A Simple Life: Chapter 76 (Patreon)

After a hearty laugh Amos looks to me with a big smile.  “Would you mind passing the ketchup Avery?”

“Here you go Amos.”

“Thank ya Avery.”

“You are v-very welcome Amos.”

Winona looks to her dad, then to me, then back and forth one more time.  She slurps the noodles and wipes her lips with a napkin.  “What’s this all about?”

“What’s what?”  Amos says as he squirts the ketchup over his potatoes.  “Avery and I are trying to have a pleasant breakfast.  I don’t know what you’re on about.  But hey, don’t let me stand between you and noodles.”

Winona points at him, then swings the accusing finger around to me.  “What?  You two are getting along?”

“Sure.”  He says.  “Who ever said we weren’t?

“I t-tried to tell you.”  I giggle.

“Poor guy couldn’t get a word in.  Get used to it Avery.”  Amos says with some genuine sympathy.  “Syrup?”

“Here you go.”  I slide the maple syrup and butter across the table.

As Amos butters and syrups his stack of pancakes and I take one of the sets of chopsticks and dig into my deliciously succulent garlic clam noodles Winona sits there looking at us like she just uncovered some deep conspiracy.

“Well…good.”  She says at last as she turns her attention to her own breakfast.  “Glad we cleared that up.”

We all share a chuckle and enjoy our morning meal.  It is not long before the conversation turns to their work.  I am as happy as could be to sit there quietly and just fade into the background and listen like I often did, but the Crows had other ideas.

“What do you think Avery?”  Amos asks.

“Huh?”

“Traffic.  Location.”  He says.  “It’s a great spot for the rural folks but most of the population is in town.  You’re the advertiser, how do you think we can draw people out to the shop?”

“Um…I-I’m a photographer, I’m not really…um…”

“Shuttle service first and foremost.”  Winona says.  “Let folks know that we’ll get them back and forth as easy as could be.  It’s only a few minutes out.”

“Yeah.”  I agree.  “Also, um, m-my grandpa knows Margie Maslanka really well.”

“Who?”

“She owns the towing company.”  Amos answers his daughter’s question.  “What are ya thinking Avery?”

“Well…”  I lean in and lower my voice, they lean in close to hear.  “…Margie and Bobbo used to be a thing way back when.”

“Bobbo?”

“Robert.”  Amos again answers.  “Robert Cruz.”

“Oh.  Oh!”  Winona says.  “Our competition.”

“I guess they can’t stand each other.  M-Messy divorce and all that stuff.”  I say.  “You m-might work out good deal or something with her.  Sh-She’d love to see another g-garage cut into Bobbo’s business.”

“Ha ha ha!”  Amos reaches across and slaps my shoulder, the weight of his hand nearly smashing me down into my food.  “We got our man on the inside!”

I giggle.  “Inside?”

“Inside the island.”  Winona says, careful to keep her voice low.  “You locals are nice enough but you can be a bit, erm, insular.”

“Yeah.”  I agree.  While we had nothing against outsiders, like many small towns we looked out for our own first and best.  And with Ehkolie being an island with such a unique history that sentiment was held even more so.

“Mmm.”  Amos takes a strip of bacon, a link of sausage, and a slice of ham in a single forkful and begins to chew.  “I should go talk to Mike.”

“H-He’d like that.”  I smile.  “Grandpa always likes v-visitors.”

“He lives on a boat, yeah?”

“Yep.  The Anna Bella.”  I say.  “I’m n-not sure if he’s back yet though.  He was taking a sail about.”

“No!”  Winona suddenly sits up.  “No way.”

“Oh?”  Amos cocks his head.

“Um, I’ll do it.”  She says.  “We’re partners in this, right Pops?”

“That’s right.”  He says.  “50-50-50 between you and me and your mom.  You’ll be workin for peanuts in the meantime but once it’s paid off that place’ll be as much yours as mine kid.”

“Well I’d like to be the one to talk to Avery’s grandpa.”  She looks at me.  “If that’s cool.”

“Mmm.”  I nod and we smile at each other in that way we did every single time we caught each other’s eyes.  It wasn’t only cool, there was nothing more in this world that I wanted than the two most important people in my life to meet each other.  “Um.  My b-brother m-might be able to help too.”

Winona's bright smile disappears.  “We’re not interested.”

“Hold on.  Let him talk.”

“Um…m-my brother Joshua drives a cube van.  Just deliveries back and forth from the mainland.”  I say.  “He knows all the other d-drivers.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mm hm.  Sometimes Bobbo gets backed up…”

“And time is money when your rig’s not runnin.”

“Exactly.”  I say.  “I c-can mention you guys to him.  Could be a help?”

“Could be a BIG help!”  Amos says.  “Let him know that we don’t have the bays for big rigs or heavy equipment but we’re set up for anything smaller.  Lots of experience with diesel.”

