by Vicky Jones
“Thank you,” Chloe whispered.
“We should have the results in a few days. Pop back then when you’ve settled in your new home,” Doctor Thomas said as he walked Chloe out of his office. “And ask your sister to come in to register too when she has a minute. Shona, was it?”
Chloe nodded, then said her goodbyes and headed back out onto the street.
Marion stood by the reception desk sorting through patient notes. “Hmmm…well, who knew he was an alcoholic. And this guy? Well, I’d want that checked too if I was him.” Picking another file out of the pile on the desk, Marion opened it and let out a low whistle. “I knew she was cheating on her husband. He can’t have kids but she’s three months gone. Well, I’ll be damned…”
“Marion, can you please concentrate on your job, not the lives of others in this town?” Doctor Thomas’s stern voice sounded behind her.
Spinning around, Marion found herself face to face with her boss, who looked more disappointed in her than angry.
“Yes, Doctor Thomas. My apologies.”
Chapter 5
Edie Foster sat in the corner of Bertie’s bar reading from a large, heavy looking encyclopedia. Every few minutes she let out a low whistle as she came across an even more amazing fact.
“Woah. Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Hey Bertie, did you know two thirds of the world is actually water? That’s insane. I mean, there are billions of people on this planet. How do we all even fit on a third?” She pulled off her cat-eye glasses and looked over to the bar area where the owner, Bertha, known as Bertie to everyone in the town, was counting the stock and filling out an order form. Bertie was in her mid-thirties, short and stocky, with slicked back black hair.
“Yeah, everyone knows that, you lemonhead.” Bertie leaned a chubby tattooed arm on the bar, smiling when she saw Edie roll her eyes. “Now quit bashing my ears with all these facts, will ya?”
“OK,” Edie replied.
“The others will be here in a minute so budge up outta my seat,” Bertie barked, walking around the edge of the bar and motioning for Edie to move.
“Hey ladies…and Bertie,” a voice rang out from the doorway. Two women entered the bar, one wearing a blue men’s suit jacket and trousers, the other wearing black denim jeans, a plaid shirt and a wide-brimmed black hat, her lank dark hair hanging loose. “Still working on that duck butt there, Bert?” the suited woman pointed up at Bertie’s hair.
“Ha ha, very funny, Dee,” Bertie replied, mock-grinning to the woman in the blue suit. She raked a lock of hair out of her eyes and leaned her large body back into the booth. “Where you two been anyway? I said to be here by eleven. I gotta open up soon,” Bertie’s piercing blue eyes stared at the two latecomers.
“Hey, don’t flip your lid. Blame Lula here. She’s in one of her moods again. Took me ages to persuade her to get out of her pit.” Dee nodded her head to the other woman who appeared to have pulled her hat down lower on her head.
“What’s eating you today, Lula?” Bertie asked, her voice less harsh than it was towards Dee.
“Nothin’. Just feelin’ annoyed today. Broke another string on my guitar,” Lula mumbled, leaning her body back against the bar, one foot flat against the mahogany wood. She looked down at the floor as she nibbled on her fingernail.
“Well, I got some news that might get us all jazzed around here.”
“Yeah?” Dee asked, sitting down in the booth opposite Bertie and Edie. Lula sauntered over and sat with a thud next to her.
“Yeah,” Bertie continued. “You know that garage across the street? Well, I finally got the dough together to put in an offer at the auction next week. My sister came through with the loan I asked her for, so I can put that together with the money from this place the bank agreed to free up. So come next Monday I’ll be there, front and center.” Bertie’s round face broke out into a huge grin. She wasn’t attractive in the conventional sense of the word, but her smile now accentuated the light in her blue eyes.
Lula looked up from the edge of the table she was fiddling with. “That’s great news, Bertie. So what kinda business you gonna run there?”
“Ooh, maybe you could open up a record shop or something?” Edie suggested.
“Or a place that sells guitar strings. I’m sick of havin’ to go across to the next town every time I break one,” Lula said, scrunching up her face.
