The Pick Up

A short story about a couple dealing with a chronic disease.

            It had been a few months since Frank’s wife died. She was sick with Addison’s Disease and they knew it would happen sooner rather than later because they didn’t have access to the treatment that was necessary. The treatment, a pill that would be taken daily, was still in its trial period and unfortunately Alice’s family history of heart disease meant that she was not eligible for the trials. So they saved money instead; hoping that it would come onto the market before it was too late and that maybe they’d be able to afford it.

Frank watched Alice’s spirit fade as the disease started to consume her. In the spring, when she was first diagnosed, not much changed; she was still working part time at the diner with Rita and volunteering with the daycare center, making people smile and teaching kids how to make paper hats. Around the middle of summer, Alice started going to the daycare center only once per week and only worked at the diner when they were short on staff. She spent the rest of the time at home, tending to the garden or sleeping. There was no notice of the riots that were taking place in the southern United States, the death of Bobby Kennedy, or the Beatles new hit single. Sometimes, when Alice was feeling particularly energetic, she would cook for Frank before he got home from work. They would sit down at their small, round table, light a candle, and eat together. Dinner conversation would go on so long that they wouldn’t notice the sun setting outside the window, or the cold night air creeping in.

In early September, things changed. Alice was sleeping away large portions of the day. She stopped going to work and volunteering at the daycare center. Frank would come home and find her in bed, her flowery tea cup next to her on the table, empty of the grape juice that he left her, the plate with toast and eggs half eaten. The color started fading from her face and the Alice that Frank had known and fell in love with was almost lost.

The house that they lived in started to fall apart that September, as well. The kids from across the street had been playing outside and accidently hit a ball through one of the windows in the living room. Frank covered it up with a piece of plastic and some tape, just enough to keep out the wind but not the cold of autumn or the first rain that ruined the sofa. Shortly after that, the temperatures dropped below freezing and a pipe burst, flooding the kitchen. To save money, Frank shut off the water to the kitchen and dried the floors himself. He left the kitchen sink unusable and went into the bathroom to wash dishes instead. The gardens became bare as the summer flowers died in the cold. Alice was unable to plant her winter flowers, and Frank was too busy working on local constructions sites, trying to earn money.

The old black Ford that Frank had inherited from his father was starting to go; the engine always whined and the headlights seemed to only work in the daylight. Sometimes, when the truck refused to start, Frank would walk to work. He was desperate for the money, desperate to save Alice. But the medication never went onto the market and all the money in the world couldn’t have saved her.

The night Alice had died was one of the first times in several months that she had been out of the house. She had said she wanted a change of scenery and suggested that, if they could spare a few dollars, they go to the diner for Christmas Eve. They lived in a small town and the diner was a small restaurant off Main Street where families could go to eat together and lovers could dine casually. The owners were friendly and everyone seemed to know each other.

Alice had chosen to wear her favorite powder pink dress that night. It fell to just below her knees and the white jacket she wore to keep warm hid her frailty. Frank had worn his black slacks and a white button-up shirt. He lifted Alice into the truck and shut the door before climbing in himself.

The truck was a mess. There were papers strewn across the dashboard, mail that had been haphazardly opened and discarded to the nearest surface. The brown fabric of the seat was starting to rip on the driver’s side and the yellow foam used to pad it was sticking out. Frank’s coffee cup from that morning, a plain white mug, sat empty in the cup holder. Rings of old coffee lined the inside and there were drips on the outside. Alice didn’t mind, though.

The door slammed shut and Frank turned the key in the ignition, silently hoping that it would behave. The engine finally turned over, whining less than usual, and Frank started to drive down the road.

“Oh, gosh, look at the sunset,” Alice said. She was in awe of the world around her. The winter sun shone a brilliant yellow color, its rays not supplying any relief from the cold. The wind blew the last of the fallen leaves across the road, the evergreen trees swayed. Pinecones littered the sides of the road and furry creatures, mostly squirrels, darted into the bushes carrying them as the truck drove past.

“You haven’t smiled so much in months,” Frank said, matter-of-factly. He wanted her to be happy and couldn’t help but smile at how excited she was to be out of the house.

