Welcome to Last Chance (4 page)

Twenty minutes later Lainie was sipping her second cup of coffee and steadfastly insisting that she could not possibly eat another piece of coffee cake when Fayette called. Manny had turned up and was waiting for her at the Dip 'n' Dine.

Lainie set her cup on the maple coffee table and stood, shouldering her backpack. “I guess I'll go get this over with. I'll bring the rest of my stuff over this afternoon, if that's all right.”

“Why don't you just put your knapsack back in your room before you go? There's not a reason in the world why you have to keep dragging it all over town.”

Elizabeth was right, of course. If Lainie was never without her backpack, people would start to notice and wonder. But she wasn't quite ready to let it out of her sight. “I'll just take it with me. I don't know what I might need when I take care of the car.”

Manny must have seen her coming. He was standing outside the Dip 'n' Dine with his hands in his pockets, smiling as she walked across the parking lot.

“Manny Otero?”

“Manny Baca. Frank Otero is my father-in-law.”

Lainie really didn't care.

“Had yourself a little trouble, huh?” He was a bit younger than she and not quite as tall, but he had the air of easy nonchalance that mechanics always seem to assume right before they tell you the worst.

“What was your first clue?” The walk from Elizabeth's had not been long, but the day was already getting hot and the backpack weighed more with every step. Lainie didn't even try to hide her irritation.

“Why don't we take a look?” Manny's smile faded and he headed back across the road to her car. Lainie followed, wishing she had been a little nicer. The only thing she knew about cars was how to drive them. If she had to depend on whatever Manny told her, it would be good to have him on her side.

Manny raised the hood and peered under it. He poked at things, lifted other things, and occasionally said, “Hmm.” Lainie just stood next to him feeling useless. She could see Ray through the window of the bar, though the sign still read Closed. When he smiled and waved, she just looked away. What did he have to be so happy about, anyway?

Manny slammed the hood down and wiped his hands on a rag. “How long have you had this car?”

“Maybe a week. Why?”

“Because whoever let a car like this get in this condition shouldn't be allowed to drive.”

“Well, it wasn't me. Can you fix it?”

Manny shook his head. “Not for what you'd want to pay me.”

The diagnosis was what Lainie had been expecting, but that didn't make hearing it any easier. She leaned against the door and looked at the sky. “Now what?”

Manny didn't seem to hear her. He was walking all around the car, running his hands over the dents and rust spots, getting down on his hands and knees to peer at the undercarriage. Finally he stopped in front of Lainie. “I'll buy it from you for three hundred dollars.”

Lainie just looked at him. “Why? I mean, sure.”

Manny's attention had returned to the car. He opened the front door and slid behind the wheel. “I've always wanted a classic Mustang to fix up, but the right one just never came along. Wait'll you see what I can do with her.”

“Then it's yours.” Lainie held out her hand to seal the deal. The last thing she wanted was for Manny to start having second thoughts about the junk heap he had just offered to buy.

“Manny!” Fayette stuck her head out the door of the Dip 'n' Dine and hollered across the road. “Patsy wonders when you're coming back.”

“Ah, Patsy.” Manny winced. “She's going to kill me when she finds out.”

Lainie held her breath while she watched Manny struggle with his conscience. Finally, he patted the hood of the Mustang and hollered back. “She okay?”

“She's fine. Her mom just needs her to come get the girls.”

“Tell her half an hour.” He turned back to Lainie and grinned. “She'll come around. Once the baby gets here, she'll forget all about it.”

“Oh, yeah. I gathered from Fayette that you guys are going to have a baby. Your first?”

“Third. We already got twin girls. But this one's a boy.”

“Three kids, wow. You're not much more than a kid yourself.”

“I'm twenty-five. Not that young.”

“I think twenty-five's young. How many kids does Ray have?”

“Ray? None that I've ever heard him admit to. He's not even married.” He laughed. “Although, now that I think about it, I have heard him pull a family out of the air late at night when some drunk and ugly woman starts getting a little too cozy.”

His laughter died away at the look on Lainie's face. She held up an index finger.

“Just one minute. I'll be right back.”

Ray looked up and smiled when she came through the door. “How's it going? Get everything taken care of?”

“Everything is fine, Ray. And how's the family? Are they fine?”

Ray stopped smiling and looked over Lainie's shoulder. In the mirror, she could see that Manny had followed her inside and was standing behind her. His face could barely contain his grin.

Ray returned to Lainie. “Yeah, well, let me explain . . .”

“Don't bother.” Lainie's voice shook. “But let me explain a thing or two to you. All I was looking for was someplace to sleep. Period. And if that didn't suit you, all you had to do was say so. You didn't have to come up with some stupid story. As hard as it may be for you to believe, I probably would have managed to control myself.”

She pushed Manny aside and strode to the door. Just before she slammed it she turned for one last shot. “'Cause darlin', believe me, you're just not that big a deal.”

