His eyes drifted closed again. The sound of water lapping against the side of the boat and the accompanying rhythmic rocking was lulling him into a comfortable beer-nap. Sleep was just taking him over completely when a torrent of water pelted his face. Half-asleep, he at first thought it had started raining, even as part of his brain told him that there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky all day above Lake Flores.
“Are you going to sleep the afternoon away?” It was Carol, his good friend Bill's little sister.
Bill was Joe’s best friend and the guy whose boat he was currently napping on. He and Bill went back to grade school; he even had a scar on the back of his head from where Bill had “accidentally” whacked him on the back of the head with a baseball bat while playing out on the sandlot. In fairness, Bill had a scar from where Joe had hit him right back with the same baseball bat, so they were square.
Joe blinked his eyes open long enough to see a pair of undeniably appealing brown eyes staring back at him from over the edge of the boat. Carol was cute and if she wasn't his best friend's sister he would have asked her out by now. Plus, she had a boyfriend, Jack, who was currently watching their interaction right now. That didn’t stop her from messing with Joe; they had known each other forever by now.
“Not all afternoon,” he replied finally, his voice laconic from a combination of beer and heat, “just a little bit longer.”
“C’mon, get back in the water, we’re having a good time,” she replied, undeterred. The “we” in the water was the rest of the group they’d made the long drive out with. Aside from Joe, Bill, Carol, and Jack there was Kelly. Bill had been trying to get Kelly to go out with him for months and had finally talked her into coming out to the lake with him.
The trip to the lake had been Bill’s idea, one last push to get Kelly’s attention before the end of the summer. That little plan hadn’t worked out so well so far. She’d spent the day alternately gabbing with Carol and splashing around in the water. Not that she hadn't spent any time with Bill, it was just that Joe didn't get the impression she was into Bill that way. Not that it was much of Joe's business, he mostly just hung out with Bill and Carol; shooting the shit. And lain on the boat drinking beer. All in all, it’d been a pretty good day.
“In that case, I’ll only slow you down.” He kept his eyes closed, hoping she’d get the point.
“Why don't you go bother your brother instead," he added as an afterthought.
“Bill's trying to talk to Kelly,” she replied under her breath and he could almost hear her furrowing her brow in irritation. “Plus, he wants you to come out, too. Don’t you Bill?”
Bill hadn't really been paying attention, but his ears must have perked up because he yelled, “Yup. C’mon, Wilson, get your ass out here.”
The rest of the group joined in and started chanting “Wilson, Wilson, Wilson”.
“God dammit,” he muttered under his breath and pushed himself up to sitting.
He shook the cobwebs out of his head before standing up and leaning over the side of the boat. The boat was a fifteen-footer with a little shit kicking motor that was good for getting you out to the middle of the lake, but no good for doing much else. Now that he was moving he could tell he was burned all over. He ignored that sensation and dove headlong into the ice-cold water. The chill of the water instantly woke him up and within seconds he was treading water.
“Alright, you got me out here now what?” he asked as he wiped the water from his eyes.
Four hours later, as they pulled the boat over to the shore, Joe was sunburned for sure. His skin throbbed all over and he regretted his earlier bravado just a little bit. He slipped a on a t-shirt and a baseball cap, but the damage was already done, he was cooked. He slipped up to the stern of the boat as Bill steered it toward the launch. When they were about three feet away, Bill cut the engine and Joe jumped off and into the water. As the boat continued to coast in, Joe guided it up and onto the trailer. About halfway up the metal rails the boat lost momentum and Bill goosed the engine to get it to skid the rest of the way up. Joe jogged back to the aft of the boat and flicked the locks into place so that it couldn’t slide back into the water.
“We good back there?” Bill asked.
“All set,” Joe said and jogged around to the side of the boat just as Bill hopped down to the ground.
“Who you riding with?” Bill asked. Joe glanced over at the other car, where the rest of the group had gathered.
“Anybody riding back with you yet?”
“I don't think so,” Bill replied and, to his credit, he only sounded a little let down.
“Then, shit, I’m riding with you,” Joe said, not bothering to look again at the rest of the crew.
“Let’s roll then,” Bill said and walked around to the driver’s side.
“You heading out?” Jack called over from the other car and Bill gave him the thumbs up. “We’ll see you back in town.”
