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Jet: hey Ari. Sorry again for last night. Just woke up and saw your texts
Jet: Going to see Trixie B and the Hustlers at the pub tonight. As a customer, not working LOL
Jet: Maybe we can talk after that, if it’s not late
Me: hey
Jet: you okay? What’s wrong?
How could he tell from a one-word text?
Before I could reply, my phone rang, and I accepted his call, praying to the Gods that low power mode didn’t chew through my phone’s battery.
“Hey, Jet,” I said, mustering as much enthusiasm as I could.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why would anything be wrong?”
“Ari, you don’t just text ‘hey’ when things are okay.”
“Well, actually. I’m just feeling a little lonely. Bessie broke down and?—”
“Bessie is broken?”
“Something in the engine made a loud noise, and Bessie just stopped. Roadside assistance is on the way, but I have a bit of a wait. And very little phone battery.”
“Fuck, Ari. Are you going to be okay? How long a wait?”
A ute appeared on the horizon. “Oh, someone’s coming!”
I pulled one headphone out, keeping Jet on the call as the ute pulled over. Five young men about my age were crammed into a dual cab ute with an impressive bull bar, floodlights and several antennas. Three pig dogs were leashed on the back tray, wearing metal and leather plates over their chests, their pink tongues hanging out, looking very happy.
I blinked, keeping my smile fixed, staring.
The dogs really were wearing breastplate armour.
“You alright?” said the driver, grinning, with a nod to Bessie.
“Van broke down.”
They all looked at Bessie and then back at me. One crunched the can he’d finished drinking, tossing it to the floor.
“Ari, what the fuck is going on?” Jet rumbled through my headphone. “Is that roadside assistance?”
“Are you hunting pigs?” I asked, sending Jet into overload with questions in one ear.
“Yeah, that’s the plan. You called roadside assistance?”
“Yeah, I did, but it’s a long wait. Three hours.”
“That would be right.” They all chuckled. “Cos I’m one half of roadside assistance, and this is my day off. Jump up in the front, love. We’ll give ya a lift to town. Name’s Macca, by the way.”
His mate in the front passenger seat jumped out and hauled himself up onto the back tray, giving each of the dogs a pat.
“Oh, I’m Ari. And thank you!”
Jet’s gravelly voice filled my left ear through my headphones. “Don’t get in the ute with strangers, Ari!”
