**********
Sondra had been sleeping for a couple of
hours when she heard men talking in the living room.
Her bedroom door burst open, and two cops
rushed in.
She tried to get away, but they grabbed her,
and threw her back down on the bed. Then they rolled her over and
bound her wrists with a rope.
She wondered why they were using rope
instead of handcuffs. “What are you doing?”
“
You have the right to
remain silent.”
“
I know my rights. I want a
lawyer.”
“
Anything you say…doesn’t
matter.”
“
What?”
“
You have the right to an
attorney, but you won’t need one.”
One of the cops put a dog collar around her
neck and pulled it tight.
“
What are you doing? Get
this thing off of me—right now!”
They tied her ankles together, picked her
up, and carried her out. When they walked through the living room,
Sondra saw Val still sitting in her chair.
“
Mom!”
“
I warned you,
Honey.”
“
Mom, help me!”
Val smiled, and took another sip of her
whiskey.
Sondra yelled for somebody to wake up and
save her. Anybody. But she couldn’t even rouse the neighborhood
dogs. And by the time they got her to the back fence, she was so
hoarse that her screams were mere whispers.
They laid her on the ground, and snapped a
leash onto her collar. Then they picked her up, and raised her body
high above their heads. The wooden fence was much taller than she
remembered it. They were barely able to push her over the top.
She fell what seemed like twenty feet,
before the leash pulled taut—slamming her head against the fence as
gravity continued to pull her body downward. For a split second,
she imagined her torso ripping free from its head.
She was surprised to still be alive. She
could touch the grass—but only with the tips of her toes.
Suffocation had begun.
She reached above her head up to the leash
and tried to pull herself up, to release the pressure. But she was
already getting too weak.
How did her hands get loose? Maybe they were
really still tied. She was getting delirious as her life slipped
away.
No! Don’t give in! She grabbed the collar
with both hands, pulling on it with all her might.
Suddenly she woke up, gasping for air. She
was in her bed.
She jumped up, and ran into the living
room.
Val was asleep in the recliner.
Chapter
10
It was a warm, sunny Saturday morning in
Coreyville. Greg Tenorly loved Texas weather—except for the
humidity. It was a perfect day for a long drive in his big red
convertible.
The large suitcase looked small in the huge
trunk of his shiny 1965 Pontiac Bonneville. They could have made
the trip in Cynthia’s new Toyota Avalon, but Greg preferred his
glorious battleship for highway driving. The 43-year-old car was in
primo condition. He closed the lid, taking care not to slam it. It
had been the most beautiful thing in his life—until he met
Cynthia.
“
You and Bonnie ready to
go?” Cynthia smiled at him from the front porch. It was a bit odd
referring to a car by a woman’s name, but she had grown accustomed
to it.
“
As soon as I let her top
down.”
Cynthia walked down the stairs, and over to
the car. “Sometimes I get a little jealous.”
“
Good,” said Greg. “Wouldn’t
want you to take me for granted.” He winked at her.
“
Y’all have a nice time,”
said Beverly from the porch.
“
We will, Mom,” said
Cynthia.
“
And Greg, good luck with
your dad,” said Beverly.
“
Thanks.”
They got into the car and drove away, waving
goodbye.
“
Can’t wait to get you alone
in the hotel room,” said Greg.
“
Is that the only reason
we’re making this trip?” she said playfully.
“
No, of course not. But it’s
the
main
reason.”
“
Well, I know it bugs you
when we’re trying to make love, knowing Mom’s in the next
room.”
“
Yeah. And you always have
to smash my face down into the pillow so she won’t hear
me.”
Cynthia giggled.
“
You think it’s funny, but
one of these times you’re gonna suffocate me.”
She laughed.
“
Go ahead and laugh, but I’m
telling you…”
But it was no use. He tried his best, but
could not sustain his serious tone. Her laugh was contagious.
“
I think she heard us last
night,” said Greg.
“
Why? Did she look at you
funny at the breakfast table?” She laughed harder.
“
Well, yeah. I think she
did.”
“
No. It’s just that new high
fiber cereal she trying. She nearly gags every time she puts the
spoon in her mouth.”
“
Have you ever tasted that
stuff?”
“
No.”
“
It’s sawdust.”
“
Oh, Greg.”
“
No. It’s literally sawdust.
I’m telling you.”
Cynthia laughed.
“
Unscrupulous car dealers
used to put sawdust in the gearbox of worn-out manual transmissions
to make them shift smoothly.”
“
Really? How did you know
that?”
“
Uncle Ed.”
“
Well, maybe that’s exactly
what Mom needs—maybe she’s not shifting smoothly.”
They both laughed out loud.
Finally, after they had caught their breath,
Cynthia said, “So, what’s the plan? Are we going by your dad’s
house today?”
“
Maybe later. First, I want
to go to
Edsel Torkman’s Auto
Shop
,” he said with fanfare.
“
Okay.” She paused. “Edsel’s
just a nickname, right? That’s not his real name.”
“
Actually, it
is.”
“
Edsel. Like the stupid
looking car from the fifties?”
“
Hey—don’t let Uncle Ed hear
you say that. And, no, I wouldn’t say they’re stupid looking. At
least Ed’s weren’t. He had two of them—1958 models. One was a
hardtop, and the other one was a convertible. They were amazing
automobiles.”
“
That must be where you
learned to love old cars—from your Uncle Ed.”
“
Yeah, definitely.” He
paused. “My grandfather’s name was Ford.”
“
Oh, yeah—I remember you
saying that. But I didn’t associate the name with cars. I mean,
I’ve heard of other men with the first name Ford.”
