Free A Tale of Two Trucks by Thea Nishimori Page A

their friends’ daughter, Faith, out on a date.
    “I was just, y’know, trying to talk about general stuff,” he explained to me, looking a bit distressed and befuddled. “Somehow the conversation got to movies, and Uncle Doug happened to mention that new Jerry Bruckheimer movie you wanted to see, so I said I was planning on going to see it, then Faith said she wanted to see it too, and then Aunt Peg, like, jumped all over me and said I should take her tomorrow night—I mean tonight, y’know. I tried to back out of it by telling them I was going out with the guys to shoot some pool, but… well, Aunt Peg said the guys wouldn’t miss me for just one night, and at that point it would’ve been rude to keep puttin’ her off….”
    As Joe’s voice trailed off apologetically, I tried my damnedest to keep my face placid.
    “Well, I have to disagree with your Aunt Peg,” I replied dryly. “You will be missed. But I daresay we’ll survive!”
    “I was gonna make it up to you for last night too,” he sighed, and I felt a hitch in my breath. “But I figure, it’s just one night, right? And I get the feeling Aunt Peg won’t rest until I go out with Faith once, at least. She says it’s high time I got back on the horse.”
    I restrained myself from offering to let him ride my ass instead… but only barely. I also had the sneaking suspicion that once he did go out with one of his Yenta’s candidates, she would keep pressing him with others until he finally broke down and chose one. Joe was doomed, and so was I.
    I only half heard the rest of what he told me. Suffice it to say, I helped him pick out an outfit (from the clothes I’d helped him shop for) to wear when he took this girl out to Applebee’s ( our usual dinner hangout) and went to see the movie (that we’d been planning to see together). I could tell Joe felt bad about leaving me in the lurch like that, especially for two nights straight, but I tried to act as nonchalant as I could.
    “I’ll expect a full report tomorrow!” I told him with mock severity, pointing at him with his torn work shirt in my hand (to be mended later).
    “Yes, sir,” he replied meekly. “D’you think you’ll go tonight? To see the guys?”
    “Well, we can’t both of us disappoint them,” I pointed out with an eye-roll. “They’d be lost without us! And Hank really needs to work on his hip action. I’ve gotta figure out how to motivate those men to move .”
    “God! I sure hate to miss you giving Hank a dancing lesson!” he said, his sincerity evident in his tone.
     
     
    A FTER a late lunch, we went to the store to get groceries for the coming week, and then it was time for Joe to hop in the shower. While frying some ground beef, I had time to give myself a mental shake and a silent tongue-lashing. This was the first date for Joe in years. He was probably nervous about the whole thing, so I needed to be supportive. And besides, I wanted Joe to be happy, right? What if this girl was The One for him?
    My inner child started to throw a tantrum, saying that I wanted to be The One for Joe, but I banished my alter ego to the back of my mind and turned on some Bee Gees (in honor of it being Saturday night) while I made the pasta sauce. When Joe came downstairs in his outfit, I smiled brightly at him.
    “You look great!” This much was true. “Go get ’em, tiger!” My enthusiasm was feigned.
    “I thought I was a water buffalo?” he retorted, and I shook the wooden spoon at him threateningly.
    “Don’t you start with me, young man! Now shoo! You mustn’t keep a lady waiting.”
    “Right, ‘Mom’,” he shot back with a lopsided grin. “See you later!”
    As he went out the door, I almost called out to him, “Don’t forget to wear your rubbers!” but the words caught in my throat and I couldn’t make a sound. I watched as his truck pulled out of my driveway and drove off, taking some of my artwork with it. It might as well have had my heart loaded in the