💾 Archived View for lantashifiles.com › writing › shadows › countryRoads.gmi captured on 2023-07-22 at 16:27:28. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-03)
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Jimmy's pickup truck bounced over the gravel road, that seemed to consist more of holes than smooth surface. The windshield wipers struggled to clear away the torrent of rain flooding down. It was dark, the hour still early, the sun not yet making its journey across the sky. HIs dog, a gray husky, growled in protest. The station he had been listening to was now lost to static, and in the current weather he wasn't going to take his eyes off the road to find another.
"Well, Rock, this is going to be a miserable trip," Jimmy said. "Why didn't you tell me the weather was going to be like this? I would have called Cal up and told him to marry his girl another weekend."
The dog whined in response, looking unconvinced.
The Dakota continued to roll down the road, steaming in the rain. Jimmy mentally calculated their speed, their usual route, and the distance to Paragould, figuring he and Rocky would arrive at the hotel sometime the following year.
The husky pawed at his master, giving a short bark.
"Nah boy, I know you like her. But she didn't want to come."
As Jimmy spoke the words aloud, he felt a strange mixture of emotions. He both missed Amber, and felt relief that she was not along. She would not have enjoyed the ride, or his strange travelling habits. But more than that, he knew the explosive potential for arguments at the wedding, or the reception. There were old wounds that didn't need to be opened.
His old pickups windshield was steaming up, the defrost fighting against it and making the truck cab uncomfortably hot. Rocky's breath didn't help either.
The dog gave out a couple of quick barks, drawing hsi owner's attention.
"What do you see boy?" the man asked, peering through the rain. Within moments he saw the emergency lights flashing, a gray Honda on the side of the road, a small figure in a red rain jacket struggling with the rear-left wheel.
Jimmy sighed, slowing down and pulling his truck right in front of the car. He had only a light coat, sans hood, but he felt that he had to help.
"Stay here. There's no reason for both of us to get wet," he said. With that he pulled the door opened and stepped out into the rain.
"Can I help?" Jimmy called out as he approached. He figure stood up, drawing to its full height as he drew near. The person was of a small built, standing barely more than five feet. He could see part of a pretty, feminine face within the hood.
After a moment's hesistation, the woman said, "I can't get the wheel off."
Jimmy surveyed the scene. There was a spare tire, a doughnut, lying behind the car. The woman had gotten the car jacked up. She was using a small wrench to try to get the nuts off the wheel, and if they were factory tightened he doubted she had the strength.
"I have a better wrench (what kind?) in the truck. I'll be right back."
"Wait," she said, "I"m... I'm late for work, and my phone doesn't have a signal. Can I borrow yours?"
"I don't own a cell phone," Jimmy answered.
A slight shift in her posture indicated that she found that hard to believe.
"If you're in a hurry I can drive you in, and then come back and change the tire. I'm not in a hurry today."
The woman looked at him, copper skin and dark eyes visible under the hood. She was a tiny creature, and he stood over six feet with a line-backer's build. Jimmy could see the calculation going on behind the pretty eyes.
"Okay," she said finally. "I work about ten miles from here. Is that okay?"
"That fine," he answered.
Jimmy led the way to the truck.
"I'll have to let you in from the inside. The handle for the passenger side door is broken," he shouted over the rain.
He climbed into the truck, leaned past Rocky, and pushed the door open.
As the truck doors slammed shut, the roar of the downpour receded.
"Where are you going?" Jimmy asked.
"Go up five miles or so. There's a stop sign. Take a left onto a paved road and its a couple of more miles. There's a small town called Rosebush. I work at Clare's Diner."
The woman looked at the water running off her and onto the seat and floor.
"Sorry about the mess." She pulled down her hood, revealing a head of long, black hair. Her hood hadn't helped her much in the rain, as she looked a bit like a drowned rat. But a very pretty drowned rat, copper skin, sharp cheekbones and deep brown eyes. The eyes lit up as she smiled.
"Thank you for the ride. I'm Mounika."