L
ainie was tossing the contents of her trunk onto the gravel next to her car when she heard Ray crunching across the parking lot. She didn't look up, although she did consider heaving something heavy at his head.

“Look, about last night . . .” His words faded into silence.

Lainie leaned against the car, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow. “Yes? About last night?” She waited. “Well?”

“Yeah. It's just that . . .” While Ray struggled for words, Manny strolled up, still grinning. Ray turned on him. “You got one big mouth on you, you know that, Baca?”

Manny threw his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, man, don't count on me to keep your women sorted out for you. I got three of my own to worry about.”

“Forget it.” Lainie jerked open the car door. She swept everything from the seats and floors out into the parking lot.

Ray backed out of her way. “Look. I have nothing to say for myself. I was a jerk.”

“You got that right.” Lainie pulled the case off her pillow and dumped the contents of the glove compartment into it.

Ray stood looking at the growing piles of debris in his parking lot. “What are you doing?”

Lainie shoved him aside. “I'm getting my stuff out of my car. Manny's going to buy it from me.”

“But why here? What are you going to do with it?”

“I'm taking it to Elizabeth Cooley's. She has a big family too, but she found room for me anyway.”

If Ray caught the “big family” barb, he gave no sign. He nudged an empty soft drink cup, straw still poking through the lid, with his toe. “Manny could have taken you by in the tow truck. How're you going to move all this stuff?”

That was it. The snap was almost audible as all the frustration she had been dealing with since she left Long Beach gathered itself together and blew.

Ray fell back a few steps and stared. All he had done was to ask a simple, logical question, and now here this woman was storming around his parking lot kicking her stuff all over creation, screaming like a banshee and cussing like a sailor. He shot a nervous look at Manny, but Manny had fled to his truck and was messing with the winch. Ray began easing toward the door of the tavern but hesitated. It just didn't seem right leaving her out here having a fit all by herself, especially after he made her sleep in her car. He looked up and blew out a gust of relief. The cavalry, in the form of Fayette, was on the way. She stopped to let a Ford 4x4 go by, waved at the driver, and ran across the road.

“What are you big bullies doing to this poor thing? It seems to me, after all she's been through, you'd be trying to help instead of causing her even more grief.” She put her arm around Lainie's shoulders. Lainie tried to twist away, but Fayette was stronger than she looked and held firm. Lainie drew a ragged breath. She wiped her cheeks with the heel of her hand and sniffled.

“I swear, Fayette, I didn't do a thing. I just asked how she was going to move her stuff and she went nuts.” Ray rubbed his shin where a low-flying flashlight had caught him.

Fayette looked at Lainie's belongings strewn around the parking lot. “What did you think she was going to do, Ray? Put everything in her purse? Someone's going to have to run her things over to Elizabeth's, and I think it would be real gentlemanly if you'd do that for her. I'll just take Lainie over to the Dip 'n' Dine with me while you put everything in your truck. I'll let Elizabeth know.”

Before Ray could respond, Fayette turned Lainie around and guided her toward the road. She smiled over her shoulder at Ray and called out to Manny, who had begun hooking Lainie's car to the tow truck, “Better leave that for later, Manny, and go get Patsy. She called again.”

There were people sitting in a couple of the booths when Fayette steered Lainie through the door. They had doubtlessly watched the entire incident in the parking lot of the High Lonesome Saloon, and they regarded Lainie with solemn alarm.

“Why don't you splash some cold water on your face while I pour you some iced tea?” Fayette gave Lainie a little push toward the restroom before she walked back behind the counter.

Lainie locked herself in the small room and turned the cold tap on full force. She cupped her hands under the gushing water and looked in the mirror at her blotchy red face and swollen eyes. “I just know I'm going to go out there and have a big old butterfly net dropped on me. And truthfully? If it will just keep the world out, a nice padded cell sounds pretty good.” She bent over the sink and bathed her face and neck with the cool water.

When she gathered enough of what remained of her dignity, she
walked back into the diner. One of the booths had emptied, but the people in the other looked much less troubled, almost friendly. Fayette must have eased their minds.

“Here's your tea. And here's someone I want you to meet.” Fayette leaned across the counter and tried to tousle the dark hair of a tall, skinny kid of about sixteen. He leaned out of her reach and jerked his chin at Lainie in a gesture of silent greeting before returning his attention to the plate mounded with food in front of him.

“This is my son, Matthew, who seems to have forgotten his manners. Can you say, ‘Good morning,' Matthew?”

The silence grew while Fayette waited. Finally, without swallowing his mouthful of food, Matthew mumbled a greeting. Fayette looked as if she had more to say but shook her head instead. Her cheer sounded forced.

“Matthew's going with the youth group from church today. They won't be back until supper, and who knows what they'll find for lunch, so he's stocking up before he goes.”

