Song of the Sand Demons- Chapter 7

Chapter 7

         Elaine had just closed the new checked curtains to ward off the late afternoon sun now beginning to set. Her restaurant sat on the east side of the street. The glowing fire of the western setting sun alway's pulsed through the windows this time of day.

         Louis Montero sat at his usual small table along the front window, working on a crossword puzzle and finishing up his tossed salad while awaiting his main course. Elaine cheerfully asked him if he wanted a free refill on his iced tea.

         Louis muttered out a "yes please", as he searched the down column for a crossword clue.

"Your spaghetti will be up in a jiffy, Louis"

         He nodded, still preoccupied in his word quest.

{indent:Louis was a life long resident of Arizona, and had grown up in the Tuscon area. He was also the only tow truck driver in Tapahe, priding himself on his own little monopoly.

         Elaine made her way back to the small cove of a kitchen, and began preparing Louis' plate of spaghetti. As she checked on the garlic bread warming in the oven, she heard the small bell ring on the front door of the restaurant.

"I'll be out in two shakes of a lamb's tail." she called out.

         Louis glanced up from his crossword puzzle and noticed Tom walking in. Along with what appeared to be a very disheveled woman behind him. Slurping on his iced tea, making that annoying sound of mixed air and left over liquid fighting to get up the straw. He gave a quaint nod to Tom, noticing that he was walking straight toward him.

"Louis" Tom greeted, along with the typical nod in return.

"I figured I would find you here"

"Dinner time for me you know." This time of day was always dinner time for Louis, everything he did was routine making him very predictable.

         Louis was the type of guy who hated distractions in life, and right now Tom was a distraction from his puzzle and dinner both.

         Tom knew all about Louis' quirks and habits, and he also knew that he was irritating him beyond words at this very moment.

"I'm afraid we need your services Louis" Tom said trying to hide a smile. Louis raised one of his heavy brow's as he glanced around Tom's form, noticing the woman had now taken a seat at the counter.

         Louis grunted a bit deeper now as Elaine made her way out of the kitchen with the plate of spaghetti, and a fresh iced tea. He glared back at Tom who now straddled a chair from the next table over and rested his chin across folded arm's over the back of the chair.

"I'm closed" Louis belted out as he tapped an index finger to his watch face.

"It's after 6 o'clock, and I'm eating dinner."

         Elaine sat down the iced tea and plate of spaghetti, giving Tom one of her usual happy winks.

"Elaine, get the lady at the counter there something cold to drink, she needs it."

"Sure thing Tom." Elaine smiled.

"And stick it on my tab will you?" Tom said as he glanced from Elaine to Karla.

"You got it sweetie, no problem." Elaine called over her shoulder as she made her way over to Karla. Once behind her counter, she called over to Louis as she pulled a pen from her pocket and her order pad.

"Louis dear, your garlic bread is just about ready"

         She looked at Karla now, taking in her haggard appearance. Elaine knew she had been out in the heat for awhile, and wondered to herself where Tom had found her.

"And what would you like to drink dear?"

"Anything, anything cold is fine." Karla weakly gasped out as she glanced from the door to Elaine.

"I'll start you out with a nice big glass of ice water, then go from there."

         Karla nodded in response, already hearing the sound of ice clinking in a glass somewhere behind the counter. Then she saw the cool clean water jetting into the glass by one of those hand held, you pick the beverage nozzles she had seen and taken for granted so many times before. She watched Elaine hang the nozzle up on its own little holder and within seconds, there sat the cool glass of ice water before her. Elaine slipped a wrapped straw onto the counter, as she routinely handed out to all her customers. The way this woman looked, she didn't think she would need one. To her surprise, Karla actually slipped the straw from the paper and plunged it into the water. Elaine turned then, and went back to her kitchen. She still had garlic bread to fetch.

         As Tom noted Karla indulging in her water glass, he turned back to Louis to work on him once again.

"Look Louis" Tom began his speech to the unamused Louis now digging into his spaghetti.

"Your the only one with a tow truck." Tom watched him as he worked away at his dinner.

"The lady up at the counter there," he continued.

"Has a car that broke down out on the old dirt road, it needs to be towed in tonight.?

         Louis paused in his chewing as Elaine magically appeared with his garlic bread, then moved off to her kitchen again just as fast.

"Tonight?" Louis motioned to his watch again, and Tom waved it off again.

"Yes Louis, tonight, I'll pay extra, it does say after hour calls accepted on your garage door."

"Thats been painted on there for years, I don't do after hour calls anymore. Getting too old you know. I just haven't bothered to paint over it yet." Louis rattled that matter of fact statement out, between swallowing and grabbing his fresh glass of iced tea.

         Tom couldn't help but notice a thin piece of spaghetti hanging from Louis' chin as he spoke.

"Well Louis, if its still painted there, that means you still have to make after hour tows."

         Louis paused, a slice of garlic bread held mid stream between the plate and his mouth, and looked at Tom.

"You said you would pay extra? How much extra?"

"How much extra do you want do you want Louis?" Tom almost broke a smile as he observed the idiotic look on Louis' face.

"Say aaah, twenty dollars?"

"I was thinking ten." Tom bartered now, knowing well enough that Louis had not had a good tow in a few weeks.

         The garlic bread back in motion, as Louis clamped his teeth down on it. He made a wincing grunt as he pulled the bread away and chewed a bit slower now.

"Dentures been bothering me lately"

         Tom nodded, watching the look of pain start to fade a little.

