She wasn't sure what she should do until she heard his remark, "Good night, sister. We don't leave witnesses." Immediately Lizzie Jane knew that the gunman intended to kill the waitress.
 

Young Love, Chapter 5

At 2 o'clock every afternoon, Carol finished her day. Each girl worked an eight hour shift. During the breakfast, lunch, and supper periods, Sam was on hand to do most of the cooking. He took off during the slack hours and left everything to the waitress. That is why Lizzie Jane was so welcome. It was time for some extra help.

Mandy came to work at 2 o'clock and, since Lizzie Jane had nothing to do, she helped her until after supper. It was not a rush like lunch since the evening was a leisure time for most couples. A few single men, tired of eating sandwiches or their own cooking, appeared from time to time. During the night, there were only a few truck drivers stopping, mostly for coffee and pie and to fuel their trucks at the service station across the road.

By 10 pm, most patrons had departed and Lizzie Jane made preparations for bed in the little room next to Sam's office. She worked late because there was nothing for her to do in the outside world. Besides, she was not a regular employee -- just helping out for her room and board.

Lizzie Jane looked around the small accommodations. There wasn't much -- a single bed, a small dresser with a mirror. There was a door leading to Sam's office that Lizzie Jane was allowed to lock for privacy. To bathe, she had to go into the women's public rest room, fill a wash pan with water, go back to the room and take a "sponge" bath. She followed this procedure each late each night before retiring.

At least it was a place to stay -- to rest and sleep for a little while. Sam surprised her by bringing in a radio and television. Although there were only two television stations in Birmingham, she enjoyed the items.

Sam lived next to the restaurant, so he went home around 9 o'clock. Since Sam went home nightly, he employed a male to do a little work around the establishment. The main purpose of hiring a man was to serve as a companion to Mandy so she would not be alone.

A window placed in Lizzie Jane's sleeping quarters allowed a person to view the restaurant, but a curtain had been placed over it for privacy. Sometimes, she pulled the curtain back and watched the night shift as they went about their duties until she drifted off to sleep.

Lizzie Jane decided to bed down for the night when two men entered the restaurant with hand guns. She was not sleepy and did not feel like watching television, so she had the curtains open slightly looking at the cashier's section of the restaurant. She had a good view of an attempted robbery.

Feeling that she needed to do something, she quietly opened the door to Sam's office, located his archery set and opened the office door just enough to aim an arrow toward one of the gunmen. She wasn't sure what she should do until she heard his remark, "Good night, sister. We don't leave witnesses." Immediately Lizzie Jane knew that the gunman intended to kill the waitress.

Without a second thought, she let an arrow fly toward the hand holding the revolver and, upon a perfect strike, the man jerked his hand in pain and the shot missed the waitress at least three feet. The next arrow went toward his accomplice, hitting him in the upper leg, causing him to fall backward. Quickly she shot the gunman at the cash register again, this time in the shoulder, to further disable him.

Lizzie Jane stepped out from behind the door, with another arrow aimed at the men, screaming for them to stop or the next arrow would be to the heart. She instructed the waitress to pick up the dropped gun, but to not walk in front of the gunmen. She knew that they could use that opportunity to grab the waitress and foul up the entire procedure.

Her male companion picked up the other gun and held the men at bay while Lizzie Jane telephoned the sheriff. Realizing that their lives have been saved, the waitress sighed relief and sat down, nervously shaking as fear began to take control. The next call was to Sam, quickly explaining that an attempted robbery had taken place. Sam arrived in just a matter of minutes.

After the police had taken the suspects and the matter was explained to Sam, his reply to Lizzie Jane was, "What kind of girl are you?"

Lizzie Jane sat down and began to cry. "I don't know. Some of the things I seem to remember, I have been trying to dismiss as dreams. I don't know who I am -- where I am from -- and why certain events are being brought to my remembrance -- things that cannot be possible. There were a certain group of people who claimed to be my family and I did not recognize any of them -- not even the one who claim to be my boyfriend."

"Where are those people now? That might give us a clue," inquired Sam.

"I don't know. I was so confused that I escaped and don't know where I escaped from. All I know to do is begin a new life." Lizzie Jane began to cry. "I am so confused."

