Amber by Dan-Dwayne Spencer (e book reader .TXT) 📕

“Can’t you see it?” I glanced out the window, then instantly did a double-take. Everything looked normal. The neon lights, the canopy, the truck, and the men were as they should be. No flickering, flashing, or strobing anywhere in sight. “I thought I saw…. Never mind, it was nothing.”

Jimmy gave me his famous Jimmy Dugan gaze, “Get it together, Loveless. You’re starting to worry me.”

Not making eye contact, I pressed my lips into a smile. Worry? That’s all I knew how to do. I worried about my Dad. I worried when my parents fought. I worried because my beard hadn’t started coming in yet. I worried about everything. And Jimmy gave me something else to worry about. It was my turn to drive. I had enough on my plate without worrying about my sanity, but I couldn’t help gawking at the neon lights again. To my relief, normality reigned beyond the plate glass.

Rose haphazardly tapped her pad with the eraser end of her pencil and also stared out the window. “The trucker standing by the blue rig is Dave. I don’t know his last name, but he’s in here every Wednesday and Friday evening like clockwork. He always fills his rig and orders a take out.” Her attention returned to our table. “That’s where I went for a few minutes, to take him his order.”

I asked, “Where does he go from here?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Everyone who comes in here is heading somewhere or other. I never ask.” She brought her focus back inside and waited for our order. Visibly impatient, she tilted her head sideways. “Okay, slugger, I’m guessing you want to order. I mean, you are hungry, right?”

Jimmy spoke up, “Slugger?”

“Yeah, you’ve been in a fight. I can tell by your eye.” She looked him up and down. “I bet you gave the other guy hell.” A kind of admiration flicked in her eyes; she smiled fondly at him. “What ya ordering?”

“I’ll have a cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate shake.”

“You got it.” She scribbled on her pad and shifted her attention to me. “All right, kid, your turn. What’s your order?”

Ignoring Rose’s derogatory remark, I gave her my best smile and happy eyes. “I’ll have a club sandwich and a Coke.”

“Oh my,” Rose exclaimed, “you have the neatest eyes. Makes a girl weak in the knees.”

At last, my superpower had returned.

From the bar Roger yelled, “Hey Rose, can I have another Coke?”

She answered, “Sure thing sweetie, be right there.” She gave us one more smile and a wink for Jimmy. “I’d love to chat, but business calls.” Waving her fingers at us, she returned to the customers at the bar.

How the hell did Dugan manage a wink? He didn’t flirt or say a witty remark. I stared over at him. It was obvious he didn’t need to act suave. Being all hairy and manly, he got action by simply sitting there.

From behind the service window where the food popped out, a gruff voice bellowed, “Rosie, pick up your orders. They’re takin’ all the shelf space under the heat lamps.”

Rose yelled back, “Yes, Sam. I’m coming.” She scooped up two plates on her wrists and one in each hand. Like a whirlwind moving down the bar, she plopped them down in front of their respective customers. They negligently applauded her agile performance with the sound of pepper shakers and thudding ketchup bottles. Another turn and she slid a fresh Coke in front of Roger.

A few chimes from the service bell and she headed our way, carrying all our orders at one time.

“Hey, you’re really good at this waitress thing,” Jimmy complimented.

“I wish Sam thought so,” Rosie confessed. “He’s the boss and head cook.” She shook her head in exasperation. “I never seem to get anything right as far as he’s concerned.”

“Sounds like my Mom,” I interjected. “If you listened to her, you’d think I was a complete imbecile.”

With a blank expression, she asked, “Well, are you?”

“What?” I glanced from Jimmy to her and back.

“Are you an imbecile?” she repeated.

“No. I’m normal.” Perhaps I was stretching it a bit, but who wants to be a freak?

She laid our ticket on the table, and slyly added, “Just kidding. Geez, you’re so serious.”

Thinking about Rose helped me put those strobing lights off of my mind, and the dreadful feeling I had about it. The food was greasy and great. Roger continued to bid for Rose’s attention by reordering Coke after Coke. I chuckled to myself thinking how he would need several empty Coke bottles before the night was over. With our stomachs full, we grabbed Roger and headed to the register. I braved one more look out of the plate glass.

A tingle ran up and down my spine as Dave’s rig rolled out from under the pump’s canopy and the only neon lights I could see strobed the word Die.

Chapter Four

US Route 400

Looking at the neon flash, die…die…die, I started sweating. The thought of driving made me nervous enough without this dumb canopy proclaiming death. Damn—we were dead meat, and it would be my fault. I wished I could tell Jimmy what I saw, but how could I? Hell, it sounded completely insane to me and it was right there—glowing in my face.

Jimmy handed the cashier a five, and she gave him twenty-five cents as change. He stuffed his hand into his pants pocket and dug out another quarter. Giving her an uncharacteristic smile, Jimmy asked, “Give Rose this tip, will ya?”

Three mason jars with names taped to them sat on a shelf behind the cashier. She took the coins and dropped them into the jar with Rose’s name on it.

I whispered to Jimmy, “Rose makes you smile, doesn’t she?”

All I got