“Or…I could reopen the garage,” said Bertie. The women around the table nodded as if the suggestion was too obvious to even consider.
“Well, I guess that would be the most sensible thing to do,” Edie remarked. She looked at her watch. “Shit, I’d better hit the road. My shift starts in an hour. I gotta get home to change.” She reached over to where her polka dot jacket was lying and wrapped it around her. “Later, girls. Congratulations again, Bertie.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Bertie offered.
As they reached the doorway, they saw two police officers standing on the sidewalk staring at the bar and muttering to each other.
“G’mornin’, officers. How may I assist you on this fine morning?” asked Bertie, the sarcasm in her voice staying just on the right side of polite.
“Now, don’t play the innocent with me…” the first police officer hesitated, “lady.” He put his hands on his hips. “Deputy Lawrence and I know what kinda place this is and I have to say we don’t care for it too much.” The young officer stuck out his chin.
“What Danvers here means is we have eyes and ears all around this town and for too long you’ve been encouragin’ the wrong type of clientele to this place.” Deputy Lawrence chewed his gum, waiting for a response from Bertie. She said nothing.
“You and your kind ain’t a good fit for this town. We’re gonna make it so you go out of business real soon,” Officer Danvers added.
Bertie cleared her throat and considered every word she was about to speak. “Deputy Lawrence.” She looked him in the eye, then looked at Danvers. “What is it you suppose goes on in here?” She folded her thick arms across her large chest. “I serve good beer, play good sounds and my apple pie is the talk of the town. Everyone who comes in here gets the same warm welcome, from families to couples just wanting a great night out.” She smiled as she got to the important part of her well-rehearsed speech. “I pay my taxes on time, comply with all licensing regulations and never stay open past the curfew.” She watched their faces harden, knowing she was right. “Boys, I’m a straight-down-the-line businesswoman just trying to earn a crust. And you fellas are welcome here anytime. First draft’s on the house.”
Lawrence and Danvers grunted and walked back to their patrol car, leaving Edie to sidle up behind Bertie and grab her around the shoulders.
“Nicely done, Bert. Although you know as well as I do there ain’t nothing straight about this place,” she said out of the corner of her mouth before sauntering off.
Pursing her lips at Edie’s cheeky comment, Bertie exhaled. She’d seen off the latest confrontation with the law, but they kept coming back. Looking over to the garage she was planning to buy, she smiled. “I’ll show them knuckleheaded cops they can’t keep me down,” she whispered to herself.
Behind her, Lula and Dee appeared, looking concerned. “What did those germs want now?” Lula asked, wrinkling her nose as if she’d caught a stench of shit in the air.
“Oh, just the usual.” Bertie looked past Dee’s shoulder over to the garage and stopped smiling, noticing something she’d missed before.
“What?” Dee asked.
“The auction sign ain’t there no more,” Bertie replied, her eyes scanning the garage parking lot. “I got the number for the vendor. I’ll give him a call see what’s going on.”
“OK, well, we’d better split too. I gotta drive this one into the next town for that damn guitar string. Otherwise I’ll have to stare at that miserable face all day,” Dee said, playfully jostling Lula, who scowled back at her.
“See you later tonight, yeah?” Bertie replied, her
eyes still fixed on the vacant space left where the auction sign once was.
Chapter 6
It was late afternoon by the time Shona saw dust and sand blowing up on the horizon at the end of their tiny track leading to the main road. A heavy rumble filled the air but the sight she was expecting to see was puzzlingly different. Stepping outside, Shona hopped down the three steps from the veranda onto the front garden, hands on hips as a faded blue pickup truck trundled towards the beach house. Her eyes widened as she realized who was driving it. Speechless, she watched the driver hop out carefully and slam the rickety door shut, then again until it finally stayed put.
“What do you think? A peach, ain’t she?” Chloe announced, wiping her sweaty brow and grinning. She walked over to Shona and linked arms with her. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
Chloe led Shona up to the truck and pointed out all of its features, including the hook and winch on its tail.
