All Aboard! Romance on Route 66
Robert C. Waggoner
Copyright 2011 by Robert C. Waggoner
Smashwords Edition
“All Aboard! Romance on Route 66”
Robert C. Waggoner
Chapter 1
Standing in line waiting to board the bus in Pasadena for Chicago, I first met our bus driver as he tumbled down the steps of his Greyhound bus and out the door landing at my feet. I was speechless as he picked himself up, dusting his pants and the further up his pants he went, the taller he got until I was looking up so high it hurt my neck. While he was dusting himself off he said, “Sorry about that folks, but these new buses are a bit tricky to negotiate.”
He had a big broad smile, lines around the mouth with nice white teeth under a long narrow nose. His gray eyes had a twinkle in them that would warm a penguin. His hat in hand would sit atop a thick sandy head of hair. On his drivers uniform above a pocket full of pens his name in cursive writing told me his given handle: Slim. No doubt he was named right, I thought. I couldn’t guess how tall he was, but he was the tallest man I have ever seen, maybe outside a circus. He was jabbering a mile a minute helping a porter stuff our luggage under the swing up doors of the sleek Senicrusier Greyhound bus.
This was the newest in a line of buses named on the Steve Allen TV show, 'Lady Greyhound' in the year nineteen fifty seven. She was bound from Los Angeles to Chicago across the famous Route 66.
My name is Lilly Fields and this was my first trip to Chicago. I work as a secretary for an insurance agency. My mother had just passed away and I was going to visit my aunt and uncle in Chicago. I never married and had spent my life living with my mother. Father passed on early when I was a baby and mother never remarried. I was scared to death of traveling all the way across the Mid-West to Chicago. I’d never been out of LA much less the state of California. When I was in school, high school in particular, whispers of “ugly duckling” by the snotty girls stung my ears. I was a non-person never seen or heard, like a shadow along a wall walking down the sidewalk: now you see it and now you don’t. A momentary glimpse with no details; that was me: a nobody. My mother, on the other hand, was nice looking and her life was spent working for a life insurance company. And up until the day she passed on, was still talking about the business she loved. We did a few things together, but as I remember going to the movies was the most exciting time of my life.
A row of passengers was waiting for the bus driver to come back and let us board the bus. I don’t know how I got in the front of the line, but I had to step back a pace when Slim walked up saying, “Sorry for the delay folks. If you have your tickets ready we can board now.”
I handed him my ticket and he smiled down at me telling us what a nice time we were going to have on this August trip and not to worry about the heat as the bus was fully air conditioned and brand new. I crawled up the curving steps and saw a few seats behind the driver on both sides and a stairs leading up to the next level where the passengers could view the scenery out the elevated portion of the bus. I decided to not take a chance up stairs, but chose to sit behind and opposite the driver and look out the window straight ahead. I sat down and watched the other passengers get on. I observed a mix of old and young, but no little children whine and cry. Slim was right about the air conditioning working as the inside was nice and cool compared to the hot summer day here in Pasadena, California. It didn’t take long for the passengers to load and when Slim came up the stairs he banged his head and his driver’s hat fell on the floor. He mumbled something and rubbed his head, picked up his hat, dusted it off and climbed into his driver’s seat. His knees stood up like a grasshopper back legs as he checked the mirrors while closing the door with a hissing sound. After checking the mirrors, he sat up straight and I swear his neck grew another foot! He snapped off the air emergency brake and put the bus in reverse and slowly backed out of the parking lane. All clear he shifted into first gear and moved to the street to take us to Route 66. I looked at the window and back again at Slim. I knew he was conscious of my staring at him, but he was probably used to it by now. A sign on the dashboard said, ‘Please No Talking to the Bus Driver’ I’m one of those people who follow the rules and even though I wanted to ask him some questions, I felt bound by the sign. Slim moved the bus expertly around the block onto the street that led to Route 66.
Once out of town and the speed limit read fifty five, Slim matched the speed limit exactly and settled his slight frame in for the mornings run towards Arizona. I made myself comfortable and settled in for the smooth ride. I dug out my bag a novel and a map to see where we were going. While looking at the map I felt a little queasy from the swaying of the bus. I put down the map and watched the road and glanced over at Slim watching him drive with is long arms and big hands on the giant steering wheel. He looked over at me and smiled. I smiled back at him and he took his driving hat off and hung it from a hook next to the side window. By now we were on the open road and not much traffic to speak of passed by. Once again he looked over at me and I felt a little self-conscience of him looking at me.
In Lilly’s forty five years no man had given her a second glance. She knew what she looked like and even though she tried to look her best; her plain appearance could not be hidden. Her medium long mousy brown hair hung straight to her shoulders covering her rather large ears... Her eyes the same color, on the other hand, twinkled when happy, which wasn’t very often. A small nose contrasted with her full lips and even though she was slight of build, her feet were way too big for her body. Lilly glanced down at her sandals bought especially for this trip and tried to hide her feet from Slim. Her flowery summer dress hung like a rag on her reaching almost to her ankles. Around her long neck a necklace of her late mothers. It was a gold chain with a crucifix that contrasted with her milky white skin. People said she had a nice smile and that she should smile more often, but what was there to smile about, she often wondered after people said that to her.
