Song of the Road Read Online Free PDF Page A

talk.
    The man walked off dragging the mattress as easily as if it had wheels. Mary Lee hurried to where she had left her cleaning pail and broom, then followed. He had dumped the mattress on a pile of trash and was on his way back when she met him.
    “Thank you.” It was all she had time to say.
    He tipped his hat and went on by. At the door of the wash-house she turned to watch him until he disappeared between number five and number six. He was the tenant who rented by the month. Jake Ramero. She shook her head to rid it of the thought that she had met him before.
    It was nice of him to help her; she had to give him that. But if he didn’t have a receipt for the money he gave Dolly, he had to go.
    Mary Lee didn’t have time to think about him now. She washed, put on a clean dress, brushed her hair and tied it back with a ribbon. Her father had always made sure that he was neat and clean, even if working, when folks came off the highway to rent a cabin. In the drawer of the library table she found the ledger where he registered the guests who stayed at the cabins. She felt a flash of anger when she saw that the last entry made was in his handwriting.
    She knocked on Dolly’s door, then opened it. “Mama, are you all right?” Her mother was lying on the bed, her arm over her eyes.
    “What’a you care?”
    “Are you going to fix supper?”
    “You fix it; you’ve taken over everythin’ else.”
    Mary Lee closed the door. A car had turned into the drive and stopped in front of the house. She went out onto the porch.
    “Good evening,” she said to the man who got out of the car.
    “I’m lookin’ for a place to stay the night.”
    “You’ve come to the right place. Would you like to see one of the cabins?”
    “If it’s got a bed and it’s clean it’ll be all right. How much?” “Dollar fifty,” she said, and held her breath. Her father had charged a dollar twenty-five.
    The man dug into his pocket and pulled out the money. Thankful he had the correct change, Mary Lee said, “Thank you. I’ll get the register.”
    She came out of the house and sat down on the step.
    “Your name for the record, please. The law requires it.”
    “John Hardy, Kansas City, Missouri.”
    After carefully making the entry and noting the amount paid, she laid aside the ledger.
    “Follow me down to number four.”
    She waited at the door while he parked. “There are towels and soap in the bathroom. In the morning, leave the key on the table.” She smiled. “When you pass this way again, we’d be happy for you to stay with us.”
    “I just might do that. I’ll be back about this time next month.”
    Without a moment of hesitation, Mary Lee went straight to the last cabin and knocked on the door. She had to see Jake Ramero again to rid herself of the creepy feeling that she had known him before. She waited and was about to knock again when the door opened. The man’s chest was bare, and a towel was flung around his neck. His look said, “What’a ya want?” but he remained silent, the quiet broken only by the radio playing inside the cabin.
    Mary Lee drew in a deep breath. Oh, Lord! His face was familiar.
How could that be?
    “I’m Mrs. Clawson, the owner of the motor court.” “Hello, Mary Lee Finley.”
    His voice came to her as if he had said her name a million times. It took her a minute to bring herself back to the business at hand.
    “I’m giving you notice, Mr. Ramero, that unless you want to pay by the day you’ll have to move out.”
    She had to look a long way up to see his face. He had been shaving when she knocked. Streaks of shaving soap were visible high up on his cheek. His eyes were a piercing green with gold flecks, sunlight-squinted, and seemed endowed with the ability to look a hole through anyone. His age was somewhere around thirty, maybe less. Wet black hair looked as if he had been rubbing it with the towel.
    “You were on the bus last night.” She said the words even as they came to