Part 23 (2/2)

More later, Mama... .

What follows is Carrie's (half-finished) story ”Sunrise in Memphis.”

PART TWO

Sunrise in Memphis

by Carrie Hamilton

The noise in the airplane cabin is terrible. Wind rus.h.i.+ng at a terrific speed. Metal tearing, people screaming, objects cras.h.i.+ng. The plane has a large rip in its side, and the scene is mayhem. People are being pulled to the hole by the force of suction, while luggage, food trays, and magazines fly through the air. It's a horrific scene out of our worst travel nightmares.

Incredibly, a girl in her early twenties is sleeping, oblivious to the mayhem around her. Kate, still dressed in last night's club clothes, her mascara smudged around her eyes, tosses and turns in her seat, unaffected by what's going on.

When her eyes finally do snap open, she takes in the scene with amazing calm.

”Oh, great, this is f.u.c.king great. I'm twenty-three years old and I'm going to die in a plane crash.” Kate, not freaking out at all, is just observing. The noise is unbearable.

Elvis's ”Blue Christmas” is playing somewhere, faint at first, but it gets louder and louder, until it becomes the only sound Kate hears ...

On the single-lane desert highway, Kate is asleep in the pa.s.senger seat of an old but well-maintained pickup truck. She's wearing the same clothing and smeared makeup she wore on the plane. The wind is rus.h.i.+ng by her open window, creating a sound not unlike what she heard on the plane. The radio is on, with Elvis singing away.

Kate's eyes open and she sees a man in the driver's seat, dressed in denim-work s.h.i.+rt, cowboy hat. He seems to be in his early thirties. He looks over and gives Kate a warm smile.

”Hey, do you feel like breakfast? You must be hungry.”

Before Kate can absorb this, he has floated the pickup truck to an off-ramp and into the parking lot of a truck stop. Putting the truck in park, the cowboy gets out. Kate checks herself in the rearview mirror, picks up her tote bag, and ignores the cowboy, who is at her door, holding it open with a flourish.

”Ma'am?”

Kate shoots him a look and exits the truck. She strides ahead of him toward the diner. Somehow, he beats her to the door and holds it open.

”After you.”

As Kate enters the cafe followed by the cowboy a waitress in her early fifties grabs a couple of menus and approaches them.

”Smoking or non?”

The cowboy answers, ”Non,” but Kate overrides him with, ”Smoking.”

The waitress gives the unlikely duo the once-over, hands them the menus, and shows them to a booth.

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