**********
Glancing at the side-view mirror, Deja paused
when she saw a GMC pickup truck pull up behind her.
“Hell-oooooooo?” Sariah sang into the receiver.
“We’ll finish this later. I gotta go.” She ended
the call but held on to her cell phone as she watched a man get out of the truck
wearing a black peacoat, a black and white winter scarf and a red toboggan. Now,
he was walking toward her car.
“Oh, no. This ain’t going to go well…” Deja said.
She wasn’t exactly what you would call a people-person, and she understood that
about herself, but other folk did not. They assumed she had a few screws loose
and let her be.
Now, some man was walking up on her. She assumed he
was in law enforcement. Ordinary people didn’t stop for stranded motorists these
days, did they?
He tapped on her window with a gloved hand. She
rolled the window down to a paper-thin crack and asked, “Can I help you,
officer?” Her breath fogged the window.
He smiled.
Deja noticed his teeth were whiter than the beautiful
snowflakes landing on his beard, coat and hat. Wow, she thought,
instantly feeling a rush of blood to her brain. He was bundled for the elements,
but she could still tell he had it going on.
He said, “I’m not an officer, ma’am. I saw your
car steaming. I figured I’d pull over to lend you a hand.”
“Oh, um, that’s nice of you and all, but I’m good,
officer.”
He narrowed his gaze at the lady. He’d already
told her he wasn’t an officer, yet she was still referring to him as one. Was
she that nervous? He looked at the hood, smelled coolant and said, “You’re not
good. I think your engine overheated. There’s no way you can drive it any
further.”
“Oh, uh, well, that’s a bummer, isn’t it? Anyway,
thanks for stopping by.” Deja rolled the window back up, but the man was still
standing there. Using his knuckles, he tapped on the glass again.
Deja inched the window down to an even smaller
crack than before. “Yes?”
“I can pull your car to the next exit. At least,
that way, it’ll be off of the freeway.”
Why is he so eager to help me? Seems suspect…
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m good,” Deja told
the eager man. “I have roadside service.”
“With this traffic and the storm, roadside
service probably won’t be here for a few hours yet.”
She chewed her lip. The tall, well-spoken stranger
with flawless teeth was right, but what was she supposed to do? Get into a
car with a complete stranger? Then she thought about those people who freely summoned
a lift on those rideshare apps. They rode with strangers all the time and that
was to get rides after a night of drinking and partying. Being stranded in a
snowstorm was no party. This was an extreme circumstance. She could freeze her
behind off beside the road or get rammed by a car or tractor-trailer skidding
out of control. She had to do something. Besides, he seemed nice enough.
She sighed and said, “Um, okay, but just off the
freeway and then we go our separate ways.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He walked back to his truck and when he had
clearance, he pulled out onto the street, passed her car and pulled over again.
He backed up the truck until it was close enough to hook up her car to it. After
he had successfully accomplished the task, he walked back to her car and said, “Shift
the gear to neutral.”
“Okay,” she said, doing as he asked.
He said, “Okay, you can get out now.”
She grimaced. That wasn’t a part of the plan. “What?”
“You can get out now. You know you have to ride
with me, right?”
“I can’t sit here and steer while you pull me?”
she asked, trying to come up with a scenario where she didn’t have to be enclosed
in a vehicle with him.
He grinned again. “No, ma’am. There would be no
reason to steer if I’m pulling the car.”
“Oh. Right. Well, what if I don’t touch the
wheel?”
“That’s not safe. Come on. You’ll be fine in the truck
with me. I’m harmless.”
Perhaps the last words she’d hear before being
bludgeoned to death…
“Okay,” she said, grabbing her purse. She stepped
out of the car. Snowflakes dwindled down on her brown ringlets. Her flats were no
match for the snow and ice. She was falling backward when he caught her.
“Whew! That was close. Thank you,” she said,
looking up at him while snowflakes showered them both.
“No problem.”
She found herself impressed by his tall stature
and his willingness to help.
He found himself enchanted by her oval face, cocoa
brown skin and the way the wind tossed her shoulder-length hair.
**********
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