that’s where we’re going.” Eddie glared at her, his
jaw tightening.
“Say,
that’s great,” he replied. “I want you to know I sure do appreciate it! I’d be
much obliged if you’d let me pay for — “
“Oh,
you won’t have to pay us anything,” Felina said, sugar seeping through her
voice. “We’d be happy to give you a ride.”
“Why,
that’s mighty nice of y’all. Mighty nice.” Then he extended his hand. “By the
way, I’m Lowell Garner. From Brenham, Texas. Big B.”
“I’m
Felina. And this is Eddie. We’re from Houston.”
She
gestured for him to sit next to Eddie. He did.
”Ah,
Houston,” Garner said. “Lotta things happening there, all right. Lotta things. But it’s just too damn big for my
tastes. Ha! Bet you’d never thought you’d hear a Texan say that about anything.”
He shook his head once as if he’d really amazed himself. “In this case, though,
it’s true. Houston’s just gotten out of control. Too much traffic. Too
expensive.”
Felina
nodded. “You’re two hundred percent right, Mr Garner. That’s why we’re leaving.
We’re moving to New Orleans.” Her smile held Eddie’s eyes. He loved it.
Garner
beamed at this disclosure. “Yeah, now there’s a town for you. New Orleans …” He
didn’t seem aware that his voice
had trailed off to a whisper, while his eyes drifted just a little farther
away.
Finally,
Eddie quit fidgeting with his burger. He pushed his plate a couple of inches to
the side so his elbows could park on the tabletop.
Clasping
his hands together, he said, “If you got any stuff you want to take, you better
get it, ‘cause we’re leaving in a few minutes.”
“Right,
yeah. I got my bag in my car. I’ll go git it.” He jumped up from the booth and
started for the door, then turned and said, “Hey, thanks again, y’all. I sure
do ‘preciate this.”
The
screen door slapped shut behind him. Eddie leaned across the booth, as he
growled through clenched teeth. “What the hell are you doing, dragging him into
this? What is this shit? We don’t need —”
“Eddie
honey, listen to me,” she interrupted. She put her dainty hands in his and
spoke with patience, like a teacher talking to one of her mediocre students. “There’s
people after us and we’ve got to get away from them. This guy sounds like he
knows New Orleans. Maybe he can help us out somehow.” Then she returned her
attention to her hamburger. She picked it up to take a bite, but before she
did, she shifted her voice to business level. “Besides, Val’s gonna be lookin’
for you and me in your old Toyota, not three people in this car we got now.
Okay? It’s bad enough we’re only going to New Orleans. So we need all the cover
we can get.”
Eddie
definitely didn’t like this, but she had a point. He had to admit, it was a
good one. Then his eyes swept over her again, as he began to soften. While she
sat there eating, even as she
dabbed her napkin at the dressing dribbling down her chin, she was so easy to
look at, so hard to stay mad at.
“Okay,”
he said. “We’ll take this rube with us. But we can’t keep him with us forever.
Just long enough to get to New Orleans.”
A
minute later, Felina looked down at her plate. She swished a french fry around
in a pool of ketchup.
“Eddie.”
Her voice turned singsongy.
“What?”
“When
we get to New Orleans …” She looked up at him and licked her lips once. Just
that one lick made them look so wet. “… I want to make love to you like no one
ever has before. I told you I would make it up to you and I meant it. Is that
okay?”
A blush
tinted his face as he quit breathing and there were big stirrings south of his
belt buckle. Breaking a slight smile, he looked around to make sure no one
could hear.
“Baby,
we’ll do whatever you want. When we get settled down, I’m gonna buy the biggest
damn bed they make. Round. They make ‘em round, you know. And I’m gonna get
sheets of the best
jaw tightening.
“Say,
that’s great,” he replied. “I want you to know I sure do appreciate it! I’d be
much obliged if you’d let me pay for — “
“Oh,
you won’t have to pay us anything,” Felina said, sugar seeping through her
voice. “We’d be happy to give you a ride.”
“Why,
that’s mighty nice of y’all. Mighty nice.” Then he extended his hand. “By the
way, I’m Lowell Garner. From Brenham, Texas. Big B.”
“I’m
Felina. And this is Eddie. We’re from Houston.”
She
gestured for him to sit next to Eddie. He did.
”Ah,
Houston,” Garner said. “Lotta things happening there, all right. Lotta things. But it’s just too damn big for my
tastes. Ha! Bet you’d never thought you’d hear a Texan say that about anything.”
He shook his head once as if he’d really amazed himself. “In this case, though,
it’s true. Houston’s just gotten out of control. Too much traffic. Too
expensive.”
Felina
nodded. “You’re two hundred percent right, Mr Garner. That’s why we’re leaving.
We’re moving to New Orleans.” Her smile held Eddie’s eyes. He loved it.
Garner
beamed at this disclosure. “Yeah, now there’s a town for you. New Orleans …” He
didn’t seem aware that his voice
had trailed off to a whisper, while his eyes drifted just a little farther
away.
Finally,
Eddie quit fidgeting with his burger. He pushed his plate a couple of inches to
the side so his elbows could park on the tabletop.
Clasping
his hands together, he said, “If you got any stuff you want to take, you better
get it, ‘cause we’re leaving in a few minutes.”
“Right,
yeah. I got my bag in my car. I’ll go git it.” He jumped up from the booth and
started for the door, then turned and said, “Hey, thanks again, y’all. I sure
do ‘preciate this.”
The
screen door slapped shut behind him. Eddie leaned across the booth, as he
growled through clenched teeth. “What the hell are you doing, dragging him into
this? What is this shit? We don’t need —”
“Eddie
honey, listen to me,” she interrupted. She put her dainty hands in his and
spoke with patience, like a teacher talking to one of her mediocre students. “There’s
people after us and we’ve got to get away from them. This guy sounds like he
knows New Orleans. Maybe he can help us out somehow.” Then she returned her
attention to her hamburger. She picked it up to take a bite, but before she
did, she shifted her voice to business level. “Besides, Val’s gonna be lookin’
for you and me in your old Toyota, not three people in this car we got now.
Okay? It’s bad enough we’re only going to New Orleans. So we need all the cover
we can get.”
Eddie
definitely didn’t like this, but she had a point. He had to admit, it was a
good one. Then his eyes swept over her again, as he began to soften. While she
sat there eating, even as she
dabbed her napkin at the dressing dribbling down her chin, she was so easy to
look at, so hard to stay mad at.
“Okay,”
he said. “We’ll take this rube with us. But we can’t keep him with us forever.
Just long enough to get to New Orleans.”
A
minute later, Felina looked down at her plate. She swished a french fry around
in a pool of ketchup.
“Eddie.”
Her voice turned singsongy.
“What?”
“When
we get to New Orleans …” She looked up at him and licked her lips once. Just
that one lick made them look so wet. “… I want to make love to you like no one
ever has before. I told you I would make it up to you and I meant it. Is that
okay?”
A blush
tinted his face as he quit breathing and there were big stirrings south of his
belt buckle. Breaking a slight smile, he looked around to make sure no one
could hear.
“Baby,
we’ll do whatever you want. When we get settled down, I’m gonna buy the biggest
damn bed they make. Round. They make ‘em round, you know. And I’m gonna get
sheets of the best
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