            “It’s refreshing, you know?” Her voice was softer than it used to be and her face was pale. Even with the excitement that she felt and the smile painted across her face, the glimmer in her eyes was absent and the dark circles beneath them seemed more prominent. Frank tried not to focus on those things.

            The truck pulled up in front of the diner, gently rolling to a stop. Frank left the engine running and got out to help Alice. She placed her hands on his shoulder and slid out of the truck.

            “Now, you go in there and get us a good table,” Frank said. He held the diner’s front door open to her and let her walk in. She nodded her head and watched him through the glass door as he got back into the truck and headed for the parking lot. Before she had turned around, a familiar voice was already greeting her.

            “Alice! Oh, it’s so good to see you out and about again.” Rita, one of the waitresses at the diner, came over to Alice and gave her a big hug. Her dark brown curly hair was piled up on top of her head and a reindeer clip held it all there.

            “Hi, Rita. It’s good to see you, too.” Alice was happy to see old friends again; pleased that not much had changed.

            “Did you want a table for two?” asked Rita. “The usual spot near the window?” She indicated the small table in the corner, where the noise was quietest and Alice and Frank could eat in peace.

            “Sure,” Alice said. “That sounds fine.” She was happy that Rita remembered where Frank and she usually sat. It had been several months since Alice had been here and after taking her seat at the table in the corner, she glanced around to see if anything had changed.

            The diner was filled with square tables made of dark wood. Some of the tables were small and only had two matching chairs surrounding it. Others were larger and had four or even six chairs surrounding it. The tabletops each had a silver napkin holder with paper napkins in it and a set of clear glass salt and pepper shakers with silver tops. The walls, originally white, had grown to be a cream color over the years and the back wall of the diner, where the kitchens were, was covered with coloring pages from the children in the town.

There was a family sitting on the other side of the diner, two children and their parents. They looked happy, the children eating their macaroni and cheese and asking their parents about whether Santa Claus would be coming that night. Their mom looked at them and smiled, telling them he would only come after they slept and that they needed to leave out cookies and milk for him as well as carrots for the reindeer. Alice smiled, remembering how she used to put out an apple instead of cookies for Santa because she thought that he needed to lose some weight.

            The door to the diner opened and Frank walked in. He shrugged off the cold, and wiped his shoes off on the carpet before saying something to Rudy, Rita’s husband. Alice didn’t hear what he said, but Frank thanked him and walked towards the table where Alice was, taking a seat across from her.

            “The diner hasn’t changed much,” Alice said, delighted that the only real difference was the children’s drawings on the wall, which changed periodically as more drawings were given to Rita.

            “No, not much.” Frank was looking at Alice, trying to guess how long they had at the diner before she would be too tired and want to leave. “Did’ya see Rita?”

            “She practically tackled me when I walked through the door!” Alice laughed.

            “Good, good.” Frank didn’t know what else to say. He was smiling from ear to ear, happy to see that Alice received her usual welcoming, even though she was sick.

            Rita walked over, handing Frank and Alice each a menu.

            “I hope you two remember which dishes are your favorite,” said Rita, smiling. “What can I get you to drink?”

Frank nodded towards Alice, indicating that she should order first.

“Can I get some tea with honey in it?” asked Alice.

            “I’ll take a hot chocolate, please,” said Frank.

Alice always ordered tea at the diner, it was her favorite, and Frank always ordered coffee in the morning and hot chocolate at night. The coffee was usually his entire breakfast and the hot chocolate his dessert.

            Rita nodded her head and shuffled away towards the kitchen to get the drinks.

            “I’m so glad you’re feelin’ up to this,” said Frank, trying to skirt the issue of her sickness so as not to ruin the evening.

            “Me too.” Alice was quiet. She seemed lost in thought and looked at the children’s drawings again, admiring one in particular. It had antlers between two ears on its head, wide white eyes, and its mouth was open to reveal massive and crooked teeth. Alice thought that the blue crayon used to color in what she assumed was fur had been a nice touch.

            Rita came back now, a teapot, two cups, and a bottle of honey balanced on her tray.

