A DRIVE IN THE COUNTRY CH TWO
Walt made a decision. He wanted a future with Susan more than to know what was in the trucks. He told Ant they were heading west, and Ant was welcome to do as he saw fit.
Susan was so happy she cried. Fucking this handsome man was one thing, but an actual future was entirely different. She had dared not even think about the future yet. As she watched Walt pack their new car, her life flashed before her eyes, all the pain and disappointment. The men who never lived up to their billing, and some, like Billy Bob that were downright evil. She wasn't sure of everything with this man. She knew he wasn't telling her the worst of his military career, but that was okay with her. If those experiences are what has brought him into her life, that was fine with her. She determined as she sat watching him work that she would try to not play the catty games some women do. Happiness is a two-way street. She knew you couldn't live on just happiness, but it was a great place to start.
Walt shook Ant's hand. "You have my burner phone number. Let me know how this turns out, okay?" Antione Gaston nodded, and they were off.
They went a little north on interstate 55 to get out of the city and away from interstate 10, and turned onto a small two-lane highway, Louisiana state road 10 that went west. They were heading for Texas.
That night they stopped in Deridder, Louisiana. Walt found a better hotel for them to stay at that night. They had a nice dinner and enjoyed themselves for a while that night. They were learning more about each other every time they made love, and they were happy.
The next morning, they took the 190 highway into Texas. The 190 goes across Texas toward New Mexico. It avoided the large cities and passed through a number of small towns. They ended up in El Dorado, Texas that night. This town had become as famous for the movie John Wayne had made with that title as it was for the fortune in Mexico. It was a small town of only 1,200 people. They had a pleasant hotel with a nice restaurant. That night, as Susan lay sleeping beside him, Walt was considering where he was. He had never had a serious relationship with any woman. It had been difficult because of his travels in the military. The military was not conducive to long-term relationships. Walt had never considered anything long term with any woman before Susan. But here she lay, with her back to him against him. He had her head on his arm and his arm was against her stomach. She was warm and he could feel her breathing. Her hair was in his face, and he liked the smell of it. Every time he rubbed her stomach, she nestled closer to him as she slept. Yeah, he was getting used to this.
The next morning, they headed out. Before they had even settled into the day's journey, the car started acting up. Walt could tell the engine was not going to last. Damn Ant, giving him a lemon. Fifty miles outside of El Dorado they rolled into a small town named Dusty, Texas, population 510. The car stopped at a gas station/garage at the edge of town.
Walt and Susan looked at each other and shrugged. Let's see what there was in Dusty, Texas. An old man came out of the gas station. "Can I help you folks?"
They got out of the car and Walt went up to the old man. "I hope so. It seems our car has decided to quit in your fine community. I hope I can get some parts to fix it."
The old man scratched his head. "I'm sorry, son, but I don't have a mechanic any longer. He just upped and abandoned me for the big city."
Walt smiled, "I can fix it. I worked on cars with my father before I went into the Army. \"
"Army man, huh? I'm a Marine myself." It was never "was" a marine. Once a marine, always a marine, just ask them.
"We can order the parts from San Angelo. That's 100 miles to the north. It's going take a few days."
Walt looked at Susan, shrugged, and said. "I guess that will have to do. Do you have a motel in your town?"
"Sure, a block that way." He pointed down the only highway in town.
Walt unloaded the car. "I'll get the missus here settled in, and I'll be back." The old man headed in out of the heat.
Susan picked up her bag and started walking. "I guess we are going to vacation in beautiful Dusty, Texas for a few days." Walt laughed at that.
When Walt had Susan settled into a room, he headed back to the garage. He found the old man sitting in a large chair in the office. "My name is Walter Smith. Do you have a place where I could tear my car down to find out what is wrong with it?"
"My name is Jess Besson, but everyone around here calls me grandpa. I don't remember why, but they do. Come with me." He led Walt to the back of the building. In his work stalls were two torn down cars. "Like I said, my mechanic just upped and left. I can't see well enough to work on these cars. I have been trying to find someone who could come from out of town to fix them so I could at least give them back to their owners before I quit working on cars. So far, no luck."
Walt looked each car over carefully. One was an older Ford, and the other was a Chevy pickup. One looked like a fuel pump problem and the other he wasn't sure of without looking closer."
"I'll make you a deal, Mr. Besson."
"Grandpa, please."
"Ok, grandpa, I'll fix these two if you will order my parts and have them shipped here. By the time I get you out of your problem, maybe we can solve my problem. Deal?"
The old man smiled. "Deal."
