I was making my boring drive to my boring home from my boring job just like every other boring day. That was all about to change.
My drive home takes about 30 minutes. I don't want to say it's all back roads. But it is, shall we say, roads less traveled. In the distance I saw what turned out to be a black Mercedes along the side of the road with its flashers on. I pulled in behind it, turned my flashers on, got out of my truck and walked up to the driver's window. I could see the shadow of a person on the other side of the darkly tinted window but the window didn't open. I gently knocked on the window. A few seconds the window dropped open just a crack. Through the crack I could make out blonde hair and piercing blue eyes staring back at me.
"Everything alright?"
"Does it
look
like everything is alright?" came the sharp toned female voice. "No, everything's
not
alright. This fucking piece of shit rental just stopped! Just stopped right here in the middle of fucking nowhere!"
I was a little taken aback by the language from this stranger. Don't get me wrong, I cuss like a sailor. But coming from a female stranger?
"Well, are you sure it has gas?"
The eyes narrowed on the other side of the glass. "How fucking stupid do you think I am?! Because I'm a woman I wouldn't think to make sure I have gas?! Yes it's got gas in it!"
"No no, that's not what I meant. I just..." I took a breath. "Have you called anyone? Is anyone coming out to help?"
"I called the rental company. They said it would be two hours before they can get somebody out here with another car. Useless motherfuckers! Wait until my lawyers get ahold of them!"
"Is there anything I can do? Do you need a ride somewhere or anything?"
I could hear her take a deep breath. "No. No, I don't think so. I'll just wait for them to come get me. I'll miss my flight but my agent will get me another one."
"Your flight? You were headed to the airport? How'd you wind up out here?"
That got the female voice fired up again. "I don't know! This useless fucking GPS took me this way! Ugh!"
"Well, I'd be happy to give you a ride to the airport if you'd like."
A long pause inside the car. "No, I couldn't ask you to do that. It's fine. I'll just catch the next flight."
"No, seriously, it wouldn't be any trouble at all. I'd be happy to do it."
The blue eyes stared back at me. I could sense her sizing me up. I saw her head turn. She was probably checking out my car to make sure it wasn't a van or an old beat up pickup or something that would indicate trouble. My truck wasn't new but it was nice. Her head turned back to me.
"Are you sure it wouldn't be a hassle? Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"
I shook my head and smiled. "No trouble at all."
She paused. "Don't take this personally but may I see your driver's license, please? I want to tell a couple of people what's going on and who I'm with."
"Smart thinking. No offense taken." I pulled out my wallet and handed her my license through the cracked window. A set of perfectly manicured fingers grabbed it from my hand.
A few moments later the window went back up and the door opened. Out stepped a beautiful, buxom blonde dressed to the 9s. And short! Much shorter than I had expected, maybe five feet tall. She barely came to my shoulders, and that was with her wearing black stilettos. Long, straight blonde hair wrapped around a cute, round face. Woman's black dress pants and a sheer white blouse were snug around her curves. The matching jacket was slung over her arm. She looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
I grabbed the luggage from the trunk of the Mercedes and threw it into the back of my truck. It was almost comical watching this short little woman climb into my 4X4. She strapped in and we rolled down the road.
"Jesus Christ it's hot! How do you people stand it?!" she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. "It's only May. You should see it in July. So, what brings you to Oklahoma City?" I asked.
"Oh, they sent me to this little Podunk town to do some promotion," she said, obviously annoyed. "My agent and I are going to have a long discussion when I get back." She paused. "What the hell do you people do for fun in this godforsaken place?!"
I considered my answer. Should I be serious or try to make a joke to cut the tension? "Mostly tip cows and count tornadoes." She looked at me with a big smile and we both laughed.
I looked at her as we drove down more lonely roads and considered my words carefully. "I'm sorry, but you look really familiar. I just can't place it. You probably get that a lot."
She stared back at me. She was sizing me up again. One corner of her lip curled. "Ever watch Big Bang Theory?"
It hit me like a thunderbolt. "Holy shit! Y-y-y-your...Bernadette!"
She giggled and held out her hand. "Melissa Rauch. Very nice to meet you," she said as we shook hands. Her hands were warm and soft.
"M-M-Mark Alan," I stuttered. "Nice to meet you, too." I paused. "Holy shit," I muttered. She giggled again. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you. It's just...it's just..."
"No problem, I get that all the time. I'm not dressed like an old lady," she said with a laugh.
"Well, that. And no glasses. And straight hair."
"And no squeaky voice, right?"
"Right!" I paused. "You're even more...beautiful than on TV."