"Well Louis? what do you say? few extra dollars for an after hour tow just might help to fix those chopper's of your's."

         Louis took a sip of his iced tea to wash down the bread, and looked at his watch.

"Fifteen dollars, not a penny less." said as he looked away from Tom and concentrated on shoveling the last of his spaghetti onto his fork. He helped it along with the last chunk of his bread.

Tom grinned. "Fifteen dollars it is then, I will be paying the bill, its for the lady's car up at the counter there."

"I figured that much" Louis grunted again as he swallowed down the last of his dinner. Tom had mentioned that before, but knew very well of Louis' short attention span. Repeating him self, Tom now realized that Louis had not fully comprehended that statement the first time around.

         Tom watched as Louis finally picked up his paper napkin and wiped his face, The lone strand of spaghetti disappeared finally.

         The only thing Louis comprehended immediately was the mention of money, and how much. It was a well known fact that when Louis had no business towing anything, a dry spell Louis called it, was his habit of picking up fresh road kill for dinner when he had no money to eat out at Elaine's. Money and food were his two main collectibles, and he would eat anything he found, not nailed down. He would also remember that extra fifteen dollars for the next twenty years.

"Alright, let me get to it then, wheres the car at you say?"

"Out on the old dirt road, about midway between the highway and town. Tom heard Louis make some sort of a deep guttural sound as he spoke.

"Old dirt road you say! Why on earth she pick that way to go?" Louis muttered as he shook his head and got up to pay his bill.

"Probably because no one bothered to take down the old sign on the highway" Tom chuckled to himself as he got up and swung the chair over to the table he had borrowed it from. Noticing Louis' normal cheap tip of two quarters sitting next to his half empty glass of iced tea, Tom threw down another two dollars for Elaine, just before making his way back to Karla. He knew Louis would never notice the extra tip sat down on the table, he had the memory of a turkey.

         Swinging a leg over a stool, he sat down next to Karla.

"There's our tow truck driver." nodding toward Louis as he paid Elaine for his dinner. Louis turned as Elaine placed the change in his open palm.

"Nice to meet you Miss, I'll be getting to your car right away."

"Nice to meet you, and thank you." Karla said softly.

         Tom gestured to Karla, looking at Louis.

"This is Karla, Karla this is Louis, the only one in these parts with a tow truck."

         Karla nodded and forced a smile as she let herself look over the man with interest.

         Louis nodded again and mumbled, thinking about his extra fifteen dollars to come.

"I'll tow it over to the garage, it will be fine there until the mechanic gets in tomorrow morning."

         Karla knew enough about cars to fix it herself, but thought it would be best now to mention anything about that skill for the time being. She almost had to force a smile to Louis who wasn't paying much attention anyway.

"Alright" Louis exclaimed, now that the introductions were over.

"I'll be getting to that job directly, I'm sure Tom here will show you where the garage is soon enough."

"Ok" Karla nodded.

         Louis shifted his weight as he dug out a dime and laid it down by the register. Then, fished out a cherry flavored tootsie pop out of the container. He had planned on a piece of pie for desert, but since that wasn't an option now, he settled for the tootsie pop instead. Removing the wrapper, he slid the sucker into his mouth, shifting it to his cheek taking on some type of squirrel look. Touching the brim of his hat, he made his way out the door. The tinkling bell sounded behind him.

         Tom finally had to laugh now as he watched Louis get into his tow truck and start it up.

         Karla looked over to Tom, not sure what was so funny. Elaine let out a slight laugh herself.

"Old Louis will never change" Elaine said to Tom.

"No, I'm afraid not Elaine, you know he only comes around to eat every night because he never did get over that crush he had on you."

         Elaine shot Tom her, "Oh hush you" look and then looked at Karla.

"How are you doing sweetie? Still thirsty? hungry? I make a pie to die for."

         Karla opened her purse, now dusty and drab, the same as the rest of her she assumed, and started checking her cash situation. The thought of eating anything at all had not crossed her mind. She now realized that she hadn't eaten at all today and it was now after 7 o'clock.

         Tom noticed and reached his hand over, placing his finger tips to her wrist. Karla looked at him, and with a slight wink and a smile given, he said,

"Order what you want, it's on me. After all, Elaine does make some killer pies"

         Karla returned his gesture with a faint smile.

"I hate to impose on others" she almost whispered.

         Tom chuckled, noting her shyness, he could also see behind the dust and rivulets of tear stains on her cheek that after a bit of cleaning up, She would be a very attractive woman.

"No imposition my sweet lady, after all, you didn't kill me earlier today. Lets just say, ooh! gratitude for a favor."

         Karla at him for a moment then spoke quietly,

"You didn't kill me either, when I thought for sure that you would."

         Elaine laughed as she moved in with an offer they both couldn't refuse.

"On the house tonight, you both look like you had a hard day. Besides, I'll be closing in another hour or two. Pie, Pie a la mode, cake, or anything else on the menu for that fact."

Tom grinned at Elaine. "Elaine your the best, you know that?"

         Elaine waved a hand with that well known smile of hers.

"I just like a little company is all"

         Karla could not believe that this woman was so kind and just stared at her in awe. Elaine reached under the counter and gave each one a desert menu featuring the daily specials. The regular food menu with the paper clipped index card listing the days specials on it, and changed daily, was on the counter as usual.

         Tom glanced over the pie list, then looked over at Karla.

"So, what brings you way out this way?"