“I bet lots of people stop here for gas and snacks,” I offered up.
“The gas stations close to the highway get a lot more business. But you’re a little deeper into town here. You guys visiting family or passing through?”
“Passing through. Well, we went to Arches National Park yesterday.”
“It rained cats and dogs yesterday.”
“Yeah, we got caught in some rain but drove through the paved trails. It was quite the sight.”
“Ain’t nothing around here as pretty of a sight as your daddy’s rig. Been here my whole life, and I’ve never had a fancy rig pull up to my pumps or store.”
I kept my head down and kept waiting for him to total out the purchase, but he kept talking.
“Does it get good gas mileage?”
“Not bad, all things considered.”
“I hear that rig is what Mercedes initially made for the military. It’s military-grade metal,” he said. He was leaning against the counter, just staring outside. “Huh?” he asked. I looked up and nodded. I hadn’t realized his comment about the metal was a question.
“What kind of engine is in that thing? Eight?”
“Twelve.”
“Shoot. That one of those extra special edition ones? The A-something one?”
“AMG. Yes.”
Just fucking total me out. I kept my eyes on the total screen. I finally looked up, though, when I heard the door open.Russell.
“About ready?” Russell asked me as he walked over to me. He smiled at the man behind the counter. The man hit a button on the register and the total appeared on the tiny screen on the keypad. I quickly scanned my card and returned it to my wallet.
“I was telling your boy what a nice rig you’ve got out there,” the man said to Russell as he bagged our stuff.
I could only imagine what Russell was thinking when the guy said, “my boy.” I looked at Russell and grinned at him.
“Thank you,” Russell graciously said. He reached his hand out to take hold of the plastic bag handles. “Have a good one,” Russell said and then nodded to the man.
“Safe travels,” the man hollered to us as Russell pushed the door open.
“The guy kept going on and on about the SUV,” I said under my breath, even though I knew the glass door to the convenience store had shut.
“He was just making conversation. He probably doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic inside the store.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“You’re very charismatic, Ryan. People like to talk to you.”
“I know. But talking about your SUV makes me nervous.”
“Why? And it’s ours.”
“It just does.”
“Ryan, it’s not like you walked in there gloating. He asked you about it and was striking up friendly conversation.”
True.
“He called you my daddy.” I began laughing as soon as we were in the warm SUV. “I think he thought I was your son.”
