Part Six
A Novel with No Title (as yet)
A work in progress
Parts 1–2–3–4–5 are linked below.
Having dozed an hour, Katherine still hadn’t heard from the garage. She looked at her watch; it was three-thirty. After brushing her hair and wearing casual clothes, she descended the stairs into the small but comfortable bar.
The woman behind the bar smiled and greeted her. “I hope you found the room suitable, Ms. Robinson.”
“Please, call me Katherine. Yes, it is very comfortable. I love it.”
“What can I get you, Katherine?”
“Dry Martini, stirred, please. And you are Jessica?”
“Yes, I hear you met my husband, Brian,” Jessica said, stirring a Martini.
“I did, please thank him for calling the garage.”
“Oh, that explains why Jimmy was over here. Are you having a problem with your car?”
“Two, actually, one the engine doesn’t run, and two, seemingly, it is blue!”
“Blue?” Jessica questioned, not understanding.
“When I tell people my Dodge rental is blue, it seems to crack them up. I think your husband and Jimmy were having a bit of fun with me.”
“Well, trust me, don’t think about it, it’s a man thing. How’s that Martini?”
“Terrific.”
Jessica floated down the bar to refill an old man’s pint of ale. At the same time, the phone behind the bar rang. Jessica had her hands full. She called out to Brian. He was too late. The line was dead when he answered.
“No one there. Good afternoon, Ms. Robinson, I hope you’re feeling a little better now?”
“Yes, please, as I said to your wife, please call me Katherine.”
“Will do. I saw Jimmy bring your car in, the Dodge, blue, right?”
“Yes, blue indeed. I hope it’s not something that cannot be fixed. I rented it at the airport in San Francisco.”
“Jimmy’s a good guy, if it is going to take longer than a day, he’ll give you a loaner.”
“Loner?”
At that, Jessica returned. “Brian means that if the repair is to take a long time, Jimmy will give you a car to drive while yours is being repaired,” Jessica explained. “Brian, why don’t you hop over and find out the status of the car?”
“I was just…” and Jessica gave him a look. “Yes, I was just going to suggest I do that.”
Brian disappeared from behind the bar. Jessica smiled at Katherine as two people entered the bar, and Jessica left to attend to their needs.
“You’re not from round here, are you?”
The old man at the end of the bar seemed perfectly harmless, though the moustache curling over his lip, dripping with beer froth, was a little off-putting. Strands of white weave through his ample black hair set scruffily on his head, and she observed his apparent fear of dentistry.
“I’m not,” Katherine replied.
“I collect butterflies, have some rare ones. Just passing through, I guess.” He remarks. “That’ll be your car Jimmy went to tow, I’ll bet.”
Katherine smiled but was unforthcoming.
“It’s not a crime to talk to strangers in this town,” the old guy continued, dipping his moustache back into his beer.
“I’m sorry, don’t mean to be rude, it’s been a long day, just needing some quiet.”
The old man straightened his back, removed his tattered cloth cap, which he put on the bar, and rested his cane against the barstool that separated them.
“You ever been in love?” He asked, leaning in toward her.
“Honestly, if you do not mind, I’d rather just stay quiet.”
“Thought so. You just forgot, right?” He said, puffing with pride. “Time helps put the mind back in control.”
“I see, are you a philosopher?” Katherine asked, meaning not to offend.
“Nope, I’m a man who dreams of depraved laziness! Love, I’ve learned, is a crippling misfortune, a tragedy befitting of Shakespeare. Yep, to be in love is to be damned by the rainbow.”
Where does such poetry come from, she wondered. This baggy-looking old man is a surprising source.
Brian reappears behind the bar before the old man can continue being bothersome. “I’m afraid your Dodge has blown a valve. Jimmy won’t have it ready for a couple of days. He has an old VW he can let you use; he’ll check it over and it here for you this evening.”
“Thank you for checking, Brian. I appreciate it. The VW will it be reliable? I have quite a bit of coastline to cover.”
“It might look like a junker — but if Jimmy says it’s good, it’ll be fine.”
Brian pats the bar with both hands and turns to the old man sitting a couple of stools away from Katherine. “You bothering the guests, Cyril?”
“Just engaged in polite conversation, Brian,” he said, offering a sly wink at Katherine.
Brian turns to Katherine. “He’s an old fart with a younger fart for a son. Don’t let him take advantage of you, and don’t let him suggest you buy him a drink.”
“I won’t,” Katherine looked at the old man and winked. Then she picked up her Martini as Brian wandered off.
Cyril wiped beer from his lip, “So you’re the woman my boy rescued.”
Katherine’s jaw dropped momentarily. “You’re Joseph’s father?”
“Pleased to meet you, Cyril Duncan.”
“Hello, Cyril. Yes, Joseph helped me get back here. My car broke down near his home.
“You were lucky; he never goes near the place since…”
“Since?”
“Bah, I’m running off my mouth. He’d hate that,” Cyril said. “Been two years since the boy came home, and then when he came home, he caused trouble. He ain’t over it yet.”
“Over?”
Jessica returned, “Cyril, you getting yourself into trouble?”
“Just sayin’, Jess.”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t,” Jessica said in a friendly but commanding manner.
The phone behind the bar rang. Jessica picked up.
“Yes, please hold, she’s right here. Katherine, a call for you.”
Katherine looked surprised and instantly recalled the note she’d left at the side of the phone in her room.”Jessica, can you transfer it to my room?”
“Of course,” Jessica said and spoke into the phone. “Ms. Robinson is returning to her room. Please hold, I’ll transfer you.”
Adrienne Beaumont, The Sturg, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Trisha Faye, Karen Schwartz, Nancy Oglesby, Katie Michaelson, Bernie Pullen, Michelle Jimerson Morris, Amyy, Julia A. Keirns, Pamela Oglesby, Tina, Pat Romito LaPointe, Brandon Ellrich, Misty Rae, Karen Hoffman, Deb Palmer, Susie Winfield, Vincent Pisano, Marlene Samuels, Ray Day, Randy Pulley, Michael Rhodes, Lu Skerdoo, Pluto Wolnosci 🟣, Paula Shablo, Bruce Coulter, Ellen Baker, Kelley Murphy, Leigh-Anne Dennison, Patricia Timmermans, Keeley Schroder, Jan Sebastian 🖐👩🦰, James Michael Wilkinson, Whye Waite, John Hansen, Trudy Van Buskirk, Robert Bush | Dixie Dodd
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Thanks for reading.
