Another Place Episode 30

Another Place Another Time

Book Two

Luke and Traveler

Episode Thirty

We left Toledo late Saturday afternoon, heading for an auto assembly plant in Tennessee with a load of automobile manifolds. Since we couldn’t unload until Monday morning, there was plenty of time to leave the interstates and head south on the old highways. I looked forward to seeing the country for a change.

We pulled into a Kentucky truck stop at eight, Sunday morning, ate breakfast, and slept until the middle of the afternoon. Then we went for a long run. While I showered and shaved in the truck stop, Traveler went back to sleep in the truck. It was midafternoon when I put the rig back on the road.

Traveler was still sound asleep in the sleeper box. I was listening to the latest Bob Seger CD. Traveler prefers Pavarotti, but when he’s asleep, I play Seger.

About an hour before total dark, we hit the storm. The lightning, rain, and wind were straight out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I began to regret my decision to leave the interstates, but there was nothing I could do at that moment except go on.

I hadn’t seen another vehicle in almost half an hour, when I pulled up at a four-way stop, fifty miles south of the Tennessee-Kentucky border. I reached for the map thinking I would look for the shortest route back to Interstate 65. Before I could unfold it, lightning split a tall pine tree about a hundred feet beyond the intersection, just off the left shoulder of the highway.

The glare of the strike blinded me temporarily. I shook my head to clear my vision, and I heard Traveler growl, low, and deep in his throat. I automatically said, “Easy, Traveler, it was just lightning.” He hushed but I could feel his tension. I began to turn in the seat to look at him. I had only swung halfway around, when I stopped. My eyes locked on the passenger door. It was opening.

In all of my years and miles of truck driving, I had never had this happen. I instantly thought, ‘Pull Off! Pull off, now!’ I almost engaged the clutch, stopped, thinking that if I began moving, whoever was opening the door would slip and fall under the drive wheels of the tractor.

For the two seconds that it took for it to open all the way, I just gazed at the door. A black, soggy, ten-gallon hat, mounted over a long brown raincoat climbed into the cab, as if it had done it a thousand times before. As I stared, the hat lifted and I saw a lean brown face built around a prominent nose, pale, intense, blue eyes and full lips under a black mustache that curled down at the ends.

My God, I thought, it's Jesse James! The hat dripped, the storm raged, lightning hit nearby again, not as close as the last strike, and ‘Jessie’ looked at me, smiled, and said, “Howdy.”

I heard Traveler whine and then begin to wag his tail so violently it beat against the side of the sleeper box.

Great, I thought, a guy breaks into my truck and my dog falls in love with him.

I smiled a little weakly and said, “Howdy.”

He grinned at me again, as if it were normal to open the door of someone’s truck at a stop sign, in the middle of a storm, and crawl in like you belonged.

“Bad night to be out ain’t it?” He asked.

That broke the spell. I said, “Look, Mister, I don’t know who you are…or even who you think you are, but you can’t just climb into my truck and start talking about the weather. You better tell me what you want, and you better be quick about it.”

His grin got even bigger. He held out his hand. I let it hang there. He made no attempt to pull it back. “My name’s Rick Parker. My brother, sister and I own a farm about half-mile down the road.”

“My name’s Luke Jenson.” I nodded my head towards the sleeper box, “That’s my partner, Traveler.”

He said, “Hello, Traveler,” which prompted more tail wagging. Deciding that he wasn’t a threat, I shook his hand. Water sprayed over the console. “Oops, sorry, I didn’t realize I was that wet,” he exclaimed.

“That’s all right. Do you need a ride home? Did you run out of gas or have a flat tire?”

He shook his head, spraying me and Traveler in the process, “No, it’s nothing like that. In fact, it’s nothing like you’ve ever heard before or can even imagine. We need you and your truck to do a job. It shouldn’t take more than few hours, and we’ll pay you.”

I was instantly back on the defensive. “Look, Rick. This isn’t the way to go about hiring a rig. I already have a load on, and you need to know that it isn’t worth high-jacking, unless you just have a market for automobile manifolds.”

This time he held up both hands to stop me, “Look, Luke, I don’t blame you for being suspicious. I would be if I were you. But, I’m going to ask you to trust me for a few minutes. What I have to tell you will be unbelievable, but it’s all true. We can’t talk about it here, in the middle of the highway. Turn right and let’s go to the house. We can talk on the way, and then I’m going to show you something that you’ve never seen before.”

I thought about what he said. Rick was right, I knew I wouldn’t believe his story, and I hadn’t even heard it yet, but I figured the best plan would be to go along with him, at least until I knew what I was up against. I engaged the clutch and turned right onto a narrow farm to market road.

I made a mental note never to begin another trip until I locked and checked both doors. I got the truck up to eighth gear and forty-five miles an hour, before I looked over at my uninvited guest. “Okay, Rick, it’s time to explain.”

Instead of explaining, he leaned towards the windshield, peered through the rain, and said, “Luke, the turn is just ahead on the right. Slow down or you’re going to miss it. It’s a wide gravel drive. There’s plenty of room coming off the highway, but it narrows quick before it goes through a cattle gap. THERE! Do you see it?”

