I Feel Lucky by cmsix

Chapter 35

Jacob and I made separate trips to take Kim and Kathy home around seven PM. I got a chance to talk to Kathy's dad when I took her home and he said everything was set for him to take a day off and help me tomorrow.

"Mr. Carpenter asked me to give him a heads up if you take a real interest in big trucks. He said he'd buy a dealership," Bill said, and then laughed.

I laughed too. I guess I'd been a boon to Mr. Carpenter's business lately. I asked Bill if we should ask him to help me get a better deal after I'd found what I wanted.

"Sure, it can't hurt anything and he can probably save you some money. I know that's usually not your first concern, but it won't hurt anything. You know, that trailer winch deal saved you a bundle. The trailer company is even planning on paying to install the new stuff for you."

"Bob Johnson told me that they were furnishing the parts for nothing but he didn't tell me about that," I said.

"They just mentioned it this week. They want to have an engineer here when we do it, to make sure everything goes well, and no doubt to see if there are things they should have done differently," he said.

That's when Bill told me how much money I'd be saving from their contributions. It couldn't hurt. I told Bill I'd see him in the morning. Kathy followed me out and we took a few minutes to say goodnight.

Jacob was already back by the time I got there and he'd disappeared with Holly and Jenny. No doubt he wouldn't show his face until tomorrow. I found my harem in the hot tub and it was a great beginning to an eventful night of women, women and women. We didn't have time for any wine or song.

The next morning saw me up early and I was showered and dressed before most of the women piled out of bed. Kamakeata and Tolishanea were right with me though. They were a temptation while we were wet and naked but they had things to do this morning too, namely cooking, so we restrained ourselves.

They'd set the morning coffee on automatic last night, so it was ready when we got to the kitchen. They rustled up the grub and had me fed and gone before eight-thirty. I pulled into the dealership right at nine and went to the shop to find Bill. He was giving some last minute instructions and he walked over when he was done.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"I'm ready."

I was in my Hummer so we mounted up and were away. He gave me directions to the first place and then started with a little groundwork while I drove.

"There's not a lot of difference between the makes of big trucks, and the most important ones boil down to what you like. Engines, transmissions and drive axels are pretty much standard, according to the weight you'll be dealing with.

"To pull a fully loaded tank, you'll need a fairly standard, over the road type tractor. Anything over and above that is mostly for the driver's comfort," he said.

"You mean that they're all the same?"

"No, but they are fairly standardized. There are three main makers of engines: Caterpillar, Cummings and Detroit Diesel. At one time or another each one has enjoyed an advantage but now they are pretty much equal.

"The transmissions are now mostly nine-speeds, they give enough gears for the modern fast-torque-rise engines to get the load going with no strain and they're a lot easier for drivers to learn to use.

"Drive axels are pretty standard now too, there are different gear ratios but any normal road gear will be fine for what you want," he said.

"What kinds of things are different?"

"People that own and drive their own trucks like to have little extras sometimes. Of course the little extras can cost a lot more and often they aren't as efficient at getting the freight delivered for the least amount of money.

"For instance, most drivers want a bigger engine, no matter what size they have; they all want to go faster. More horsepower not only means more top speed, it also makes climbing the hills easier with less downshifting.

"Bigger engines mean more fuel per mile though. Sometimes it isn't much more fuel, but in a work everyday truck, you're talking about a hundred thousand miles or more a year and saving a little bit of fuel per mile can make a big difference," he told me.

"I don't see where that would make much difference to us. We probably won't put a thousand miles a year on this truck. It's mostly just an excuse to have a tank full of fuel around."

"I thought so, you'll be able to get by without much of a truck that way," he said.

"Maybe, but that isn't the way I usually do things. I guess you're right about one thing. I'm going to be looking for something that I like looking at, and I'll let you steer me clear of anything that isn't able to do what I want," I said.

"There are some extras available that make a big truck look even flashier then, I guess you'll want me to point those out to you too," Bill said, laughing.

"Now you're talking. Don't hold back in that department. I might not ever get to buy another big truck," I said, enthusiastically.

"I guess I can deal with that. I'll just plan on helping you find what a driver I knew always called 'A big old store bought truck, ' that seems to be what you're after. Something to show off and haul a little fuel as a sideline," he said.

"I'm afraid you know me too well already," I said, as we pulled into the Freightliner dealership.

I had expected the big trucks to be like the ones that caught my eye on the road, but those in the dealerships weren't. They looked nice enough but were all pretty plain too. I asked Bill about it.

"People that come to buy a big truck want one that will get the job done and keep on doing the job. They are interested in making money with a truck and not with what it looks like. I'd guess that eighty percent of the trucks are bought by people that will never drive them, hell, the buyers probably never even get inside at all," Bill said.

"Like me."

"You can say that if you want to, but I know you'll end up driving that truck, a little at least. With the normal buyers, if they spend any extra on a truck it's only because they need to keep a driver happy. The truck doesn't make a cent if it's sitting still and drivers are getting harder to come by now-a-days."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"In the first place, it isn't a really desirable job. In the second, the rules, regulations and requirements are getting tougher and tougher. Big trucks are involved in less than two percent of the fatal highway accidents; but that never registers on people driving cars, all of who think they are excellent drivers.

