34. Reed
Reed hit the unleaded button and the pump jerked in his hand as the gas started flowing through the line and into the tank of his truck. The back and forth from home to school to the city for work had him burning through at least two tanks a week which was hell on his bank account. Thank God Al had given him a raise. Mentally, physically, and emotionally he’d also been running on empty for the last two weeks. His work and school schedule was rough, but Maya’s absence from his life was hell.
The rear tire caught his eye, looking a little low. Too tired to grab the air gauge from his glove compartment, he stubbed the toe of his boot in the tire wall and met satisfactory resistance. A layer of red clay coated the sides of his truck. It sorely needed a wash, but he had neither the time nor desire to do it today. He looked at the customer filling up across from him whose red ball cap with a white cursive P brought a small smile to his face.
“You from Philly?” Reed called out.
The man looked up from the cell phone in his hand, confused for a moment before he tipped the bill of his hat. “No, but I went to school there.”
“Nice. I’ve got a good friend who goes to school up there.” He cursed himself for the silly overshare, but he couldn’t help that Maya was always at the top of his mind, and this weak connection was the closest he’d felt to her since she’d left.
“Oh really?” the man asked. “Where?”
“University of Pennsylvania.”
The man chuckled at the mention of the Ivy League school. “Must be a smartie.”
She isReed thought as he started to grin.
“Penn State,” the man offered as he pointed to himself humbly.
“Ah.” Before he could make a joke about being a state schooler himself, the pump made a clunking noise and jerked in his hand signaling that his tank was full. “Well, have a good one.”
“Yeah, you too,” the man said with a friendly wave.