By this time, Carol had shown up. She gave Lizzie Jane a big hug. "You don't want to know your past, do you?"

"Not really," replied Lizzie Jane. "I am afraid I have done something wrong -- or maybe been considered crazy. That could have been why all those people were around me claiming to be my family. I just want a fresh start."

Carol looked at Sam. He nodded.

"Okay, hon," answered Carol. "You have a job now and making good money, so we are going to find you a place to live instead of staying in that little room, although our people were lucky that you were there tonight. I am carrying you home with me. I don't think you could sleep good here now."

"That's right," agreed Sam. "After what has happened, I am closing the restaurant temporarily. I don't think my employees would feel like working anyway. We may stay closed for a couple of days until we get our wits back. We can have the sheriff place a notice on the door that a crime as been committed and that will help our customers to understand."

"Let's go," said Carol. "And tomorrow we will go shopping and maybe a trip to the beauty salon. That always makes a girl feel better."

Lizzie Jane smiled. She had never been to a beauty parlor before.

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They had called it pampering. Perhaps it was for those used to it, but the perm and waxing seemed more like torture to Lizzie Jane. She did not mind the manicure and nail polish, but everything else...

Well, maybe it was because she was a country girl -- or maybe she had forgotten what a trip to the beauty parlor meant.

She enjoyed the shopping. With all the pretty dresses, it was difficult to make a decision with the amount of money she had -- but she did -- and came out with three of the prettiest dresses that she had ever seen. Also, she added two skirts and blouses plus two slips and six pair of nylon panties. She needed them and could have used a lot more if her money had held out because when she had originally arrived at the restaurant, all the clothes she had was what she was wearing.

One thing about it -- she did feel better -- and felt pretty. She did not ever remember feeling pretty.

Carol and Lizzie Jane were walking back to Sam's car (which he so graciously loaned to the young ladies) when Carol made a suggestion that she had been considering most of the day, "Lizzie Jane, why don't you share my home? It is a three bedroom house which my grandfather had left me before he passed away and I would feel a whole lot safer with you there."

"I don't know," replied Lizzie Jane. "Are you sure?"

"Yes -- I often go home at night, scared to be by myself. You could have a bedroom all by yourself -- and with a bathroom."

Lizzie Jane thought just a minute, then answered, "Okay, I will give it a try."

"Great!" smiled Carol.

"What's so great?" a male voice spoke up. The girls turned and saw that Philip had walked up behind them. "Oh, I know what is great -- Lizzie Jane is. In fact, she is wonderful."

"Oh, it's you," replied Lizzie Jane.

"How about that walk in the park? A beautiful day for it."

"Not right now."

"When?"

"Probably never!"

"Oh, you just broke my heart," whimpered Philip.

"I am not interested in dating you or any other man right now," replied Lizzie Jane.

"I am not talking about a date -- just walking. A lot of people walk together in the park."

"No!" exclaimed Lizzie Jane as she got in the car on the passenger side. Carol crawled under the steering wheel, started the car and repeated what Lizzie Jane had said --"No! She is not interested!" She drove off, leaving Philip standing there with a determined grin on his face.

Carol drove back to Sam's residence to tell him about the decision of Lizzie Jane and her sharing Carol's house.

"Did you intend to give Lizzie Jane the TV and radio as gifts?" Carol asked Sam.

"I sure did. They were extra things I did not need and I will see that she gets an antenna, too."

"Well, we are going home now, so hop in so you can bring your car back home."

"No hurry. Just keep it a few days and drive it to work. I plan to open back up Monday morning. Mandy has already told me that she cannot come back because of what happened, so I need some more help. If you know of anyone, let me know."

"Okay," agreed Carol and Lizzie Jane nodded agreement, too.

As Carol drove toward 'home', Lizzie Jane began to think -- a place she could call 'home'. It sounded so wonderful to be able to go 'home'. Yep, sharing a house would make it more of a home, fulfilling the deep desire of both girls of sharing something.

Carol's mind was on the same subject. It was lonesome to live alone and would be much more fun to share-- even if it was with another girl.

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To be continued

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Copyright 2008 by Starla Anne Lowry
under the pen name of Billie Sue Pilgrim