"Jimmy," the man answered. He put the truck in gear, pulled out onto the road and slowly built speed as he peered through the rain. He was distinctly aware that the woman he had picked up was absolutely gorgeous, and that there was a big furry animal sitting between them, panting, steaming up the cab.
Out loud he said, "This is Rocky. He's my traveling companion. He's big, but friendly."
"I like dogs," Mounika smiled, and stroked Rocky along his side.
Out loud he said, "Your car picked the worst day to get a flat."
"I know," Mounika grimmaced. "And there's not much traffice on these back roads. I'm glad you drove by. Are you from around here?"
"Joliet," Jimmy said. "I'm driving to a friend's wedding in Paragould."
"Where's that?"
"Arkansas. Northeast part."
Mounika cocked her head, curious.
"Aren't you taking the long way around? 55 would get you there a lot faster."
Jimmy winked.
"But then I wouldn't have met you. And I don't like freeways. Too many cars and semis."
"You.... um...."
Mounika smiled at the compliment, momentarily at a loss for words. After a couple of moments she recovered.
"You seem old-fashioned," Mounika said. "You don't have a cellphone? That so last century."
She leaned back in the seat and shut her eyes. Jimmy watched her for a moment, then looked back at the road and turned on the blinker, having reached the stop sign. This side-trip was going to be way too short.
Jimmy pulled the truck into Clare's Diner, which was right off the main street of the thriving metropolis of Rosebush, a town of five hundred. The diner looked to be the lone place to get eat in town, and a dozen cars were in the parking lot. Mounika moaned when she saw the crowd.
"Clare is going to kill me," she muttered.
Jimmy looked at her sympathetically.
"Is the food good here?" he asked.
"Yeah..."
"Do you cook it?"
"No, I'm a waitress. Come on in, I'll buy you some food. It's on me."
Jimmy smiled, looking at the pouring rain. They were going to have to run to the door. At least Mounica had a raincoat. Jimmy was going to be soaked. Then again, his close couldn't get much worse than they already were.
"Well, let's go then," Jimmy said.
Jimmy and Mounika ran to the door. It took only a few seconds to get drenched again, and he wished that he worn something better for the weather.
Once inside, and the glass door was closed behind them, the roar of the rain lessened a bit. Jimmy looked around. There were a dozen people about, mainly older men who were getting a bit of breakfast before the start of their day. The smell of breakfast was in the air, everything from eggs and bacon to pancakes to coffee.
There was an older woman, tall and thin, with a mixture of brown and gray, standing at one of the tables putting plates of food on the tables.
As Jimmy and Mounika entered, the woman looked up, and Jimmy detected both relief and annoyance on her face as she saw Mounika.
"Where have you been Mounika? It's busy, and we've been worried sick."
"Clare was threatening to send us out to look for you," one of the men piped up. "I told her, no finding lost birds before breakfast. My brain doesn't work before I have three cups of coffee in me."
"You're brain doesn't even work then, John," Clare admonished the man, but she poured him another cup of coffee.
"I'm sorry Clare, my car has a flat, and I couldn't get the wheel off. Um... this is Jimmy. He gave me a ride."
Clare looked Jimmy up and down.
"Well, you're a big fella. You need breakfast. Sit down and we'll get you something. It's on the house for finding our lost bird. Mounika, get yourself dried off a bit, and come help me out here."
Jimmy sat down at a small table towards the center of the room. He looked at the menu. John, a large man who was seated around a table with other older guys, stood up and came to sit with Jimmy, bringing his coffee with him.
"Thanks for picking up Mounika, Jimmy. We're fond of her around here. She came with you. Where's her car?"
"Still on the side of the road. She was in a hurry to get to work. I have a lug wrench in the truck. I can change her tire before I continue on, but someone will have to drop her back off at her car after work."
"Better yet," the man said, "If she doesn't mind you driving it, I'll drive you out there, we'll change the tire, and you can drop her car off."
Clare was there then, pouring coffee for Jimmy and refilling John's cup. She handed a menu to Jimmy, smiling.
