The Jukebox at The Diner: Chapter Two "Jessie's Girl"
Track Two: "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
If you’ve just arrived here please check out “45 Jukebox”.
Maggie returned from the booths filled by the rest of the bus passengers and poured the young woman a cup of coffee. “What can I get for you today?”
Samantha looked at the menu after noticing the waitress’s name tag “Maggie, I don’t know about the menu, but do you have a cigarette? Hi, I’m Sam."
“Well Sam, it sounds like Charlie just finished the pots and pans from prep so he’s probably sitting on his tailgate smoking. Head out back through the kitchen. The back door is by the bathrooms.”
Sam took her black coffee to the back, where a left turn led her to a propped-open back door. Stepping outside she saw Charlie, exactly where Maggie said he would be.
“Hi, Charlie, right? Maggie said you might spare a smoke. I am Sam.”
Charlie grinned. “I bet Ed could scramble up some green eggs and ham for you, I am Sam. It’s nice to meet you. Here.”
Charlie handed Sam a cigarette case with hand-rolled smokes.
On top of it was a Zippo with a hilarious print.
“Thank you, I hadn’t really thought this route back home out all that well, been playing it by ear town to town. I’ll get home eventually.”
A speaker above the back door exit crackled.
“Someone just dropped a dime in the jukebox. I wired that speaker so I could listen out here.” Charlie wondered who it was.
“Yeah, that’s an old one, Wurlitzer right? It actually works?”
Charlie knew by heart how long it took from the speaker's crackle to the song's first beat.
“It’s a little like the Stone’s song. It doesn’t ever play the song you want, just the one you need. And. Here. We. Go.” Charlie spoke in beats and the song began just as he said go.
“Hahaha oh my God, I know who that’s for!”
Sam’s excitement made Charlie laugh. “It can get pretty interesting around here Sam I Am.”
“He sits in the same row near the back. His name is Matthew. He’s been pining really bad since we left Fort Collins in Colorado. Everyone but 5 of us got off there. No one got on. So it’s been the 5 of us since then. He offered to buy her lunch as we got off the bus. Jules. Ha. Her name is Jules. “Jule’s you're quite electric, did you know that?” That’s what he said.
“That’s not bad. I once told a woman in a bar I was wearing my Return of the Jedi Underoos and asked if she’d like to feel my force. Didn’t go as planned. At first. She said “Prove it.” I couldn’t. I outgrew those in the 6th grade!”.
“I think the electric Jules just put a dime in, Charlie.”
“We can go weeks with no one but us playing it. Two songs in a lunch shift are rare events. Let’s go see what’s up and get you something to eat Sam I am.”
When Charlie and Sam came out of the kitchen, Jules was on the counter like the bar in Coyote Ugly standing over Matthew, perched on a stool, longingly looking up at a woman singing into a Heinz catsup bottle.
“Thanks for the smoke, Charlie.” Sam went to her spot at the counter as Jules got a hand from Matthew stepping down from the counter as Ed, Maggie, and the rest of the passengers applauded. Ed rang the bell and set a to-go order under the warming lamps. Maggie grabbed it and handed it to Sam, but not before looking at Charlie, who pointed to himself to let her know he’d be covering it. “On the house, Sam. Have a safe trip.” Maggie nodded only slightly towards Charlie’s way.
“Thanks, Maggie. Why am I whispering?”
They both quietly giggled and Sam walked over to Charlie, who handed her a few bills folded over. She could tell the one on top was a Jackson.
“Charlie, I don't need…” Sam looked a little embarrassed.
Charlie put the bills in her to-go order bag. “Do me a favor, I am Sam. Send me postcards, I’d love to know how the rest of your journey goes. I wrote the address down for you.”
“You got it.” She pulled out her phone. “I need to get a new sim card and number wherever I end up, but the calendar works. Postcards for Charlie. Repeat Daily. Done.”
“Your turn Charlie.” Sam nodded to the jukebox.
“Oh, that happened this morning. Do me a favor, see if you can find out who sings “45 Jukebox”. I’ve been trying to write a song for a character in my latest story.” Charlie was pretty sure Samantha was a musician. He could always tell. Maggie would test him from time to time. This time Charlie was sure that’s why she sent Sam out back instead of handing her one of her own American Spirits. He’d find out soon enough.
“I’ve written a song or two Charlie, how about I send you little bits on the postcards? Maybe somewhere along the way, we’ll write a song together.”
“Sounds good I am Sam. I’ll be waiting for them. Take care.”
Maggie walked up to Charlie as Sam and the last of the passengers on the bus headed out. Jules and Matthew were…
“Charlie better check the bathrooms and out back for the new love birds or we’ll be having a sleepover tonight,” Maggie said just loud enough for the last two stragglers to hear from the back and they came giggling out through the kitchen and said very sheepish goodbyes to Maggie, Charlie, and Ed.
The three of them walked through the empty dining room out the front door to wave the bus off like they usually did, and as it left, Ed went inside. It was a gorgeous day. Just past 1 pm, the sun was high but not too hot, there was a gentle breeze blowing, and you could hear the rusty gas station sign swinging in the wind.
Right at that moment, they both heard the whirring of the jukebox. Ed must have dropped a dime. Maggie and Charlie sat down on the bus bench in front of the diner and wondered what Ed was about to hear.
That’s when the familiar beat of a Jim Croce song began..
Ed actually whooped. They could hear him shuffling and dancing inside while singing along “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the ole lone ranger and you don’t mess around with Jim.”