by Tom Molnar

Duke is headed down the interstate, stereo blaring, CB turned up, scanner squawking away, all the usual stuff. He is outfitted in his usual cowboy hat, mirrored sunglasses, and Black Russian cigarette dangling from his mouth. Lookin' good (in Duke's eyes....)

As a station wagon passes, he's checking it out. The 'leg check'. "Whoa - look at those gams"!, Duke thinks to himself. He grabs the microphone of his fancy custom reworked Cobra 148GTL. The over modulated echo box makes Duke almost impossible to understand.

"Ah, how 'bout that south bound station wagon that just passed this big bad 18 wheeler. Ya got it on?" Duke noticed the CB antenna held to the roof of the car by a magnet mount.

Silence.

"How 'bout that blue station wagon southbound on this super slab. Ya got it on?"

More silence. Then a response.

"You mean me?", the cute female voice asked.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?", Duke asked.

The station wagon pulled back in front of Duke and he noticed a small boy sleeping in the back, all bundled up in blankets.

"Well, I'm not exactly by myself", she said. "I've got my son in the back but he's sound asleep. I'm looking for a rest stop or something where I can cook some hamburgers."

Duke has a small propane grill in his 'jockey box' and offers to help the young lady.

"Why, this is your lucky day", Duke offers. "I just happen to have a grill with me and I'd be happy to share it with you. There's a rest area about 10 miles up the road. What do ya say?"

Silence.

"I promise to cook your burgers exactly the way you like them", Duke says. "I even have some cold soda. I'll bet your son likes root beer."

Silence.

Then finally...

"Well, I don't want to just stop with some stranger", she says. "A woman has to be careful these days."

"Take it up to channel 26, ok?", Duke says.

The lady in the station wagon changes channels and tunes her CB to channel 26. So does every truck driver within earshot........

"What are we doing this for?", she asks.

"We're just being polite to the other people on the CB out there. We don't want to hog the channel. And besides, we don't want everyone to know our business", Duke adds.

"Uh, what business is OUR business?, she asks.

"It's just a figure of speech", Duke says. "Anyway, what's your name. Mine's Duke Slade."

"I'm Carol", she says.

"Carol what..", Duke asks.

"Just Carol", she says. "I don't know if stopping with you is a good idea. You hear all sorts of crazy stories about truck drivers these days."

"Not to worry", says Duke. "It's almost high noon and the rest area will be jammed with trucks, cars, and RV'ers. And besides, I'm Duke Slade. You're safe with me."

A voice comes over the CB..."Yeah lady. He's Duke Slade, whatever THAT is, and you're safe with him. Right....."

Duke fumes at the intruder but says nothing because he knows that would invite even more harassment.

"We've only got a couple miles to go. Whaddya say baby... er ma'am?"

Silence.

The rest area was coming up and Duke still didn't have an answer.

"Tell you what", Duke says. "You pull in and park in the car area and I'll park in the truck parking area. Then I'll bring my bar-b-q over to a picnic table. Sound safe enough?"

"Ok, I'll do it", she says. "But only if there's other people in the rest area."

"Fine", says Duke.

Someone keys up a microphone somewhere and clapping is heard.

Duke cringes at the intrusion. "Go to hell", he thinks.

__________________________

"Mommy, I don't like that man", the little boy says peeking out from under his covers in the back of the station wagon. "He looks funny. He talks funny too."

__________________________

They pull into the rest area and head for their respective parking areas. Duke quickly hops out of his truck, opens the side storage box, and starts hauling stuff out.

"What did I do what that damned bar-b-que?", he thinks. He pulls out bungie cords, rope, a soggy cardboard box, one tire chain, and finally, a rusty old portable bar-b-q. Under an oily rag he finds the canister of propane. "Great!"

Duke climbs back into his sleeper and quickly makes up the bed, fluffing the pillow and shooting a little air freshener into the cab.

"Yep, gotta be prepared - for anything. Heh heh", Duke thinks mirthfully.

He climbs down, grabs the bar-b-que and the propane and heads over to find Carol. As Duke shuffles along, screwing the propane tank onto the bar-b-que it becomes painfully obvious that the propane tank is empty.

"Damn! Damn, damn!"

He heads back toward his truck in search of another propane canister, throwing the empty one on the ground. "Damn!"

_______________________________

Carol finds a place to park, right next to a couple with a travel trailer. They immediately strike up a conversation.

"Why, you and your son are more than welcome to prepare your lunch on our bar-b-que over there", the couple says, pointing behind their trailer. "It's still hot, and besides, we'd like the company."

"Thank you", Carol says. "You're very kind."

Carol and her son carry their stuff over to the portable bar-b-que behind the couples trailer. They hand the boy a Pepsi. He thanks them - and sucks half of it right down, and lets out a muffled belch. The burgers go on the grill and the conversation goes on.

_________________________________

Duke empties the contents of both storage boxes onto the ground. No propane tanks. "I know I have another one of these", he thinks. More oily rags, broken bungie cords, empty oil cans, a Burger King drink container, and a water soaked roll of toilet paper. No propane tank.

"Damn!!"

___________________________________

Carol and her son slather their burgers with pre-bagged condiments and wolf them down. Their hosts offer them some potato chips and another soda each. Carol takes a picture of their new friends standing next to the bar-b-que. Then they carry what's left back to their car.

___________________________________

Duke finely gives up and puts all the stuff back into the 'jockey boxes', cussing continually. He spots one of those bar-b-que pits that the state puts in all rest areas. There's still some charcoal in it. He grabs a newspaper from the trash can and scoops the cold coals into it.

"Ha! You gotta get up early to beat the old Duke", he thinks. "C'mon, let's go get lucky."

Duke starts toward the auto parking area.

___________________________________

Carol thanks the couple for their hospitality, bids them well, and escorts her son back to their car. They load the last of their gear and fire up the station wagon. As they pull out they wave to the couple. Carol heads out on to the freeway, not looking in the rear view mirror.

____________________________________

Duke is almost running as he carries his paper-full of used charcoal. As he enters the automobile parking area he spots the station wagon heading out onto the freeway.

"Hey wait!, he yells. "Well of all the .......!"

He slams the newspaper full of charcoal to the ground and it splays out in all directions. He kicks those right at his feet. "Damn!"

Duke notices a couple standing next to a travel trailer looking oddly at him.