3 Kate
In spite of my best intentions, I stopped about a hundred miles east of St. Louis. I had to pee, and I needed a snack to keep me going. While I was stopped I researched RV parks. Camp Discovery, just outside the city, caught my attention. Eddie Flores, the owner, answered on the second ring. He said the park wasn’t busy this early in the year, so he had plenty of vacancies. I could pick one when I arrived, and he would settle with me in the morning.
When I asked about places to eat, he suggested Sam’s Diner and offered to give me directions from the camp. I told him my GPS would get me there.
That was about six. I pulled into the diner at 8:30. The place was deserted. A dozen empty booths lined the walls. A dozen seats fronted the counter. A woman behind the counter looked up from her magazine when I walked in and took a booth near the door. She came over with a coffee pot and filled my cup. “Do you know what you want? Or do you need a few minutes?”
I glanced at the menu. “The cheeseburger looks good.”
She returned to the counter and fired up the grill. Apparently, she was waitress, cashier, and short-order cook on this shift. The décor had a fifties feel. But memorabilia on one wall featured baseball players. Big names from Cardinals history. I could identify Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. I didn’t recognize most of the others, but I’m not a baseball fan.
When the young woman brought my meal, she observed, “You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I snarled as I gave her a sideways, ‘mind your own business’ glance.
I say ‘young woman’ because of our relative ages. I’d guess she was young enough to be my daughter or even my granddaughter. She looked to be about my height – 5 foot 10 inches. A dishwater blonde with little makeup. Her lean toughness suggested she had endured some challenging times.
She put the check down next to my plate and went back to her station.
I felt bad. I had overreacted. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
She looked up from her magazine, studied me, and returned to her reading.
“I’ll throw in a piece of pie.”
Nothing.
“I’ll double your tip.”
Still nothing.
“Look. I can’t enjoy this meal with you sitting over there like that.”
The counter-lady set her magazine down, took two pieces of apple pie from a dessert case on the counter, and poured a cup of coffee. Reminded me of Anne. “I’ll do it, but only because I choose to.”
She brought the coffee, pie, and herself to my table. Her manner was stately, insolent.
She watched in silence while I ate my burger. Then she moved my plate out of the way and set the pie in front of me. I nodded. “Thank you.”
She picked up a fork and took a bite of her pie.
“You married?” I asked.
“No. You?”
“Used to be.”
“What happened?”
“She died.”
The woman nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault. Could you tell me your name?”
“Katherine. What’s yours?”
“Donald.”
I studied her face as I chewed a bite of pie. Beautiful green eyes. I added, “MacGregor.”
“What brings you here at this time of night, Mr. MacGregor?”
“There’s an RV park a few miles up the road. I wanted to get some dinner before I called it a day.”
“You look peaked. Are you okay?”
“I told you, ‘I’m fine.’”
She ignored that. “You don’t live around here. Where are you from?”
I sipped my coffee. “Maryland.”
“That’s a long way to drive.”
“Took me all day.”
Katherine took another bite of pie and sipped her coffee. “And Where are you going?”
It crossed my mind that she was building up to something. I could feel my eyes narrow as I tried to figure out her game. She cocked her head and raised her eyebrows.
“I’m on my way to visit a cousin in Alaska.”
She chewed another bite of pie. “That’s another very long drive. You shouldn’t be trying to do it alone.”
I took a bite of pie and shook my head as I chewed. She chided, “You asked me to sit with you.”
“You got a boyfriend?”
A wry smile. She shook her head.
“Why not?”
“Too busy. Not that it’s any concern of yours.”
I sat back and studied her as I puzzled it out. “Just trying to be conversational..”
“I’m a nurse at an assisted living facility.” She smirked. “That keeps me busy.”
“And yet, you’re working here at night.”
“It’s either that or sit home and do nothing.” She grinned.” I get paid to sit here and do nothing.”
I nodded sagely. I finished my coffee and got up to leave. “It was nice meeting you, Katherine.” I “I’m a certified caregiver. You could use my help.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“You have serious medical issues, Mr. MacGregor. At some point, you are going to experience a medical emergency. Something you can’t handle.”
“Then I’ll die. Big deal.”
“What if you don’t die? You could be paralyzed for months or even years.”
She had me there. I hadn’t considered intermediate outcomes. Not many people do. “I’ll have to cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“Even if you don’t want to think about your own situation, you should consider the other people you are putting at risk.”
“Other people?”
“Other drivers. What if you have a medical emergency while you’re barreling down the highway at 70 miles an hour? What is going to happen to the other drivers on the road?”
I shrugged. “I’ve never had a problem like that.”
“But you have never been in this situation before.”
“What do you know about it?” I snapped.
“I work with elderly patients in all stages of health, from robust to failing fast.” She bit on her lower lip. “I don’t know if you have weeks or months, but I am certain you have less time than you want to admit.”
We stared at each other. Her game was clear, and she had me where she wanted me. “What’s in it for you?”
“I’ve been treading water for over ten years. I need a change of scenery.”
“That’s it?”
“I get room and board plus one hundred dollars a day.”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Nah.”
“That’s cheap. For the time being, you can take care of yourself, but I’m sure you would appreciate having someone take care of the cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Also, I can help with the driving.” She lowered her head, bit her lip, and rolled her eyes up to look at me. “Down the road, you may need someone to wait on you hand and foot.”
I turned to look up at the ceiling. “Shit.”
“You know what’s coming. You know I’m right.”
I started to walk away. But I couldn’t shake the image of a multicar pileup on an interstate. I turned back. “You ready to go?”
“I need a day to take care of things and pack. I can leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“I have to be out of the RV park by noon.”
“Tell Eddie you’re waiting for me. He’ll let you stay until I get there.”
I gave her an ‘Are you serious?’ look.
“We’re friends. We’ve dated from time to time.” She stood to shake my hand. “The last thing I’ll have to do is drop my car off with my cousin and have you sign the contract he’ll draw up.” She took my hand and held on. “Maybe you should plan on spending an extra night so we can start off early the day after tomorrow.”
On a sudden whim, I pulled her hand to my lips and kissed it. “As you wish.”