Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks, life resumed its normal pattern. Dave successfully underwent the surgery and came home 5 days later. After a few more days rest, he started cardiac rehab to strengthen his heart and get him back on his feet.

He came back to the store on a limited basis and was greeted by a crowd of about fifty people on his first day. He was thrilled and gratified to see how much people cared about him.

I went back to my normal activity of working in my research lab several days each week and spending the rest of my workdays in the office where my secretary and I were working with my lawyer to set up a charitable foundation to handle the contributions I wanted to make in the area, as well as handling the details of my businesses.

I'd gotten lucky a few years ago, when a small company I'd started to commercialize an idea I'd had in grad school hit it big with an automated analyzer which analyzed carbohydrate sequences much faster and more accurately than anything previously.

A major instrument maker bought out the company- my (two) employees became millionaires when they sold their stock. I took home (quite) a bit more, as well as a consulting contract for the next 5 years with an option to renew.

I'd left Saint Louis and moved back to my home town nestled in a river valley in the Appalachian mountains, where I set up a lab and offices in an old industrial building that had once been part of a (since abandoned) gunpowder plant that lent the town its name.

I didn't want notoriety, so I'd kept the details of what I did quiet. I was listed as manager of the lab and office on all the paperwork, and I was an employee of Adena Research (a company in which my holding company was the sole stockholder).

I'd bought a small house to live in and was in the process of refurbishing my parent's house where I planned to move.

I loved being back home. I'd joined the Fire Department as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT, and been appointed to the Board of the local Ambulance Authority. I hunted and fished and canoed to my heart's content. I'd reconnected with old friends and made new ones.

About 3 months after Dave's heart attack, I'd been to an Ambulance Authority board meeting in Capitol City. It was a typical early winter day, cold and gray and spitting snow. I'd taken the surface roads coming home, avoiding the Interstate, since I was in no hurry.

The meeting had run long, as we'd had to make a number of budget adjustments to account for fuel cost increases, worker's compensation rate changes, and a number of other, smaller matters.

I was chugging along, taking it easy, when I realized that I shouldn't have had that fifth cup of coffee at the meeting. Nature was calling louder by the minute and I knew that I'd never make it home without a pit stop.

I rarely drove through this area, but I knew there were no fast food places nearby. This stretch of road was called the Badlands due to the number of "adult" entertainment establishments located here. It was an unincorporated area between two towns, and had a semi-lawless reputation. I didn't want to stop at a strip bar, so I started scanning the area ahead.

About a half-mile ahead I saw a sign for, get this- "Mother Trucker's Café". I had to laugh at the pun, which put some additional unwanted pressure on my bladder. As I got close enough to see it, it looked reasonably clean and the lot had several cars and truck rigs in it. I decided this was about as good as it got and pulled into a parking place in front.

I got out, locked the truck up and headed inside and toward the Men's room as quickly as possible without shedding all my dignity. Following the signs, I went past the counter and down a short hall to the restroom. It was clean and smelled like it had been sanitized fairly recently. I returned the slightly used coffee and headed back out. I decided to stop at the counter for a glass of Iced Tea so that I wouldn't feel guilty about using their facilities without buying something.

All the stools at the counter were occupied, so I sat at a booth, which looked out the front window. A bored-looking waitress with bleached blonde hair wandered over.

"Whaddya want Honey?" she drawled.

"I'll have a glass of unsweetened iced tea if you have it."

"Yeah, we got it Honey. Yah want something to go along with it?"