Flamethrower - Maggie Estep [56]
Either Ruby looked like shit, or Trout Falls was such a small town that residents weren’t used to strangers coming into the diner. Everyone stared. As much as she sometimes loathed New York, Ruby liked the anonymity it conferred. This small-town stuff was nerve-racking.
She walked up to the counter to put in an order to go.
“What do you need, sugar?” asked a wrinkly peroxide-blond waitress who looked like a cigarette.
Ruby liked that the woman called her “sugar.”
“Large coffee, scrambled eggs on a roll, and two burgers very rare with no buns.”
“Coming right up, doll,” the waitress said, as if perfectly used to people ordering two rare burgers with their morning egg sandwich.
Ruby settled onto one of the stools at the counter. To her left was a big man in a John Deere cap hunched over a plate of sausage and eggs. He didn’t look at her, but Ruby sensed that he was aware of her. To Ruby’s right was a small man nervously pushing his eggs around on his plate. He was also wearing a John Deere cap, the brim of which was pulled down to his nose, making Ruby wonder how he could see the cup of coffee in front of him.
“Food’s ready, sugar,” the waitress said after a short wait.
“Where’s the nearest pet store?” Ruby asked the waitress when she handed Ruby her order. “I need to get my dog a collar.”
“What kind of dog?” the waitress asked, getting that beatific animal-lover look on her face.
“Puppy. Mutt probably. Rhodesian ridgeback looking.”
“You mean Spike from the motel?”
“Yeah,” Ruby said, astonished.
“I tried getting that old grouch to give the dog to my niece, but he wouldn’t. Musta liked you.”
“Really?” Ruby was incredulous. If the old guy’s treatment of her was from liking, she hated to think how he acted when he disliked someone.
“You got a nice face, sugar. I’m sure people like you,” said the waitress.
Ruby smiled. She’d beg to differ, but she didn’t want to be rude.
“There’s a Pet Mart about a mile down the road, little strip mall there. You can get everything you need. Here you go.” She handed Ruby her bag of food. “Pay at the counter.”
Ruby went to the counter and, as the cashier rang up her bill, helped herself to some after-dinner mints from the big bowl next to the cash register.
“Have a nice day,” the cashier said.
Ruby went back to the car, broke the burgers into small pieces, and fed Spike in the take-out container. The puppy ate the burger bits in four mouthfuls then looked at Ruby as though he was ready for seconds.
“Later,” said Ruby. Spike spun around in a circle then plopped down in the passenger seat.
Ruby made a right onto Main Street and, after a mile, found the pet store. She carried Spike in with her since she didn’t want him trotting loose through the parking lot.
“Cute!” exclaimed a girl at the counter inside. She was a tiny Goth-looking girl with dyed black hair. Ruby hadn’t realized Goth girls existed in places like Trout Falls.
The Goth girl, who immediately told Ruby she was a vegan and didn’t believe in leather dog collars, helped Ruby select an attractive red nylon collar with a matching lead.
“You live around here?” the girl asked as Ruby paid for her purchases.
“No, just visiting.”
“Why?”
Ruby laughed. “It’s pretty around here.”
The girl wrinkled her nose.
After putting Spike’s new lead and collar on, Ruby walked the dog around the grassy fringe of the pet store parking lot. He sniffed a lot and peed a little before jumping back into the car.
Ruby pored over her various MapQuest printouts, running her finger along the route to Jody’s house. Her stomach was in knots at the prospect of finding and confronting The Psychiatrist. Ruby had spent most of her life avoiding confrontations. She’d almost never fought with her parents, sister, or lovers. If there was friction, Ruby left. Even as a small child, when Ruby’s parents had been upset with her or tried to make her do something she didn’t want to do, she’d disappear, losing herself in the streets of Sunset Park as early as age five. Ruby’s flight response had become a sore point with Ed. Rather than