Page 19 of Truck

Giving a nod my way to Jayne, Truck walks over and takes a seat. My eyes widen some at the fact he’s sitting with me, and I’m not sure what he wants or needs.

“Thought you worked evenings, Rory?”

Swallowing and again wiping my lips, I reply. “I usually work the evening shift. I’m here for another reason this morning.” I don’t go into why I’m here and look at him, waiting to see what he says next.

“Are you enjoying your burger?” He asks with a smirk on his face.

I’m not sure what the heck is going on here, but I answer mainly because I’m not a person who would be rude enough to ignore him. “I am. Brian makes the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. He makes them from scratch you know. None of those frozen things that are full of fat and goodness knows what else.”

Nodding, Truck replies. “I agree. If I want a burger, I come here. Nowhere else can compare. I have a question…”

“Question? For me?”

“Yeah, I wondered how much you know about flowers because we need a little advice at the gas station for the frontage. We don’t want to pay these fancy ass companies that will wack shit in that needs replacing every year,” Truck throws that at me and I’m more than shocked.

“I know a little about flowers, but I’m not sure I’m the person you need to give advice.”

“We can pay a small amount for your advice. We need nothing over the top and fancy. It needs to look tidy and maybe some green stuff and just a grassed area that we can mow ourselves,” Truck is looking at me with eyebrows raised while giving me a hopeful look.

I think about it a moment, and it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. “Okay, I don’t want you to pay me for looking at the area you are talking about. I can look tomorrow morning if that is helpful?”

“That is great, Rory. Thank you.” Before Truck can say more, Jayne shouts at him from behind the counter. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Rory.”

I watch Truck get his order, and it’s a large order as it had been placed in a large box. He gives me a smile and a wink as he leaves the diner, and I’m wondering what the heck I’ve just got myself involved in.

Once Jayne and Jill have left with Maisy and Marion taking over, I step over and speak to them as they stand behind the counter. “Can I ask how much either of you knows about Jill’s circumstances?”

“We both know what she is suffering through,” Maisy replies with a raised eyebrow. Marion is nodding in agreement, letting me know they are both fully aware.

“I am in a position where I can continue working the late shift. That way none of you will need to step up on evenings. I don’t have family I need to get home to, so it’s not an urgency for me. With that in mind, I can pick up Jill’s brother Grady from school and bring him here with me when I come to work. If Jill worked in the afternoon instead of the morning, she’d not be late to work, and she’d have a person helping with her brother. It would depend on one of you taking her morning shift. But only if that would suit you. I am not asking you to do it if it is not what you want.” I wait because sometimes the more you say the less impact you have.

The two of them look at each other, and it’s a moment before Maisy speaks. “When I started at the diner I needed the afternoon rotation because of circumstances at home. At this point, Rory, I could work mornings, and it would make it easier for me. If Jill and I swap I’d be okay with it. The salary is the same, so it’s only the hours of work that would change.”

Marion has a sour look on her face, and I give her a questioning look, which has her sighing before she says what’s on her mind.

“That means I won’t work with my workmate. The person I’ve worked with the whole time I’ve been here. Would Jayne swap too? If she would I’ll work mornings with Maisy,” Marion takes me by surprise by saying.

I can understand, and if it means a swap of the staff in the morning and afternoon, I don’t think it would be an issue. “Can you leave it with me to speak with Jayne and Jill? If you can hang on while I speak to them and Shelby, I would appreciate it. Shelby has asked me to sort it out as it was my idea.”

Marion laughs. “Well, that will teach you not to throw out ideas. Shelby is good at leaving you in the shit.”

Maisy laughs at that comment and gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Go for it, Rory. I think it’s a damn good idea. It will help Jill in her time of need, and if we could organize a GoFundMe or fundraiser of some kind, it would help too.”

“I’ll come in early to speak to Jill and Jayne…”

Maisy cuts me off from saying more. “I have their phone numbers, so why don’t you give them a call rather than use more gas coming in tomorrow morning?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. Thank you.”

Maisy dashes toward the staff area to get the details, and Marion walks away to serve a customer. I can’t help but think this with all fingers crossed, is going to be a brilliant solution. I have to think about helping Jill get some funds!

Arriving home, I park the car and look over when I see Martin and Cora my neighbors, struggling with shopping bags. I rush over and take the ones that Cora is carrying. “These are too heavy, Cora. If you need things from the grocery store, tell me and I’ll go for you. Martin, I go to the grocery every Friday. If you make a list, I’ll bring what you need. Or you can come with me and we’ll carry between us. I only have a small shopping list when I go to the store.”

“We couldn’t ask you to do that,” Cora says as I follow her into the house.

“You didn’t ask me. I offered.” I turn and take one of the bags from Martin once I’ve put down the bags that I had been carrying. “If I needed help, would you help me?” I ask, looking directly at Cora.

“Of course. Either Martin or I would do what we could,” Cora throws out quickly.