            “Here we go,” she set the teapot between Frank and Alice, the honey next to it, and the empty cup in front of Alice. Frank’s mug of hot chocolate was set in front of him with a mound of whipped cream and red peppermint flakes on top. Rita also deposited two sets of silverware, bundled together in a napkin onto the table.

            “Thanks, Rita,” said Frank. “How’re things going here at the diner?”

            “Pretty well, you know,” Rita shifted from one foot to the other. “Just trying to keep up with the bills.”

            Frank nodded his head, he knew that feeling very well but didn’t want Alice to worry about all of that.

            “Alice, darling, do’ya know what you wanna eat?” asked Frank.

            “Oh, no. I haven’t even looked at the menu,” she leaned back in her chair and picked it up, squinting her eyes to read it.

            “Rita, do you mind comin’ back in a few minutes so we can decide?” he asked.

            “Oh, sure. Just call me when you’re ready.” She left them again, attending to the two new customers that had walked in.

            “It all looks so good,” said Alice. The menu had changed since the last time they’d been there. More dishes were offered along with the old ones. “Maybe I’ll just get eggs and toast.” Alice didn’t want anything too heavy and was a big fan of breakfast foods.

            “Those don’t really go with tea, do they?” asked Frank.

            “They’ll go fine.”

            “If you say so,” he shrugged and put his menu down on the table. He picked up a bundle of silverware, unwrapped it and retrieved the spoon. Frank pulled his hot chocolate closer to him and dipped the spoon into the whipped cream, getting a glob of it before shoving it into his mouth.

            “Dessert before dinner, I see,” Alice’s voice was mocking.

            “It’sh sho good,” mumbled Frank through his mouth of whipped cream. “Want shome?” he dipped his spoon into the hot chocolate, gathering the remaining whipped cream into it and offered it to Alice.

            “No, no. You enjoy it,” she picked up the teapot, which had been steeping her tea for a few minutes now, and poured it into her cup. Then she grabbed the honey and squeezed some of the thick liquid into the tea, watching it gather in loops and swirls at the bottom of the cup. Her head swayed with the music playing in the background as the lyrics “Obla-di, Obla-da, life goes on” were sung.

            The night had gone just as Frank had hoped. Alice was able to enjoy her Christmas Eve without thinking about her sickness or how things were going for her and Frank. She seemed so happy.

            Alice fell asleep on the drive home, her head leaning against the window. The headlights to the old Ford were being stubborn and Frank had given up on making them work. He drove through the darkness, using random streetlights to make sure that he was still between the lines on the road, but not worrying too much. The drive home from the diner was so familiar to him that he could have made it in his sleep.

            As they rounded a corner, the truck went over a big bump in the road and Alice was jolted awake. Frank was surprised by the bump and slowed down the truck, pulling it over to the side of the road.

            “Sounds like I might’ve hit a critter,” he said, searching for the flashlight he kept under the seat of the truck. “I’m gonna make sure the truck is ok.”

            “Ok.” Alice was startled and still unsure of what was happening.

            Frank found the flashlight and tested it to make sure that the batteries were still working then climbed out of the truck. He shined the flashlight towards the road where he guessed the critter would have been laying dead, but couldn’t see anything. Walking around the truck, Frank checked the tires in the front and the back for flats, and then looked under the truck to make sure nothing was wrong with the suspension.

            As he looked under the truck, he saw another car rounding the corner. This car was much smaller than Frank’s and as it went over the bump in the road, he could see the headlights bounce up and down before they turned towards the side of the road, as if they too were going to pull over. However, they weren’t slowing down and Frank watched as the car narrowly missed him on the side of the road and plowed straight into the driver’s side of the truck, slamming it into the wall of trees lining the road.

            He stood there, stunned by the scene, before a panic started setting in.

            “Alice?” he ran towards the front of the truck, trying to find a way to get to the passenger side and open the door.

The car door was smashed into the side of the tree and through the windshield Frank could see blood dripping down Alice’s forehead. Her head was still leaning against the remains of the window. She looked as if she was sleeping.

