Page 4 of Home on the Road

“Will it be safe for you to go back there tonight?”

Ziggy nodded. “Terry goes into town on Thursday nights. She won’t be home until sometime tomorrow afternoon. If I leave, I’d like to be far away from here before she gets back.”

Harry nodded and offered him a hand. “And we will be. Welcome to Three Myles To Go Trucking. We’ll deal with the paperwork when we get back to the farm tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” Ziggy shook the hand and then allowed Harry to pull him to his feet. “Your dinner is cold. Let me make you another.”

“Only if you make yourself something and eat with me. It looks like you’ve been losing weight you didn’t have to lose.”

****

Harry knew as soon as he said it that he should not have criticized. Ziggy’s shoulders hunched and he wrapped both arms around his middle. “I don’t get much of a chance to eat during the day, and by the time I get home at night, I’m so tired that all I want to do is sleep.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about that any longer. I like to eat and stop often on the road. We’ll get you back up to your fighting weight in no time.”

Ziggy huffed a chuckle as they walked into the kitchen. “Go sit down and I’ll make you another dinner.”

Harry returned to the dining room, and took his seat at the counter. A moment later, Sally Jo brought him a fresh iced tea before taking his cold meal and dumping it in the trash.

“Is he going with you?” she asked, keeping her voice low so the few other people still eating did not hear her.

Harry nodded. “I’m sorry, but unless you have a short order cook in your back pocket, the diner won’t be opening in the morning.”

Sally Jo smiled, looking happier than she ever had before, which was saying something for the uber-perky, always smiling, waitress. “As a matter of fact, I do. My brother-in-law is a great cook and he just lost his job.”

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a text. Almost before she could put it back in her pocket, it jingled with a response. She read the text and nodded. “Miguel says he’ll be happy to start work tomorrow morning. After he starts, I’ll see if he knows of anyone else who can help staff the kitchen.”

“Well, that’s one thing Ziggy won’t have to worry about. Now we just have to get his gear and leave town before his stepmonster realizes he’s gone.”

“She’s gone to town so that won’t be a problem until sometime tomorrow,” Sally Jo said before walking away to check on the other diners.

Ziggy emerged from the kitchen with two plates. Instead of sitting on the other side of the counter, he came around and sat next to Harry at the counter. By the time they finished eating, the diner had emptied out, and Sally Jo was stacking chairs on top of tables.

With Harry’s help, they closed up for the night and cleaned the diner in half the time it normally took. After locking the front door of the diner, Ziggy looked at the ring of keys for a moment. He worked one off before handing the rest to Sally Jo.

“You’re going to need these,” he said with a sad smile.

“Have a wonderful life, Ziggy. Text me once in a while to let me know you’re doing okay,” Sally Jo said before throwing her arms around him and giving him a tight hug. “I’d say come visit, but that might be a mistake.”

Harry wanted to pull the man away from her, but held himself in check. He watched as Ziggy gave her an awkward hug before stepping back.

“Good luck,” Ziggy said.

After waiting for Sally Jo to get in her car and drive away, he and Ziggy walked over to the small brick house behind the truck stop.

“If you’ll wait out here, it will only take me a few minutes to shower and get my stuff,” Ziggy said, looking uncomfortable that Harry might want to come inside.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to carry anything?”

“No. I don’t have that much.”

Harry nodded and settled on the wooden rocker on the front porch.

“Then I’ll wait out here. Take your time.”

He rocked and watched the lightning bugs flash around the yard. He found himself smiling as he thought about having Ziggy by his side, on the road and off.

By the time Ziggy returned with a duffel bag over one shoulder and a small box under his other arm, Harry was nearly asleep. It had been a long couple of days with all sorts of delays and traffic snarls. He could not wait to get home and have a few days off to rest up for the next run.

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