome to Last Chance Page 2