There is no explicit sex in this story. Although this story is a stand alone, the reader will gain a much deeper understanding of the characters and story line if they first read '
Binding Ashes
.' I wish to thank the people who helped contribute to and edit this story, per their wishes, they remain anonymous. No part of this story may be published at any other site without the express permission of the author. © December 10, 2006
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"Ethan, want some more juice... or...
anything
else?" Helen asked while topping off his coffee. She had just set his order in front of him, two eggs over easy, two slices of buttered whole wheat toast, two sausage patties, a large orange juice, and a cup of coffee he'd already been sipping on since he first sat down.
Over the years, he had stopped at the diner enough to know her question was an open invitation. Ethan looked up to find the same hopeful, shit eating grin she always threw at him. Nothing ever changes.
Ethan was thirty years old, securely employed, single, and at the top of the local bachelorette food chain. The young waitress had been trying for years to get him to notice.
Shaking his head, he replied, "No thanks Helen, not tonight."
She knew he was only referring to food. Other than a little harmless flirting he had never been interested, at least not in her.
And normally, he would flirt a little, but tonight he was preoccupied watching a distraught young mother sitting with her two little kids in the booth in front of him.
On top of that, he was still dealing with his own feelings of disgust over the time he wasted earlier going to see what he thought was going to be a good movie. If there was one thing Ethan hated, it was wasting time. He had picked the late show in hopes of avoiding school kids, so he could relax and enjoy the movie. But before it was half over, he concluded the pre-release clips were going to end up being the best part.
Now Ethan was sitting in the rear booth with his back to the wall and the open diner in front of him. It was his favorite seat because from there he could observe everything.
Knowing what was going on around him was important. Ethan felt the more unexpected surprises he could avoid in life, the less pain he would have to suffer.
After glancing at his watch, he thought,
'Twelve-thirty a.m., it's late, but still a perfect time for my favorite breakfast. At least I'll get a little enjoyment out of the evening, it won't be a total loss. I do need to finish up and get home though. My alarm will be going off in just a few hours. I'm running out of time for getting some serious shuteye.
Damn, tomorrow, or should I say today, is going to be a long one. My men and I are so far behind. Thank goodness George and his crew are fairly caught up. Their help for the next day or two should be enough to get us all back on track. He owes me big time anyway. It's not like we haven't saved his crew's ass several times.'
Ethan and George had been hired and trained together on the same crew. Even though George was a few years older, they'd been promoted to 'crew chief' at the same time. Over the years, their mutual respect had caused their working relationship to evolve into a close friendship.
Their standing order was simple, when time allowed, help each other. Neither had to be asked, they constantly watched out for one another, jumping in with their crew when needed.
Ethan watched as Helen shrugged while carrying the fresh pot of coffee to the booth in front of him. Where, at the moment the young mother and her two kids held his undivided attention.
The mother appeared to be about ten pounds overweight. '
Probably from a diet loaded with too much starch and carbs,'
Ethan thought
. 'On a proper diet the extra weight should drop right off.'
He realized that a bad diet was usually a sign of poor education or low income... or both. Chuckling to himself, he pondered,
'And what's my excuse, buttered toast, eggs, and sausage, now that's super healthy.'
He overheard Helen ask, "What do you plan to do?"
On the verge of tears, the young mother replied, "I have no idea since my car won't start... it was the last warm place my kids had to sleep."
Helen wasn't trying to be mean, but she had to state the facts, "Look, you've been here for over three hours. You can't just sit there forever. Carl owns the joint and he's going to be here soon to get everything set up for the morning shift. That's our busiest time of the day. He won't allow you to tie up that booth. You are going to have to leave and soon."
In a desperate voice, "But I have no money left, where can I take them? I can't just go out into the cold, they'll freeze."
Ethan could see a little girl about three glued to one side of her mother, on the other side was a little boy who appeared to be about two. As with all little boys, he had a spoon clasped in his tiny hand drawing circles in the condensation left by a glass of water.
A little nervous, Helen inquired, "I do hope you have enough to pay for your meal? Otherwise I get my ass chewed out."
The frustrated young mother snapped, "
Yes
...
I have enough for the meal
... but that is all I have," as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ethan pushed his untouched plate back, he had just lost his appetite. Now he knew why he was never really attracted to Helen in spite of the fact she was a looker with a body to boot.
