“Hi Clay,” True greeted him with a broad smile when he walked into the restaurant.
“Morning,” he said while looking away. That smile was like looking at the sun after a long cold winter. He quickly greeted the others and then took his seat and True placed a glass of iced tea in front of him.
“I’ll have your order out in just one sec.” She disappeared into the kitchen. The soap opera that he watched began but Clay spent more time listening to True take orders, greet people in a friendly way and thank them for the tips she received.
She was a friendly person. It was a shame that she was down on her luck. Maybe he should talk to Tiffany about doing something to help her out. He stroked his goatee. Perhaps there was more that he himself could do.
When True collected his empty plate he cleared his throat. “Um, listen, about you staying in that truck…” Her smile fell. “No, you can stay there,” he whispered. “I just well…if you like I can just pay for your motel.”
She just stared at him and his face reddened at the way that sounded.
“I mean you can pay me back. I just thought that it might be better at the motel.”
She didn’t look as happy as she had before and he thought that he had probably stuck his foot in his mouth.
“I have my own money…I can make it work if you need me out of the truck-” True said.
“No, it’s not that. I just…never mind. Stay there if you like.”
She gnawed her lower lip and nodded once. “I’ll bring your coffee now.”
He rolled his eyes as soon as she was gone and wanted to smack himself in the head. He looked around and caught people watching him.
True placed the items in the dishwasher wishing that Friday would hurry up and arrive so that she could stop taking Clay’s handouts.
Pt 2
Each day True grew anxious when it was time for Clay to show up for lunch. He always ate the same thing, the soup of the day, a roast beef and ham double decker with sliced boiled egg added and drank his unsweetened iced tea and then coffee with no desert. Other then greeting her when he came in he didn’t speak to her. She wondered if he regretted ever helping her. He acted uncomfortable when she came around. And then on Wednesday she did the unthinkable and spilled coffee all over the counter when she tried to refill his cup. He jumped up before coffee could spill on his pants.
“Oh, damn! I’m so sorry!” She grabbed napkins and tried to stop the spill from spreading. He grabbed some as well.
“It’s okay,” he said while wiping up the mess and tossing the wet napkin into the coffee cup. He reached into his wallet. “Look I’m going to head on out.”
Her shoulders sank. “I’m sorry-”
“It’s okay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he muttered.
“Bye…” She said.
Pt 3
On Thursday when True placed Clay’s iced tea in front of him he stopped her before she could hurry off to get his order.
“I’ll be picking up the truck tomorrow after lunch.”
“I’ll get my things out.” She said.
He nodded. “And you’ll have enough for the motel?”
She grinned. “Well with the way you tip me, I’m sure to have enough for a month at a motel.”
His face reddened. “I…well-”
“Thanks for that.” She said. Clay stared at her heart shaped lips. “Thanks for everything,” she continued. “And I fixed the molding that I broke.”
“You didn’t have to do that. I could have done that myself.”
She nodded. “And I cleaned up, it was kind of dusty. I’ll take the blankets to the Laundromat-”
“Don’t worry about that, True.” She liked the way he said her name. “I got a washer and dryer at the house. Look you don’t have to do anything.”…except take care of yourself. “And you’re welcome.”
She smiled and nodded and then went to the kitchen to get his order.
Pt 4
It felt nice to take a hot shower, so nice that True stood under the hot spray for a full twenty minutes. Her motel room had carpet a queen-sized bed, cable television and room service. But it was far from being a five-star hotel. The bathroom grout was black, the fixtures rusted and calcium coated, the toilet was something that True didn’t even consider sitting her bare butt on.
No sooner did she check in did she contact housekeeping for cleaning supplies then she set to scouring the room. The Westover motel was an extended stay establishment where people actually lived there like it was an apartment. But at nearly two hundred fifty dollars a week True thought she could find a real apartment for the long term at a much cheaper price.
She climbed into bed and curled into a fetal position beneath her sheet and blankets, just as if she was still in the truck.
It had warmed up some that Saturday and True walked to work and actually enjoyed it. She planned to work another double. It wasn’t like she had anything else to occupy her time. Work was going well, although she was surprised that she missed seeing Clay in his usual seat in front of the television. She wondered if he missed knowing what was going on in his stories. She didn’t realize that there was a smile on his face as soon as she began thinking about him.
