The Homecoming of Keith Boyd
Chapter 4

Copyright© 2017 by MysteryWriter

Set in Coletown
Keith Boyd
Fred Boyd his brother.
Alice Boyd his sister in law.
Nephew John 15
Niece Gabby 13
Jo Anne Wall old girl friend
Windy Wall her ex husband.
Lewis and Ellie Keith’s in laws.
Sarah Marsh retro hippie
General Briggs rd
Doris owner of the consignment shop.
Jo Anne Joyner Wall Keiths first girlfriend. Three girls 16 13 10

oldest daughter ginger
Mr Jessup buyer of Keith’s scooter.
Rebecca Avondale deacon and keith’s client.


Aventure in mediocrity

“I’m sorry this is Jo Anne Wall. Of course you don’t know who I am. When we went out in high school, I was Jo Anne Joyner,” the female voice said.

“I’ll be damned Jo Jo, how the hell are you?” I asked.

“I’m doing fine. You did hear Windy and I got Divorced a couple of years ago?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think Alice mentioned it. So how many kids do you have?” I asked. I was surprised to find out that I was enjoying catching up.

“Three all girls, sixteen, thirteen, and ten,” She said.

“Sounds to me like you have you hands full,” I said.

“God yes,” she replied. “Like I said, I need to see you.”

“I don’t drive a car these days,” I said.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” she said. “I mean I heard about the injury, but I didn’t know you couldn’t drive,” She was rushing her words nervously.

“It’s okay. I expect I could drive. I’m just dealing with some stress issues right now,” I said.

“I see. Well maybe I could drive. We could get together for dinner,” she said. “I do need to talk to you.”

“Sure, I’m in the middle of a build, but as soon as it’s over we could do something. You can pick a night and I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant for dinner,” I suggested. “If that’s okay let’s swap email address and phone numbers.” So that’s what we did.

I went to work on the three wheeler for Deacon just as soon a I got the chance. I skipped lunch most days, so I had it done and sitting in the rear of the Circus Tent by 7PM. I decided to call Deacon right away.

“Deke, I have your scooter ready. I would like a day to test it though. Let me know when you want to pick it up,” I said into his voice mail. Then I went into the house and switched out the batteries in my cell phone. While the one from the phone charged, the one fresh from the charger kept me in touch with the world.

“Hello,” I said into the phone.

“How about Wednesday noon? Can you have it ready then?” Deacon asked.

“Yes, I just need to ride it a couple of hours tomorrow,” I said.

“Then I’ll see you on Wednesday, How about we meet on the highway and I’ll drive you home?” he asked.

“Noon in Greenwood would suit me better,” I said.

“Okay, I’ll bring your money,” Deacon said.

“I expected nothing less,” I said a chuckle.

I fixed a pimento cheese sandwich and a bowl of soup for lunch that day. The meal reminded me of my high school lunches. That in turn reminded me of Jo Jo. I hadn’t decided to call her but since I had her on my mind, I was obviously working my way toward it. I took a couple of days off after I delivered the scooter.

It was Friday morning when I thought of Jo Jo Wall again. I struggled with the decision to ask her out most of the day. I finally gave in at 6PM.

“Hello Jo Jo, I know it’s last minute and you probably have other plans but would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow?” I asked.

“I would love to have lunch with you tomorrow. Since you don’t drive would you like for me to come pick you up?” she asked.

“Actually I was thinking, we might meet in Greenwood for lunch. There are a couple of good restaurants I’ve been told. I can take my bike and get there in a reasonable time. We could meet and if I bore you to tears, you wouldn’t have to drive me home,” I said.

“If I bore you, then you can make an excuse and leave me there,” she suggested.

“It’s also halfway between Coleville and your place more or less. I can make it on my scooter in about and hour,” I explained.

“Okay make it the Two Sister Table. If that’s okay?” she asked.

“Jo Jo I know absolutely nothing about restaurants in this area. It’s been a long time since I took anyone out,” I said.

“Say 1PM? Do you think you can find it?” she asked.