“
Yeah, but his last name was
Torkman.”
“
So?”
“
You know—like torque. As in
a torque wrench.”
“
I’m sorry. I don’t know
what that is, Sweetie.”
“
It’s a tool. Mechanics use
it when they’re tightening bolts on an engine—so they get just the
right amount of pressure. It can cause big problems if the bolts
are too loose or too tight.”
“
I see,” she said, not fully
understanding, but not wanting to hear further
explanation.
“
Grandpa was a mechanic too.
But they hadn’t planned to name their son Edsel. It just so
happened that he was born on E-Day.”
“
E-Day? You mean
D-Day?”
“
No. September 4, 1957. They
called it E-Day. It was the day the Edsel was unveiled at Ford
dealerships across the country. So, my grandfather couldn’t resist.
Grandma didn’t like the name at all.”
“
I can understand
why.”
“
But she finally gave
in.”
“
Too bad the Edsel ended up
being such a dud.”
“
It wasn’t really a dud. It
just had some problems. Plus—the country was going into a
recession. It was a bad year for car sales across the board. But
the Edsel did have some great new features, like self-adjusting
brakes—which we still have on cars today,” he said
proudly.
“
Wow, you’re just full of
all these car facts, Honey. I had no idea.”
“
Go ahead—make fun. But I
used to love hearing Uncle Ed talk about this stuff.”
“
Well, I can’t wait to meet
him.”
**********
E. Z. Bender was waiting in
the parking lot of
Angie’s Country Fried
Two-Step
restaurant when Sondra drove
up, and got out of her car. “This better not be a waste of
time.”
“
Well, you said you wanted
to find some more regular gigs for us. And this place is pretty
cool, and it does a lot of business.”
“
And they only have a band
for weekends, right?”
“
That’s right.”
“
Well, let’s give it a
shot.”
They walked through the door
and looked around. Sondra was impressed that most of the tables
were occupied on a Saturday at 1:00—considering the lousy location.
It was not anywhere near a mall or a shopping center. And the
business across the street was an eyesore:
Edsel Torkman’s Auto Shop
. She
remembered Edsel. Weird guy.
“
There’s the owner,” said E.
Z.
Angie Silverstern was dressed just like the
other waitresses. She took an order and then hurried to the kitchen
window to turn it in.
“
Angie?”
She spun around. “Yes?”
“
Hi. I’m Sondra, and this is
E. Z. We need to talk to you.”
“
Well, I’m sorry, but you’ll
have to come back later. As you can see, we’re very busy right
now.”
“
It won’t take long,” said
Sondra.
Angie sensed the woman’s determination.
“Okay—but all I can give you is two minutes.”
“
No problem,” said
Sondra.
“
Follow me.” Angie led them
to her cramped little office. “What’s this about?”
“
My band has been selected
as the official band of
Billy-Eye’s
Arcade and Dance Barn
.”
“
Oh—somebody was telling me
about that this morning. The whole thing with the Tang.”
“
Yeah, that’s
us.”
“
Well,
congratulations.”
“
Thanks. And now we’re gonna
do you a big favor. We’re gonna be your band twice a week, every
week—for only $500 a night.”
“
What? I can’t afford
that.”
“
Okay, I get it—you want to
negotiate. Fair enough. $400.”
“
No. I don’t need another
band. I’ve got the
Haystack
Fiddlers
on weekends, and that’s all I
need.”
Sondra got up in her face. “Just tell me
which nights you want us to play.”
“
None.” She saw Sondra’s
right arm beginning to tremble, and braced herself for a punch in
the face.
“
I don’t think you’re
understanding me,” said Sondra.
“
Oh, she’s understanding you
alright.” Edsel was in the doorway, behind Sondra and E. Z. “Now
guh-guh-get out of here!”
Same old weirdo, thought Sondra. She had
forgotten about the stutter. “Whatever you say, Edseloser.” She
sneered at him as she slowly turned, and then strode out.
“
And I’d better not ever
suh-see you in here aguh-aguh.” He took a breath. “Again.” His
stuttering always kicked in at the worst times.
E. Z. had not moved. She just stood there
staring—first at Edsel, then at Angie.
What’s her problem, thought Edsel. He
started to yell at her, but caught himself. He was surprised by her
kind eyes.
E. Z. suddenly turned rushed out of the
room.
He turned to Angie. “You okay?”
“
I’m fine, Edsel. Thanks.”
She walked over to him, and gave him a tight hug.
“
Be careful. You’re gonna
get grease on your clothes.”
“
I don’t care.”
Angie never hugged him like this. It felt so
good. Maybe this was the perfect time to tell her his true
feelings.
“
Angie?” One of the
waitresses called to her from just outside the doorway. “Sorry. But
it’s Mr. Philbert again. He said his steak was overcooked, and he’s
not going to pay for it.”
“
I’m coming,” said Angie,
still in his arms.
Every fiber of his body screamed for him to
kiss her.
“
I’ve got to get back,” she
said.
**********
“
I’m sorry,” said E.
Z.
“
No problem,” said Sondra,
opening her car door. “She’ll come around.”
“
She doesn’t want
us.”
“
Oh, I’m sure I could
convince her…if it weren’t for him.”
“
So, we’ll just look for
something else.”
“
See you in a little while.
Don’t be late. We’ve got our first full show tonight. And we’re
gonna knock ‘em dead, right?”
“
Right,” said E. Z.,
smiling.
Sondra backed her car out. As she pulled
onto the road, she eyed Edsel’s shop with contempt. “The city of
Orange will be much better off when you’re dead and buried, Old
Man.”