Pt 2
The drone of the CB Radio made a familiar white noise as Clay drove down the highway towards Lexington Kentucky. The traffic was good, and with the twenty-pound weight loss he felt healthier than he had in ages. But he could still smell her, like coconuts and hand lotion. It lingered in the cabin despite the opened windows. And for some reason that he couldn’t fathom, thoughts of True made it hard for him to enjoy his return to work.
It was like being at home and missing the things that he’d lost when his marriage ended. Why did being back on the road feel like losing something important?
In months past he’d gotten into the habit of picking up fast food on the way home but he missed his regular lunch at the diner. He decided to stop there for dinner, not willing to admit to himself that what he really missed was seeing True.
The minute he walked into the restaurant True’s face lit up. He saw her and smiled and several customers leaned in and began speculating at whether or not their eyes were deceiving them and that old S.O.B Clay actually had a smile on his face.
She’d never seen him during dinner and although she was working tables and not the counter she rushed over to greet him and take his order.
“Hi Clay. I missed seeing you at lunch.”
His cheeks turned red. “I missed…um I missed being here. Missed my soup.”
“Well,” she said while leaning against the counter, “do you want your regular?”
He watched her pretty lips and wondered what they would feel like against his. Would she part them, would he suck them…
“Clay?” She asked and then before he could answer she turned and walked away. He scrambled for something to say but she was just pouring him iced tea. She placed it on the counter before him. “Jeb made a mean pot roast. The green beans were canned but he doctored it up with bacon and potatoes. It was really good.” She had of course had some since she ate all of her meals for free.
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll have the pot roast special.”
“Be right back,” she said with a big smile and his lips pulled into one equally as big.
“Alright,” he said.
“Tiffany, I’m sorry I took Jeb’s order,” True said when she saw the other woman carrying an order to another customer.
“Don’t make me no never mind,” Tiffany replied. “He ain’t as grumpy whenever you serve him. He’s even smiling.”
Tiffany peeked at him. He was cute when he wasn’t staring mindlessly at the television and she couldn’t deny that his smile made him downright handsome. He indeed had dark blue eyes and even though it was winter he had some color in his complexion, probably because as a truck driver he was always outdoors. She could tell that he was strong, his arms were big and he was built like a football player. When he walked into a room you noticed him. She liked that he was neat, his goatee was always shaped nicely and his thick hair always cut short enough that it formed neat curls on top. He had thick sideburns with a small amount of grey and she figured that if he wasn’t already forty, he was approaching it. He was handsome alright.
When his order came up she wouldn’t let Tiffany deliver it and came and got it herself. She put two extra dinner rolls on the plate. Jeb said nothing.
“Here you go,” she said.
“Mmm, this looks good.” Clay said while studying the spread. “It’s been a while since I’ve eaten like this.”
“You should try my lasagna sometime…” and then her face grew hot and she hurried away. Where had that come from?
As the night progressed True tried not to pay attention to Clay because every time she did she got the order backward or forgot something. But then that mean man and his friends came in again. They sat right in her station and True prayed that they wouldn’t give her any trouble tonight. She could tell that they had been drinking because they stumbled and had red-rimmed eyes.
“What can I get you fellas tonight?” She asked politely.
A skinny smelly one leered at her. “I want a burger and fries.” He slurred.
“You want cheese on that?” She scribbled into her pad.
“Of course, dummy. Who don’t want cheese on their burger?”
The one named Sully and the other guy with him guffawed.
True’s face burned and her brow drew together. She considered just walking away but couldn’t. If she did that then the name-calling would just escalate and she wouldn’t allow these men to send her down that road.
“Don’t call me that,” she said while staring at them all.
The man’s smile disappeared. “I could call you worse,” he growled.
The others were still laughing at her and she was about to turn and walk away but someone was suddenly standing beside her. It was Clay.
His face was a mask of rage. “Worse like what, Albert? What names do you have in mind to call this woman, you sorry son of a whore?!”
Albert gave Clay a surprised look. “Hey Clay, I ain’t got no beef with you-”
“We’re just having a little fun,” Sully said with an ugly sneer on his face.
Tiffany was carrying a tray of drinks in her hand but she hurried over, fuming so bad that she’d forgotten to put them down.
“Albert, Sully, DJ, get out of here! I warned you last week. Don’t come back here no more!”
Sully jumped up, his face red and he no longer looked drunk. “What?! You kicking us out over some stupid nigger?!”
Clay didn’t remember it happening, all he knew is that his fist rose, slammed down and Sully was knocked out cold on the floor.
