“Well, let’s wait till morning light to see what needs to be done. There is nothing we can do for them now.” Slim looked at his watch and said, “It is about five hours till daylight so I suggest we all go back to bed and get what rest we can. Tomorrow we have no idea what it will bring. We will need to find something to eat and I’m sure there is damage all over this city.”
Ricky and Diane left and Slim blew out the candles. He lies down next to Lilly and put his arm around her and held her close. They listened to the storm rage on and the window was rattling keeping any thoughts of sleep at bay.
Slim woke up as daylight made its presence known through the window. The last thing he remembered was the window shaking and the storm howling outside. Now he heard the same sounds as the storm continued to rage on.
“Slim how long this storm will last?” Lilly asked with some fear in her voice.
“I think it will be over sometime today,” he said with not much confidence in his voice. “I’m going to see what the damage is at the motel office.”
Slim got dressed and went out the door with his flashlight. He made his way against the wind and the rain to where the tree entered the office. I must check it out he thought to him. Maybe Al made a mistake and they are not dead.
Slim’s tall thin body and bad coordination struggled to make its way into the office. Some minutes later, breathing hard and falling down twice, finally made his way into the bedroom where the rain was pouring down on top of the two motel owners.
The top of the tree filled the room and Slim tried to get closer to the man and wife under the tree top. He got down on his hands and knees and fought his way through the branches to arrive at the side of the bed where the man lay soaked to the skin from the rain. Next to him his wife on her stomach had rain running down her face. Slim felt so sorry for them and was afraid to touch them. He found the man’s wrist and checked for a pulse. Nothing came back from his pulse. He then checked the woman and much to his surprise, a faint pulse came back to him.
Slim shocked fought his way back out of the bedroom and reached the outside. He stood there in the rain wondering what to do next. Only one thing came to his mind and that was he needed to find some medical help. He ran to Ricky’s motel room and banged on the door. Ricky opened the door with sleepy eyes and told him to come in out of the rain.
“Ricky, she is alive!”
“Who is alive?” Ricky asked.
“The motel owner’s wife and we need to find some help for her.”
By now Slim was in an agitated mind and Ricky put on his pants and shirt. “I’ll find somebody even if it kills me,” he said to Slim with a grin on his face.
His shoes on Ricky raced out the door. Slim told Diane to go see Lilly and tell her the news. “I will get Al and make a tent over the woman to keep the rain off her.”
Slim headed out the door and down to Al’s room. He banged on the door and Al who looked wide awake asked him in.
“The woman is alive, Al!” He said with a calmer voice from just a minute ago.
“She is alive?”
“Yes, and we need to cover her up from the rain.”
“I’m on my way,” as he grabbed some blankets off his bed leaving Sue in her nightdress with an open mouth.
Slim said, “Go to Lilly’s room if you want to Sue.”
She nodded her head and Slim followed Al down to the office. Al, like a
wild man was into the bedroom in seconds making a protective roof for the woman. She was unconscious but alive as he felt her pulse.
Returning to the outside he found Slim under cover of the overhang above the walkway. Al said, “Nothing to do now but wait. We need some saws and other tools to free her up. The fire department is what we need.”
Slim nodded his agreement looking at the wind and rain beating down on the landscape. He looked at his watch at it was just after seven am but still half dark from the storm. Slim was cold from the rain and hoped he didn’t get sick.
“Let’s go to my room Al and wait for help to arrive. I need to change clothes and warm up a little.”
Al followed him to his room and found all three of the women, Sue, Diane and Lilly sitting in the chairs waiting for word from them. Slim told them what little there was to say and headed for the bathroom to change out of his wet clothes.
About a half hour later they heard a truck coming and all of them went outside to see what it was. Ricky was standing on the side of a fire truck waving his arms at them with a big smile on his face. The women jumped up and down and both Slim and Al walked to the office.
The firemen were well trained and set to work with hand saws clearing a path to the injured lady. Not long after the firemen arrived an ambulance came. No more than a half hour passed and the woman was brought out on a stretcher and placed in the ambulance. The ambulance took off and the fire chief came over and talked to the bus passengers.
“She is alive, but has some internal injuries, but we think she will make it. The husband didn’t make it. We thank you for your help and especially young Ricky here.”
Ricky was standing with them with the biggest grin on his face and everyone looked at him as their hero.
“Sorry folks but now that it is daylight we have lots of work to do. God knows how long the power will be off, but we Texans are a tough bunch and pull together in times of need.”
He waved at them as he climbed into the fire truck and drove off. Slim wondered how many hours they would work for the next couple of days. He said to the group, “I for one am starved and let’s go find something to eat in this mess.”
Everyone agreed with him and Ricky once again volunteered his services to find a restaurant that was open. He kissed Diane’s cheek and ran off to find someplace to have breakfast.
While everyone waited for Ricky’s return, they sat around the small motel room mostly in silence staring out the window looking at the heavy rain and wind blowing the trees that lined the street. The window kept rattling and the cool air seeped under the ill-fitting door. Slim was the first one to break the silence by saying, “Don’t worry folks, the worst is over. Now all we have to do is wait for the storm to end and then we can continue on our way.”
