Patience

By Philip Lear

        I’ve never known anyone like Patti. She was wondrous to look at and to be with. There was a calmness about her that even made me feel calm, at least some of the time. It’s nice to be with someone like that when the world you live in is so hectic. She was almost as tall as me, maybe about 5'11' with long blonde hair. Everything about her was long- her legs, neck, arms and even her nose. When she walked she looked like she was moving in slow motion like one of those exotic long legged tropical birds. Shortly after she came to work at the Dawson Company we were standing in the coffee room and she turned towards me and our eyes met. That’s all it took and we both knew. We started to date and over six months, had gotten serious.  

        Now I was racing out to Patti’s parent’s house to meet them. I was late and a bit nervous. On my way out of the office old man Dawson, the big boss grabbed me and bent my ear for 20 minutes. I had to be polite and listen. That put me behind the eight ball right out of the box. Now I was driving like a madman trying to make up time. The Dolans expected me by six and I still had forty-five miles to cover.

     Patti said that her father was a stickler. He didn’t like latecomers, especially if they were coming late to dinner. I wonder if he’s fat. Maybe he’s one of those guys with six chins that stuffs the napkin under them and shovels down the food like it was his last meal. How could he be like that when she was so incredible?

     Maybe he’d like me and maybe he wouldn’t. I hoped he would. …And her mother would too. Who knows what she’s like? Does she have those same faded blue eyes like Patti or that crazy smile?

    As I raced along, even though there was a double-yellow line, I passed one car after another trying to make up time. Sometimes if they were out too far in the center of the road and I’d cut around them on the right.  I hated doing that. I could get clipped or nailed by a cop. That last guy I passed was shaking his fist at me. Maybe I cut in too soon. 

      Out here people drove like they were from another planet. They would float along unconcerned about anyone else on the road. When they saw me trying to pass, sometimes they’d drift out into the middle of the road, not to prevent me from passing, but just because they weren’t paying attention.  It made it harder for me but I kept passing them.

       I was a bit edgy. I knew that. Who wouldn’t be edgy when you’re getting ready to take the plunge?  I’ve got a ring for Patti in my jacket pocket. Maybe I’ll give it to her after dinner. Maybe I’ll put it in the desert and surprise her. Nah. What if she ate it? I lit a joint and took a deep drag trying to calm down.  But it made me more edgy.

       Look at this old Ford truck in front of me. It should have been condemned twenty years ago. I could see the driver’s face in his rearview mirror. He looked like he could have been condemned too.  He’s ninety and doing thirty. I slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting him. My brakes screeched. That truck was so big I couldn’t see a thing in front of it. I’ll have to hang back here and wait for my spot. I pulled out a little bit but the road ahead was too curvy to pass. Why was he going so slowly? Maybe he'd had nothing better to do then to creep along like that.  I waited another couple of minutes and I could feel my blood pressure rising. Then I realized that this truck was all that stood between Patti and me. I had to be with her. The steam was coming out of my ears.

        I pulled closer behind him almost climbing up his ass and blasted my horn a couple of times hoping he'd speed up or maybe pull over a little, but he seemed totally unaware. Maybe the guy was listening to music. Or maybe he was deaf. Who knows what makes a guy drive that slow.  I sat behind him for another ten minutes and I was starting to hit my hand against the steering wheel. I was really pissed. At this rate I would be lucky to get there for dessert. That would be some kind of first impression to make on her parents.

        It was now 6:10 and my palms were sweating. It seemed as though I’d been behind this guy for an eternity. Maybe I’d be as old as him by the time I got there. I honked again, but nothing happened. He just kept tooling along at a snail’s pace. The road hog wouldn't even pullover and wave me by.

        It was still too curvy and I couldn’t see a thing up ahead. If I passed I'd be taking a real chance.  Suppose another car came in the other direction or even worse, a truck. What would I do? I could be killed or end up in a ditch.  Was it worth it to taking the chance?  But being behind him this long made me think about it.  

        I was dressed up in my Blue sport jacket and khakis with my new loafers. My hair was slicked back and I looked pretty sharp. But I was starting to sweat. That's terrific, I thought. By the time I get there I'll be dripping wet.

        There were no cars coming in the opposite direction, at least none that I could see. When I made my move I had to be fast.  I'd downshift and floor it and blow by him.  I was just getting ready waiting to get over the hill in front of me when two pickup trucks whizzed by in the opposite direction.  They must have been doing sixty. If I’d pulled out then, I'd be dead. I took a deep breath and told myself to relax.

