Chapter 19: Cruisin’ for a bruisin’

With nearly 5 ½ gallons of fuel and a range of 250 miles before hitting reserve, the bike could go longer than David could before he needed to get off and walk around. After leaving Chiefland, David headed up US 129 and rode for over 3 hours before stopping for fuel and breakfast just north of Ocilla, Georgia.

The little diner he pulled up to looked like it had seen its heyday 30 years before, but the parking lot was crowded. Stepping in the door, he saw four 6-person booths and two 2-person tables, in addition to a lunch counter that would seat half-a-dozen. Only one table was available, as every other booth or seat was occupied. There were only two servers visible working the breakfast crowd; one woman in her mid-to-late 30s and an elfin girl who looked to be about 14 or 15 at first glance.

The young girl looked up at him standing in the doorway and in a sweet southern accent said, “Take a seat anywhere, we’ll be right with you”, which, given that there was only one place in the restaurant to sit, amused David so much he burst out laughing. When the girl turned and looked back at him when she heard his laugh, David quickly explained, “I think I’ll just take one of those open seats rather than just sit anywhere.” The girl blushed but smiled back at David and handed him a menu as he eased by her to get to the small table. The space between the booth and counter stools was so close, David brushed her backside with his zipper as he went by.

He was surprised to see things on the menu like Falafel-spiced dhal with scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict over potatoes, and poached eggs over apple fritters with apple butter. Not your normal deep-south breakfast fare. Deciding quickly, David asked the cute server for eggs benedict over country hash browns, with orange juice and coffee, and picked up the newspaper a previous patron had left on the other chair. When his food arrived, he quickly saw he had enough food for himself and the guest he hadn’t brought.

He was sitting lost in reverie, holding his coffee cup and looking out the window when he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the older server standing there holding out the coffee urn, asking with her eyes if he wanted a refill. Looking more closely, he realized the two servers must be mother and daughter, with the only major difference being their height.

David set his cup out to be refilled and decided to make conversation. “So, you ready for school to start back up?”

“Honey, you would not believe how ready I am. Delilah there starts high school on Monday, and she’s so excited she can’t hardly do her job this week at all.”

“Really? How’s that?”

“She’s been a Catholic girls school all her life until we moved back here a couple months ago. She’s never been to school with boys, and she is excited somethin’ fierce.”

“Where’d y’all come here from?”

“Well, I’m from here originally, but I got pregnant when I was a sophomore in high school, and my parents sent me off to Chicago to live with my grandparents. I got married when I was a junior in college, to a man who was a financial commodities broker. It wasn’t a great marriage, but he provided for us, and I worked as a legal aid. But he got arrested a year ago on a business trip down in the Bahamas, and a couple of months later he was found dead in his cell in some place called Fox Hill prison.”

She brushed her hair back and said, “But you don’t want to hear all that. What am I doin’ runnin’ on and on?” She looked back at David and saw a stunned look on his face. She burst into tears and ran into the back room.

The whole diner turned and looked at David who still had an uncomprehending look on his face. The girl who was also serving walked up to David and demanded in an imperious voice, “What did you say to my Mom?”