The words sounded a little hollow to Lilly and she replied to Slim, “Well I for one am thankful a tree didn’t come down on our room. Also I fear for the people down in Huston who took the brunt of the hurricane and god knows how many are dead or injured; or at best homeless.”
Al spoke up by saying, “We ought to see what help we can do right here in Amarillo.”
“What do you suggest?” asked Sue.
“I know most restaurants have gas for heating and a lot of people use electricity for cooking. How will they eat? I suggest we, if Ricky can find a place open, help the needy by offering our help to prepare food for them.”
Slim asked him, “Do you mean like a soup kitchen that was so popular during the depression?”
“Something like that,” Al replied.
Lilly spoke up and said, “I like that idea and how about we use the firemen and police to spread the word?”
Sue chipped in and said, “If the power is out a lot of food will be spoiled. The people could bring their frozen food to the restaurant and we could prepare it for them. Kind of like a potluck party”
“I’m not much good at cooking, but I can mix bowls of stuff like mashed potatoes and salads. Or I can wait tables,” said Diane with a big smile on face.
By the time the discussion went around the room, a sense of unity developed. A knock on the door brought Herm and Viola into the crowded room. Slim filled both of them in on the happenings and both Herm and his wife told them they would help in any way they could.
Ricky came busting through the door out of breath soaked to the skin from the rain. He coughed a few times clearing out the lungs from the Camel cigarettes and said, “I found a guy not far from here checking out his restaurant for damage. One window is broken but the rest of the place is fine. I
told him about us and he said to come on down and he would do what he could to feed us. He said his freezer would soon warm up and all the contents would spoil so he best cook off what he had in stock before that happened. He has a gas stove and was making coffee when I left. I told him we would help clean the place up and board up the window. I hope I did good.”
Everyone clapped and Slim told them their plan to help the needy.
“Oh, by the way, I have outside a bunch of umbrellas that the restaurant guy said were left by customers over the years and never claimed.”
Slim said, “I better check on Carl and Carol and fill them in on our plan.”
“Why bother. He is a grumpy old man and would do nothing but complain all day long,” Bill said with a sarcastic voice.
“I know Bill, but he is a human being and they are my responsibility. I must do what is best for my company.”
“Yes, Slim, I agree,” said Jasper.
After arriving at the restaurant and meeting Pete Chushing, Al and Ricky went to work on the window while the women cleaned the broken glass and made ready the tables for eating. Bill took off to alert the firemen and police as to what they were doing at Pete’s restaurant. Ricky had given him directions to the fire station.
Carl and Carol after Slim had talked to them came in a few minutes later. Carol started in immediately and Carl meekly went up to Slim and asked what he could do to help. Slim said, “See Pete in the back and he will tell you what you can do to help.”
Carl scurried off to find Pete with a grin on his face. Slim thought that maybe he turned over a new leaf. He certainly hopes so.
An hour later a breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham was served to all the passengers. Coffee by the gallon was made in expectation of people coming. Just about the time they were finishing breakfast, a police car pulled up out front with Bill riding shotgun. He climbed out and hurried into the restaurant. He said with a loud voice, “Be prepared for a bunch of hungry people coming soon.”
“We are ready,” everyone shouted at the same time.
Sue was a natural helping Pete cook. Al made the toast and kept the coffee going. Herm and his wife peeled potatoes for hash browns. Hugh and his wife served the plates to the incoming customers. Most customers brought frozen foods from their warming refer. Soon there was a line outside of waiting customers. Carl and his wife Carol washed dishes and sweat were running off Carl’s face, but he had a smile on. Water was no problem as water towers provided gravity flow. No need for electricity for pressure.
Slim and Lilly also served as waitress and waiter until Lilly told Slim to find another job as he constantly tripped over chairs and on more than one occasion dropped a plate or two on the floor!
He found out he was about useless and sulked around for a while until Lilly found him a job. She found a big mixing bowl and had him make potato salad. He loved it and soon was in the swing of things laughing and having a good time.
The atmosphere was electric with people laughing and coming together in a time of need. Four hours later, breakfast over, the restaurant crew took a rest. Ricky made a sign that the next round of food would be at two pm and after that the restaurant would be closed for the day.
People kept coming bringing what was thawing in their freezers so by the time it came to start round two by providing food, they were ready with big pots of soup and they made sandwiches until the bread ran out. After that they went to salads with cold cuts.
By six pm, dog tired, they gave it up for the day and returned to their rooms for a much needed rest. By then the wind had mostly died down and a soft rain was all that was left of the storm.
Lilly and Slim walked back hand in hand. Slim said, “Lilly today was one of the best days of my life.”
“I feel so good and so many people thanked me I got tired of saying you’re welcome.”
“What say you to a cold shower and a locked door for the rest of the night?”
“Whatever do you mean Slim? Are you asking me to go to bed with you,” she said with love in her voice.
“Take it for what you think, but I’m madly in love with you and I need the practice showing you how much I love you,” he said looking at her eyes with beams of love.
“Let’s go tall man and we will share the water together.”
