"Damn, this was stupid," thought Ray, as he watched miles and miles of pine trees flow past his car. Ray had begun his journey in Columbia, SC, deciding to drive back roads rather than the interstate. Initially it had been fun, giving him a chance to see the countryside, but now it was not. He was tired and hungry, he still had 300 more miles to drive before arriving in Washington, and he was in some part of North Carolina which appeared to have lots of trees and few people.
Finally, Ray saw buildings ahead of him. Not many buildings, and it was still quite rural, but Ray grew hopeful that one of them might sell food. Another two miles down the road and he found one. It was just a place off the side of the road, but it had a few cars parked in front, which gave him hope that it would serve a decent meal. Ray pulled in, parked his car, and sat for a few moments to get his head together. Then he went inside.
Ray looked around. The place was pretty small. There didn't seem to be anyone to direct you to a seat. It appeared that you sat where you wanted, and they would find you. Ray walked over to an empty table, sat down and waited.
The waitress walked over, carrying a menu. "Can I get you something to drink sweetie?" she said as she handed it to him.
Ray smiled at her. People in Washington didn't call strangers sweetie. Ray enjoyed the nickname, even though he realized she didn't mean anything by it. "Tea," Ray answered as he took stock of of the waitress. She was about 25, pretty with dark hair. A curvy girl. Nicely curvy. Not only was Ray hungry, he was lonely as well. He thought the girl was cute and he wanted to say something so she wouldn't go away. "I'm not from around here," he announced. "Whats good to eat here?"
"Its all good sweetie," she answered. "I like the barbecue myself. I don't think you will regret trying it. So what are you doing driving through here?"
Ray was pleased she had asked him a question. "The barbecue sounds great. I live in Washington. I had a meeting in Columbia and am driving back up."
A big smile lit up her face. "You choose a real interesting way to drive from Columbia to Washington," she laughed. "I spent a summer near there when I worked at Ft. Mead. I had a good time. I loved Baltimore, but it was so expensive to live up there. I can save more money working here. I wouldn't mind moving back some day, but right now, I need the money for tuition."
She was smart. Ray was surprised, though he knew he shouldn't have been. It was too easy to think that people who lived in the middle of nowhere had no ambitions, no life, or no brains. But that just wasn't the case. And while he thought he knew that, it still surprised him sometimes.
"So do you have a name sweetheart?" he asked. If she got to call him sweetie, Ray thought he could get away with sweetheart.
She giggled. "Not one I tell to strangers," she replied, flashing him a big smile.
"Well if you tell me your name we wont be strangers," Ray replied with a chuckle. It was an old line, but it seemed to fit. He waited to see what she would say.
She smiled coyly at him. "Don't you think I am a little young for you?" she asked in a teasing voice.
He smiled back at her. She was good at this. "Well they let me out of the nursing home today so I could chase young girls. If it would make you feel better, you can call me daddy."
She leaned over his table and put her lips close to his ear. "Nice to meet you daddy. Are you this nice to all little girls?" she asked with a breathy whisper.
Ray was conscious that they were not the only ones in the restaurant, so he whispered back, loud enough so that only she would hear "No, only to the special ones."
She turned and brought his meal to him. She gave him a wonderful look when she put it on the table, but she didn't say anything else. Ray was not sure if that was the end of their encounter, but he hoped not. He ate his french fries slowly and deliberately, staring at her the whole time. She stood across the restaurant, returning his gaze every now and then and ignoring him the rest of the time.
When Ray was done, he got up to pay. She walked to the register to ring him up. "So when do you get off little girl?" he asked.
