dick skinner got off the bus.
there was no bus station, just a gas station with one pump. an old woman sat in the window of a little shack staring at dick through thick glasses. there was a coca-cola sign on the shack so it probably sold other drinks and snacks and maybe newspapers.
dick did not check the shack out or speak to the old woman. there was a truck parked parked about thirty yards down the road snd he walked over to it.
you from the willetts? he asked the guy behind the wheel.
yeah. get in.
mimd if i buy a coke first?
i’m in no hurry. go for it.
dick went back and bought a coke. the old woman carried out the transaction without opening her mouth.
dick got back in the truck, and it got onto the road and went back to the mountain he had seen coming in on the bus.
the truck started up the mountain. the road was very smooth and there was nobody else on it.
dick stuck to the script eddie had given him and did not talk. he got the feeling that the driver was amused by this.
my name is larry, the driver said when they were about half way up the mountain. larry was an ordinary looking guy, like dick was himself.
pleased to meet you, dick told him. i’m dick.
likewise pleased to meet you, dick. i am guessing you were advised not to ask a lot of questions.
that’s a good guess.
you are probably curious about what you will be doing.
i can wait until we do it.
i like your attitude. i can see eddie knew what he was doing when he hired you.
dick did not reply.
you known eddie long? larry asked.
a while.
you are probably curious about the willetts.
i guess i will meet them. or maybe not.
well, you’ll see them, i don’t know if you will actually meet them, like they will be your pals.
you don’t say so.
you want to know what they are like?
it’s up to you.
there are just the two of them - tom and carla. tom wears a scarf and smokes a pipe. carla drinks a lot of mineral water and looks at her legs.
sounds like a life.
it suits them. larry laughed. it seems to suit them. but every so often, every so often, mind you, they like a little excitement.
a lot of people are like that, dick said.
well, that’s enough about them. here we are.
they pulled up in front of a small wooden house. for the first time since he had left the city, dick was surprised.
by how small the place was.
were there bigger buildings around? there were trees, but they were not that tall, and he did not see anything behind them.
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