Ron Merrill First serial rights

[540-54-5913]

The sun was low over the Texas plains when I passed the sign reading "Cleander, population 588" and pulled in at Brenda's Cafe. The place was empty expect for a plump man with grizzled hair sitting in a corner booth, talking to a fortyish blond. She saw me and got up. "I'm Brenda," she said. "Feeling hungry?"

Actually, it was pretty early for dinner. But I was tired and cold and I'd been behind the wheel of the pickup for nearly 12 hours, stopping only a few minutes here and there for gas and a snack. I didn't feel like being alone again for a while. So I hesitated, then said, "A big cup of hot chocolate, please. I'll make up my mind while I'm drinking that."

"Coming up," she said cheerfully. "Why don't you sit with the Prof there? He likes cocoa too."

So I slid into the booth. "You teach?" I asked. "I didn't know there was a college in these parts."

"No," he said. "People here just call me that."

Brenda brought my cup and sat down beside the Prof. "The Prof's been living here 'bout ten years now. Just about the only guy who moved in; everyone else is moving out."

"How'd you come to settle here?"

The Prof looked me over slowly, then said, "Funny you should ask that, particularly today. I came in here, like you just did. I was driving East and the Interstate was closed. I came in and here was Brenda sitting with a man, right in this booth."

"That was Coach Henry," put in Brenda. "He died a couple of years ago."

"Anyway," the Prof went on, "he looked at me as I came in the door, and said 'Hey, I know you! You're the one that brought the people the night of the big game, the one they called the Prof.' Well, I thought he'd made a mistake, but he insisted on telling me about this big football game 15 years before that he was sure I'd been at."

"25 years ago now," said Brenda. "But high school football is big around here, and nobody every forgot that game."

The Prof took a sip of cocoa; he seemed to be used to the interruptions. "Brenda said she recognized me too, and after a while I thought I had an idea what might have happened. Well, I wasn't going anywhere particular anyway--I'd lost my job and didn't know just what I was going to do next. There were some ideas I wanted to work on, and I had a little money. So I hung around for awhile. Got a chance to buy an old farmhouse at auction for next to nothing--someone else took the land. Stayed here ever since. I like the people."

He seemed to think he'd explained everything, so I let it go and sipped my hot chocolate. Brenda glanced at the cup and asked, "How about you? From Utah, maybe?"

"Idaho," I replied. "Same difference, though. Just passing through."