“I have a GPS Ap on my phone,” I said. “So 1PM tomorrow at the Two Sisters Table.”

“Yes I’ll be there,” She said. “Call me if anything happens and you can’t make it.”

“Of course, but it should be okay,” I said.

After I hung up I began to worry again. This is a bad Idea, I thought. No woman wants a man with half a leg. That is unless the pension appeals to her. That was probably worse than not being wanted at all. I was worried and slept poorly.

First thing Saturday morning I started the coffee water while I took a quick shower. When I returned to the kitchen hopping around in my briefs and tee shirt, I looked in the mirror while I waited the last few seconds for the water to reach a rolling boil. While I waited I realized how foolish I looked tottering on my one good leg. I was going to meet a normal woman. Okay she was no longer beautiful and she had three kids with someone else, but there was no reason at all she would want me.

I drank coffee and waited for the OTC meds to kick in. While I waited I ate a couple of pieces of toast and an egg as a breakfast sandwich. Since I had bought a toaster over, I had a lot of toasted sandwiches lately. I enjoyed my scrambled eggs in the morning with a thin coat of strawberry jam on the bread. I was eating better than I had any time in at least a year. I hoped I wouldn’t get fat, but it was a real possibility.

I checked everything on the bike before I dressed to leave. I wore my cutoffs just in case I had to work on he Scooter while in route. In the backpack, strapped to the rear of my seat, I carried a neatly folded pair of khaki pants and a clean black tee shirt. I figured that would get me into anything except a four star restaurant. I doubted that The Two Sisters table was rated at all.

I left with fifty amp hours worth of battery power for my trip. I started with the thirty hour battery first in line. It was 11AM when I locked the door on the Gatehouse. The lock was a padlock, not a built in mortise lock. Nothing about either of the buildings was what you would expect to find from their use.

The hour and a half passed quickly while I looked at the passing scenery. I hadn’t ridden the bike down those particular roads previously. That being the case there was a lot to see and think about. Lots of farm houses, and lots of mobile homes along the way. There were even a few roadside businesses. From the age of their buildings it appeared that a couple of convenience stores had done a good enough business to have lasted a while. Those had no doubt replaced the country stores of the earlier century.

I got a call on my phone halfway into the trip. “Hello,” I said since I didn’t have that number in the phone’s memory.

“My name is Jessup. I bought a scooter from the Deacon. He said if I had any questions, I should call you.”

“Of course Mr. Jessup, what can I do for you?” I answered.

“I know after only one day that the batteries are just too small. I’m going to want to go farther than they will hold up.”

“Yes sir we put just enough battery for you to decide whether you like it or not,” I explained. Okay it was a lie but it made sense.

“That makes sense, but I love it. I want to ride it on trips across Jackson Mississippi. How much battery do i need?” he asked.

“To be honest with you I’m on the road on my scooter now. There are two things you have to decide first. Lead Acid batteries or Lithium batteries is the question and how much are you willing to pay for convenience. You can’t compare lithium and lead acid like they were apples. Let’s say your desire was to have a battery pack that would do twenty miles without recharging.

You would probably need a twenty amp hour lithium battery or a thirty five amp hour lead acid battery. The lithium is much more expensive, like around four to six hundred bucks. The lead acid would be less than half that.

The lead acid would weigh maybe three times as much, and take much larger to charge. Now the saving grace of the lithium battery is that they last four or five times longer and the turn around time for charging takes much less.

Since I’m way out of town, I’m riding on a lithium battery pack today and carrying a second one. I hope that is some help,” I said

“It gives me the information I need to make a decision. Thanks and be careful,” he said with a laugh. “I might want to buy another scooter.”

“Well you need to talk to the Deacon about that,” I said also laughing.

The ride continued on a little longer, but I enjoyed the views of the swamps along the road. I made pretty good time. I got to The Two Sisters Table restaurant about twelve thirty. I parked in the shade so I could watch how the people dressed for lunch. The were a mixed bag. Some were in suits, some were in business casual dress, no one was dressed as poorly as I was. With that in mind, I went inside at fifteen minutes till one. I went into the men’s room and quickly put on the outfit I had brought with me.