Slim broke the silence and said with a strong deep voice, “Pay no attention to the sign miss, it is for people who really bother the driver with nonsense talk about nothing. By the way, as I will be your driver from here to Chicago and my name is Slim Bekins.”
She returned his smile and said, “Nice to meet you and my name is Lilly Fields. This is my first trip on a bus and so far I like it”
“Yes, Lilly Fields, this is a new type of bus and our first trip aboard the Lady Greyhound to Chicago. I don’t know if anyone told you but this trip is special because we will be not running so many hours in a day and will stop for long lunches along the way. Our first stop is in Barstow for lunch and we will spend the night in Needles. I’m sure you know that your ticket includes nightly accommodations all the way to Chicago,”
“Yes, I’m looking forward for a leisurely trip east,” she replied with confidence growing talking to this nice man.
Slim returned to his driving checking his mirrors and his inside mirror that gave a limited view of the upstairs and then said, “We have a special lunch today in Barstow. First lunch is on Greyhound and we should be there around noon or so. By the way if you need a restroom we have one in the back.”
Lilly noticed he never took his two hands off the wheel and was a very careful driver. She thought how he can be such a good driver and klutzes at the same time. Probably due to his height and gangly legs she mused. Lilly responded to his comment about lunch and said, “That sounds nice Slim.”
He told her to call him Slim.
“And what are we having for lunch?”
“I have no idea Lilly,” he said laughing at himself.
Lilly loved his laugh and was beginning to lik
e this guy. Lilly sat back and looked out at the desert seeing the occasional dust devil rising off the desert floor. The ubiquitous tall cactus stood like sentinels of an age gone by came and went as the Senicrusier motored down the highway. Someone coming down the stairs broke the silence. It was a young girl with the looks and age of a late teenager. She had a painful look on her face and when she reached the bottom of the stairs said to Slim in a small high voice, “Mr. Driver, I’m not feeling well and is it all right to sit down here? The bus sways back and forth and is making me a little sea sick.”
Slim said with a fatherly voice, “Sure miss, please sit down anywhere.”
He went on to explain the road was narrow and the bus being new with the high center of gravity made it rock back and forth. The young girl took the seat directly behind Slim and across from Lilly. Lilly looked at her face which was white without color and felt sorry for her. That was one reason she was down here so as not to get car sick.
Lilly said, “My name is Lilly from Pasadena and what is your name?”
The girl raised her sick head and looked at Lilly and said in a small voice, “I’m Diane Frasher and I’m also from Pasadena.”
“I often get car sick and my mother always told me to watch the road and I wouldn’t get sick.”
Diane gave her a small smile and said, “I never get car sick, but……….”
And then she broke into tears. Hands on her face she bawled like a baby. Slim looked into his mirror and slowed down to forty five to smooth the ride out. Lilly got up and moved Diane over one seat and sat down with her and held her while she cried. Lilly knew something else must be wrong and maybe she was already homesick. A few minutes later Diane sat up and said through hiccups and blubbers, “I’m sorry to act like a baby, but I have to tell someone or I will just die.”
Lilly patted her shoulder, “I know I’m not your mother, but please share with me what is bothering you.”
Diane blurted out, “I’m pregnant” and once again the tears flowed in buckets down her red cheeks.
By now, Slim was moving all over his seat like a man with fleas down his back. Slim said to Lilly, “Do you think we should stop?”
“No, keep going. All will be fine now she has told someone what has been deeply troubling the poor thing.”
Diane quit crying and fell asleep with Lilly’s arm around her. Slim looked into his passenger mirror and said with real concern in his voice, “Will she be okay?”
“Let’s hope so. I’m sure she has a long story to tell when she wakes up”
Lilly made her comfortable and held the girl like she was her own. Lilly noticed her hair smelled fresh and clean and her young skin was smooth and white with only a little tan color from the sun. She was dressed nicely, but not expensively. Lilly envied her long blonde curly hair and, if she wasn’t crying, she was very pretty indeed. Maybe she is being sent to a relative’s house to have the baby, Lilly thought. Well, soon we will know and she felt a pang of pity for the young thing that somehow during a moment of passion will change her life forever.
Lilly had never married and even back when she was in her late twenties and early thirties, her desire to have a baby was never very strong. If fact she had never been with a man and now she felt the change of life coming to end all chances of having a child. Once more her thoughts were interrupted when the girl made waking sounds and sat up apologizing to Lilly for her childish behavior.
Slim chimed in saying, “Hope you are feeling better miss. We were worried about you there for a while. You are among friends here and I for one will help with whatever I can.”
Diane thanked them both and said, “If you would please listen I would like to tell you my terrible story.”
Lilly said, with a big smile, “I would love to hear your story. I have big shoulders as you know and like Slim says, we are here to help in any way we can. Please start at the beginning.”