***

Frank tried not to think about that part of the night much. It was hard enough that he had to act as a witness when the police arrived. He had to watch as Alice’s body was pried from the truck and put onto a stretcher to be taken to the morgue. The nose of the other car went under the truck and the windshield was smashed into the driver and passengers. They died that evening at the hospital. Sometimes Frank had nightmares where he would see their stunned faces; the driver’s eyes full of terror and the passenger’s abnormally large nose hidden behind her upraised arms.

The next week was spent getting everything together for Alice’s funeral. Her body was buried in the cemetery underneath a large sycamore tree with the rest of her family who had passed. The grave marker was made of a dark grey stone and shone with her name engraved on it. Frank visited the grave at least once a week now, leaving fresh daffodils, her favorite. He would sit on the bench near Alice’s grave and talk to her for a bit, tell her what she was missing out on. Sometimes he would cry that she was gone and other times he was relieved that she wasn’t suffering anymore. The diner was still his favorite place to eat and often he would eat alone at the same table where Alice and he had eaten that night.

Rudy spent a lot of time with Frank. He checked in on him and invited him out to watch the baseball games on Fridays. They’d always been friends and worked together often. Rudy tried hard to make sure Frank wasn’t lonely after Alice died. He worried a lot.

The insurance company had awarded Frank a large sum of money for the accident. His truck was totaled, which wasn’t much of a heartache since it had been falling apart anyway, and now he could afford to purchase a new one. There was an old car that belonged to the diner, one that was used for deliveries when it first opened. It hadn’t been used for a long time, but Rudy and Rita let Frank use it until he could get a new truck.

It was now late March after Alice had died and after about a week of rain, the sun was finally out. Frank was outside cleaning up the old dead flowers leftover from last fall and getting ready to plant new ones when Rudy pulled up in his car. He got out and walked over to Frank, admiring his handiwork in the garden.

“Looks like you’ve been busy,” said Rudy. “Wanna take a break and go get your new truck?” They’d been talking about it for a while now and Rudy had some spare time this weekend to drive him to the Ford dealership in the next city.

“Yeah, sure,” Frank said. Never having owned a new truck, he hoped to pick one out that Alice would have liked. “I wanna grab some stuff, go on a bit of a trip up north.”

“Sure, sure. Take your time.”

Rudy leaned against the hood of his car and watched while Frank headed into the house and gathered some things. When he came back out, Frank was holding a blue bag filled with clothes.

“All set, then?” Rudy asked.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

            Rudy climbed into the driver’s seat in his blue Beetle Bug car and turned the keys in the ignition. Frank climbed into the passenger’s seat and slammed the door shut. As usual, Frank felt like the bug was too small for him and moved the seat back, trying to give himself more room to move his legs. Rudy’s car was clean on the inside, no trash or papers. No empty cups. There was even a green tree air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

            “What kind of Ford d’you think you’ll get?” asked Rudy.

            “Oh, I want a truck. Those new one’s just came out, you know?” Frank sounded almost excited for the first time in months. “They’re painted two colors and they have vinyl seats. I really want one of them.”

            “Sounds like a beauty.” Rudy said, nodding his head and thinking for a moment. “Hey, I’m thinkin’ that I’ll stay with you until you have a truck you’re buyin’ and then I’ll take off.”

            “Don’ worry about it,” Frank replied. “I’m gonna purchase somethin’ today and you don’t need to stick around for it. Go home to Rita after you drop me off. I just appreciate you givin’ me a ride in the first place.” Frank pulled a pack of gum from his jacket pocket and offered a piece to Rudy, “Want some? It keeps your brain focused.”

            “No thanks,” Rudy said. He wasn’t one for chewing things.

            It was a long drive to the next town where the Ford dealership was and Frank didn’t say much. He was thinking about what color he wanted his truck to be. He wasn’t worried about how much it’d cost him because he had all the money that was saved for Alice’s treatments. Although he wanted to just use the insurance money, he figured it wouldn't be too bad if he dipped into that a little.

            They arrived at the dealership sooner than Frank had expected and he was happy to see the wide range of trucks for sale. Rudy pulled up to the office and Frank got out of the car.