Jack was driving and he rolled down the window and waved to them before pulling out and up onto the dirt road. As Joe hopped into the truck he heard the passengers of the other car yelling merrily. He sat down on the scorching seat and Bill handed him another beer.
“Thanks,” he said and pulled the tab. The beer was a little warm now, but he would take it.
“Let’s hit the road,” Bill said and put the truck into first gear. The truck groaned a little and struggled as they pulled the boat up to the flat ground, but once they were going it wasn’t a problem. As they bounced up and down along the dirt road, they passed through clouds of dust left behind by the other car. They drove for a good twenty minutes before either of them spoke.
“It’s getting dark quick,” Bill said, leaning forward to look up at the evening sky.
“Yup, good thing we’ll be on the highway soon,” Joe said and, almost on cue, they came around a curve and spotted the pavement.
Bill looked to the left before pulling on, but that was mostly a formality; this stretch of highway had only been built a year before. Except for the occasional long-haul trucker, there still wasn’t much traffic yet.
“So, what do you think about Kelly?” Bill asked once they were moving again.
“She’s alright, I guess,” Joe said. He crushed the beer can and tossed it out the window. By the time his hand was back in the truck, Bill was handing him another.
“Just alright?” Bill asked.
“Alright, good, great, whatever you want to hear,” he said. He pulled the tab on the beer and took a gulp. The alcohol was settling in again and he was growing weary of the conversation already. “Maybe if you made a move we could all move on with our lives."
“There’s just never a right time,” Bill said, switching gears.
“That’s what you always say, but summer is almost over. Once school starts again you’re going to run out of chances.” He had heard this refrain before. Frequently.
“Yeah, I know you’re right. She just doesn’t seem that into me.”
Joe didn’t have the courage to tell him, but he agreed with that assessment. Bill had been laying it on thick for months and she didn’t seem any more interested in him now than she had at the beginning of the summer. Some things, though a guy had to figure out himself.
“Shit, man, you’ll never know unless you try,” Joe said and took another drink from his beer. It was really getting dark now and all he wanted was to finish his beer and nap the rest of the drive home.
“You’re right,” Bill said and slapped the steering wheel and startling Joe. “As soon as we get back…”
He didn’t get to finish his thought, though as there was a loud boom and the truck pulled into to the left. Bill struggled with the steering wheel and Joe was thrown against the doorframe on the passenger side. He tried to right himself, but by that time they were skidding the other way and onto the dirt shoulder. Bill hit the brakes and Joe braced himself against the dashboard with both hands. Joe could sense the weight of the boat behind them and it felt like the momentum was going to flip it over the top of them. In a few seconds they had come to a stop and thankfully the boat hadn’t come over.
“God damn, what was that?” Bill asked.
Joe jumped out of the truck without answering, his heart still pounding from the surprise. He walked around to the driver’s side through the cloud of dust they had kicked up when they stopped. The dust swirled like miniature tornados in the headlights. By the time he came around to the far side of the truck Bill was out and looking towards the rear of the vehicle.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Sure, you?”
“I’m fine, just a little shook up,” Bill replied, his voice quavering a bit.
“I definitely wasn’t expecting that either,” Joe replied.
They both walked toward the back of the truck. The dust was clearing now and they could see that the left rear tire had blown. This wasn’t a simple flat, either; the whole tire had shredded and bits of black rubber had scattered everywhere. The wheel well and fender were all torn up as well, probably from the pieces of tire as it disintegrated.
“Son of a bitch,” Bill said and kneeled down next the exposed rim.
“I wonder what could have caused that,” Joe said.
“I don’t know, but my dad’s gonna be pissed,” Bill said and ran his hand over the damage on the fender.
“You got a flashlight?” Joe asked. He wanted to check down the road to see what had torn up the tire, but there was no way they were finding anything in the dark.
“Yeah, in the glove compartment,” Bill said, still inspecting the damage.
Joe hustled up to the driver’s side door, stepped on the running board, and reached across to the glove compartment. He turned the silver knob and the door opened with a thud. He pulled the flashlight, a big heavy silver one, out and slid the switch into the on position.
“I’m going to go check out the road,” he said.
“Sure, but don’t take too long, I want to get this thing swapped out so we can get going,” Bill said.
“Go ahead and get started, I’ll be right back,” Joe said, but he needn’t have, Bill was already climbing up into the bed of the truck to retrieve the jack.