“I’ll mention it then.”  I say, feeling pretty darned good to be helping out.  I knew it was a long shot that my brother would switch from a local’s garage to a newcomer’s, but it wasn’t completely beyond the realm of possibility.  Josh could be almost nice when Jack wasn’t around.  “And Grandpa might have a suggestion or two.  He knows everyone.”

“Ha ha!”  Just then Chub had found his way to our table as he was making his rounds.  “I don’t know if Micheal knows everyone but everyone certainly knows him.”

I knew Chub’s statement wasn’t meant to flatter, my grandpa was an eccentric old kook in his and many people’s eyes, but I choose to take it as a compliment as I always did.  “That’s right.”  I say proudly.  “Everybody knows my grandpa.”

“How you enjoying them noodles, huh?”  Chub says directly to me.

Winona’s cover for me blown I shrink in spot and blush.  “It’s v-very good, thank you.”

“For a half off oil change we made it extra garlicky.”

“It’s d-delicious.”

“A half off what now?”  The penny-pinching Amos bolts up tall.

“That’s a generous daughter you got there Amos.  A real good girl.”

“Hold on a sec…”

“And you promised a big tip.”  Chub waggles a bony digit Winona’s way.

“You’ll get it.”  Winona says.  “Pops’ll look after you, won’t ya Pops?”

“Eyyy!  Big spender!”

“Pops will…wait a second!”  Amos objects.  “I never agreed…!”

“You said yourself that I’m makin peanuts, and Avery’s our guest.  And he’s gonna help us without asking for a nickel.”  Winona says, the same twinkle I’d seen in her father’s eyes earlier now glimmering in hers.  “We’re just a couple of broke ass kids in love.  Just a pair of poor lovebirds struggling to start our lives in this big cruel world.  You’re not gonna make us pay, are you Pops?”

I giggle.  These two made me happy.

“Th-Thank you Amos.”  I say in my best polite voice then take another bite of my food.  “Yummm!”

“But…I never…I just…”

“Look at that smile.”  Winona rubs my back.  “Tell me that isn’t worth it.”

“That’s a 30% smile if I ever saw one.”  Chub agrees.

“It is not!”  Amos cries.

As Chub and Winona continue to work Amos over I notice that once more we were the center of attention.  I look around at the smiles and hear the laughter and I feel a part of this community in a way I usually only felt at Grandpa’s side.  It felt really nice.  Everything was just wonderful.  But quickly becoming overwhelming.  Nothing was wrong and yet I could feel the old panic starting to grow inside of me.  And once my anxiety began to build I knew from experience that it would snowball onto itself to swiftly become unmanageable.  I hadn’t even really recovered from all the socializing last night.  And after the one on one with Amos, it was all becoming a lot to bear.

“Well can I at least try these priceless noodles made of gold that I’m paying for?”

“Huh?”  I say, looking back to Amos.  “Oh, sure.  I’m f-f-full anyway.”  I push the plate across to him.  “You c-c-can have the r-rest.”

“Full!  You barely ate half!”

“He’s not a big eater.”  Winona says.

“But…  Then…  Why did he even…?”  Amos shakes his head.  “If I’m payin for it I’m eatin it!”  And with that he scoops a mass of noodles up then stabs another sausage and jams it into his mouth.  “Eyyy!  Not bad.”

I try to giggle but it quickly cuts off as an awkward guffaw.  I giggled easily but I had trouble faking it when I wasn’t feeling it.  Self conscious of the faked laugh my breathing starts to pick up.  Amos would have heard it to.  He’d think I was a big fake.  Or a total weirdo.  Struggling to keep my calm I ever so subtly shift closer to Winona, my only point of safety in this public place.  Turning my head I stare out the window trying to block everything else out but the bit of blue sky that was peeking through a break in the clouds.  Right away Winona sensed something was off.

“Hey?”  She says softly, her hand stroking up my back.  “You okay?”

“Mmm.”  I nod stiffly.

She gives me a long look, concern in her beautiful hazel eyes.  The moment her gaze meets mine she saw the truth inside of me.

The next thing I knew the truck keys were being slipped into my hand.  Gripping my hand she whispers.  “I’ll just be a couple minutes.”  She then lets it go.

I nod again and give her no argument.  With a mumbled “You’ll excuse me.” I slide from the booth as casually as I could.

“Where ya goin Avery?”  Amos looks up.  “I wasn’t actually angry.”

“He just needs some air Pops.”  Winona says.  A moment later she calls out to Chub who had just moved a couple of tables down.  “Hey, old timer!  Limited time offer on that oil change, just so ya know.  And one time only.”

“Old timer!?”

The owner and Winona start to banter once more to the amusement of the other patrons as I make my way out the door unnoticed.  At a brisk pace I walk around the corner and take deep breath of the fresh morning air.  The noise, the chaos, the crowd…gone.  In the relative quiet of the alley I am able to find myself again.

Chapter 77