River Town Box Set

by Grant C. Holland

  With a half-smile, Diego said, “I agree that we need to be partners.” He slowly lowered himself back into his seat. “Do you have some papers for me to sign?”

  Alan closed his eyes and took a deep breath before retreating behind the relative safety of his desk. He shuffled through a small stack of documents and said, “Yes, the agreement is right here.”

  Sitting in his chair, Alan pulled the sheet from the stack and pushed it across the desk. Diego asked, “Did you make any relevant changes.”

  Alan shook his head. “I expected I would need to, but your proposal was so thorough that we didn’t need to change anything. I had two of my colleagues and the legal office go over it. They were impressed, too. We just need to sign, and then it’s done.”

  Diego added his signature to the contract with the giant loops that made up his “D” and the sweeping lines that formed into an “F.” He pushed the document back across the desk and smiled as Alan applied a tight, formal signature.

  “Maybe we should have lunch,” suggested Diego. “I will buy. I’m sure Zephyr has a nice cafe or an old-fashioned restaurant downtown.”

  “Diego, please, don’t make this any more difficult than it is already.”

  “Difficult?”

  “You know what I mean. I have to turn down your lunch offer. I do hope you have an outstanding day, and I am very pleased we’re doing business together. If we hadn’t met before, it wouldn’t be so easy to trust you in business. That was an unexpected advantage in making this deal.”

  Diego raised an eyebrow, “It wouldn’t have been so easy to trust me because I’m…?”

  Alan cut him off with a scowl. “No, because I’m wary of doing business with anyone I don’t know, particularly someone who has never done business with Tar-Mor in the past.”

  Diego eased into a smile. “Oh, of course. That makes sense. Don’t worry. We will honor the contract and more.”

  Alan looked up, and his eyes met with Diego’s. Then he quickly looked away to the side. “I don’t mean to throw you out, but I do have work to complete. We have out-of-state shipping contracts to sign.” He touched the model truck again and said, “Thank you for this. I do appreciate it.”

  Diego stood. He said, “I get the hint.” He was also fascinated by Alan’s obvious discombobulation. “Please let me know if you have any questions later. Otherwise, we’ll wait for the first instructions. I hope to see M-Trak trucks roll with Tar-Mor products by the time the month is out.”

  Alan rose from his seat and nodded. “I do, too.”

  11

  Altercation

  Alan placed a box of breakfast cereal into his grocery cart. He started to wheel the cart further down the aisle and then stopped. He rolled it backward and picked up another box of the cereal.

  He knew that he should do more cooking, but he rarely had the energy to do it more than once, maybe twice a week in the evening after he arrived home from work. He had to walk Boomer. By the time that was finished, he was too tired to cook. Breakfast cereal was a convenient meal that stopped Alan from spending more money at local restaurants and fast food establishments.

  As he looked up to exit the cereal aisle before deciding to purchase a third box, Alan saw a familiar face coming his way. He knew that he recognized the round, black-framed glasses, but he couldn’t immediately place the name. The man had a glass bottle of milk cradled under one arm and held a bunch of bananas in the opposite hand.

  A smile that was at least half sneer greeted Alan. “It’s Aaron, right? Am I placing the right name with the face.”

  “Alan.” The memory came back. It was Lewis, Dax’s ex, and Lewis made the same mistake with the name when they first met downtown at Elderberry Rose.

  Lewis snickered at his mistake and asked, “How is the stranger in town coping? Is Coldbrook Bend the small-town paradise that you hoped it would be?”

  Alan tried to push the growl down deep in his throat as he said, “I’m not looking for paradise. I’m looking to settle down. Yes, I’m enjoying it so far. The river is beautiful, and I love walking my dog along the bluff.”

  Lewis dismissively shook his head. “That’s what you say, but I know better. All of you outsiders are looking for this small-town fantasy. It’s the little hamlet on the river with sweet Aunt Emma and her niece Dorothy next door. Across the street are Betty and Brad, the two perfect kids, and a sheepdog named Shep.”

