Off the Road - 28

a jazz novel on a typewriter

8

We drove backward wobbling on all four ft. drums as if the breaks had broken and just not told the two of us. From the back out of his suitcase, Dean found another Raw and eventually found another tin of tobacco. When he opened up the tin there was an immediate sent of sinful delicious pleasure that soaked into every corner of the car. It was like the air had slipped twinkling over the yellow sands before reaching our narrow pool. You were both intoxicated by the redolent stench. I had never had a cigarette roller, but I bought that Dean had had one once upon a time, perhaps a long time ago in a land far far away at least three time zones before.

 I could barely hold out a hand for my fix, as so many of be best minds of my generation were destroyed by madness and left hysterically naked to be picked over by Angelhead hipsters for their change. Sadly, for the hipsters, I had no money to spare let alone to strike it poor.

And when it was to tubelury delivered it was at that moment when the front could go galumph and I knew that our luck with the breaks was null and void on a 63 put out in the infield. But I knew the drill and slowly eased off of the gas and slowly onto the break and landed over on the inside at a halt. Fortunately, there was no traffic on the Camino to disturb our reverie of mice and men.

The twists cut back and forward. The rear set played bocce. But eventually, the auto slowed to a grinding halt.  And then we breathed.

And just sat there and we had to get out and push it in two the Panic Lane and a side of lemon. 

 Strangely enough, I took charge and dialed out the number for a tow truck. This was because 11 months and 22 days before I had signed up for AAA instead of AA.

We carefully took the package out and leaned there and passed the time.

We waited until we were astronomically board when the tow truck went up and delivered us to the nearest place where the hoops could be repaired which was a 24-hour place because in Los Angeles you always need a car in a hurry. How else can you park on I-10?

 If this day had been any other, the truck would have taken off to its next destination but it was 3 AM in the morning so the overweight man was willing to wait so that he could drive us back to Los Angeles because it was clear that it would take at least a day to get the discs repaired.

And that is with luck taking our side.

In 10 minutes, a deal was struck using Bitcoin, though the mechanic preferred Ethereum, and I would pick it up in three days’ time which was acceptable to me and Dean.

And so that is how I was delivered back to the Hotel Rosslyn by a tow truck with no scratches on me at all.

 We wound our way to the pad and decided to sleep a while before returning the pipes to their right under because we did not know if the man would be awake. And even if he were there is no telling what kind of mood he would be in at that hour.

So, we went to sleep setting the alarm for 8:30 to get up and call the number but unfortunately, my eye peeled open and the clock said 11:15 and I saw that 12 calls had come in from a different unknown number. I called the number which was given to me and received a roaring in the here as to why I had not called instantly when I had done the exchange. Gradually the rumbling over the phone died down and we had to get to the delivery point. Since we had no money the root, we took was on the sly with a bag rather than a Buck.

We were out in the boonies but still part of the city itself and slipped into the dead letter box the precious juice as if it were candy or a spoon. It was slim pickings because the package just barely fit within the box. It made me wish that my brother George was here. He’d sock me in the head. There was never a harsh word might you never a complaint. Just action. Of course, he died in a car crash because he was drinking beer incessantly and slipped over to the left lane with one hand on the wheel and the other on his lady’s knee.

Call it 777 and report two deaths in the family.

Then the race was on to pick up a card in the other dead letter box and hope that this was real rather than Memorex.  I still held the dread that this was going to go by itself, and Los Angeles is almost as far so as you can get in the United States.

But the driver just sat and held out his hand because he decided that two bags would the better than one and he knew we probably had at least that much in our stash.  The other fact in his mind is that he did not think that Dean was really able to take out a cord and strangle him in the middle of the day.  So, he and Dean eyed each other each one waiting for the other one to blink.  Finally, Dean pulled himself over the car and got out a second bag and crushed it into the man’s outstretched claw, and made liberal with liberal with the vanities.

“Dean I did not think you were going to give him a second bag, it is not like you.”

The only thing Dean did was open his steely hand and show a bag and said: “I will give him a second bag if I steal back the first bag.” Then he gave a sickly grin.

Then we went to work like two mice because we certainly weren’t men.