Billy Ray was so happy to get it back. He would just have time to get his load of refrigerator parts to Memphis and get back to Nashville for the annual family picnic. The tractor had been sittin in Nudie's yard for three weeks, two longer than he'd planned. Just his luck that one of the longest dry spells in the Mid South would end with a week of solid rain. He had tried to call several times, but either she never answered the phone, her's being one of the last 12 pound black rotary phones anyone could recall ever seeing around here, or she had some excuse why it wasn't ready. Both her sister and her mom had tried to get her to use a cordless phone, but every time they tried explaining how it worked Nudie's eyes glazed over and she started moving her head back and forth looking for her cigarettes.

"Don't worry, Billy Ray. You're gonna be so happy when you see what I done!"

He was. It was beautiful. Nudie wanted to explain it all to him, but he was in a helluva hurry to get to Memphis and back so he cut her short with a promise to avoid any and all road hazards between here and Memphis and to come back so she could touch-up just a couple of spots not to her liking.

A prouder trucker never parked his rig at the Riverfront Park that Saturday morning. Why the Hell his cousin Randy had to park his 1997 Dodge Ram 3500 duelly right next to it was anybody's guess. Something about "Truckers stickin together." Shit. The only truckin' Randy ever did was haul that big-ass Coleman around in the back so he'd never be more than an arms reach from a cold one.

And that big-ass Coleman was what did him in. Randy had packed that sucker so full, he had to get help to get it out of the back. Uncle Arv was handiest and when he crawled up in the back of that bed he ended up eye level with some of Nudie's more progressive creations. He took his glasses off and stood staring so long Randy said "Hey, grab your end, would you?" Uncle Arv didn't answer, so entranced with Nudie's work, that Randy stood up and came over to see what the hell was so fascinating on the sleeper of Billy Ray's Kenworth.

Well, Randy was never one for secrets. It wasn't five minutes before every male in Riverfront Park had been up in the back of Randy's Dodge Ram 3500 gazing at Nudie's latest creation. And then somedumbsonofabitch had to get a ladder off the back of his truck and set it up on the other side, in full view of the women folk.

After a tensely whispered conversation with Uncle Arv, Aunt Em marched over to the ladder, practically knocked the Hughes boy into the next county getting him out of her way off the bottom step, and took a close look at Nudie's artwork. Thirty seconds later, turning shades of red usually only seen during sunsets at sea, Aunt Em has Uncle Arv by the elbow heading straight for the pay phones at the other end of Riverfront Park.

Well, you know how it goes. One call leads to another to another to another and pretty soon the Sheriff is giving Nudie a ride downtown. Her business has been good lately so we're hoping she can afford a better lawyer than last time and be out before Christmas.

In the meantime, it's Nadine. Down Fourth Ave two blocks toward the river, left on Elm, behind the Aamco place. Don't know if she has a phone.

Phil
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