“OK…I’m confused. This is great an’ all, but where’s the Chevy?” Shona asked, her blue eyes wide.
“I sold it.” Chloe stepped back from the truck and spread her arms out wide.
Shona stood motionless, trying to process what Chloe was telling her. “And you bought this hunk of junk instead?” Shona’s jaw dropped. “Are you crazy? That car’s worth ten, no, twenny of these.”
Chloe stood smiling at Shona’s animated reactions.
“Well, that settles it then. I’m gonna have to get a job as soon as possible. I didn’t realize we were so low on money that you had to sell the car. I thought you were gonna swap it for something of the same value. Jeez, this place must have cost too much for you.” Shona paced the sandy ground between the truck and the beach house, running her hand through her blonde hair.
“Come with me. I got a surprise for you,” Chloe said, climbing back into the truck and starting the engine. It groaned and spluttered as the thick diesel chugged through the pipes.
“Where we going?”
“Just get in and quit bellyaching. It’ll be worth it, I promise,” Chloe replied, her brown eyes twinkling with excitement.
As they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, Shona looked over to Chloe, her eyes moist. “I swear I’ll find some work. It’s my job to provide for you, for us and I won’t stop until I find something. I don’t wanna live off you forever. I got my pride. You didn’t need to sell that car, honey; I just needed a bit more time.”
By the time Shona had finished her speech, Chloe had already made it to town and had pulled up at the side of the road. She turned the engine off and looked at Shona. “I know, Shona, but I didn’t want you to have just any old job working for someone who don’t appreciate how good a worker you really are. So, I reckon it’s about time you had something of your own.”
Chloe looked past Shona’s head out onto the sidewalk and nodded at the building they were parked outside. The familiar ‘For Sale’ board had been removed, as had the notice of the upcoming auction. “It’s yours.” Shona turned around and stared behind her at what Chloe was looking at. In shock, she fumbled for the truck’s door handle and stepped onto the sidewalk.
“You bought the garage? For me?” she said, her eyes welling up with stunned tears.
Chloe jumped out behind her wanting nothing more than to wrap Shona’s trembling body in her arms, but she had to be mindful of anyone watching them. She rested a limp hand on Shona’s forearm. “Yes. Well, I bought the lease for now, but I know you’ll make it work. And one day we can buy it outright. I wanted you to be in charge for once. You can do things your way now, hire the people you want to. And no one will ever say you can’t ‘work in a place like this’ ever again.” She squeezed Shona’s arm gently.
“But how? How did you afford it? After buying the house, where did…?” As soon as she’d asked the question, and looked back at their new truck, the answer became clear to Shona.
“You think I’d accept any less for that Chevy than what it was worth? I drive a hard bargain, you know. Probably the only thing working for my father actually taught me. I used the money I had left from my savings and put it together with what I got for the car, then went over and put an offer to the vendor. I might have used my charm on the vendor of this place to get him to take it off the market a week before the auction. And damn, he even threw in the pickup for free.” Chloe giggled.
Shona’s face erupted into the most beautiful smile Chloe had ever seen. “I got my own garage? Like for real?”
Chloe leaned into whisper into Shona’s ear. “For real, baby. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Shona whispered back, then walked over to the garage and ran her hand over each surface she came into contact with.
“What are you gonna call it?” Chloe called after her.
“Clark’s Autos,” Shona replied, not even pausing to think about it. “Had it on my mind since I worked at Wreckers. Swore to myself if I was ever lucky enough to get my own place I’d call it that. Plus it makes more sense than ever now, with our new surname.”
“Perfect,” Chloe replied, her heart bursting to see Shona grin back at her as she disappeared around the back of the garage to explore further.
