Who am I? Well once upon a time I was a career soldier, a Sergeant First Class, well on my way to making Master Sergeant with twelve years on active duty, a mere eight to go until I could retire and get a paycheck for the rest of my life. I guess you could say I went nuts when I got back from Iraq, not certifiable insane, just not willing to put up with the bullshit anymore. I was tired of knowing what was going on, and being forced to tell another story to fit the official version. It was suggested either I toe the line or get out. I chose to follow my heart and got out. While I miss the Army, I don't miss the stress, not like my job now is stress free. My CB handle is Diogenes, and like him I search in vain for an honest man.
Out of the gloom I see a welcome blue sign, Rest Area 2 miles. Wanting to make it closer to Seattle today, but realizing that I am tired and the weather is getting bad faster than I had anticipated, I down shift and set my sights on the exit ramp ahead.
As I pull into the parking area I see that I am the only truck there, odd as there is usually someone taking a piss call before that long stretch of road across Montana. There are only two cars, a nice new BMW with an older couple getting ready to leave, and a beat to hell, old Chevy that looks as tired as I feel right now. I don't see anyone in it and dismiss it from my mind as I fill out my paperwork. I then start the mental wind down from the six hundred plus miles I've driven today.
I head into the building to take a leak and wash my hands before fixing something to eat. I am really glad that I have enough food and water to last several days as this storm looks as if it might set some records. The parking lot that was visible just minutes before is now covered in a blanket of snow. As I come out of the building, I see the driver of the car, it is, I think, a woman; though hard to tell from the way she is bundled up in a parka and boots. She is standing there with the hood open looking down into the engine compartment. Being a nice guy, I slow as I walk by and ask if she needs help. She lets out a little squeal and jumps back as she did not know I was there.
"No, well yes, do you know anything about cars?" she asks.
"I know a little, what seems to be the problem?" I reply.
"I'm not really sure, the check engine light came on just as I was pulling in, then there was a lot of steam coming out from under the hood when I opened it." "I knew enough not to do anything till it cooled off, so I've been sitting inside the building where it's warmer than inside the car"
I look at the coolant reservoir and see its bone dry, open the radiator cap, it too, is empty. I start checking the hoses to see if one had a hole in it, but they all seem to be fine. That's when I notice that an area on the block looks as though it has been steamed cleaned, not good, a rusted out freeze plug.
I turn to look at the lady and give her the bad news. "Miss, it looks as if the core plug has rusted out and all the coolant is gone, it's definitely something a mechanic will have to replace." "Do you have a cell phone so you can call around and see if a wrecker can come and get you?"
She sighs heavily, "I tried and I don't have a signal out here. I don't know what I'm going to do, I can't afford a wrecker or expensive repairs."
"No problem, I'm pretty sure mine works, we can at least let someone know your okay, can your family possible help you?"
"No," she say,s "I'm pretty much all alone now." She laughs, "It's not like this car is worth fixing, it uses almost as much oil as gas."
I have to chuckle, "Yes, it is a little old." I agree. For the first time she smiles.
"All I have to do is get to Seattle and I have a job waiting on me there. I start next week at Boeing as an administrative assistant in the design department. I should have flown out, but I wanted to bring more clothes than I could afford to take on the plane," She says. "Do you think I could get a junk yard to buy it, maybe then I would have enough to take the bus the rest of the way there?"
"Possibly," I allow, "I'm not real sure."
"We can call around and see if we can find someone willing to come look at it. Lets go over to my truck where it is warmer and look up some numbers."
We walk over to my truck and it's almost as cold inside as it is out, I had turned the old girl off as I had not planned on spending so much time away and fuel is not cheap. You can tell this lady has never been anywhere near a tractor trailer as she is trying to decide how to climb in the door I opened for her.
"Just grab the handhold to your right and left and climb up the steps," I offer.
She gets in and sits down and I close the door and walk around to the drivers side and get in. I fire the old girl up and get the heater blasting.
I guess I should introduce myself she says. "I'm Jamie Baxter, thanks for stopping and helping me"
"Hi Jamie, I'm Chris Walker, it's nice to meet you, though I wish it had been under better circumstances."
She smiles, "Me too, but life brings us to the crossroads it wants, not those we desire."
This gets me to thinking that I'm in the presence of an extremely intelligent young lady. Not just a beautiful face, well, not really beautiful, but a nice looking woman. When she smiles it lights up her face and then she is beautiful, her eyes sparkle and the stress disappears from her face.
"Lets look and see if we can find someone to get you out of here before it gets dark." I climb into the sleeper and grab my laptop, and fire it up.
Jamie is looking around the truck, interest in her eyes. "Wow, you have all the comforts of home here. A sort of a mini home."
"Yes, I have a small refrigerator, microwave, TV, DVD player and of course a bed, actually two beds and there is one folded up against the back wall. All it's missing is a shower."
I start looking for wrecker/salvage yards close to us and can only find one. I get the number and punch it into the phone and hand it to her. "Good luck," I say.
A very short conversation later, her part is pretty much 'Okay', and 'I understand' I can see the hope of getting out of here die in her eyes as she listens.
"Okay," she says, "I'll call you back in a few minutes and let you know."
She takes the phone away from her head, sighs heavily, pushes the end button and says, "That was some guy named 'Red' he said 'I might be interested in your car, but, the roads are closed and can't get there till maybe tomorrow' Now what the hell am I to do?"
She starts to cry, Christ, I think to myself, what do I do now. I don't know this girl, do I take her in my arms and comfort her, tell her it's going to be okay, we will figure something out. Torn by indecision I do the safe thing, nothing.
Almost as quick as it starts, she stops, looks embarrassed, and says. "This is silly of me, crying is not going to get me out of this. I have to keep it together. Okay, I have a broken junk car, no money, and a thousand miles to go. What am I going to do?"
"May I jump in here for a minute?" I ask.
"Sure, go ahead," she responds, "Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated right now as I have no idea what to do."
"First thing, I think you need to do is stop worrying. Are you hungry, or thirsty?" I ask?
She giggles, "Yes, I am. Do you have a steak or two in your kitchen?"
I chuckle, "Nope, sorry, no steaks. I do have a pot roast I have been cooking all day in the crock pot."
"I knew it smelled good in here, I was thinking I smelled it when I got in, but figured it was just wishful thinking as I am really hungry."
"Dinner coming up," I say as I go into the sleeper.
