Deanna handed the man a tip. He smiled thanks and waved her on. Deanna stayed put. “How do you know him?”
The man scanned the horizon as if Travis, or perhaps his boss, would turn up and catch him gossiping.
“Real quick, ‘kay.” The man stroked Hubert’s ear. “They impounded his car. I, um, so… he pays me to take him through with Hubert.” The attendant’s eyes darted here and there, never settling on Deanna. “Yeah, you know. When he, um, lost his license? With the, uh, DUI?” A mix of guilt and embarrassment came through the man’s voice. His eyes assessed Deana’s reaction, as if trying to figure out if he would be in trouble or not.
Travis had taken good care of his closest friend. Even when he had lost his car, he found a way. Deanna made her decision. She and Hubert would take the Airstream home. Deanna returned to the hardware store. She picked up two fifty pound bags of feed and a hitch for her vehicle.
#
“It’s not for sale,” Mike told her. “Belonged to a friend.”
“Travis.”
The name caught his attention.
“I’m his sister, Dee.”
Mike’s immediate embrace of her made Deanna uncomfortable. She stood ramrod still until she could step back and gain distance.
“Maybe we can make a trade. He won.” She handed the ticket from the racetrack to Mike. “Ten on three,” Travis’ horse had come in second place.
#
Deanna hooked the beat up camper to her SUV and roared north with Hubert at her side. Windows down, the night air sweet, the Airstream rattled behind them bound for Cleveland.
Melinda Dus writes short stories and screenplays. She’s an attorney, wife and mother of two young children who lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio, USA.