Chapter 7
Over on the freeway outside of Sunnybrook the next morning, a car was being flagged down by a patrol car. Sheriff Everett flashed his lights three times until the Buick he was following rolled to a stop. Everett climbed out of the car, fixed his hat and strode over to the Buick, his baton strapped to his utility belt hanging loosely by his side. He tapped gently on the Buick’s driver’s side window. The young man inside lowered the glass and smiled up at the sheriff.
“Gee Sheriff, I’m real sorry. Was I going much over the limit?” The young man was dressed in army-issue fatigues, his duffel bag slung in the back and a small jewelry box perched on the passenger seat.
“You do know it’s fifty back there, son?” the middle-aged sheriff scolded, his right eyebrow raised. He took another look around the contents of the young soldier’s car.
“What was I doing?” he asked, both hands still clamped to the top of the steering wheel.
“Eighty-five. You escaping the old lady or something?” The sheriff went to take out his notebook.
“Man, really? Sheriff, I am so sorry. You see, I just got out on leave and I ain’t seen my girl in nearly six months.” His face reddened. “I was gon’ propose to her this afternoon. I guess I just got a little too excited. But fair’s fair, I did the wrong thing and I’m truly sorry, sir.” The young soldier’s eyes fell to his lap in shame.
Sheriff Everett paused and put his notebook back away. “Well, I guess no harm’s been done here. But you just mind yourself, boy. I don’t wanna have to have your body towed out of that ravine further up there, then have to tell your sweetheart the bad news.”
The soldier looked up at the sheriff, his face beaming with relief. “You mean it? I can go?”
“Yeah, go on now, get.”
“Thank you so much, sir. I won’t forget this.” The soldier saluted the sheriff.
“Just you be safe out there, you hear? And good luck with that,” Everett replied, nodding over to the ring box he’d just noticed. The soldier blushed, then started up his engine. Everett banged his palm on the roof of the Buick as the soldier pulled away slowly.
Chapter 8
“So then one faggot says to the other, ‘well, ain’t that just a pain in the ass’ and the first one says, ‘you’d be used to that by now, won’t ya’.”
Deputy Lawrence’s guttural laugh reverberated around the police station as he told his tired, worn out joke for the millionth time to the younger officers congregating around the coffee pot stand. Sheriff Everett walked back into the station just in time to hear the punchline.
“Lawrence. How many more times have I got to tell you about that kinda language? My office. Now.”
Lawrence smirked at the other guys around him as soon as Everett’s back was turned. Pretending to ham it up like a scold
ed toddler, he ran his hand through his thinning blond hair and followed his boss into his office, the door slamming behind him.
“What the hell was all that about out there? I’ve told you before about speaking your views on the homosexual community out loud. What they do in private is none of our business, y’hear?”
“But sir, what they do is illegal. Not to mention immoral. That not matter to you?” Lawrence hung his hands on his hips.
“If it’s done in public then yes, that’s our duty as officers of the law to keep these streets safe. But I am not about to waste my valuable time policing what they do behind closed doors. Do you understand me, boy?” Everett’s pale blue eyes were sharp.
“Sorry, sir, won’t happen again,” Lawrence replied, a hint of sarcasm in his thin, reedy voice.
“Look, son, when you first came here I promised your mother I’d train you up to be a good, honest lawman. Hell, you’re almost thirty years old, Jake. You’re not a teenage boy, so quit making stupid jokes which are only gonna get people’s backs up around here. And while I’m on the subject of your conduct, can you tell me why I’m getting reports lately of you being a son of a bitch to people around town, huh?”
Lawrence didn’t answer.
“You work for these people, not to make their lives more difficult than some of them already have it,” Everett continued. “You wear that badge to protect and serve, not to strike fear into them, and you would do well to remember that. This is your last warning, Jake. I want you to quit it, OK? No more throwing your weight around this town. Do I make myself clear?” Everett’s voice was calm and measured, but the annoyance at having to repeat his stance on these matters yet again to Lawrence was tangible.
“Crystal, sir. May I go now?” Lawrence replied, his previous swagger diminished slightly at the mention of his mother.
Everett answered with a simple cock of his head towards the door.
