It had been ten years since she had taken a real road trip. She was twenty eight and into her custom clothing design company 24/7. It had been totally consuming her life. She loved her successes but not having any sort of a life outside of work was draining her willpower to continue.
So when a representative from Lace & Satin appeared out of the blue and made her the offer, she didn't hesitate. She accepted the check of nine million and handed them the keys.
Anna was now in her prime with no responsibilities and a bulging bank account. She was five-ten, slender, athletic and gorgeous. Short dirty blond hair, petite features and a pent up desire to have fun.
A week after she closed on the sale of her business she thought about the road trip she had taken with her best friend, Katy, right after her high school graduation. It only took a few minutes for her to reach the decision that another road trip should be in her immediate future.
She was placing the last of four suitcases into the trunk of her newly purchased BMW Z4 convertible as her neighbor, Claire watched at the curb. "Are you sure about this?" Clair asked.
Anna looked at her friend. "No." she replied. "But." She paused. She stepped onto the sidewalk and hugged Clair. She kissed Claire on the cheek. "This has nothing to do with us." She said. "I need to do this."
Claire just nodded and watched Anna climb into her new sports car and speed away.
Anna had no plan, no schedule, and no destination. Just like ten years ago, she was heading to nowhere but a good time.
When she steered her car to the on-ramp to I-15 East, Las Vegas, she pushed down the accelerator and let the wind blow through her hair. An hour later, she took the exit for Midway California and pulled into a parking space in front of the Desert Diner. A well named place she thought. The air was filled with dust as she got out and headed to the door.
Inside, the place was quite small. The back wall was all grills and deep fryers fronted by a long counter with 50's style stools. The opposite wall was a line of booths against windows with lovely views of the dusty parking lot.
Anna saw there was no one else in the diner except for a young girl in a pink summer dress short enough to entice truckers into buying more than they could eat and to leave big tips. She was bent over a booth, wiping it off and clearing a stack of dirty plates. When she straightened and looked at Anna, she presented one of those 'Hi, I'm under educated and proud of it' smiles. She tilted her head. "Sit anywhere." She giggled and took the arm full of dishes into the kitchen.
When she returned, Anna was on a stool staring her cell phone. The girl came up to the counter and leaned on her elbows, an order pad in her left hand, a pen in her right. She twirled the pen in her fingers.
Anna looked at her. "Is there a menu." She finally asked.
The girl giggled again. "Not from around here are you." She reached for a laminated single page menu from under the counter. She placed in to the well-worn Formica counter top. A quick glance of the menu indicated the girl was not entirely an airhead. "I recommend the avocado salad." She said. "Everything else has been dead at least a week or two."
Anna looked at her. The girl smiled. "I'll have that then." The girl turned and yelled Anna's order into the kitchen. So much for the order pad.
She turned back to Anna, elbows back on the counter. "Drink?" She said.
"Water?" Anna said.
"We are in a desert." The girl giggled again. Anna was starting to like the sound of her.
"A small glass then." Anna said.
She rose up on her toes. Looked over as if to inspect Anna. "Nice." She said and turned to get her water.
When she returned and sat it on the counter in front of Anna, Anna asked. "What was that about?"
Her elbows back on the counter. "You mean the, nice?" she asked.
"Yea, what was that about?" Anna asked.
She smiled. It was one that seemed very sincere to Anna for some reason. Her opinion about the girl was changing. She was not a bubble head at all. She was clever and confidant and actually sweet.
The girl leaned over the counter. She whispered. "I like girls." She said. She remained there, staring at Anna. She didn't blink, she didn't look away. She was sending a message?"
"Pick up." The voice came from a small opening behind the girl as Anna's salad was placed on a serving shelf.
She winked at Anna. "Be right back." She retrieved Anna's order and set it in front of her. Then she set a paper napkin and fork beside the plate. As Anna, amazed by the girl's forwardness, watched her, the girl retrieved a bottle of salad dressing from the fridge and returned to add it to the growing assortment in front of Anna. "Enjoy." She offered.
Anna concentrated on her salad which was surprisingly quite good. When the girl, setting at the end of the counter reading a People magazine, noticed Anna had stopped eating and had pushed the plate away, she returned in front of Anna, and yes, her elbows were back on the counter.
The girl looked at the nearly empty plate. "You like?" she asked.
"Tasty." Anna said.
The girl smiled at her. "I bet you are."
"Are you hitting on me?" Anna asked
She smiled again. She rose onto her toes once more. "You're still not sure?" she asked.
Anna was caught off guard. The girl untied a small apron and tossed it on the back counter. "Darren, I'll be right back."
A voice came from the kitchen. "What the fuck? You can't just leave in the middle of the shift."
The girl replied. "Learn to take a fucking order." She came around the counter and took Anna's hand. "Come with me."