Joe walked along the edge of the highway, the beam of the flashlight running from side to side. The weight of it felt good in his hand, reassuring in the darkness. There wasn’t anybody out here, he was just as likely to get attacked by a bear as he was to get attacked by somebody, but it still was nice to have something to defend himself with.
“See anything yet?” Bill called.
“Nope, not so far,” Joe replied.
He was probably thirty feet away from the truck now. If there was anything on the road, it would be somewhere around here. With the exception of a few pieces of tire, the highway was otherwise smooth.
“How about a hand back here?” Bill called. Joe glanced over his shoulder and it looked like Bill was getting the jack in place under the truck.
“On my way,” Joe said, but he took another couple of steps first.
As he was about to turn, the light caught something curled up in the middle of the lane. His first instinct based on the shape was that it was a snake coiled up and ready to strike and so he dodged back and let out a cry of surprise. He realized as he stepped back that whatever it was it was too motionless to be a snake.
“Are you okay?” Bill asked.
“Yeah, just was surprised,” he responded.
He approached the coiled object and realized almost immediately that it was a length of chain. Joe walked up to the chain and picked it up. It was still warm from lying in the sun and it was quite heavy. He turned it over in his hand and examined it. It easily could have done the damage to the tire. He looked all around, but even thought there was nothing nearby he had the distinct feeling of being watched. He shook off the feeling; the only thing out here was coyotes and maybe some real snakes. It must have fallen off one of the long haul trucks that passed through here. He considered flinging it into the brush at the edge of the highway, but for some reason decided to bring it back to the truck. Since he wasn’t searching for anything the walk back to the truck went quickly and he was soon by Bill’s side.
“What’d you find?” Bill asked, while cranking the jack.
“Here’s the son of a bitch,” Joe replied and let the chain dangle from his hand. Bill looked up for a second and returned to his work.
“That’s a mean looking bastard,” he said. He had raised the back end of the truck up enough so that the rim was about to lift off and stopped. “Better loosen up the nuts before we lift off.”
He held the lug wrench out to Joe. Joe considered making a smartass comment, but instead he dropped the chain in the truck bed and took the wrench from him. Bill sat down on the warm asphalt and shone the flashlight on the rim so that Joe could see what he was doing. Joe slipped the head over the closest nut and pushed against the wrench. It gave way almost immediately and with a few turns it was loose enough to move onto the next one. He proceeded this way until he reached the last nut. For some reason this one was particularly tough. He put all his weight into it, but the only thing that would happen was that the whole rim would shift and the nut groaned a little bit.
“You want me to do it?” Bill asked and Joe could tell he was enjoying this.
“I got it,” he replied.
He was annoyed at Bill, but more annoyed at the damned tire, annoyed at the asshole that dropped the chain in the first place, but mostly annoyed at himself for his failure. He threw himself against the wrench and it was just starting to twist when the wrench snapped in half. He fell forward hard onto his right knee and the broken end of the wrench jammed him in his ribs.
“Son of a bitch!” he yelled.
“What just happened?” Bill asked. He had jumped to his feet and was next to Joe.
“This thing broke in half,” he said, picking up the broken piece of the handle and throwing it over the truck and into the dirt.
“Let me take a look,” Bill said, laughing at Joe’s anger.
“Knock yourself out,” Joe said and walked away, seething.
Bill put the remaining piece of the handle back on the nut and tried to twist it, but there was only maybe six inches of handle left and he couldn't get a decent purchase. If the nut wasn’t moving before, it certainly wasn’t moving now. He grunted as he struggled with it, but it wasn’t going. Finally, Bill tossed the wrench to the ground with a clatter.
“Well,” he said, “unless you have any ideas, I guess we’re walking.”
Joe put his hands on his hips and stared at the rim, but unless another wrench magically appeared he didn’t have any ways around this. He shook his head from side to side.
“Let’s get going,” Joe said.
Bill took the remainder of the wrench and threw it into the brush with its partner. He shrugged and smiled. He reached inside the truck, took the key out of the ignition, and grabbed the last two beers. He offered one of the beers to Joe who gladly accepted it. Bill closed the door again and they started walking along the shoulder.
“Do you remember how far the last gas station was?” Bill asked.
“Twenty miles, maybe?”