            “Let me know if you need anything, ok?” Rudy shouted through the open window of the bug.

            “Sure.” Frank nodded his head. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll stop by when I get back into town so you can see what I’ve got.”

            “Sounds good.” Rudy pulled the car out of the drive and back onto the main road, heading back to the diner.

            “Looking to purchase a new Ford?” a salesman asked Frank, who was standing outside the office looking at all the cars.

            “Oh yeah, my old one got totaled.” Frank nodded his head and glanced towards the trucks.

            “You know which kind you like? We’ve got all sorts here, our newest is the F250, it’s practically a steal at our price.” The salesman indicated a row of trucks that were shinier than the rest, their front ends were boxy and the bed of the truck was big, it’d hold anything.

            “Yeah, I think that’s what I'm looking for. The two-toned one,” Frank furrowed his eyebrows, looking down the row.

            “We’ve only got a couple of the two-toned ones, but I can show them to you. Just follow me.”

The salesman started walking towards the trucks, talking about horsepower. It didn’t mean much to Frank. He just wanted a truck like his dad’s; they’re useful when you live outside of town like Frank did.

“This one here,” the salesman indicated a blue truck with cream accents. “This is one of our best sellers. Everybody likes that blue and cream look, plus the interior is black vinyl. Such a great combination.”

“I’m not much one for blue, really.” Frank looked down the row of trucks and spotted a red truck with cream accents. “What about that red one?”

“Oh, that’s a good choice, too.” The salesman walked with Frank towards it, talking about how these trucks never really needed repairing, just keep the tires inflated and they’d last forever.

As they approached the truck, Frank looked inside to see what the interior was like. There was a bench seat stretched out across the truck covered with red vinyl. The carpeting was black and had rubber mats where your feet would sit to catch the mud. The steering wheel and dashboard were black to match the carpet. Frank knew this was the one.

“How much is she?”

“About three grand.” The salesman laid down the price, going a little higher than he intended to sell it for.

“That’s a bit much, I reckon. What if we brought it down?” Frank started haggling with the salesman. He wasn’t great at it, but eventually Frank was able to bring the price down quite a bit.

“I’ll buy it for $2,700, then,” Frank had that much to spend between the insurance money and some of his savings.

“Sure, let’s go inside and make this thing official.” The salesman started walking with Frank back towards the office, a big grin on his face.

After working out all the paperwork and shaking hands with a few different people, closing the deal, Frank was able to get into his new red truck with cream accents and drive it off the lot. He headed for a restaurant down the street, somewhere he could get a quick sandwich before getting back on the road. It was early afternoon and he wanted to get as far as possible before the sun went down and he had to stop for the night. Frank wasn’t sure where he was going, but he knew he wanted to head north, just to leave for a while. He’d be back.

The sandwich shop was sterile inside. Everything was white or chrome; even the tables had chrome legs with white fake-marble tops. He sat at the bar and ordered a cold cut turkey sandwich, “With extra mustard, please.”

The waitress, a young girl with blonde hair, was not very friendly at all. Her uniform was a blue and white checkered dress with a white collar and a white apron. A nametag pinned to the left breast read Jane.

After devouring his sandwich and leaving two dollars, he left the sandwich shop. The sun was still out, painting the sky a brilliant blue and warming up the early spring air.

Frank climbed into his new truck and started back down the road. It wasn’t long before he was out of the town and driving down the highway, engulfed by the forest. Frank took out a piece of gum and put it into his mouth. He chewed it loudly, thinking about how far he wanted to go when he noticed a hitchhiker on the side of the road carrying a green pack.

He had his thumb stuck out and Frank slowed down the truck, pulling over to the side of the road in front of him. The hitchhiker approached the side of the truck and Frank rolled down the window.

“Where you headed to?” shouted Frank through the open window.

“Just north of here, gotta meet up with some family.”

Frank peered down the road ahead of him, deciding if he should let the hitchhiker in. He looked back at the man, his mind made up.

“Well, hop in. I won’t be on the road for too long, but it’ll be good to have some company.” He reached across the cab and opened the door to the stranger.