started toward her car. Tandie’s heartbeat thrashed in her ears. All of the night’s excitement was beginning to wear her down.
“Oh God. Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered furiously.
A light flickered into her face. “Miss Harrison? Is that you? It’s me, Gus, from the Aeneid.” He turned the light on his face so that Tandie could see it. The light reflected on his big glasses in a different way than the shadows did for the little boy back at the Catsburg Store.
“Gus. Of course it’s you,” she said and made a nervous laugh. Tandie released the steering wheel. Her hands felt so clammy that she didn’t even want to shake his hand.
“Got a problem or two, don’t ya?” He glanced at her wheels and then stepped back so she could get out of the car.
“Oh yeah. I got double trouble; or maybe triple trouble depending on how you choose to see it,” she said.
“I guess you don’t have two spares, huh?” he asked.
Standing beside him, Tandie realized he wasn’t as tall and lanky as she originally thought. “Miss Harrison, are you quite sure you’re all right?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine now. Thanks, Gus. I have a can of Fix a Flat and a spare tire in the trunk,” she said.
“Well if you can fetch the can and open the trunk, I can knock those puppies out for you,” Gus said.
“Sounds like a plan.” Tandie walked over and opened the trunk for him. He set to work right away; and he was so polite, humming a familiar tune as he worked. There was no talk of her so-called celebrity status, or her witch’s mark that some other people in Castle Hayne seemed to think she had.
Shining the light on his hands, Tandie noticed welts running along the length of both his arms. Although the marks had long since healed, the deep gashes still looked very painful. “I think that about takes care of the last tire. You might wanna—” He glanced at her and stopped talking at once.
“What happened?” she asked.
His demeanor changed, and his bright face turned in on itself. “Life happened, Miss Harrison.”
All types of images came to Tandie’s mind. “Life?”
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s tough being a mechanic’s son. No time to primp ourselves like the college boys do.” He finished packing the rest of his tools and rolled one of her old tires over to where she stood still mesmerized by the prospect of knowing the story behind the gashes on his arm. “I can get rid of these old tires if you want me to.”
“That would be great,” she said.
He stopped just before he headed toward his truck. “Mighty kind of you to ask about me like that. Nobody else ever did.”
“I’m the one who needs to be thanking you, I do believe,” she said.
“You know life is kind of like a flat tire. It gets you excited, takes you to all these fancy places, and then leaves you stranded someplace down the road,” he said.
“I guess it does do that, doesn’t it?” Tandie said, thinking of the way her life without Breena had changed over the past two years. She felt exactly the way Gus described.
“Better make sure you buy a new spare, Miss Harrison, “because life is out there waiting to see if you forget.”
“I’ll remember that. Thanks again, Gus,” she said and got into her Camaro. As she drove off she turned on her radio. The country song playing on the station made her remember the tune Gus was humming. It was the Thunder Rolls, the same song that was playing on the radio at the Catsburg store when she left.
6
Tandie made her way back to Chelby Rose with ease. The signal on her phone returned, and she used the GPS software on it to navigate the roads. The way she was able to catch a signal on the return trip made no sense. The roads didn’t just move themselves around, and she was pretty certain the satellites were in their same positions.
Back at
“Oh God. Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered furiously.
A light flickered into her face. “Miss Harrison? Is that you? It’s me, Gus, from the Aeneid.” He turned the light on his face so that Tandie could see it. The light reflected on his big glasses in a different way than the shadows did for the little boy back at the Catsburg Store.
“Gus. Of course it’s you,” she said and made a nervous laugh. Tandie released the steering wheel. Her hands felt so clammy that she didn’t even want to shake his hand.
“Got a problem or two, don’t ya?” He glanced at her wheels and then stepped back so she could get out of the car.
“Oh yeah. I got double trouble; or maybe triple trouble depending on how you choose to see it,” she said.
“I guess you don’t have two spares, huh?” he asked.
Standing beside him, Tandie realized he wasn’t as tall and lanky as she originally thought. “Miss Harrison, are you quite sure you’re all right?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine now. Thanks, Gus. I have a can of Fix a Flat and a spare tire in the trunk,” she said.
“Well if you can fetch the can and open the trunk, I can knock those puppies out for you,” Gus said.
“Sounds like a plan.” Tandie walked over and opened the trunk for him. He set to work right away; and he was so polite, humming a familiar tune as he worked. There was no talk of her so-called celebrity status, or her witch’s mark that some other people in Castle Hayne seemed to think she had.
Shining the light on his hands, Tandie noticed welts running along the length of both his arms. Although the marks had long since healed, the deep gashes still looked very painful. “I think that about takes care of the last tire. You might wanna—” He glanced at her and stopped talking at once.
“What happened?” she asked.
His demeanor changed, and his bright face turned in on itself. “Life happened, Miss Harrison.”
All types of images came to Tandie’s mind. “Life?”
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s tough being a mechanic’s son. No time to primp ourselves like the college boys do.” He finished packing the rest of his tools and rolled one of her old tires over to where she stood still mesmerized by the prospect of knowing the story behind the gashes on his arm. “I can get rid of these old tires if you want me to.”
“That would be great,” she said.
He stopped just before he headed toward his truck. “Mighty kind of you to ask about me like that. Nobody else ever did.”
“I’m the one who needs to be thanking you, I do believe,” she said.
“You know life is kind of like a flat tire. It gets you excited, takes you to all these fancy places, and then leaves you stranded someplace down the road,” he said.
“I guess it does do that, doesn’t it?” Tandie said, thinking of the way her life without Breena had changed over the past two years. She felt exactly the way Gus described.
“Better make sure you buy a new spare, Miss Harrison, “because life is out there waiting to see if you forget.”
“I’ll remember that. Thanks again, Gus,” she said and got into her Camaro. As she drove off she turned on her radio. The country song playing on the station made her remember the tune Gus was humming. It was the Thunder Rolls, the same song that was playing on the radio at the Catsburg store when she left.
6
Tandie made her way back to Chelby Rose with ease. The signal on her phone returned, and she used the GPS software on it to navigate the roads. The way she was able to catch a signal on the return trip made no sense. The roads didn’t just move themselves around, and she was pretty certain the satellites were in their same positions.
Back at
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