Chapter 8
The next morning word came through the police at Pete’s restaurant that the travel warnings had been lifted. A round of applause greeted the news. Slim, his arms in the dish water wiped his hands on a towel saying, “I will go check my bus to see how much fuel we have and make ready to go by noon.”
The power was still down and no news when it would come back on. Slim was worried that no power to pump diesel, then there was no need to move anywhere. The phones were still down and no way to contact his dispatcher so off he went to check the fuel in his bus.
Everyone was still busy with the line of customers out the door and down the street waiting for something to eat. Everyone to a person had a sack in their hands donating something to add to the cooking pot.
Lilly thought she had met some fine people here in Texas and many of them exchanged addresses with her. For once in her life she felt like she was doing something worthwhile. So many old people came in and sometimes the police cars would bring some seniors to the restaurant. Ricky was always at the door to greet the newcomers and say goodbye to the ones who finished eating.
Lilly looked around the restaurant and saw her fellow passengers really into their jobs. Even sour Carl looked like he was enjoying himself for probably the first time in his life. She sipped her coffee and wished Slim would hurry back with some good news for her and the passengers. Her wish came true as Slim nearly banged his head coming through the door and if it hadn’t been for Ricky telling him to duck, he would have had a sore spot for a few hours.
He walked up to Lilly in three steps and said, “We have enough fuel to make it to our next scheduled stop. I will tell the passengers to make ready for a one o’clock departure time.”
“Ok Slim I will go pack our things and make ready to go,” Lilly said with a big smile locking onto his eyes.
Slim went around to each of his passengers and told them about leaving Amarillo at one pm. He went into the kitchen to say Pete goodbye and how much he liked his hospitality.
On the road again everyone was peering out at the landscape to see what the hurricane damage was. Once out of Amarillo things looked much the same as before the storm. Few cars or trucks went by, but as the day progressed, more and more trucks could be seen headed west.
Slim had tried to call ahead, but the lines were still down. He knew a place in Sayre, Oklahoma that he was sure could accommodate his passengers. Sayre wasn’t a regular stop but on more than one occasion he stayed the night there for one reason or another. He kept checking the sky and looking left and right for twisters. More often than not tornadoes spawned after a hurricane and where they were now being prime tornado country. Slim kept the speed at fifty miles per hour and should arrive in Sayre at about six pm. Slim smiled to himself as next door to the Western Motel was a fine eating place specializing in Buffalo steaks. I sure hope the power is back on, he thought. A nice dinner and some late TV along with some fooling around are just what the doctor ordered he mused. Slim began to whistle a nameless tune and felt the world was turning in time with his rhythms.
Upstairs and down the passengers were all napping? An exhausting day, but all felt a rewarding experience. Even Carl, sound asleep, had a smile on his face. Jasper, not asleep but his eyes closed gave thanks to the Lord for their safety and blessed the food donated by all the fine folks in Texas.
Meanwhile Slim kept his eyes peeled for twisters. Slim had the radio on and could find nothing but static as the stations were without power. He kept searching and finally picked up a station in Okie City. A commercial about Ivory soap was just ending when the disk jockey said, “Reports are sketchy at best, but what we do know are power is out all over the state of Texas and
parts of Oklahoma. We sent a man to check with the power company and he reported back that most of Oklahoma will have power by six pm tonight if no twisters rear their ugly heads. Now for the latest news……..”
Slim turned the radio off and relaxed knowing his buffalo steak was coming in a few hours. His thoughts drifted to the future and life with Lilly. Was it time to hang up his hat and retire? A marriage would not be much of a relationship if I was on the road most of the time. Yup, time to do something different. But what, I don’t know much except fix-it kind of things. Maybe I could have a little shop and putter around with people bringing me toasters and stuff like that to fix. Sharpen a few knives. Not a bad idea and at dinner tonight he would talk to Lilly about it. He had begun to rely on her for her judgment on all things.
Lilly woke from her nap a little groggy. Her body was tired from both the stress and physical work from the restaurant. She thought back when they first left Pasadena and realized so much had happened in a very short time. From the pit of her stomach a cold feeling was rising up her body and freezing her brain with fear. I’ve just buried my mother, quit my job, crossing the USA in a bus full of new people and fell in love with the bus driver? Come on Lilly, she thought, this is not something like the Lilly she grew up with: conservative, reliable, and not at all a risk taker. Her head hurt and was it from the unknown or the known? Her mother always told her to keep your feet on the ground and use your brain to assimilate simple problems. Okay girl, get a hold of yourself and think like a grown up, she chided. Looking out the window at the desolate landscape turning a little green from the storm, she shook it off and decided to talk to someone about her fears of the future. Like a yo-yo I feel like my emotions are moving so fast up and down I can’t find the middle where it is safe and warm. I will, she thought, talk to Jasper and his wife. They always appear so calm and satisfied with both the ups and downs of our journey so far. Never are they over emotional one way or the other. A smile made the crescent shaped lines around her mouth as she thought maybe it’s time to put God in my life for some help and guidance.
All Aboard! Romance on Route 66 Page 8