I geared down and made the turn onto a well-kept gravel drive, lined on both sides with a gleaming white wooden fence. We passed through the cattle gap and drove about two hundred yards through heavy woods. We came out of the woods and passed through what I guessed was a hay field, probably twenty-five acres or more, though it was impossible to tell for sure in the storm and the early evening gloom. On the far edge of the field, through a stand of trees, on top of a slight rise, I saw flashes of light and guessed it was the farmhouse. When we topped the low hill, Rick said, “Go to the right at the fork and head for the barn.”

The place was impressive. A large red barn dominated the right side of the hill. Just like old, McDonald’s place, I thought. Beside the barn was a long, low, metal building. It had six bays. Equipment maintenance and storage, I guessed.

There was more than enough room to turn my rig around in front of the barn. Rick pointed toward the left side of the barn. When you make the swing you’ll see a concrete pad. Back your trailer over it and we can dolly down on the pad. That’s what it's there for.”

The headlights picked out the pad as I swung through the turn. I backed up and stopped with the dollies centered over the pad. I shut down and turned to Rick, “Look, before I unhook, I’m going to have to know what’s going on here.”

“That’s fair. Come on up to the house and meet my family and…and a new friend. We’ll tell you what’s going on.”

I pointed to the sleeper, “What about Traveler?”

“Bring him. As long as he minds his manners and doesn’t bite anyone, he’s more than welcome.” Traveler barked.

I climbed out of the cab with Traveler hard on my heels. Rick came down the passenger side, and we started walking up the well-used path toward a white, rambling, well-maintained, two-story farmhouse.

The rain had stopped for the moment. A fine mist was blowing gently in a light breeze. It caught the light from the house and surrounded it in gold dust.

********

We walked up two steps onto a small open back porch. Rick took off his raincoat and hat, and hung them on a hook next to other hooks which already held raincoats and hats. Neat folks, I thought as Rick opened the door.

We entered a warm, homey kitchen, lined with cabinets. At the center of the large, well-used room was a massive butcher block work table. I noticed that the half-chopped ingredients, for what appeared to be a stew, were still on the block. Beyond the work table, was a huge oak dining table with an old fashioned cut-glass chandelier suspended over its center.

Two men, and the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, sat at the table. The man on the right and the damp, beauty queen, were clearly Rick’s brother and sister. The man at the head of the table, facing us, wasn’t part of the family.

He was average height with a slender build, wearing some sort of one-piece, gray overall outfit. Above the left breast pocket of the overalls were the initials, ASA and a logo that seemed vaguely familiar.

He had blond hair and a fair complexion. His blue eyes were clear and intense. He had been talking to Andy and Lois, but the conversation stopped when we came into the kitchen. Obviously, they were waiting for us to join them.

Rick touched my shoulder lightly and pointed to the table and two empty chairs that I assumed were for the two of us. Traveler whined and crossed the room in a couple of bounds, going directly to the man at the head of the table. Before I could open my mouth to stop him, he had both feet in the man’s lap and was licking his face like they were old friends.

Rick and I moved toward the table. I called to Traveler, “Sit!” He obeyed, reluctantly, sitting at the feet of the man who had been the object of his affection. The man took his gaze off Traveler, looked at me, and smiled.

Rick motioned to the man on the right. “Luke, this is my brother, Andy. Andy, this is Luke Jenson.”

Andy stood and shook my hand, “Good to meet you, Luke. Sorry it had to be like this.” I could tell Andy was older than Rick, but other than the slight age difference, they could have been identical twins.

Andy pointed to the woman sitting beside him and said, “This is our ‘little’ sister, Lois.”

Lois pushed her chair back and stood…and stood, and stood. She must be six feet tall, I thought. She reached across the table for my hand, which I had temporarily forgotten to raise. Dark hair hung in long wet curls framing her beautiful face. Her full lips, petite nose and eyes so blue and deep I would have fallen into them, had she not broken the spell with a laugh that won my heart in an instant. I almost didn’t hear her say, “I suppose to these two rednecks, I will always be a little girl.”

I took her hand awkwardly and shook it carefully to insure I didn’t break anything. I didn’t trust my voice to say anything, so I just nodded, which drew an even bigger smile from her. We turned toward the third person at the table. He stood slowly, as if he weren’t sure what to say or do.

He looked at me and grinned almost shyly. Rick said, “Luke, this is Charlie Evans. Charlie is the reason you’re here. I’ll let him tell you the story.”

Charlie took my hand in a surprisingly firm grip. I noticed that his hair was wet, but unlike the Parkers, his clothes were dry. I looked at the overalls closely. They had a metallic sheen, probably waterproof, I thought. Charlie seemed to read my mind, “Rick, Andy, and Lois could have used some of my overalls. You’re right, they are waterproof, and nearly indestructible also.”

I blurted out, “Where can I get a pair of those?”

Everyone laughed. Traveler barked. It seemed that everyone was in on a secret except me. I looked at Rick, “I think it’s time that somebody told me what’s going on.”

Rick smiled and motioned to a chair, “Have a seat, and we’ll tell you everything we know. Charlie can fill in the gaps.”

As Rick and I took our places at the table one, maybe two, jets flew low over the house. We looked toward the ceiling, and Traveler growled.

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