“Hi sorry about that, I road a scooter over here, so I had to change. I’m supposed to meet a lady I haven’t seen in twenty years for lunch, so could I sit out here to wait?” I asked the hostess.

“Of course sir,” she said. “Could I get you a glass of tea or something stronger?”

“I think the tea would be easier to handle,” I said.

The hostess brought me two glass of tea before Jo Jo arrived. I sent her a text to advise her I was waiting in the entrance way.

Her return text said, ‘I’m ten minutes away see you soon’.

My answer was, ‘I can hardly wait’. It actually was true. Jo Jo was my first date in a very long time. I truly was excited to see what effect I would have on her.

The woman who walked through the door a couple of minutes after 1PM looked up and smiled at me. She had to be Jo Jo Wall. She was probably five and a half feet tall. I made the estimate falling back on my military training for such things. I estimated her weight at one hundred and seventy five pounds give or take ten pounds. Her body type was pear shaped. Her hair was mixed blond and her natural brown.

“Keith is that you?” she asked as I struggled to remove myself from the padded bench without any arms.

“Yes it is and you must be the famous Jo Jo Wall,” I said. “I have been hearing about you since I got back.” It wasn’t a lie just a small exaggeration.

“That’s strange, your sister in law Alice keeps telling me I should go out with you. She tells me you are a hero or something,” Jo Jo said.

“I’m not even close to being a hero. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got a purple heart that’s all,” I said.

“Alice said you lost your leg. I couldn’t help but notice you had a problem getting off the bench,” Jo Jo continued.

We were seated at the table when I went on. “It is hard for me to make a few moves. Sometimes my brain doesn’t function just right. It’s a balance thing I think. However I do manage to get up and do the things I want to do. Sometimes I just don’t do them like other people,” I informed her.

“Is there anything you can’t do now?” she asked.

“You mean like ball room dancing?” I asked.

“No, I mean like being with a woman?” she asked brazenly.

“I’m not sure Jo Jo. To be honest I haven’t tried,” I said.

“I’m sorry. I can see you are uncomfortable talking about this,” she said.

“I am a little uncomfortable yes. I am sure when I get around to it, I will be clumsy. I just don’t know how clumsy,” I said. “Now to change the subject, what do your girls like to do?”

“Oh we just do family things. Sometimes Windy comes over with a pizza, and we all watch a movie. All the kids love that except Ginger. She is the oldest and is usually out with friends,” she explained.

“Yeah at that age you and I were dating,” I said with a smile.

“Yes I remember. As I remember you were pretty clumsy back then as well,” she reminded me.

“I’m sure I was. You were so beautiful that you were intimidating,” I said.

“Hardly, and you were a quick study as I remember,” she said smiling.

“So what do you have planned for the rest of the evening?” I asked.

“Oh there is no rest of the evening. I have to go into the shop directly from here. I’m working till nine tonight. It’s the only way I could get the afternoon off,” she explained.

“Well it was great seeing you. We should do this again,” I said hoping for some kind of hint as to a next move.

“Well I do have every Sunday off. The mall stores are closed. I go out sometimes to do wedding Comb out hair styles just before the ceremony. Mostly though I’m always off on Sunday,” Jo Jo said.

“Well, maybe we should plan to do something next Sunday,” I suggested.

“I would like that,” she informed me.

“I don’t know anything about Jackson. Trying to run that far on the scooter might be a pain,” I explained. “I’d have to find a place to spend the night.”

“Yes it would take some coordinating for sure,” Jo Jo agreed.

“I’ll see what I can come up with,” I suggested.

 
There is more of this chapter...

To read this story you need a Registration + Premier Membership
If you have an account, then please Log In or Register (Why register?)

Close
 

WARNING! ADULT CONTENT...

Storiesonline is for adult entertainment only. By accessing this site you declare that you are of legal age and that you agree with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.