Albert looked at Sully and then Clay and he and his friend jumped up from their chairs with fists flying. True stumbled out of the way and Pauline grabbed her arm and pulled her to the kitchen. They passed Jeb who had a rolling pin in one hand and a butcher knife in the other.
Oh my God. True and Pauline watched the fight through the pass-through, but it was over almost as soon as it had begun. Albert was rolling on the floor holding his head and yelling about that old bastard hitting him in the head with a rolling pin. The other man was kneeling on the floor holding his broken nose and dripping blood on the floor. Clay was standing over him with his fists poised to take another strike. Tiffany was getting the customers settled. Some of the men seemed like they wanted to join in on the fight and it was unclear whose side they were on.
“Calm down everyone. Let’s get back to your seats. Deserts on the house for everyone.”
Jeb’s head snapped to her. “We ain’t got enough desert for that.”
Tiffany shrugged. “Carry these fools outside. They dirtying up my floor!” She placed her hands on her hips. She looked pissed. “Look folks, we ain’t children and this ain’t that kind of establishment. If anybody got problems with True working here than you can follow these three right out the door. I’m not having no more bullshit in here! You ain’t gotta pay your bill, just get out!”
One lady left but that was more because her check was short and she wanted to save the fifteen bucks on her and her kids meals.
True was shaking when Jeb returned to the kitchen. She was slicing one of the cakes from the walk in.
“Wha’chou doing?” Jeb asked curiously.
“We gotta get these people desert.” She said in a shaky voice.
Jeb walked out the kitchen and right up to Clay who had delivered the rowdy crew to their car and was now watching them drive off cursing him all the way.
“Go back in there and talk to that gal. She’s a nervous wreck.” Jeb said.
Clay gave Jeb a surprised look. “Tiffany might be better at that than me-”
“No. You. You’re the one that let her stay in your truck.” Clay’s brow shot up. “I know you did, she’s been staying in your truck all this time. Me and Tiffany know about it. True ain’t never checked into that motel she claimed to be staying at until the other night. You know we all know everybody’s business up in here.”
Clay scowled.
“And I know you let her stay in there. I saw y’all the other night talking. So go in there and ease that gal’s mind. She’s shaking like a leaf.”
Clay’s angry scowl disappeared and he went back to the kitchen where True was slicing cake and placing them on plates.
“Hey,” he said. She looked up quickly and her shoulders seemed to sink a little. “You alright?”
She just shook her head and tried not to cry, returning to the cake slices. Her vision blurred and a tear plopped down on one cake slice and she picked it up and stared at it.
Clay took it from her. “I’ll eat that one.” He put the cake down. “Come here.” He opened his arms and she went into them and let the tears fall. “It’s alright.” He patted her back and let her cry. There wasn’t a single awkward moment. Having her in his arms felt natural. She fit just right.
Tiffany and Paulette came to the back when they heard True crying but when they saw her in Clay’s arms and heard his quiet reassuring murmurs they left him to comfort her. Paulette gave Tiffany a quick look and Tiffany nodded knowingly.
Clay stroked her braids, the unfamiliar texture of her hair kept his fingers in constant exploration. Then he pushed them back from her face. He reached for a towel folded on the counter and looked down at her. Her eyes were screwed shut as she shuddered and sobbed. He gently dabbing away her tears.
“Go ahead and cry it out. Those idiots got what they deserved. They did the same thing last week, didn’t they?” He asked, feeling his anger rise again.
She nodded. He wrapped his arms around her.
True felt overwhelmed by all that had happened but Clay’s arms felt like a security blanket. She couldn’t feel afraid when he was embracing her, because nothing could get past those big arms. She finally wiped her eyes and stepped back, too ashamed to look at him.
“Sorry about that.” She whispered.
“You ain’t got nothing to be sorry about. Are you okay?” She nodded looking down at her hands but Clay reached over and lifted her chin until she met his eyes. “Are you okay?” He repeated.
“How am I going to face those people out there?” How could she ever face any of them again? Those men had called her dummy, taunted her and she’d just ran and hid.
He stared into her eyes. “However you decide to handle those people out there is going to dictate how they react to you forever more.”
She stared into his blue eyes feeling a little bit stronger and then she nodded. A moment later she smiled. “Hand me one of those trays Clay. I need to deliver some cake to my customers.”
True piled cake onto the tray and went out on the floor with a smile on her face, delivering cake and thanking everyone for their patience. Clay watched her, now understanding how such a little thing like her could make it out on the streets. She was resilient.