"Mounika will be with you in just a few moments."
"Thanks Clare," Jimmy said, glancing down at the menu. The options were pretty standard for a diner - eggs, bacon, omlets, pancakes, various breakfast sandwiches.
"Where are you from?" John asked.
"Joliet," Jimmy replied. "I was just driving down to Paragould when I saw her on the side of the road. She seemed to be losing the fight with the tire."
"Paragould? Are you lost? 55 is about forty miles west. You should be on that."
"I don't like the cameras on it," Jimmy said. "I'd rather take the country roads."
"Cameras? You mean the traffic cameras?"
"Yeah, those. They're equipped with license plate readers."
The old man leaned back and studied Jimmy, not sure what to make of him.
"What do you do, young man?"
"Computer security," Jimmy replied.
It was just then that Mounika was at the table, a quizzical look on her face.
"Hey Jimmy, breakfast is on the house. Order whatever you want."
"The breakfast special looks good. Eggs, bacon and pancakes."
When Mounika was finished taking the details of Jimmy's order, John turned to her and ask, "Do you mind if Jimmy and I go out and get your car after breakfast? He'll need your keys."
Mounika looked at Jimmy for a moment, and then smiled.
"I don't think he's a hardened criminal." She gave her keys to Jimmy. "I'm keeping your dog until you come back. He's worth more than the car anyways."
Jimmy sat down with Mounika as she ate her lunch. Jimmy sipped at his coffee, distinctly aware that he was way behind schedule. He knew he should be on the road, but Clare had insisted on feeding him again for rescuing *her lost bird*. Jimmy didn't mind the excuse. He wished to talk to Mounika once more before he left.
"You told John you were into computer stuff. You don't seem like the high-tech type. When I met you I thought you were a mechanic, or a construction worker. What gives?"
"Nothing wrong with that," Jimmy laughed. "Dad is a mechanic. Sometimes I wish I'd gone his route. Dad works with his hands, and you can see what he creates. Me, everything I do is invisible."
"So you're from Michigan. What brings you to Illinois?"
"I wanted more action in my life than I got up there. I'm from the Upper Peninsula. There are mountains and trees and bear and moose. Even some wolves.
"I thought, down here, you know. Big city, being around Chicago. Working with corporations. I was good at computers, so that was my major in college. And with all the security issues plaguing the world, like ransomware, I knew where the money was. It seems like everyone is getting hacked, from the billion-dollar corporations down to the mom-and-pop shops."
"So why the ancient truck? Why no phone so that people can get a hold of you? It seems like people would need to reach you when they have problems."
"Have you ever wished for something, gotten it, and then wondered what you've gotten yourself into?"
Mounika laughed, thinking about high school. She'd gotten herself into plenty of trouble.
"Yes, but I'm not going to tell you about it."
Jimmy smiled. He liked her laugh. His heart sped up, and he felt warm. He also figured out that he had better be on his way soon, before he began to like this girl too much.
*Soon. But not yet.*
"I was the computer nerd of the family. Kate, my younger sister, always gave me a bad time about it. We grew up with them, and they're great for research, for doing papers, for balancing your checkbook, games, all that. But... they have a dark side."
Mounika put down her fork.
"Wasted time, you mean?"
"I wish," Jimmy smiled. "But everyone wastes time, whether it's radio or watching tv or reading Facebook. No, getting into security, you become aware of just how much everything you do with computers is watched. And entire dossiers are built on your, by corporations, by government, and by the crackers - that's evil hackers - that steal the data from the other sources."
"I'm not real techie," Mounika said. "I mean, there's Netflix I guess. I don't do Facebook. Who has the time? That type of stuff would mess up my writing schedule."
"What do you write about?" Jimmy smiled.
"Exploring space, the final frontier, that kind of thing. I'd like to be a Leigh Bracket some day."
"Who?"
"Sci-fi author. She was good. I like the sci-fi where you can't instantly move around the universe, or communicate instantly. I like it when it takes months or years to move from one star system to another, and then...
TO BE CONTINUED