pete pulled his truck up beside trixie.
are you lost, miss? pete asked in his friendliest voice. pete had a very friendly voice, which he had worked on and perfected over many years.
not at all. sir, trixie replied, waving her phone in the air so that pete could see it. she could hardly see pete’s face, but thought he looked vaguely familiar.
but trixie was always thinking people looked familiar. she was paranoid, and had been studied by world class experts on paranoia.
would you like a lift somewhere? pete asked her.
no thank you, sir. i am staying at that motel - trixie pointed to the dark shadow of the motel with the phone - that motel down there and i just came out to get a little exercise.
you looked like you were running away from something.
ha ha! no, i was just doing a sprint. sprints are an essential part of my exercise routine.
i see. well, in that case i wish you a good evening. a good morning actually as it is well after midnight.
good morning to you too, sir, trixie replied in a no nonsense voice.
pete drove off. trixie watched his headlights disappear around another bend in the highway, the bend she had chosen not to take.
what was that all about? trixie wondered. she remembered the dead animal - had the man in the truck seen the dead animal? - and the voice!
she decided to follow the advice of the world famous paranoia expert, who had studied her for a whole year, dr reich, and just forget about it and not look back.
she continued walking briskly down the highway until she returned to the motel.
somewhat to her surprise, there was a little light on at the front desk, and the little man who had signed her in was back at the desk.
the little man - like all motel clerks, he was about five feet two inches tall and had a little mustache - watched trixie without expression as she approached him.
excuse me, trixie said.
yes?
is there someplace around here where i can get a cup of coffee? maybe a donut or a sandwich or some pie? i mean that i could walk to. i walked up the road a way and could not find any.
you must have walked right when you reached the road.
yes, i did.
that was where you made your mistake, the desk clerk replied solemnly. if you take a left, and then another left when you reach the crossroads, you will quickly come to jenny’s truckstop which is open twenty-four hours a day.
and do they have good pie?
the best in town. or so they tell me. i am not much of a pie person myself.
thank you.
should i go back out and try to find this place, trixie wondered. or should i just try to get some sleep?
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