Two White Trash Bags by the Side of the Road

Two White Trash Bags by the Side of the Road

Sarah

It was late when he showed up….his car steaming and dripping in the cold rain. Sarah was awake, listening for the slam of the door, so distinctive that no other car she had ever heard made the exact same clunking noise. When she heard it, every hair on her body seemed to wake up. She shivered as the heater came on and started to blow into the room. “Here we go” she thought.

2. Corky

Corky paused before getting out of the car. Except for his breathing, the only noise was a ticking sound from the engine. Leather creaked as he shifted his weight and pushed against the driver’s door. Last summer he had taken a jack to it so that it closed right. Now the door made a clunking noise when it shut. Opening it required Corky to shift his shoulder and lean just right to pop the catch. Once out of the car, he approached the house which was almost completely hidden behind massive oak trees. He thought to himself that it was a bit like being in church. The huge trees muffled noise and gently whispered above him. Although the leaves were brown and wet, they would not fall to the ground until spring. Corky loved oak trees.

He did not need a key; the front door was already open.

Sarah

When Sarah and Jay started the bookstore, they had little expectation of making a profit; but they hoped to break-even the first couple of years. The economy was booming, but they knew that a start-up business does poorly until it’s established. They tightened their belts and made the best of things, eating home grown vegetables, using coupons, wearing last year’s clothes and walking everywhere they could. Then they disconnected the cable, gave up the cell phone, and stopped the paper. It was not enough. The business seemed to be a hungry animal, chewing up most of their savings and even eating into their small retirement fund. They continued to hope, working 70 hours a week, streamlining inventory, and advertising as much as possible.

One day when Sarah arrived home, the house didn’t just seem empty, it seemed abandoned. A stack of paper was in the middle of the desk and things looked out of place. It wasn’t long before she discovered that Jay was gone…and with him the rest of the savings account, anything of value in the house, and the car. The foreclosure notices, credit card statements, and installment loan coupon books stared at her from where he had left them.

Sarah left town the next day.


Corky

Corky set his bag on the table inside of the doorway and started up the stairs in the dark. Lovemaking was first on the agenda; then dinner and wine by candlelight after. His pulse quickened as he climbed the stairs, closer and closer to the room at the end of the hall. He had tried to follow the directions given to him by phone earlier in the day and had finally arrived about an hour later than he planned. At last he reached the door and paused for just a second to take a deep breath. He slowly pushed it open and entered the room. She was there, in bed, gauze curtains barely hiding the sight of her: beautiful......and waiting. By the time he reached the bed, he was undressed as well.

Sarah

Sarah met Corky in the spring. As she tried to pinpoint the exact date, all she could think about was spring. She remembered the earth smelling musty and damp, the feeling of freedom as she started life over in a new place with new optimism. Even a simple walk in the evening was exciting as she shed her old life and the pain from Jay’s betrayal started to fade. The sign on the front of the building said “Counter Help Wanted” so she went inside the shop.

When she first saw Corky, she saw only his butt sticking out from under the hood of a car. When the rest of him emerged, she was startled. Such intense blue eyes! He stared at her and she stared back at him. What followed was an affair so intense that the two of them stopped every other activity to be with each other. Now, six months later, the passion was cooling off like the weather. They had started meeting each other in unusual places to keep the excitement high. This latest place was Sarah’s idea. While house-hunting, she had unlocked a window in the utility room of one really nice house she had visited. She and Corky would be back later for a private tour.

Corky

Dinner was served late of course. The food wasn’t as good at 4:00 in the morning, but the lovers did not care. By 6:00 a.m. they had cleaned up the mess, erasing all signs that they had been in the house. Now they were loading Corky’s car; smiling at each other as they stowed their bags in the back seat.

By 7:30 a.m. it started to rain and the road turned icy. At 7:47 a.m. Corky lost control of the Plymouth and it rolled off the interstate, down into the ditch, flipped over twice, and landed on its top. By the time the state troopers arrived, both passengers were already dead. The radio was still on - draining the last of the battery. A local station was playing a song called “One in a Million, Chance of a Lifetime”, and the smell of gasoline hung heavy in the cold air.


Bob

The tow truck rumbled along the side of the highway and then parked. Bob got ready to work his fourth accident of the morning. He looked down at the Plymouth and said under his breath: “What a bummer, that’s a nice ride”. He got right to the task and soon had the car taken care of. A trooper handed him two white trash bags he said he found on the side of the road. “What’s in those?” asked Bob. “I don’t know.” said the trooper, “I think they belong with the car. Maybe they fell out when the car flipped over.”

Bob opened the trash bags and saw leftovers, an empty wine bottle, sheets, pillowcases and a few candle stubs. “Someone must have had a party” he thought, as he tossed the bags into the tow truck and drove away.