        I went around the bend behind the truck. He was still doing a steady thirty and then, up in front, I saw it. There was a straight stretch of road with nothing coming from the other direction. I pulled out and floored it and just as I did I saw the hay truck crossing the road a short distance in front of me. He was crossing from the field on the right to the one on the left. I didn’t have much of a chance, but I took what I had and swerved back into the right lane to avoid hitting him. I barely squeezed back in front of the old pickup. Whew! What a close call. I let out a big sigh.

        As I sped away I glanced in my rear view mirror again and saw that the old pickup was off the road. Had I cut back in too soon and forced him off the road? I didn’t think so, but I wasn’t really sure. Maybe I should have stopped. Maybe that would have been the right thing to do. But the old man didn’t look hurt. He was just sitting there behind the wheel.  And it didn’t look like his truck wasn’t damaged either. So I kept going. I floored the Camaro and got it up to ninety and kept it there.

        When I got to Patti’s house it was 6:30 and I felt like an idiot walking in there this late. I wanted to start off on the right foot with them, but coming in like this after the maddening drive wasn’t the way to do it. I dried my forehead with my handkerchief as I pulled up in front.  Casually as though nothing had happened with gifts in hand I walked up to the front porch. Patti came out to greet me.  

        “I hope nothing was wrong but I was beginning to wonder,” she said.

        “No, I had to stay a little late in the office.  Just when I was about to leave the big boss decided to talk and I couldn’t cut him short. Then driving out here, I got stuck behind this big old pickup and I couldn’t pass him. Sorry for the delay.”

        I kissed her on the cheek and she ushered me inside.

        “Mom and Dad, this is Jack Croft,” she said.

        I shook hands with her dad, “Mr. and Mrs. Dolan, It’s good to meet you.”

        “The late Mr. Croft,” her father said jokingly. “Glad to meet you too Jack. Patti’s told us a great deal about you.”

        I gave her mom the roses and her dad the scotch.

        “Oh what beautiful roses! They’re my favorite,” her mom said. “I’ll put them in a vase.”

        “Jack would you like to have a drink with me while the women get the dinner on the table. We’ll go in the study. ”

        “That sounds good to me.”

        He showed me into his study. It was a beautiful room with knotty pine paneling and built in bookshelves. The shelves were packed with books and on his desk there was a boat in a bottle.

        “How about a scotch?”

        “After that drive it would be especially fine,” I said.

        “Really?”

        “I was delayed twenty minutes at work Mr. Watson, the big boss grabbed me just as I was putting on my jacket and spent twenty minutes talking to me about the company. I had to sit there and listen. Then, when I got out on the road I tried to make up some time. But it was impossible. About twenty miles back, there was this antique blue ford truck in front of me doing thirty miles an hour for almost a half hour. The road was too curvy to pass him and I just had to wait it out.”

        “That sounds like old man Foster’s truck. He lives up the road a few miles. He must be ninety and he’s still driving. Maybe he shouldn’t be. He probably had all he can do to keep it on the road.”

        He opened the scotch and poured us both a drink. We both belted them down and then he poured another round. By that point I was starting to feel very relaxed.

        “Tell me a little about yourself, Jack. Patty’s told me she likes you but not much more.”

        “There’s not much more to tell. We got together at work. We both knew there was something special between us from the first minute. It was love at first sight. 

         I’m a computer salesman and my work is exciting. When I’m not working, I like to fish and play tennis.”

         “What about you, Mr. Dolan?”

         “I'm retired, but I like to go fishing too,” he said. “Maybe when trout season roles around we could go out together.”

         “I’d like that,” I said. “By the way, did you put that boat in the bottle?”

         “Yes, that’s one of my hobbies.”

          “That’s really neat. How did you do it? ”

          “You have to assemble it and put it in the bottle  with the sails folded down and then using these special tools you raise the sails. It took a lot of patience.”

         “I’ll bet.”         

          He took another sip on his drink. I could see he was thinking.

          “Well Jack, I don’t know you very well, but I like the idea that you’ve got patience. You had to sit there listening to the boss when you were getting ready to leave. And then you sat behind old man Foster for a half hour without blowing your cork. Even the fact that you like to fish shows you’re patient. Being patient is important. There are so many young people who aren’t like that. They do drugs and act crazy. Sometimes they drive like maniacs. It’s good to know that Patti will be with someone who is so levelheaded. ”

            I have to admit I was a bit shocked, but I didn't say anything.   I just sat there listening .