Prompt: Abandoned Bicycle.
WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.
Jim bent down to pick up some rocks along the highway. His Western hat fell off as he pulled them from the sand. He snapped up his hat and knocked it against his leg to remove the desert dust. Maggie was still talking and walking ahead. He had stopped listening to her a few miles back. She really wasn’t talking to him. It was more like she had opened the lid of her mind, and the contents were spilling out as she walked. Jim threw one of the rocks at a cactus a few yards from the road. He didn’t even come close.
Maggie gestured as she talked, "So I sez to her, why don't you just tell him that you're not interested in sex anymore and just be satisfied with having two cats? I mean, it's not the end of the world, is it?” She paused and coughed. “Is there any water left in the canteen?”
Jim threw another rock.
“Hey, I asked you a question. Do we still have some water?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t think you were talking to me?” Jim said, not making eye contact.
“Christ! Who else would I be talking to out here in the middle of the desert?”
“Well…” Jim threw another rock. “It seemed to me you were talking to yourself? And no, the water’s gone.” He shook the empty canteen upside down.
“What? Do you think I am crazy talking about my life?” She said, her lips feeling a bit sticky.
“No. Not crazy.” Jim caught up with her. “You have been venting for the last three hours. I think that’s what they call it. Venting? Right?”
"Well, I have a lot on my mind." She coughed again and then sighed. "We should probably have stayed with the car last night? But, God, I'm thirsty."
Jim paused to pick up more rocks. A shiny disk of metal caught his eye. He wiped the dust off with his hand and read it aloud, "Good for a drink at the Oasis Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada." He handed the disk out to her, “Here.”
“Keep it, funny man. We left Las Vegas hours ago. What good would this do for me now?”
“You said you were thirsty. I figured you could use it more than me, that’s all.”
“Oh, like I’m going to turn around and walk back to Las Vegas to use it?” She said.
“You never know. Maybe it will bring you luck?” He said, looking at the resentful look on her face.
“Why did I ever pick you up? My mother warned me never to pick up hitchhikers. She also told me not to gamble, but she didn’t know that I am usually lucky most of the time. But I tell you… “She took a large breath, “My luck has been shitty since yesterday afternoon when my boyfriend Stanley ran off with that dancer and left me in the Easy Slots area holding a cup of quarters…."
Jim closed his eyes and looked pained. She was on another vent. He thought about his father’s advice, “Don’t leave on a trip with less than half a tank of gas.” Maggie didn’t know his father, but that was advice she could have used. He looked down at the long sleeves of his white shirt. Wear long sleeves in the summer, and your arms won't burn. More good advice from his old man who made his living outside. Jim thought as they walked. His father would be taking a nap about now, in the middle of the day. He'd be in the backyard under the only shade tree in the neighborhood. His father was a natural gardener. He knew what plants needed.
Jim loved his father, now a lonely widower. He awoke two days ago and knew instinctively that it was time to go home. There was no phone call. His father needed him now. Two states away, he had packed his shoulder bag and stuck out his thumb.
Jim watched Maggie muttering to herself. She seemed so lost. “So, you believe in luck? Jim asked.
Maggie stopped in the middle of a sentence and answered. “Yeah. And my luck has been shitty, as I was saying when you interrupted me!
“I think maybe that free drink token is a sign that your luck is changing?”
“Now I think YOU are the crazy one! Nothing’s changed. We’re still walking in the desert 20 miles from Reno with no water.”
“Maybe we had to come out all this way to find that token? Maybe it means that you should go back?”
“What? Go back 400 miles on foot?”
"Didn't you ever take a risk when you were gambling, and your luck was running high?"
“Well, yeah, there was this time in Atlantic City when I was…." Maggie was revving up another story.
“Wait, wait, hear me out. “ Jim said. Maybe you have to take the risk of turning around and going the other way for your luck to really change?”
“Oh, God. That’s impossible. It’s too hot. I can’t think."
They stopped at a crossroads. “Reno 20 miles," the sign said. A dusty white ten-speed leaned against the pole. It was an old bike, but the tires were new and inflated.
“Who left you here, old boy?” Jim said as he checked the gears and wheels of the abandoned bicycle. It looked good.
“I am too tired to ride a bicycle, and besides, both of us can’t ride it!” said Maggie, sitting down next to the sign. “You take it.”
Overhead, a lone cloud passed in front of the sun, a wind-whipped out of nowhere, and the sky darkened. Then, to the West, they saw a massive cloud of dust billowing up.
“Shit!” Maggie said. Is that a tornado? Aww, this is perfect! You’ve been bad luck for me, you know? We’re gonna get carried away by a tornado. All we need is that fuckin’ Toto, the dog in a picnic basket. You might as well ride that bike away from here. I haven’t got the strength.”
“That’s not a tornado,” Jim said, staring at the dust as it approached.
“Just kill me here. Get it over with. I give up.” Maggie wept from her spot on the ground.
“It’s a big truck!” Jim said. He walked out to the middle of the road and waved his hat.
The sun came out again, and the truck stopped a few yards away, its air brakes snorting like dragons. The large white truck was from one of those popular casino circus shows. Jim could hear something huge moving around inside the shipping container. The driver's window rolled down.
"Hey, thanks for stopping, Man. We're stranded. Where are you headed?" Jim asked, looking up at the driver. He was very tan and dusty, with a red bandana on his head. Jim could vaguely see his own reflection in the man's dirty mirrored sunglasses.
"Vegas." The man said in a deep, tired-sounding voice.
“You got room for a passenger? Hey Maggie, get over here.”
“Just one.” The man said. “I need someone to talk to me; help keep me awake.”
"I can do that!" Maggie said, smiling broadly.
"Oh yeah," Jim said, nodding his head.
"You afraid of elephants?" The man asked, pointing back to his cargo.
“Oh, you mean like Dumbo? I loved that movie! Nope. They don’t bother me. I mean… I don’t have to ride in back with them or anything? Right?”
“Get in.” The man said.
After she climbed the steps to the passenger’s side of the cab, Jim called up to her, “Hey, remember Dumbo’s feather?”
“Yeah, it made him fly.”
“This is yours now. Now fly outta here," Jim said, handing her the Free Drink token.
Maggie turned into the cab for a moment and came back with a cold bottle of water. And here’s your free drink!”
Jim waved. “Thanks for the ride. And good luck!” He could hear Maggie through the window, already talking loudly as the truck drove off to the Southeast creating another cloud of dust.
Jim turned back to the abandoned bicycle. “I was lucky to find you today, old boy. You ready for a trip?" He patted the bike on the handlebars and then drank half of the water. He put the half-full bottle in his shoulder bag. Always have at least half a tank when you set off on a trip, he thought.
Jim mounted, putting his booted foot forward on the right pedal, and pushed down with his full weight. "He aw!" he said as if riding a horse. While peddling along the highway to Reno, Jim thought back on the day. He didn’t really believe in bad luck. His father had told him years ago that you have to make your own luck. So it hadn't been such a bad day after all.
In a few short hours, he would be in his father's back yard sitting in the shade of that old tree. They would have cold beers together like they used to. His father would share older stories about growing up in Mexico. Jim would tell him about his new life, the people he met hitchhiking, and flying elephants. His father would laugh. They would feel the desert air begin to cool down. And with a bit of luck, they would watch the sunset together a few more times.
THE END
Copyright © ℗ 2021 by Ken Oguss
