I’m Fixing To Play Dead (Part 40):

I’m Fixing To Play Dead (Part 40)

It was still dark when I woke up in that weedy ditch behind the deserted service station on Highway 80, a few miles west of Montgomery, where Louise had deserted me.

But over on the east horizon I could detect the glow of the eminent rise of the sun, and my cold and stiff bones yearned for its arrival. The dampness of the morning dew was upon me and I was chilled to the point of pain.

I was attempting to stretch the stiffness from my limbs when I realized that I wasn’t alone anymore. I ducked back down under the cover of the weeds when I detected the dim beams of a car’s headlights sifting through the morning haze.

Then I heard the sounds of car tires crunching over gravel. A car had pulled in behind the abandoned service station. It came to a halt and I heard a door slam. Then I heard the sweet sound of Louise’s voice calling out, “Hey, Sonny Boy, come on out, everything’s okay.”

I bailed out of that weedy ditch like a jack-in-the-box, dragging my bags behind me. The first thing I wanted to do was hug Louise because I was happier than kid at Christmas. But she didn’t give me a chance, she just rushed forward and helped me with the bags.

Once I got past the glare of the car’s headlights I could see that it was a cream-colored Lexus. “Doggone,” I said, “you stole an even better one this time!”

“I didn’t steal this one,” she told me, “it belongs to my baby sister that I told you about. Put the bags in the trunk and let’s get out of here before a car comes by.”

After stowing the bags Louise directed me into the back seat while she got into the front. That’s when I noticed in the predawn light that there was a third person in the car. No sooner had I entered the blessed warmth of the vehicle than the third person turned toward the back seat, smiled warmly at me and said, “Hey, I’m Sissy.”

For a moment I thought I was still immersed in one of my previous dreams. And it wasn’t just the wonderful warmth of the car, it was the beautiful face smiling at me. Her hair was like golden silk, lips the color of dark berries and eyes like glowing embers. Sissy was stupefying beautiful. I felt, and I’m sure acted like, Li’l Abner did the first time he laid eyes upon Stupefying Jones.

After Sissy turned away and began maneuvering the car out onto the highway, Louise turned to me and said, “Close your mouth, Sonny Boy. I told you that you would like her, remember? Are you all right?”

“Better, but still cold,” I said, “but I just about froze my tail off last night. What happened to you?”

“Remember that state trooper who was on our tail? Well, he was a little smarter than I thought. He was thinking like us and a few miles down the road it was him who was hiding and who watched me go by. Son-of-a-gun nailed me. He arrested me and put me in jail. I spent most of the night in a cold bed too, but sissy bailed me out about an hour ago. I’ll probably have to go on the lam now; otherwise they’ll toss me back into prison.”

“I’m so sorry, Louise. It was all because you were helping me.”

“You got that wrong,” Louise responded, “it was you who was helping me. I bet you’re a hungry boy, ain’t you?”

That’s when Sissy’s honeyed voice cut in and said, “I’ll fix us a nice breakfast when we get to my place. It’ll be nice to have someone to eat with.”

I thought about the last breakfast I had had in a trailer when Leon had served me greasy fried baloney and eggs. But I already knew I would like dining with Sissy, no matter what the quality of the comestibles.

The light of the new day was growing stronger when Sissy drove up the entrance ramp heading us north on Interstate 65. That’s when Louise turned back toward me and said, “We don’t have to worry about the law chasing us this time, Sonny Boy.”

Then she turned back toward her baby sister and while they made small talk, I watched the fading lights of the city giving way to the approaching daylight. The sound of their voices faded away as if they were some great distance from me while my thoughts returned to the miserable night I had just spent.

Then they drifted back over the last three days and I realized that they had all been miserable—the days and the night, and I found myself wondering what was fixing to be next?