I stretched as I stepped out of my RV. The mid-morning air was cool and felt good against my skin. It was crisp with a hint of bacon that made my stomach growl. I grabbed my travel coffee mug and headed across the empty parking lot. As I yawned I heard a noise near the back of the store and when I looked over, I saw a homeless woman going through the dumpster. It was a sad sight, but one I'd grown use to after having lived in the city for so long.
The electronic bell chimed as I walked in and I nodded at the young cashier. I held up my mug and he pointed to a coffee station. I'd always loved truckstops. Like most stores, they had the aisles of food and refrigerators of drinks, but I think what I found most interesting was the other things they had. Small appliances for what I imagined would be useful to a person whose entire life was spent in a truck. Small appliances, electronic gadgets, DVDs, and various other little luxuries that I thought were so cool. The RV I'd recently bought had most of the stuff I had found, but it didn't have satellite radio.
I loved the idea of being able to listen to the same station across multiple states so I asked the attendant which one was the best. He said probably the most expensive. I said thanks and did what I should have done in the first place, Googled it. As I scrolled through an article on the best of the best, a smell of body odor hit me and I looked around, it was the homeless woman.
"You should get that one if you're going to get one," she said. "Personally, I think they're a waste of money." The smell grew stronger as she leaned across me. Tapping on a car stereo with Bluetooth, she said, "If you're going to get anything, get this. It's a lot cheaper in the long run and it'll let you play the songs on your phone."
"What if I like listening to the radio, you know with DJs?"
She looked at me for a moment, but my smile must have said dumbass instead of smartass so she tapped one of the satellite radios and said, "Then this one. It's the best for newbies, plus it's got Bluetooth just in case. You in the RV outside?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Looks new, you should make sure you need this. All you might need is a subscription." My eyebrows rose and she said, "Sometimes the newer ones come with sat radios, especially if the dealer sees someone as clueless as you. Throws in all the extras."
I laughed, "Yeah, they did talk kind of fast. Uh, how do I know if I have a sat radio?"
"What's your radio look like?"
"Well, it's one big screen with buttons on the steering wheel."
"Did they hook your phone to it?"
"Yes," I said excited about knowing at least one thing.
She smiled, "Then you've at least got Bluetooth. You might even have the sat radio. Just look through the icons on it and it should say. If it does, then you'll have to get a subscription to make it work, but if you do they usually give you a free trial."
"Damn, I wish I knew about things like this. Are you in a hurry? Cause, if not, maybe you could look at it for me?"
Her face lost most of its expression, "I ain't a lot lizard."
"I have no idea what that is, but, alright. It's cool if you don't want to help. It's not that important and as you say, I've got Bluetooth. I'll figure it out."
She stared at me as I went to the counter and paid for my coffee. I lost her when I went into the restaurant, the aisles were taller than she was, so I tried to put her out of my mind.
As I entered, I saw a cook, who was reading the paper, and a waitress, who was in a booth filling salt shakers.
"Sit anywhere, menus are on the table. Want something to drink," the waitress called out.
"Got my coffee, but thanks." As I found a seat near the door, I said, "I thought truckstops were supposed to be busier than this."
"They're busy as hell most of the time," the waitress said as she continued filling the little shakers, "except right after the morning rush. Truckers sleep all night, fuel up in the morning, eat and run. Then it's quiet until lunch. The best time of the day is right now. So, found anything yet?"
"Uh, yeah," I said glancing at the menu. I didn't really see the combo I wanted so I said, "A pancake, hash browns, bacon, and those breakfast chops."
She looked at the cook who nodded and disappeared into the back.
"Thought you were told to stop begging around here."
Alex looked around, the homeless woman was standing near the counter.
She glanced at me before saying in a stage whisper, "I'm just looking for something to eat. Maybe something you're about to toss, maybe from last night?"
"Anything from last night got tossed in the dumpster, try out there. You really need to get a job and stop coming in here every day."
"Look, lady, I hate begging like this just as much as you, but I'm starving. Are you offering a job? Because I'll be happy to work it off, I can clean dishes or whatever you need."
The waitress looked around, "Does it look like I need any help?"
"Yeah, well no one else needs any help either."
" Show me some money or get out."
"Hey, I'll buy you something."
The woman looked at me and the waitress said, "Mister, she was in here yesterday begging and she'll be in here tomorrow begging. Might as well save your money."
"I understand, but today, get her whatever she wants and put it on my bill."
"Thanks." I smiled at her and watched as she frowned again, "This still doesn't entitle you to anything."
Honestly, I was a little taken aback by her attitude but understood her reaction. In the parking lot, she looked a lot older than she did up close. When I was able to look past all the dirty clothes, I could see she was a lot younger than me which meant she probably had guys offering to buy her stuff all day for a little something in return. The world is a shitty, shitty place, I thought.
"Just breakfast."
I looked at my phone as she ordered and as we waited she walked to my table, "Thanks, I'm Savannah."
"Alex, and no worries, I hate to eat alone," I said as I gestured to the other side of the table. "I don't mean to get personal, but if you can't find a job around here why not go somewhere else?"
"Just because you're buying me food doesn't mean you get to judge me."
"You're right. Been by myself too long. It's cool, your life's none of my business."
Savannah sighed, "I'd love to go somewhere else, but the bus won't let you ride for free, and the truckers who offer rides expect you to ride their mattresses too."
"If it makes you feel better I'm going to eat and leave. No quid pro quo."
"What's a quid pro quo?"
"It means I give you something and you give me something, but I'm not looking for anything, so no worries."
She laughed. It was a sarcastic kind of laugh, "Seriously, you don't want anything?"
"As I said, I've been alone for a while now, so, some interesting conversation wouldn't be ignored." I thought what I said wasn't that bad, but apparently, it was the equivalent of calling someone's mother a bad name. She frowned and then moved to a different table. "Alright, no sweat then," I mumbled to myself.
I scrolled through my phone as I ate and tried to keep my eyes off the woman. Where I got what counted as passable service, she got nothing but dark looks.
I finished and asked for the check. The waitress asked, "You still buying the girl's food?"
"Of course."
The waitress shrugged and took his card to the front. Savannah walked over and said, "Hey, I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean anything."
I smiled, "No worries."
I wasn't really sure what to say other than that so I left her standing next to the table. I grabbed a few more snacks and drinks on the way out and then filled up the RV before I returned to the interstate.
The sun was high in the sky as I looked for a place to stop. I'd been driving for hours and could feel the coffee start to kick in. I had decided my best shot was a distraction and was singing at the top of my lungs to the radio. The station crackled as I drove out of its range.