  Alan rolled his eyes. “Look, I’m just here to buy groceries. If you want to have a conversation, then we can do that. If you want to pick a fight, you’ll have to do that alone. I’m not here to listen to you rattle on about your fantasy of me.”

  Lewis smirked and stepped closer to Alan’s cart blocking his immediate path. “I’m fantasizing about you? I thought it was you starting to undress me with your eyes. You’re very handsome in your own way.” Lewis grabbed the lid of the milk bottle and then adjusted the bottle’s position beneath his arm.

  As the word “undress” rolled out of Lewis’ mouth, a middle-aged woman walked past. She turned her head to give Alan a disapproving glance. He squirmed and felt the sweat break out on the palms of his hands as they gripped the handle of his cart.

  He turned his attention back to Lewis and rolled his eyes. “That’s a masterpiece of wishful thinking.”

  Lewis raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”

  His next movement shocked Alan. He stepped forward and set the milk in Alan’s cart. Then he waved a hand and said, “Oh, of course it is! I almost forgot. You have eyes for another…”

  Alan growled under his breath, “What the fuck?” He started to push the cart forward, and he didn’t care if he carried Lewis’ milk all the way to the checkout. He could deal with it then and drop it off in the restocking basket.

  Lewis stopped his progress. He gripped the front of the basket and placed the sole of one of his shoes on the left front wheel to act as a stop. Leaning forward, he whispered, “What, you don’t want to stay and talk about your Mexican lover?”

  Alan blinked. He raced through his recent memory and attempted to figure out some way that Lewis could connect him with Diego. Maybe Lewis was confused. Maybe he’d seen some other man in town with a boyfriend. He rejected that idea. Coldbrook Bend didn’t have enough out gay men to have it be a case of mistaken identity.

  Alan tried to keep his voice firm despite the fact that he was feeling shaky inside. He said, “I don’t have a lover. You must be mistaken.”

  “I think his name is Diego. I’ve seen him before.”

  A younger man walked by dressed in jeans and a plaid shirt. He spoke briefly, “Good to see you, Lewis,” and refused to acknowledge Alan’s existence.

  “You know, I’m sorry that you’re jealous. I’m sorry that you’re jealous enough that you’ve decided to make up shit.”

  Lewis raised an eyebrow and gripped the cart tighter. “You’ve never kissed him? You’ve never pressed your sweet lips to his and moaned about how you love that brown skin.”

  Alan pushed his weight against the cart and nearly knocked Lewis off balance. He grunted, “Get the fuck out of the way, you asshole. You don’t know what the fuck you are talking about.”

  Alan bit his lip. He couldn’t remember when he’d used that kind of foul language in public. It was standard among friends, but he was raised with military decorum and taught to remain polite in public no matter how ridiculous the adversary.

  Lewis regained his balance and leaned forward over the cart. He smirked and whispered, “I bet he has a long dick, too. I bet you get on your hands and knees like a dog for that dick.”

  Alan swallowed hard. He learned another approach from his father to harassing situations, and he decided to change his tactics. He leaned forward until his face was barely more than six inches away from Lewis. “What if he does? Are you jealous, Lewis? Do you wish that you could get on your knees and suck it? Think about it…going down your throat. You start choking and gagging. Your eyes start watering as your expression begs fo
r more.”

  Lewis pulled back. He grabbed the milk out of Alan’s cart and growled, “Prick.” He stuffed the bottle under his arm and without any other words, he turned and walked away in the direction from which he came.

  Alan stood still and stared down at his cart. He barely noticed three more people walking past with disapproving glances. He felt filthy after the encounter like he needed to immediately take a shower. Alan cut short his shopping expedition and quickly purchased the items he already had in his cart.

  As the automatic doors of the grocery store slid open for him to exit, Alan felt his stomach clench. He was worried that Lewis could have done damage to his car to seek revenge. He sighed with relief when he approached the car, and all appeared to be normal. Alan let the cart rest against the side of the vehicle while he walked clear around checking tires and the finish. The only damage was the single long scratch on the passenger’s side where he’d encountered a low hanging branch while visiting a cousin’s home in the woods two years earlier.

