ZombWie
Hircus Hornbrow
The sun is just coming up across a field of corn that wilts in the summer heat. The humidity hangs in whispy patches like white apparitions above the corn's tassels. A white and green Winnebago tears down a dirt access road swaying back and forth as it veers left and right avoiding the puddles left after last night's thunderstorm. The RV responds violently to the transition from dirt road to macadam. The driver eyes a single streetlight in the distance and what might be the glow of a neo sign.
A few minutes later the home on wheels is rolling slowly into a gravel parking lot and comes to a stop across three of the six parking spots. Lolli slumps back in her plush velour captain's chair. After a good minute, she leans forward and runs her hands across the genuine woodgrain dashboard of her vehicle. "Winnie? What say we don't cut it that close again, okay?" Then she raps her knuckles three times on the dash.
The RV door swings open and Lolli steps slowly down from the behemoth leaning heavily on her cane and the safety bar mounted on the door frame. Lolli is a short stout woman in her seventies. She is wearing pink polyester pants and a garish flowered top with way too many plastic beaded necklaces. Her permed hair is white, with a hint of blue and it hangs limp in the humid morning air. She has an "everyone's gramma" look to her face and a huge purse slung over her shoulder.
A few minutes later she is sitting in one of the diner's red glittered vinyl seats and stirring a pack of Sweet'n Low in her black coffee. The menu cover in front of her shows a black cauldron and a rainbow below the words, "The End of the Rainbow Diner, open 24hrs"
"Have you made a decision ma'am?" Asks the young waitress wearing a pink uniform. She's chewing gum and hovering her pen just above her green and white ticket pad.
"Honey, I have made a lot of decisions in my life, and not all of them worked out in my favor. I'm going to let you make this one. Just give me the special or whatever the cook makes best." Lolli puts her spoon down on the table and makes eye contact with the waitress who seems to have frozen mid-chew with her mouth hanging half open. With a quirk of her penciled in eyebrow, Lolli asks, "Honey? You all right?"
"How'd you know my name? I just started here." stutters the waitress. Lolli pinches her face and looks confused then notices the girl's name tag reads "Honeydew" in black embossed letters.
"Just a lucky guess I suppose." Lolli shakes her head and starts unfolding a newspaper she pulls from her giant purse.
The waitress walks over to the kitchen window and a greasy arm reaches through and taps the name tag on Honey's chest. "Oh, duh. Right."
Lolli has a red and black marker and she's circling random articles and pictures. Crossing some things out and drawing lines between others. This occupies her time until a bell rings at the kitchen window and Honey grabs a plate of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns and heads toward Lolli's table. Lolli folds up her paper and mutters something to herself like she is trying to form a word she hasn't said before.
"Here you go! Two eggs over the rainbow and a side of golden potatoes." Honey slides the plate across the table and leans into Lolli and whispers, "God, I hate sayin' that." Then she giggles and walks into the back, but before she can get through the door it swings open and the cook and a young man walk through together. The young man is drying his hands on a towel and the cook is counting out a few singles one at a time.
"I will have Honey bring out your breakfast. You've earned it. Thanks for giving me a hand last night. You just happened to walk in at the exact moment I was firing our last dishwasher." The cook hands the kid the small stack of bills and shakes his hand. "Too bad you won't be sticking around. I could use a good worker like you around here." Honey cracks her gum and squeezes between the men and into the kitchen. The cook nods and then heads back into the kitchen.
The dishwasher takes a few seconds to fold up the bills and stuff them in his pocket then looks around the diner for an open booth. They are all open, but one where Lolli sits eating her breakfast. He decides on the booth closest to the door then heads past Lolli's table to take a seat. As he passes her booth her hand reaches out and grabs him by the arm. "Marrok? Today is your lucky day! Please, have a seat and chat with me for a while. I have an offer for you dear."
A few minutes later the home on wheels is rolling slowly into a gravel parking lot and comes to a stop across three of the six parking spots. Lolli slumps back in her plush velour captain's chair. After a good minute, she leans forward and runs her hands across the genuine woodgrain dashboard of her vehicle. "Winnie? What say we don't cut it that close again, okay?" Then she raps her knuckles three times on the dash.
The RV door swings open and Lolli steps slowly down from the behemoth leaning heavily on her cane and the safety bar mounted on the door frame. Lolli is a short stout woman in her seventies. She is wearing pink polyester pants and a garish flowered top with way too many plastic beaded necklaces. Her permed hair is white, with a hint of blue and it hangs limp in the humid morning air. She has an "everyone's gramma" look to her face and a huge purse slung over her shoulder.
A few minutes later she is sitting in one of the diner's red glittered vinyl seats and stirring a pack of Sweet'n Low in her black coffee. The menu cover in front of her shows a black cauldron and a rainbow below the words, "The End of the Rainbow Diner, open 24hrs"
"Have you made a decision ma'am?" Asks the young waitress wearing a pink uniform. She's chewing gum and hovering her pen just above her green and white ticket pad.
"Honey, I have made a lot of decisions in my life, and not all of them worked out in my favor. I'm going to let you make this one. Just give me the special or whatever the cook makes best." Lolli puts her spoon down on the table and makes eye contact with the waitress who seems to have frozen mid-chew with her mouth hanging half open. With a quirk of her penciled in eyebrow, Lolli asks, "Honey? You all right?"
"How'd you know my name? I just started here." stutters the waitress. Lolli pinches her face and looks confused then notices the girl's name tag reads "Honeydew" in black embossed letters.
"Just a lucky guess I suppose." Lolli shakes her head and starts unfolding a newspaper she pulls from her giant purse.
The waitress walks over to the kitchen window and a greasy arm reaches through and taps the name tag on Honey's chest. "Oh, duh. Right."
Lolli has a red and black marker and she's circling random articles and pictures. Crossing some things out and drawing lines between others. This occupies her time until a bell rings at the kitchen window and Honey grabs a plate of eggs, bacon and hashbrowns and heads toward Lolli's table. Lolli folds up her paper and mutters something to herself like she is trying to form a word she hasn't said before.
"Here you go! Two eggs over the rainbow and a side of golden potatoes." Honey slides the plate across the table and leans into Lolli and whispers, "God, I hate sayin' that." Then she giggles and walks into the back, but before she can get through the door it swings open and the cook and a young man walk through together. The young man is drying his hands on a towel and the cook is counting out a few singles one at a time.
"I will have Honey bring out your breakfast. You've earned it. Thanks for giving me a hand last night. You just happened to walk in at the exact moment I was firing our last dishwasher." The cook hands the kid the small stack of bills and shakes his hand. "Too bad you won't be sticking around. I could use a good worker like you around here." Honey cracks her gum and squeezes between the men and into the kitchen. The cook nods and then heads back into the kitchen.
The dishwasher takes a few seconds to fold up the bills and stuff them in his pocket then looks around the diner for an open booth. They are all open, but one where Lolli sits eating her breakfast. He decides on the booth closest to the door then heads past Lolli's table to take a seat. As he passes her booth her hand reaches out and grabs him by the arm. "Marrok? Today is your lucky day! Please, have a seat and chat with me for a while. I have an offer for you dear."
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