He ate at Doris’s Diner, a tiny white brick building on Main Street that backed up against Blackwater Municipal Park. The hot smell of frying bacon hit him as soon as he opened the door. He chose an empty booth, the green Formica tabletop worn thin and dotted with a constellation of cigarette burns. The menu was sticky with maple syrup.
A waitress stopped at his table. “Hi,” she said. Her drawl was striking, and Ray realized that he’d crossed the line to a region where he would be the funny-talking guy. She was cute, with blond-streaked hair pulled into a not-so-tight bun and spilling out in little fan-like strands, but looked like she needed more sleep. “Coffee?”
“Sure,” he said.
She filled his cup. Her black nail polish was chipped. “I’m Ellen. I’ll be taking care of you.”
“Thanks,” Ray said. He ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and fries. He handed her the menu and smiled. Her eyes seemed to brighten a bit.
He looked out at the main drag through the window. He sipped his coffee, wishing he had brought a magazine from home to read. Not much was going on in downtown Blackwater. There was very little traffic and only one pedestrian, a thin, elderly man inching forward with his aluminum walker. A cigarette dangled from his mouth. Each step he took gained him six inches or so, and after every few steps he paused, sucked on his cigarette, and blew out a cloud of smoke. With any luck he’d make it where he was going before he exhausted the whole pack. Or keeled over.
“Cigarettes are bad for you,” someone said. A kid’s voice.
Ray turned around. A boy, maybe eight or nine years old, leaned over the back of his booth. He had curly dark hair that sat in a mass on his head and glasses that magnified his eyes. He was alone in the booth, with a spiral notebook and a half-consumed milkshake.
Ray nodded. “Yeah. They sure are.”
“Do you smoke?” the kid asked.
“No,” Ray said.
The kid approved. “My mom does. And she used to be a nurse. She tries to hide it, but I can smell it. And I know where she keeps her cigarettes.”
“Maybe you can help her quit.”
The kid rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right.” He sighed. “Do you like books?”
Ray smiled. “Yeah, I like books.”
“I’m a writer.” He said it with practiced nonchalance. “You want to see my book?”
Ellen had returned with his food. “William, leave this nice man alone to eat in peace.”
Ray held up his hand. “It’s okay.”
She put his plate on the table. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no. It’s okay. It’s nice to have some company.” He tilted his head toward the opposite seat. “William, you want to join me while I eat? Let’s check out your book.”
William grabbed his notebook and his milkshake and slid into the seat across from Ray.
“Would you like anything else?” Ellen asked. “Dessert? We have fresh-baked cherry pie. And pecan.” She said peekin.
“Cherry pie sounds delicious,” Ray said. He would have preferred the pecan, but he didn’t want to sound like he was correcting her.
“Ice cream on top?”
Ray shook his head, but then shrugged. “Sure. Why not.”
Ellen turned. “Be right back.”
William opened his notebook. “Do you like stories about robots?”
Ray held out his hands. “Of course. Who doesn’t?”
“You’d be surprised,” William said. “Not many people do, actually. Most kids in my school are into NASCAR and wrestling. Do you think professional wrestling is stupid?”
Ray nodded. “Yeah. And it’s fixed.”
“Totally.” The kid held out the notebook. He had written Earth Protection Force 2277 in thick black marker on the front. “This is the beginning of the second book of my trilogy. The first book takes place five hundred years earlier.”
“Let me check it out.”
“I’ll tell you the background first. Since you didn’t read the first book, you’ll be kinda lost if you start with this one.”
By the time Ray finished his pie he’d learned all about the war between the Earthbots and the invading Darkbots, including the Darkbots’ bug cannons and vicious flying-snake pets. The kid was bright and literate beyond his years, but Ray found himself wondering how well he fit in with his non-robot-loving peers. It probably wasn’t easy.
Ellen dropped off the check. “So, you learned all about the Darkbot invasion, I’ll bet.”
Ray nodded. “Their bug cannons are pretty impressive. And those snakes …”
She laughed. William rolled his eyes.
“Are you just passing through?” Ellen asked.
“Sort of,” Ray said. “I’m visiting a friend. For a few days, maybe a week.”
Did her smile fade just a bit? “Well, thank you for keeping William company.”
“My pleasure.”
William closed his notebook. “If you want a copy of my first book, I can get you one. I’m selling them for ten bucks, but I’ll give you a five-dollar discount.”
Ray scratched his chin. “Hmm. I gotta say, I’m really curious about how the bad guys got into the Earth Force headquarters in the first place.”
William pushed his glasses up with a forefinger. “I’ll be here tomorrow night, right, Mom?”
Ellen nodded.
Ray shrugged. “It’s a deal. I’ll stop by for dinner.”
Ellen picked up his check and money. “I’ll get you some change,” she said.
He shook his head. “Keep it. My contribution to the Earthbot Defense Force.”
The kid tried awfully hard not to smile.
It was getting dark, and he was stuffed, but Ray knew he needed to get some groceries or he’d be doomed to Kevin’s freezer full of artery-clogging microwaveable crap for breakfast. He drove past tiny, weathered antique shops with hand-lettered signs and windows full of junk, a bank, a dollar store, and a laundromat. He pulled up to a stoplight and an obese, greasy-haired woman rolled across the intersection on a motorized scooter. Three young children on bicycles and a tired, scraggly dog followed in her wake. The dog yapped at him when the light turned green, and the children stared.
Why in the hell had Kevin decided to live here? It had never made any sense.
It had happened here. That’s why. And somehow he knew it.
He found a grocery store in a strip mall at the edge of town. He bought some eggs, sandwich fixings, and a bag of oranges, then topped it off with a case of domestic beer. In Baltimore you couldn’t buy beer in grocery stores, which didn’t make a damn bit of sense. Blackwater at least had one thing in its favor. And if he was staying here for a few days or even a week with Kevin, the two of them could easily knock back a case. Like the old days.
The sky clouded up. What the hell. Ray popped open a can and sipped from it. If the number of beer cans he’d seen by the side of the road was any indication, drinking-and-driving laws were not very well enforced.