  Alan drove home pounding his hands on the steering wheel. He was angry about the words Lewis said in the store, but he wondered how much worse it was for Diego when he was in public shopping or otherwise carrying out the fundamental activities of life.

  12

  The Drivers

  The corners of Rhea’s mouth curled up into a smile as she watched Diego struggle to unlock and open the door to the M-Trak offices while balancing a low, flat box in one hand and a carrier holding six cups of coffee in the other. She stepped out from behind her desk to help him inside.

  “What’s the occasion?”

  Diego grinned. “Three of our drivers are stopping in this morning. It’s Thomas, Ron, and Eric.”

  “Oh, that’s three of our best. Are the drivers receiving some sort of promotion?”

  Diego set the coffee holder on a small table in the corner of the office. He pulled a short stack of magazines off the surface and laid the box in the empty space. As he placed the stack of magazines on an empty corner of Rhea’s desk, he said, “They are the three that I want to drive the first shipments for Tar-Mor.”

  Diego turned back to the table and pulled open the lid of the box. “I thought about stopping for pan dulces, but I’ve heard so many gringos complain that it’s not what they’re used to in pastries, so I bought donuts instead. Those big, heavy, doughy fried rings.”

  “In other words, delicious. I think those will be welcome,” said Rhea. “When are they supposed to be here? Will the coffee still be hot?”

  Looking at his watch, Diego said, “In about ten minutes. You can hold down the fort while we’re in my office. There is plenty of coffee. One of those is for you if you would like it.”

  “Are they all lattes?”

  “Four are lattes, and two are black. I remembered that you drink yours black, so make sure you take the right one. I think they’re labeled.”

  Rhea stepped out from behind her desk and examined the display of donuts. She picked up a chocolate ring with chocolate frosting and gingerly placed it on a napkin. “How was your visit to Tar-Mor? All that you told me was we received the contract. Was he pleased with the toy truck?”

  Diego sighed. “It’s not a toy. It’s a promotional device.”

  Rhea rolled her head back laughing. As she attempted to stop her laughter, she asked, “Men have all sorts of special names to hide the fact that they’re still boys playing with toys. Did he enjoy his promotional device?”

  “I think he did. I’ve visited shipping offices before that are decorated with scale models of trucks all around. Alan had none. His office is depressing. I should send him flowers or something. He might be more cheerful toward me.”

  Thomas appeared at the door. The office wasn’t officially open yet, so the door was still locked. Rhea set her donut on the corner of her desk and let him in. She offered Thomas a hug followed by a handshake and a hearty, “Good morning!” from Diego.

  As Diego directed him toward the donuts and coffee, Rhea’s office phone rang. She said, “That’s unusual,” as she stepped behind her desk to answer the call.

  Diego glanced in her direction and saw the color drain from her face. He couldn’t quite hear the words she said. She reached an arm forward and gestured for Diego to come to the phone. He asked, “Is it for me?”

  Rhea held a hand over the receiver and whispered, “It’s an accident.”

  Diego took the receiver in his hand. He waved in the direction of Thomas while whispering, “Let the other drivers in, and don’t say anything about this. As far as you know, it was a long-lost friend seeking me out.”

  Rhea nodded and whispered back in Diego’s direction, “Send my prayers.” She returned to Thomas’ side and attempted to strike up a chatty conversation.

  Diego watched Rhea pick up her donut and her coffee. She took a long sip of the coffee, and then he heard them begin speaking in a light, cheerful, everyday tone. Rhea was a real gem. She knew how to handle any situation in the most professional manner.

  “What’s going on?” asked Diego as he spoke softly into the receiver.

  It only took minutes for him to find out that one of his trucks was in a collision with a passenger van. The policeman calling indicated that there were no fatalities as far as he could ascertain. He said there were injuries, and they transported three people to the hospital.