“Well, hopefully somebody stops and picks us up, otherwise it’s going to be a long walk back,” Bill said.
“Do you think Jack will realize we’re missing and come back for us?” Joe asked.
“That guy? He’s probably already asleep in bed,” Bill laughed. “If we wait for him, we’ll be out here until tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right about that. I guess it’s going to be those twenty miles, then,” Joe said and took a drink from his beer.
"What do you think of that guy, anyways?" Bill asked. Joe shrugged.
"Carol seems to get along with him pretty well. I guess that's something," Tom said.
"Yeah, I guess," he replied.
"He's better than the last guy, anyways." This was a running theme for Bill. None of the guys his sister went out with would ever be good enough for him. In truth Jack wasn't such a bad guy. He and Carol got along great and he did well in school, stayed out of trouble. He was a pretty good short stop for their team as well, so that didn't hurt.
"That's the truth," Bill said. The last guy had been a real asshole and they had all been glad to see him go. “Can I ask you something else?”
"If this is about Kelly, I don't want to hear it," Joe said.
"But she just got in the other car, that doesn't seem like a good sign," Bill said.
"Just think, though, if she had come with you the two of you would be out here by yourselves."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"No, but you would have had to do all the work on the truck."
"I probably wouldn't have broken the wrench," Bill said.
"You wouldn't have been strong enough to break it. You’d probably still be trying to loosen the first nut."
“Yeah, right," Bill said and after a pause added, "But seriously, do you think I’m wasting my time with Kelly?”
“Look, I can’t tell you what to do,” Joe said warily.
“I’m not asking you to tell me what to do. I’m just asking if you think I’m wasting my time,” he said.
“I don’t know. I mean you’re right, it seems like you’ve been spending a lot of time hanging out with her without much progress. Unless there’s something I don’t know,” Joe said hopefully.
“Shit, I wish there was, but no.” Bill took a chug of beer.
“Look, maybe give it until the end of the summer,” he said, hating himself for softening, but not able to bear completely crushing his friend. “That’s another month. Plus, it’s not like there’s much going on right now anyways.”
“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” Bill said.
“Plus, once school starts…” he began, but he stopped at a sound behind them. He turned and looked over his shoulder and in the distance he saw a pair of headlights. “Shit, look, here comes our ride.”
“What?” Bill asked and then he looked back as well. “Hey, maybe our luck is changing after all.”
“Quick, toss your beer, otherwise they might not pick us up,” Joe said and threw his beer can off into the dirt. Bill did the same and then both of them stuck out their thumbs.
“Hopefully, they see our truck and realize we’re just broke down,” Bill said.
“I don’t know how they could miss it,” Joe replied.
The headlights were growing closer and he could just discern the outline of a semi-truck. It was barreling along pretty fast; he hoped it wouldn’t just fly past them. At this rate, it was going to be on top of them in less than a minute. Its headlights illuminated their own broken down truck and it kept going without slowing down. They were illuminated now in the truck’s headlights.
“I’m not sure he’s going to stop,” Bill said.
Almost on cue, the truck’s horn blasted twice, startling them both. The truck was almost on top of them and it was clear it wasn’t going to stop. Both of them stepped back away from the road because it seemed more likely they were going to be run over than picked up. As they stepped away, both of them turned their backs to the truck for a second and while they were looking away it went silent. Joe turned back to the road and the truck was gone.
“What just happened?” Bill asked.
“I…I don’t know,” Joe said. He stepped into the road and looked both ways, as if the truck would suddenly appear again out of nowhere. Although, given the circumstances, that seemed like it was entirely in the realm of possibilities.
“There was a truck just here, right? I’m not making that up?” Bill asked.
“I saw it, too,” Joe said, turning around in a circle.
He was looking for a side road or anywhere else the truck could have turned off, but there was nothing there. Even if there was a side road, they still should have seen or heard the truck go by. For a crazy second he thought the truck dropped into a ditch or something. But that was even more unlikely. They definitely would have heard a semi truck crashing into a ditch.
“What is going on?” Bill asked.
“I don’t know, but I think we should get out of here,” Joe said and started walking down the shoulder again. Bill came along beside him and as part of some unspoken agreement they started jogging.
“What the hell happened back there?”” Bill asked.
“I don’t know,” Joe said. There was only one thing it could be and he didn’t really want to think about it.
