Page 6 of Crash and Burn

Wow. Nice move. She probably thinks you hate her. Why the hell does it matter, anyway? Whatever.I went back to drawing on my iPad.

I had barely shown my face to anyone in the previous 18 months, but Carter had been at Charlie’s Lumber one day, working on one of Lex’s never-ending projects, and overheard Charlie talking about modernizing his logo. Carter is always looking out for me, so I got a call the next day. I had been working away on the logo for a solid ten minutes or so when Amelia brought my food back.

“Here ya are. Four links and toast. They’re hot, so be careful.”

I still felt bad for my reaction to her staring, so I cleared my throat and said, “Hey…um…I’m sorry for getting your name wrong. I wanted to use it…your name, I mean, so you knew I was paying attention. I was trying to be nice, and I think I sounded like an ass. I am, …no, I mean I’m not an ass. I just…oh fuck it.”

She laughed and it was a pretty, cheerful one. I shook my head and looked up at her, slouched my shoulders and let out a deep breath. Then she said, “It’s ok. Enjoy your food and let me know if you need anything else.” She turned to walk away before stopping herself, turned back around, and asked, “Oh, what’syourname since you know mine?”

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, which made me grin a bit. Smiling felt so damn foreign, but good for a change.

A little reluctant, I stuttered, “I’m…I’m Hudson.”

“Well, Hudson, welcome to Sharon’s. It’s nice to meet you.” With that, she flashed me a smile and went back to the counter.

I decided it would be great to end the day on a good note, so I finished my food, downed the rest of my coffee, and started to pack it up. Besides spilling my coffee everywhere, and the annoyed glare that caused Amelia to drop her mug, the day hadn’t been that bad. After all, Ididmake her laugh, so as far as I was concerned, I finished with an even score.

When I stood up from the booth and headed for the door, Amelia smiled and called out, “Have a good night, Hudson!”

The old guys at the counter turned to stare. I stopped, looked back to her, and said, “Good night, Amelia.” I even smiled back at her, grateful she had made my day a good one, but not sure if I would ever come back.

Chapter 3

Amelia

My shift was almost over and Hudson and had left hours ago, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was cute and seemed like a nice guy, even if he was eccentric.Artists sometimes are,I thought, and I admit, seeing him working away on his art, made my heart skip a beat.

I turned to the fellas at the counter, “Harvey, is there anything else I can getcha? It’s almost time for me to head home for the night.”

Harvey was grinning ear to ear like he could read my mind, so I scowled with a smirk and said, “What’s that smile for, old man?”

Harvey chuckled and said, “Oh nothin’. You just seem sidetracked today. I wonder why?” Then he raised an accusatory eyebrow.

He had me, but I shook my head at him and smiled, trying to dismiss it. “I’ve just got a lot on my plate, Harvey. Pay no mind. I’m going to close out your tab.Youneed to get home.”

It’s funny. Our relationship, I mean. I’m not exactly sure when it started, but most people that come into Sharon’s think we’re father and daughter. To be honest, it started to feel that way to me too, after a while, especially since my dad was never around. I’ve embraced Harvey’s caring nature over the past year, and I appreciate that someone is there, wanting to look after me. Harvey’s wife passed many years ago, so he spends a lot of time at Sharon’s, but when he isn’t, he builds doll houses and yard swings like a master woodworker and sells them at the farmer’s market on the weekends.

The diner stays open until eleven o’clock, but I had told Sal, the owner, that I don’t like to close because it makes me nervous to be out that late at night and the last bus stops near Sharon’s at nine-thirty. Most nights, by the time I clean up my tables, count out my tips, and do a once over of the bathroom, it’s a little after nine o’clock, giving me just enough time to pack up and walk a block over to the bus stop.

After I finished cleaning up, I yelled to the guys, “Later, Donnie! Bye Harvey! I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” The bus stop was well lit with old-timey streetlamps and the warm orange and neon glow coming from Sharon’s. There was a chill in the air, and I could feel fall approaching as we neared the end of September. Fall in the Midwest has always been my favorite time ofyear, even though September is rough because Mother Nature doesn’t seem to know what she wants. We spend half the month feeling the cool and windy sixties before it shoots to the humid nineties and back again, especially in recent years. Gone are the days of an accurate three-day forecast, so I packed a sweater, just in case it got nippy. I thrive when the temperatures drop below seventy degrees, the bugs hibernate for the year, and I can bask in the warmth of my sweater while the crisp air kisses my cheeks.

The temperature dropped, so I pulled my sweater on and smiled when I saw a nearby maple tree had turned mostly orange before the others. The bus pulled up and came to a stop with a hiss of the air brakes.

The doors popped open with a creak to reveal a smiling Jimmy Roberts, with his one-of-a-kind greeting, “Hey Amelia, ba-bay!”

I love Jimmy. He’s a heavy set, older Black guy with the kind of joyful spirit that could make him my favorite surrogate uncle. His voice has a hint of a southern accent, but I’ve never asked him about it. He has the kind of joyful smile that practically demands a smile in return.

“Hey Jimmy! How’s the night going?”

“Oh, ya know, slow goin’ on Wednesday nights. Same crowd going to and from work.”

“At least it’s calm, right? You haven’t had to put anyone in a full nelson yet?” He has a deep laugh.

Jimmy had once told me a story about a time when two young guys were fighting and when he tried to break it up, one of the guys accidentally elbowed him in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of him, but once he recovered from the pain, he yelled, “Y’all gon’ go on and make me mad now,” then he grabbed the guy who had started the fight and put him in a full nelson. The other guy was stunned and just stared at Jimmy. Jimmy said to the guy he restrained, “You want to make it to your stop or get off here? If you stay, you gon’ sit there and mind yourself.” The guy wanted no part of Jimmy’s tough side, so he sat quietly until Jimmy handed him a copy ofSomething Wicked This Way Comesby Ray Bradbury. He looked at the guy and said, “Go on and read it now, so I can hear you.”

Jimmy loves Halloween and always carries that book with him on his route. What’s funny, is that every ride after that, the guy would ask Jimmy if he could read the book. After several bus trips, he finally finished it with a smile. So, in true Jimmy fashion, he turned an angry guy into a reader, who wanted nothing more than to read to his bus driver every day.

I love whenever Jimmy tells me the story, and sometimes I ask him to tell me theFull Nelson Story,because his voice is soothing and makes for a calm ride home.

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