Matthew had been sneaking glances at Lainie as he ate. She had nearly finished her tea before he spoke. “That's a cool tattoo.”

Lainie glanced over her shoulder at the hummingbird caught there in midflight. “Thanks.”

Matthew leaned back for a better look. “Got any others?”

“Matthew! That's none of your business.” Fayette sounded shocked, but her son ignored her.

“I'm gonna get a tattoo as soon as I'm eighteen. Gonna start with a piece of barbwire around my bicep. I've got some other really cool ideas too.”

“I've told you that you could get one now if it said ‘Mom.'” Fayette brought another glass of milk. “A nice big heart with ‘Mom' on it, and maybe some little cupids flying around? I'd even help you pay for that one.”

Matthew rolled his eyes, drained his milk in one swallow, and stood up. He was even taller than Lainie thought, well over six feet, and after a big meal, he probably managed to tip the scale at 150. “I gotta go. Can I have some money for lunch?”

“Give me a kiss first.”

“Mom, come on. I gotta leave.”

“No kiss, no money.”

Matthew rolled his eyes again and leaned over and kissed the air somewhere in the vicinity of Fayette's head.

“Nope, that's not going to do it.” She tapped her cheek. “You want to eat before the sun goes down, you plant a kiss right here.”

“Mom!”

Fayette just stood tapping her cheek. Matthew sighed, rolled his eyes yet again, and leaned down. Due to some quick maneuvering by Fayette, he actually made contact this time.

“There now, that didn't kill you, did it?” Fayette dug into her apron pocket for tip money. “Have a good time, sweetie. See you at supper.”

Matthew didn't duck this time when Fayette reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, but he didn't look back when he left either.

“Nice kid.” Lainie turned back to the counter.

“Yeah, he's a good boy at heart. But I worry about him. He's just busting to get out of this little town. There's not that much to keep a boy out of trouble, especially in summer. The youth group is taking a trip out to the desert today to look at a bunch of petroglyphs they've all seen a hundred times. But pull that old church bus around to the front of the building, and everybody just piles on. They'd go on a field trip to the dump, just to get out of town for a while.”

Lainie had no idea what she was supposed to say. She didn't
know anything about kids, and furthermore, she didn't blame them for wanting out. She grabbed at the first thought that went through her head. “Oh, he'll be okay.”

Fayette sighed. “I know. I guess moms just worry.” She gestured at the window behind Lainie. “Looks like Manny's back. Do you need to talk to him?”

Lainie swung around and looked out the window. Her belongings were no longer spread over the tavern parking lot, and Ray's truck was gone. Manny had backed the tow truck to the rear of Lainie's car and was hooking it up. She had no desire to talk to him or to Ray for a long, long time. “He's buying my car from me, so I guess I'll have to settle that sometime, but I don't think I can deal with it today.”

“You've had a day of it, haven't you? And it's not even noon. I think you should just go over to Elizabeth's and take a good long rest. There's all the time in the world to get everything else taken care of.”

As Lainie watched, Ray pulled into the parking lot across the street and got out of his truck. He stopped to talk to Manny, and Manny was still laughing when Ray slapped him on the shoulder and went back into his bar. Lainie hoisted her backpack to her shoulder. “Sounds like a plan.”

Heat pushed against the door of the Dip 'n' Dine and wrapped around Lainie like a blanket when she walked outside. The white sun had sucked all the color from the sky and the town. Even the single strip of blacktop that ran through was gray.

Manny, with her car in tow, pulled out onto the road. He rolled down the window and leaned out. “Want to ride with me down to the station and take care of all the paperwork?”

Lainie shook her head. She knew she should probably get that check before Patsy got wind of the sale, but she just couldn't. Not
right now. “Think we could do it later? Maybe even tomorrow? I'd like to go get settled.”

“Suit yourself.” He waved and drove on. Lainie couldn't decide if his wide smile was because he wouldn't have a crazy lady riding in his truck with him after all, or if he was still thinking about the spectacle she had made of herself earlier. Either way, he was far too cheerful.

An old school bus with “Church of Last Chance” painted on the side rumbled by on its way out of town. A couple of young guys in the back hooted and waved their arms out the window to get her attention.

Lainie found herself wondering how serious Elizabeth was about making her go to church. She still hadn't decided if she would go, although she was leaning toward no. After all, what could Elizabeth do? Call the cops? Did Last Chance have church ordinances the way they had vagrancy ordinances? She wouldn't be surprised. Well, she'd give it till Sunday, then decide. If her luck changed, she might even be hundreds of miles away by then. Shifting her backpack to the other shoulder, she turned down Elizabeth's street.

A hot wind had begun to blow by the time she walked up the front steps. The row of trees to the side of the house danced in toward the roof and added a shushing whisper to the sound of the television gunfire pouring from the front door. Elizabeth looked up from the afghan she was crocheting when Lainie came in.