Picking up his cup of coffee for a last sip, he sat pondering the age old question,
'Do I or don't I? If I do, it's going to take a lot of time and energy. If I don't, my life will be a lot simpler... and safer,'
he thought.
As he stared at the front door of the diner it seemed to beckon him, '
Let it go, it's not your problem. Just a few steps and you are out of here and back in sync with your normal life.'
He stood up and dropped enough money on the table to cover the meal and tip. Stepping up beside Helen, he handed her a few bills, "This should be more than enough to cover their meal and your tip."
Everyone seemed to freeze, all eyes were on Ethan. The young mother was wondering, '
Who is this man and why is he paying my bill?'
At that moment, Ethan seemed to reach a conclusion. Reaching over the young mother, he picked up the little boy, looked at the startled mother and said, "Get the other one and let's go."
Her panic stricken face screamed in alarm, "Who the hell are you? Put my baby down."
With aggravation Ethan looked at her, "Look lady, you're just wasting time, now pick up the other one and let's get out of here."
In a screeching voice she threatened, "I'm not going anywhere with you. Put my son down or I'll call the cops."
Staring down at her, Ethan calmly replied, "No you won't. If you call the police, they'll take your kids from you. You are broke, no means of support, and nowhere to go. They'll turn your kids over to child protective services and leave you standing in the street. Now, as I said, quit wasting time, pick up the other one and let's go."
As his words slowly sunk in, the young mother started sobbing. She had never felt so helpless as her eyes appealed to Helen for help.
Helen, thinking she was about to unload her potential problem, said, "If Ethan told me to pick up my little one and let's go, I'd already be out the door. Lady, I'd trust him with my soul on judgment day."
The mother sat sobbing in near hysterics, confused, not knowing what to do. With a disgruntled sigh, Ethan shuffled the little boy over to his outside arm, reached down with his other and picked up the little girl. After hoisting her in place, he started for the door with two crying bewildered kids.
The young mother screamed and grabbed her purse as she slid out of the booth chasing after him. Grabbing at his arm, she clutched at him trying her best to stop him as he headed out the door.
She beat on his back, cussing and threatening him with every bit of verbiage she could muster. Scared to death, she had no idea what this stranger wanted or intended to do with her babies.
Ethan stopped beside a large twin cab pick-up. Turning he gave the young mother a hard look as she stood looking defeated but defiant for her kids.
She was now outside the diner and had lost her last vestige of hope for the night. There was nothing between her and sleeping under a bridge somewhere. Hopelessness was rapidly setting in while she tried her best to put on a solid front for her babies against this... this... she didn't know what.
Ethan said, "Now, I'm going to put your kids in the back seat and you can ride up front with me. It would be a lot easier on them if you pull yourself together. They're scared because you're scared. No one is going to hurt you, all I'm trying to do is help."
"I don't want your help. Please... just give me my babies and I'll forget this ever happened. We'll just go on our way," she pleaded.
"Ma'am, where are you going to go? Worse yet, where are your kids going to sleep tonight, and how are you going to feed them in the morning? Before you try to answer that, you had better stop and look at the reality of your situation.
I won't stand in the way if that's what you really want... hell, I'll even save you some time. Get in the truck, two miles down the road is an overpass. There will be at least five or six homeless people spending the night there, some of them will be sleeping it off. When we get there, if you are more afraid of me than spending the night with your kids under those conditions, then I will stop and let you out. You will never see me again, you have my god given word on that," Ethan swore.
"If you just give me my babies, I'd prefer to stay here," she begged.
"Ok, just bear in mind that once I drive off, the police will be called. After they arrive, it will take them about fifteen minutes to decide to take your kids away, but if that is what you really want," he stated with a question?
She stood there looking like a young doe ready to bolt, but in deep thought about which direction. He saw the look of resignation as she stepped around him, using the running board to reach and open the rear door of the cab for him.
Ethan put the two little ones in the back seat and buckled them in, then opened the passenger door for their mother. Without another word she stepped up on the running board and climbed into the cab.
From inside the diner, Helen had been watching with her cell phone in hand, ready to call the cops the moment the young mother and her two helpless kids became homeless. As Ethan drove away with the young family in tow, she stepped behind the counter and dropped the phone back into her purse.
