Caleb was a long way from home. He decided to make the trip to see his parents and have a nice home-cooked Saturday dinner with them. Their boy had graduated and got a job in the big city, he even had a fancy office. He was homesick though. For all the convenience the city offered, it lacked that small-town feel he knew growing up. The kind of place where everyone always asked if you were "so-and-so's boy" or if you were related to those "Kerstetter's who owned the farm behind the old railroad bed".
He left early hoping to get home at a sensible hour and not wake the neighbors in his apartment building. He was making good time even on the dark, lonely two-lane highways that are the standard in North Central Pennsylvania. Something went wrong, he heard the engine sputter and felt the car begin to buck. He glanced at the fuel gauge, still well above a half tank. Then the check engine light came on and his chest tingled with dread. It was going to be a long night for him. He pulled over to the shoulder, he could hear the shrubs scrape against his car. He shut the motor off and opened the glove box.
He had to dig to find his insurance agent's business card. He would clean out his car next weekend to avoid needless searches in the future. He called the 24-hour roadside service number and the dispatcher transferred him to "Zeke's Garage" or something, he didn't catch the name and nor did he care. His mind was racing trying to plan ahead. The phone rang but no one answered. Finally, an answering machine picked up. A man's gravelly voice told him the shop was closed and to leave a message and he would call in the morning.
Caleb was annoyed. Who the hell still has a fucking answering machine in 2022?! Why in the fuck did the dispatcher put his call through to these jokers who aren't even open twenty-four hours?! He put on his best customer voice and left his name and number hoping they would hear the beep of the machine and wake up and call him right back. He yelled and punched the steering wheel, there weren't enough conjugations of the word "fuck" to soothe his exasperation. He grabbed his phone and was about to call the 1-800 number again but the phone rang.
"Hello?" he answered.
A young woman replied."Hey, is this Caleb?"
"Yeah," Caleb was incredulous but before he could continue, she interrupted.
"It's Billie from Zerbe's Towing and Garage. Where are you?!" Billie asked.
"I don't know, I passed a Sunoco a few miles back but it's all woods now." Caleb got out of his car to look for a road sign, a billboard, anything.
"Okay," she said, "I'm going to send you a text. When it asks you to allow tracking reply 'yes' and that will tell me where you are based on your phone signal."
Finally, Caleb thought, someone around here who is living in the 21st Century. "Okay, thank you for getting back to me so fast."
"No problem. It looks like you are on Kline Road. I can be there in about twenty minutes." Billie said.
Relief washed over Caleb. Billie could hear it in his voice. "Thank you, thank you so much for doing this, um..."
"It's Billie, Billie Jean. Like the song. I'll see you soon Caleb, sit tight." She replied.
Before long he saw headlights bobbing in his rearview mirror. Billie's got a lead foot, he mused. The tow truck slowly slid past him and backed up in front of him. All the lights came on and it reminded him of a carnival. He got out of his car and slowly walked toward the cab. The door swung open and a petite young woman in a stained white t-shirt and denim overalls hopped out. The door closed with a clunk. Billie smiled at him. He was well dressed. She liked his dimples and sandy hair.
"Hey, I'm Billie." She took her hand out of her pocket and presented it.
"I'm Caleb. I'm hoping you also do repairs, the engine isn't running right and the check engine light is on." He shook her hand. God damn, this girl had a grip, he thought.
"It runs though, huh?" Billie asked.
"Yeah, sounds terrible though and it bucks like it doesn't want to go." Caleb replied.
"Do you mind if I start it up?" Billie continued.
Caleb handed her the keys and she slipped them into her pocket. "You can sit in the cab if you want, I'm gonna get the rigging ready on the bed and if it starts I'll just drive it on and then chain it in place." Caleb lifted himself into the cab and watched her through the rear window. She was tiny but strong. The chains rattled and clanked while she worked. Her red hair, tightly braided into pigtails, whipped and thrashed behind her. In the dark blue light, they looked like the chains she wrestled.
Billie noticed him watching her through the cab window. She moved quickly to work up more of a sweat and give him more of a show. She wished her tits were bigger so they would bounce and jiggle more, guys like him probably liked that. They probably didn't like tomboys with red hair, small tits, and freckles. She would have a little fun with him. She slid her hand down her overalls and scratched her groin. He saw that and she noticed him react. She jumped off the towing bed and smiled to herself as she got in the car.
When she turned the key, it sputtered to life and idled irregularly. She noticed that it was missing on a cylinder but she didn't hear a knock or rattle. Good news for him, she thought, probably a cheap fix. Good news for her too, she could charge him a little extra to fix it tonight and then get back to her dirty movie. She drove the car up on the deck and shut it off. After she hooked up all the cables and chains, she climbed up into the cab with Caleb.
Caleb looked over to her and then at his wallet as he fished out his credit card.
"We are cash only. Sorry." Billie frowned.
"No worries, can you stop at an ATM? I have it in my account." Caleb replied.
She smiled. "I just messing with ya, we take cards back at the shop." They laughed a little. She shifted the truck into gear and it lurched forward. "So I can tell you aren't from around here, you got somewhere to spend the night?"
