Hank:

The last day of the weirdest road trip ever went by pretty quick. The kid volunteered to drive the morning shift and suggested we stop for breakfast before heading off. Seemed like a good idea and we had both been ready half an hour early so I saw no harm in it. I guess she hadn’t been able to sleep much either. There was a ma and pa looking diner about ten minutes down the road. The bread shaped sign read The Toast of Iowa: “you butter believe its good!” with a butter pat in the middle.

The kid was thrilled, “Ha, that’s a good one,” she remarked.

I think this was the first time I’d actually seen her smile. We found parking pretty easily, I would bet this place was pretty popular with the truck stop patrons across the street. It was quaint on the inside, if a bit old, and had paintings by local artists as well as newspaper clippings dated back thirty years at least. A middle-aged waitress with strawberry red hair and rosy, freckled cheeks greeted us.

“Hey there, come on in and sit wherever you like. I’ll be right there with some coffee,” she called jovially from behind the counter.

I could only see three other customers, two were in the same booth and one was at the counter. I moved to let the kid go ahead first and pick a spot. She chose a booth three windows down and scooted into the seat facing the front door. As soon as I was in the other side the waitress came over with two mugs and a pot of coffee.

“How are you two doing this morning?” she asked while pouring.

The kid smiled back, “Doing well, how about you?” she answered politely.

The waitress beamed down at her, “I’m good honey, thanks for asking. What brings you kids here to Lake City, you takin’ a family trip?”

The idea that the kid could be mine threw me off and I froze in the middle of adding cream to my coffee.

What the kid said next made me start, “Yes, ma’am, my brother and I are driving up to visit our parents for my dad’s birthday.” Her lie was so genuine sounding it was scary. I cleared my throat and nodded when the waitress glanced at me.

“Well isn’t that nice, its good to see siblings get along and help each other out,” she commented cheerily, “I’ll give you two a minute to look at the menu.”

“Thank you, Ms. Barbara,” the kid said as Barbara began to bustle away. Man, she had some quick eyes.

“Oh call me Barb, honey,” Barb called back before heading into the kitchen.

I stared at the kid in awe as she looked over the menu. Glancing down at my own, I immediately saw the item I wanted: the Paul Bunyan platter: eggs, sausage, and a stack of pancakes. I put down my menu and reached for my coffee. “That was some tall tale you just told,” I said as I raised the cup to lips.

The kid looked up and grinned like a cat that ate the canary, “Pretty good, wasn’t it? I figured you look too young to be my father but too old to be a friend, brother was a safe bet.”

I smiled and nodded, “not bad.” She took a sip of black coffee while I reached for more sugar. I grimaced, how could anyone drink coffee straight? I also prefer to sip and enjoy my coffee but she was throwin’ it back like there was no time to lose. At least she seemed much more relaxed than yesterday, in fact she looked pretty happy. Must be looking forward to the breakfast food.

Barb came back with water glasses and topped off our coffee, “you kids know what you want yet or you need some more time?’

I looked at the kid who nodded, “I think we’re ready,” I said. She turned to the kid with an expecting smile, ladies and youngin’s first I gathered.

“Can I get the chocolate chip waffles with a side of bacon and a glass of milk please?” she asked politely.

“Sure thing honey. You ok with whip cream on those waffles?” Barb queried while scribbling down the order.

“Yes ma’am,” the kid answered, grinning back broadly.

Barb finished writing and turned to me, “what about you honey?”

I picked up my menu and pointed to combo number four, “I’ll have the Paul Bunyan platter.” I took the kid’s menu and stacked it on mine as Barb wrote the order. “How you want those eggs?” she asked, taking the menus.

“Scrambled, please.”

She made a last note, “alrighty, we’ll get that out real quick.” She beamed and turned away amidst our thank-yous.

The kid drummed her hands on the table and made a little half smile at me.

I returned it, “So you’re a waffle person?” I asked.

She smiled, “Yeah, ever since I was young. Not that I don’t love pancakes but chocolate chip waffles are hard to find so I order them whenever I get the chance.”

I nodded, “I’m a pancake man myself but I do like me some fluffy waffles every now and then.” She regarded me carefully, still figuring out whether I could be trusted no doubt.

She folded her arms together, “So did you grow up around here?” she asked, her face serious again.

I rubbed my eyes and leaned forward on the table, “I was born in Minnesota but I moved around a lot. I’ve lived in Iowa for almost ten years, seemed like a nice place to settle down.” She nodded in agreement which I did not expect; at this point, I should probably just throw my expectations out the window.

“What about you?” I prompted.

She shrugged, "I was born in North Texas, about an hour from Oklahoma. I've lived in a couple other states but nowhere too far from Texas."

I laughed in surprise, “You didn’t strike me as a rural type, to be honest, or a Texan.”

She made a face at me, “not all of Texas is rural, it’s so damn big that almost everyone has a mix of city and country in them.” I ducked my head and nodded in concession, she had a point.

“So did you have a horse you rode to school?” I quipped. She laughed and shook her head. Barb arrived just then with our food, it looked glorious. We lapsed into the good kind of silence that happens when everyone is busy digging into a meal. We both ate with relish; the food seemed to make even our shitty situation seem brighter. That’s the power of a damn good breakfast.

Halfway through, the kid swallowed her food and said, “So aren’t Midwesterners supposed to be really happy and into corn?”

I grimaced at her, “alright you got me, cowgirl.” She stuck her tongue out at me and giggled.