“Did that thing just disappear?”
“I said I don’t know,” Joe snapped. He didn’t know how long he could jog, not another nineteen miles back to the gas station that was for sure.
“What?” Bill said and stopped running. Joe stopped too, but before he could ask him what was wrong he saw it. There were headlights coming from the other direction.
“Shit,” Joe said. “Let’s get out of the road.”
They both walked down into the scrub brush. Joe hoped that they wouldn’t step on any rattlesnakes. But between that and the ghost truck, he would take the snakes. He shook his head. It wasn’t a ghost truck. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it wasn’t that. From a safe distance they watched the headlights approach. It didn’t take long for them to recognize that it wasn’t a truck this time, but a regular car.
“I don’t think that’s it,” Bill said.
“Yeah. I think you’re right. Maybe they’ll give us a ride out of this place,” he said.
As the car approached they jumped back towards the highway and flagged it down. The car’s brakes squealed as it came to an abrupt stop. The driver’s side window rolled down and Jack’s smiling face appeared from inside.
“What the hell are you two doing?” he asked. Joe could hear the girls inside talking and laughing.
“This might be the first time I’ve ever been happy to see you,” Bill said.
“What’s the matter?” Jack asked, seeing the look on his face. Carol leaned across him from the passenger seat and Kelly rolled down the window in the back.
Joe and Bill glanced at each other, both evaluating whether it was a good idea to mention the disappearing truck. They had no evidence for what they had seen, had been drinking all day, and would certainly never live the story down. They wordlessly agreed that it was best not to say anything.
“We got a flat and the wrench broke,” Bill said.
“Damn, it wasn’t your lucky day. Glad I decided to check on you guys,” Jack said.
“He’s full of shit,” Carol said, leaning across Jack, “we made him come back when you didn’t turn up.”
“Yeah, don’t believe him,” Kelly said.
“Have you got a wrench?” Joe asked.
“I’m sure there’s one in the trunk. Hop in, I’ll take you back to the truck,” Jack said.
“I'll make space for you guys,” Kelly said. Bill got in first and slid in next to him. "Are you guys okay?"
"It was scary," Bill said, "I really had to work hard to keep the truck on the road."
Joe leaned against the window and tried not to roll his eyes. Fortunately, it only took a few minutes to cover the distance back to the truck that it had taken Joe and Bill twenty to walk. Joe half-expected it to have disappeared as well, but there it sat.
“You weren’t kidding, that’s a pretty good blow out,” Jack said.
“I think we hit a chain in the road,” Bill said to Kelly.
“Really? That’s scary,” Carol said.
“No kidding. You said you think there’s a wrench in the trunk?” Joe said to Jack.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure,” Jack replied.
Jack pulled the keys from the ignition and the three of them walked back to the trunk. Joe got out of the car, but Bill, Kelly, and Carol stayed behind and kept discussing Bill's heroics. Jack opened the trunk and they found the wrench pretty fast. That was another item in the plus column for Jack: he kept a fastidious trunk. Before they headed back to the truck Jack tapped on the rear window with the wrench. The three of them piled out of the car and then all five crossed the empty highway to the truck.
“You guys got to the last one before the wrench broke? That’s the worst,” Jack observed.
“It didn’t want to budge,” Joe said.
“Let me put a little muscle into it,” Jack said and slipped the wrench onto the nut. He braced his feet and posed theatrically before putting his full weight into the wrench and nearly toppled over then the nut turned easily. “I thought you said this thing was stuck.”
“It was,” Bill said.
“I guess it was just your super hero strength that pried it loose,” Carol said in faux-pride.
“You know it,” Jack said and flexed his bicep.
The three guys worked quickly to get the tire changed while the girls talked and watched. Within a few minutes the spare was safely installed and they were all set to go.
“Tell you what, we’ll follow you this time,” Jack said to Bill.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Bill said.
“I’ll ride with you this time, if you don’t mind,” Kelly said.
“Sure, that’d be great,” Bill said and then added to Joe, “That okay with you?”
“No problem, I’ll ride in the car. I’ve had enough of you at this point,” Joe replied. They all boarded up and were quickly back on the road again. Joe turned around in his seat and watched the stretch of highway disappear behind them. He was pretty sure he would be passing on any more trips to the lake this summer.