  Diego realized he didn’t know where the accident occurred. He assumed that the policeman told Rhea. He asked the officer, “Where are they in the hospital? My secretary didn’t tell me where the accident occurred.”

  “They were all three taken to the Mayo Hospital here in Red Wing. I don’t believe any of them are critical, but they may have serious injuries. I am afraid that I don’t have verified names of any of them, but I can share some information.”

  Diego grabbed a small pad of paper from Rhea’s desk and took down information on the truck number and the accident reference number. It would only take minutes for him to find the name of the driver on the computer.

  After hanging up the phone, Diego took three deep breaths. Thomas, Ron, and Eric were all now hanging out in the entrance lobby with Rhea. She was laughing softly as Eric held the attention of everyone with a story.

  Diego said, “I don’t want to interrupt. Eric is a good storyteller, but I will have to make our meeting a quick one this morning. There is an emergency with one of our trucks, and I need to make an appearance at the scene.”

  Eric furrowed his brow. “What type of emergency? Is it an accident?”

  Diego glanced at Rhea and said, “I don’t want to speculate about details until I find out more, but I do have good news before I go.”

  “Good news?” asked Thomas.

  “I recently signed a contract for M-Trak to be the primary shipping agent for Tar-Mor in this region. The three of you will be my first drivers under the new arrangement, and there’s a sizable bonus in it for each of you.”

  By the time Diego reached the hospital, one of the van passengers was already settled into a hospital room. He received word that his driver was still in the emergency room, and the second van passenger was already released.

  Diego purchased two blooming houseplants at the hospital gift shop on his way up to see the injured parties. He stopped first to see the passenger. It was a woman named Sandy, and she was lying in her bed with her husband at her side. Both appeared to be approximately age thirty. They looked up as Diego approached bearing a flowering plant.

  When Diego got closer, he noticed that Sandy’s face was deeply discolored black and blue in many places, and she had a bandage on the lower part of one of her cheeks. Her husband asked, “Do you have the wrong room?”

  Diego shook his head. “I’m the owner of the M-Trak trucking company, and I came as soon as I could to offer my regrets.” He placed the plant on the room’s windowsill and stood at the foot of the bed.

  Sandy frowned and said, “I think my friend who was driving the van is the one who owes an
apology. I have no idea what she was thinking. She ran a stop sign, and your driver did her very best to try and stop. Thank God she hit us with a glancing blow. I don’t want to think where I would be if we suffered the full impact from a truck like that.”

  Sandy’s husband turned toward Diego and said, “That’s very kind of you to stop by, and so quickly. I was in an accident with a florist’s van, and I never heard a word from them. We eventually collected a small settlement, but an apology would’ve been welcome, too.”

  “And how are you?” asked Diego.

  Sandy said, “I feel amazing considering what happened. I don’t have any broken bones. They want me to stay overnight for fear that I might have a concussion. I could have just as easily been dead. I’m thanking my lucky stars.”

  Her husband added, “I feared the worst when I received the phone call.”

  Sandy asked, “How is your driver? The truck careened hard into the ditch. They were still trying to get her out of the cab as they rolled me into the ambulance.”

  Sandy’s husband reached out to hold her hand. Diego saw that it was mercifully free of cuts or bruises. She smiled affectionately at him as he asked Diego, “Are you from here in Minnesota? So many of the trucking firms have owners from out of state.”

  “I live here in Red Wing,” said Diego. “I’m trying to grow my firm, so that we bring the jobs back here to Minnesota. We operate as a hub and hire local drivers.”

  Sandy smiled in his direction. “I’m happy to meet you even if it’s under these circumstances. I’m sorry, though, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Diego Flores. I will leave the two of you alone for now. I need to see about my driver, and I’m certain that you need your rest.”

  Sandy said, “Please, send her my condolences. I don’t know if you saw Lynn earlier. She was driving the van and only had a few bumps and bruises. They let her go home.”