“I’m on my way to North Carolina, but first I’m stopping in Chicago to see my grandmother. I’m enrolled at the University of North Carolina and will start school in September. My boyfriend from high school talked me into having relations with him a few months ago when we both knew we would be going to different universities. He is going to the University of Chicago and we planned to marry after we both graduated. His family is very rich and mine are just average people.”
The tears started again flowing down but she continued with a strong voice. “I told him a few weeks ago I was sure I was pregnant and he said he would do anything for me, even marry me right now. I wanted to tell my parents, but I couldn’t. My boyfriend called me on the phone and said he told his parents and they had a fit. They yelled at him and told him to ask me how much money it would take to have the baby out of wedlock and give it up for adoption. I slammed the phone down and that was the last I heard from him. Now I’m on my way east and don’t know what to do or who to turn to”
At that she broke down again and one would think there were no more tears in her tear bank, a flood broke loose again. By now her handkerchief was soggy and Lilly gave her a Kleenex box she had in her large bag.
Slim shook his head and even from behind Lilly saw him wipe his eyes as he stared down the highway. Lilly told Diane to go to the restroom and wash up and come back and have some talk about what to do from here on to Chicago. Diane got up and went to the restroom and Lilly said to Slim, “I feel sorry for her and wished she had told her parents. Maybe she will tell her grandmother and in the end all will turn out for the best.”
Her words sounded hollow to her and wished she hadn’t told them to Slim. Slim on the other hand said, “Let’s make her feel someone loves her and for the rest of this trip and give her some special attention.”
His words sounded good to her and she agreed with him. Diane came back and sat down with a smile on her face thanking them both for listening to her.
“I feel much better now that I told someone. The more times that I can remember I wanted to tell my mother, but I just couldn’t hurt her. She is a wonderful mother and knowing my college career is over, would put her in an early grave. My father wouldn’t understand as he always kept me on a strict curfew date. I always had to be home by eleven no matter what. The funny thing is it happened on a Saturday afternoon when he was at my house and my parents and brother were gone shopping leaving us home to listen to records. I was such a fool as to believe my boyfriend telling me how much he loved me and to seal our love we needed to make love.”
While she was talking Lilly noticed the sign saying Barstow as they slowed down coming into the desert town; and the restaurant was right in the middle of town with a not so convenient place to park a bus, but Slim backed into a gas station out of the way and parked. He took from a hook a mike and said to the passengers that we were stopping for lunch and to please follow him into the café. When he opened the door a blast of desert heat almost knocked Lilly over. She covered her eyes with her hand and stood in what little shade the bus offered. Everyone filled out and Slim took us into an air conditioned banquet room already set up for the passengers.
Walking in all the regular customers stared at the group upsetting their regular routine on a Friday. Most were lapping up the special of the day: tuna sand with clam chowder. Lilly noticed it was clean and cool inside with dark wood paneling. A tune from the Big Band was playing softly on the jukebox and she thought it was Glenn Miller, but not sure. A waitress led them to a small back room used by some of the clubs in town for meetings. A long rectangle table with a white table cloth sat in the middle with comfortable wooden chairs with cushions to sit on. Tall pitchers of ice water sat up and down the table. Real cloth napkins with nice tableware sat lined up like soldiers in a parade. Not a thing was out of place. Lilly thought this setup would make her mother and grandmother proud. Slim seems to take charge and asked all to find a chair and sit down. He sat at the head of the table and after all were seated said, “Ladies and gentlemen. Greyhound wishes to thank you by having you as our guests for
lunch today. This is the maiden voyage of our new Lady Greyhound to Chicago. For lunch I am told we will have grilled crab sandwich and clam chowder. The crab has been on ice in the bus and is now being prepared as we speak. Enjoy the lunch and now I would like all of you to introduce yourselves to each other. I know this sounds a little corny, but our trip will be much nicer if we know who each other are. I had the pleasure of meeting Lilly Fields first and Lilly if you would please tell us who you are, what you do and why you are on this trip.”
Lilly was a little embarrassed but went ahead and told them who she was and that she worked for an Insurance agency as a secretary. She went on to tell her mother just passed away and her trip has been to see her grandmother in Chicago. With that she went silent.
A young man sat next to her and said, “My name is Ricky and as you can see from my clothes I love Elvis Presley”
He was decked out in white socks and penny loafers with Levi jeans and white T-shirt with the sleeves rolled up containing a pack of Camel cigarettes. Standing there you could see he was of average height and weight with a full head of oil slick black hair combed in a duck tail in back and on the sides were heavy rolls of hair meeting at the top of his head. Much like two waves on an ocean coming together from opposite directions; and the rolls made a line down to the middle of his forehead ending in a sharp point that never moved due to the heavy oil job on his hair.
He went on to say, “I’m first going to Chicago to meet some friends and from there we are going down to Tennessee to see if we can find Elvis. Mostly I’ve worked in service stations and am a fair mechanic.”
He sat down and then it was the next guys turn to speak.
A silver hairy man stood up with a slick smile on his face and said, “My name is Bill Silvers from Pasadena. I’m a Ford car salesman and I’m on my way to Detroit to pick up my special car I ordered.”
All Aboard! Romance on Route 66 Page 1
