Chapter 60

Bud was up...”What’s up? You just left.”

“You mean ... that’s the sun coming up? Not the sun going down?”

Bud pointed...”East ... sun rises in the east.”

Tyche sat down with a thud, “Ooo ... makes my head spin. Is it Monday?”

Bud broke out laughing.

Alice ... always prepared for Tyche and her antics ... said, “I TOLD you we needed to catch the bus. Come on.”

As we pedaled back up the road to the gate, Alice said, “We can’t take the first bus ... the driver just let us off. How about the next one ... bus every fifteen minutes?”

We took the bike path west.

Alice’s stomach growled. Mine did too.

“I’m starved,” I said, “There’s a 24 hour Whataburger between Tillery and Airport. Lets pedal there.”

“A Whataburger? Open? Are you sure?”

“Yeah ... I read the sign when we took the bus the second time.”

“I’m pretty hungry,” Alice said. “How about Mexican.”

We were just riding by one.

“Doesn’t open for another hour. Besides ... TexMex ... and bikes?” I said.

“Ooo ... not a good idea. Whataburger it is.”

On the other side of 969 was a Burger King. We passed it up. The day was just getting started into Rush Hour and I didn’t want to cross the road. Besides ... construction zone. Not a good idea.

Just down the road ... Whataburger. On the other side of 969 ... damnit! But ... traffic light. We walked our bikes across. Locked ‘em up out front.

DING

“Welcome to Whataburger. May I take your order?”

“Gimmie a minute ... first time customer, Alice ... they have platters.”

Alice said, “I’ll have the platter with cream gravy on the biscuit ... can you put the hash browns on the platter and smother them with the gravy, too?”

“Nobody ever asked for that before,” Naomi (I read her name tag) said, “I’ll have to ask.”

The manager soon appeared.

“Sure,” he said.

“I’ll have the same,” I said. “And some information about the bus.”

“Bacon or sausage?” She asked.

“Sausage.” Like twins.

“Drink?” Naomi said, “There’s a display with route maps in the lobby.”

“Coffee,” I said.

“Uh huh,” said Alice.

“5.66 each.”

Alice said, “I got this. You go get the bus info.” She proffered her card.

“Have a seat ... we deliver.”

I took off to the lobby. Ooo ... information.

Naomi delivered ... three breakfasts. She sat down with us and said, “Break ... I take the bus. What do you want to know?”

“We’re outta state. What’s to do here?”

“You have excellent tans.”

“Just got back from Fiji.”

“Where’s that?”

“South and west of Hawai’i.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” I said. “Daddy is a P.hD. Underwater Archaeology.”

Alice said, “True ... but we spent our time salvaging a big catamaran.”

“Salvage?”

“They had a big typhoon a month before we got there. Wrecked a bunch of boats.”

I just shoveled food in my mouth and chewed.