It's fun how parts of my life end up part of my work. The restaurant in the first section was based on a restaurant my hubby and I had a date in last weekend. The friends we went with were there too.
And now, back to our story...
***
Full Stop - Part Three
A Short Story by Dianna Zaragoza
Based on 'The Day Time Stopped Moving' by Bradner Buckner
“Emily...”
The only word that fell from his lips as he padded
down the sidewalk to the truck stop near Highway 80. Where was she? Where was he, for that matter?
When he got there, the bright fluorescent lights provided
some comfort; a little more light. He saw the coffee pot sitting behind the front counter, fragrant
coffee steam hanging suspended over the pot, and he made his way through the frozen
waiters and waitresses to reach it.
He picked it up, and then dropped it in shock. The heat burned his
finger. The pot fell to the ground with a thud, wide open. No coffee spilled
out.
His shoulders slumped in defeat, and he slid down behind the
counter and sobbed.
“Emily…I’m sorry…” His words echoed across the tables of
the truck stop.
Some light barking answered the echo.
Joe’s head lifted. Barking? He heard something. He stood up
behind the counter and looked around.
A shaggy brown dog yapped across the room, its dark barking
piercing the silence. He ran toward life as it ran toward him.
The brown, hairy animal crashed against his legs with joy,
all tongue and tail. It knocked him down with great force, and he laughed and ran his
hand over the dog’s back. Almost immediately Joe was overwhelmed with more
tongue and more fur, and he rejoiced in the feel of it after so much stillness
and silence.
The dog shared his enthusiasm, licking his face and nearly
holding him to the floor. Joe struggled to stand as he laughed. ‘Oh, I’m glad
to see you too, boy. You’ve no idea." Another
throaty laugh rang through the silence as he finally got to his feet.
“So where’d you come from, huh? What’s your name? Let's see...”
He felt for the tag under all the curly brown hair at his
neck. He rolled the collar up as the dog panted, and read the silver
Texas-shaped nameplate. “Major. Major? Is that your name? Well Major, I can
honestly say I’ve never been so happy to see a dog before. You are very welcome
company.”
Joe looked around to see if there might be an owner for the
dog. “No one talking to you either? C’mon boy – let’s see if you can sniff out
someone else for us to talk to.”
He passed a glass sandwich stand on the way out, where a customer statue stood. He looked at his reflection in the glass, and put his hand to his
head, looking back at his hand. No blood. No gunshot wound.
"How did you get here, boy?" He turned and patted the dog's head again, and thought to himself that God would surely never punish a
dog for killing itself – how many dogs commit suicide, after all? He took heart
at the thought. Maybe they were in a dead place, but hardly a place of punishment
if they were the only two. Maybe it was an accidental place, after all.
Maybe even, a place one could actually get out of.
They walked together with purpose, all his thirst and
self-pity forgotten. They both seemed to draw strength from the other, and
after a couple of blocks, it dawned on Joe that the neighborhood library was
this way. He could use some answers, and he might as well start there.
“C’mon Major – this way.”
Where would he look? Science section? Medical books? What
would he do with them if he found them? He didn’t know, but it was something to
start with, anyway.
When they arrived, Joe couldn’t believe their luck. One
frozen library patron stood between the open double doors, and another had just
left the inner glass doors behind, his arm up and just letting go of the door.
He and Major made their way under the second patron’s stiffened arm, and
entered the library together.
“Hi there,” he said as he passed the librarian behind the
desk, an unmovable smile on her face. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything on
brain surgery, do you?”
“Let me know if you find anything. I’m looking myself.”
***
What? Who?
Sorry, that's all for today. Come back tomorrow for a little bit more... :-)
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