Walt headed back to the motel to tell Susan about his deal. He found her sitting on the porch of their room. "It's going to be hot here, dear." She was working a hand fan the owner of the motel had given her. "This is air-conditioning here."
Walt nodded. It was only ten in the morning, and it was already hot. It was going to be a warm day. They looked for an air-conditioned diner of some sort and found one on the highway "main street" of Dusty. There were several people inside, apparently enjoying the cooler temperature more than the food. Most weren't eating, just sitting and talking.
A tough, old Texan woman walked up to them as they sat down. "I'm Meg. This is my place. What can I get you besides air-conditioning?"
They ordered some lunch and sat talking. By noon most of the people had wandered out until it was just them and Meg. They sat down at the counter to talk to her.
Meg started. "So, what's you folks' story?"
"My name is Walter Smith, and this is my wife, Marie." Marie was Susan's middle name. They didn't want to spread around who they were. He had slipped and started to tell grandpa his real name before he caught himself."
Meg looked up from her counter. "Well, Walter and Marie. What are you doing in my diner?"
"Our car broke down here. Grandpa has it, and I will need to order parts for it. Look's like we will be here for a while."
"Condolences."
Susan put her hand on Meg's rough hand. "I think you have a nice town here. The people seem nice."
Meg just sighed. "I've lived here my entire life. It's all I've ever known. I have given up the dream of seeing anything else, even Dallas. Good luck, folks." She went into the back, and they took that to mean it was time to leave. They spent the afternoon walking around downtown Dusty, such as it was. Several old shops, a couple of small restaurants, a small hardware store, and a smaller grocery store. That was it, pretty much. They waited until 5 to go back to the diner for dinner. It was full of people trying to stay cooler. They were eating, but slowly. They stayed and enjoyed their meal. The people were nice, and they had nowhere to go. They walked back to the motel and sat on the porch until dark. It was still hot, even at 8. They went for a walk. There weren't many people around then and it was quiet.
They eventually found themselves back at the room. They took a long cool shower and got ready for bed. They slept naked, more for comfort than sex.
Susan lay in her favorite position in bed. She had her back to Walt with his arm under her head. His arm was over her shoulder with his hand laying on her breast. Sometimes he would roll over and throw his other arm over her. If she was awake for that, she just revealed in the sensation of him engulfing her. For the first time since her parents had died, she felt safe. She had seen this man risk his life for her and she knew he would protect her with everything he had.
The next morning, Walt went to the garage and took the pickup trucks alternator out. Grandpa ordered that part and now all they had to do was wait a week for the parts to come in. Since he had nothing else to do, he stayed at the garage and pumped the gas for whomever stopped for gas. He told grandpa to just stay in his recliner and Walt would do it. When he got back to the room, Susan asked to go to the Dollar Store across the street. She had waited for him. They bought some shorts, t-shirts and a bathing suit. Walt also bought a couple of lounge chairs. There were a couple of nice trees in front of the motel. They took to sitting in the shade talking to the people who walked by. Since they were centrally located, most of the town would walk by in a week. Since Walt's parents were comfortable and didn't need him to send them his paychecks, he had just let the army put them into his account for most of the twenty years. Now his pension was going into the same account. He hadn't told Susan yet, but he had all the money they would need. All he needed was an ATM and they were good.
By the time the first part had arrived, they had met most of the town. They had met Nelson Sanders, the man that owned the hardware/ drug store. They met Salvador Perez, the man who owned the little grocery store. Since the town was half white and half Mexican, and had been for generations, he sold as much Mexican food stuffs as American. The people had intermarried for so many generations it was hard to tell who was who, and the people didn't seem to care. Most of them spoke Spanish, as well as English. After years of interracial fighting in his job, he found it refreshing that hardened cowboys and Mexican workers could interact on an equal footing.
He put the starter on the Ford the next day and started it up. Grandpa was so happy. He called the man whose car it was and told him to come and get it. Now all Walt had to do was get his car into the bay. Fortunately, a couple of boys came by at the right time, and they helped him push it into the bay.
The second part arrived, and Walt got the pickup truck running. Grandpa called the owner, and his yard was clean again.
Grandpa looked at Walt. "Walter, I would like you to go and get your wife and bring her here, please." Walt looked at Grandpa for a second and nodded. He went to the motel and got Susan and returned to the garage.
Grandpa smiled at her and spoke. "Walter, would you mind driving the three of us to where I tell you?"
Walt nodded and they got into Grandpa's old truck. He directed them to go down the little road beside the garage and into the flat open land behind the town. They drove for a couple of miles until they came to a small house under a couple of nice trees. Grandpa told them to stop.