"Big truck accidents are always news too and they usually make the six o'clock broadcast. Automobile accidents are a dime a dozen and usually don't rate a mention unless they cause a big traffic backup or get several people killed.

"The voting and complaining public thinks that big trucks are dangerous. Voters are easy to whip up into a froth over this and lawmakers are eager to pass more and more safety rules and regulations. I don't guess that really hurts anything either, but it makes a commercial license harder to come by now and the demand for drivers is going up besides. There's more freight to haul now too and it keeps growing," Bill said.

"So, in other words, the shortage of drivers has caused the trucks on the road to be newer and nicer."

"That's right. Drivers don't have to put up with worn out trucks anymore, there's always another company with a new one waiting for them. They're stupid too though, the very rules and regulations that they bitch about are the things that are raising their pay and giving them newer and better trucks to drive.

"But you'd never figure that out by listening to the CB, if those radios could transmit tears half of the drivers would drown tonight," Bill said, and laughed.

I was surprised that no salesman came out to meet us but Bill didn't think it mattered. We looked over the Freightliners and found them to be nearly cookie cutter copies of each other. We left after only about thirty minutes.

"Why do they all have that aerodynamic look now, Bill?" I asked.

"It got popular because of the implied fuel savings. When it comes down to it though, there isn't a lot you can do to save money aerodynamically when you have to drag a thirteen-foot-tall and eigh-foot-wide box down the road. It's more of a feel good type of modification I guess. Many times more fuel could be saved by simply allowing trucks ten miles an hour of leeway to rool out on downhills," he said.

We went to look at Kenworths next and then Western Stars. The Western Stars looked more nearly like what I expected them to and I saw one that I liked pretty well. Bill told me to hold my horses since we hadn't seen the Petes yet.

"Peterbilt has had the reputation for being the best truck for years. It's mostly undeserved now but they still have it. You're more likely to find something flashy there because Owner Operators try to buy Peterbilts if they can afford to. In English that means, if there's a fancy truck in town, it'll be at the Peterbilt place."

He was right too, we saw it as soon as we pulled in and even Bill was surprised. He said that they probably just had it out front showing it off until the new owner came to pick it up.

"They would never order anything like that for stock," he said.

I didn't care if it was only there for a few minutes; I wanted to take a look at it if we could. It reminded me of Mom's dually, I guess because it was as red or maybe even redder.

It had really big stacks and all aluminum wheels too. I asked Bill about them.

"Most big trucks have them on the steer axel because they cut down on unsprung weight, which helps the ride. They help a lot on the front axle but they're mostly for show on the drive axles. They cost over three hundred dollars each and that's a lot to save only about twenty pounds. It does make a difference on the front though."

We walked around the outside first and then took a look inside. The seats had real leather upholstery and the carpet was thick and plush. The dash was filled with gauges, many that I didn't recognize.

The gauges weren't the shocker for me though. The gearshift stick or sticks rather, got my whole attention.

"Bill, why does it have two gear shifters?" I asked.

He opened the door on the other side and looked in to see what I was talking about, I guess.

"It just proves that I was right, this is a special order truck for someone. The two sticks are for a five and four. It's an outdated type of transmission. They were used back when the engines didn't have nearly as much power as they do now. It's actually a five speed transmission with a different gearbox to provide four even ratios to each of the five gears and they're not designed to take the kind of torque a modern engine puts out," he said, explaining.

"Why would someone want that?" I asked.

"Just because they like it. There's nothing especially wrong with them, in fact I always thought a five and four was fun. You have to be a little more careful with it and make sure you don't just shower down on the foot feed from a standing start, but if you take reasonable care it's perfectly useable.

"I'm guessing now, but I'll bet if we raise the hood we'll find a twin turbocharged 3408 Caterpillar engine. This looks like some bull hauler's fondest dream," Bill said.

I wanted to see what one of the engines looked like anyway so I asked Bill if we could look under the hood.

"Sure we can."

We got out and Bill unfastened a rubber hold-down on one side of the cowl and then one on the other side, then he went to the front, grabbed a handhold and pulled. The whole front end of the truck came with him, and on over until it was hanging off the front by hinges behind the bumper and held in place by cables with springs on them.

"I was right," Bill said," it's a 3408 twin turbo, and it isn't even the new electronic model. Whoever bought this truck bought what he wanted, exactly."

I didn't have any idea what most of that meant but I could tell that Bill was impressed.

"I'll be damned, Bill Green, don't tell me that Sherry has kicked your ass out to go back on the road?"

I was startled since I'd thought we were still alone and even Bill jerked his head up at the new voice. Then he grinned widely.

"George, they don't have you in jail yet?" Bill asked.

"Haven't caught me at it yet. What are you up to?"

"This is Jimmy Breslin, a good friend of mine and a better friend of Kathy's. He needs a tractor and a tank so I took the day off to show him some of the things to look for. Jimmy, this is George Baugus. He owns this little truck lot."

Mr. Baugus and I shook hands.

"I don't want to sound nosey to start out, Bill, and no offense meant, Jimmy, but you look a little young to be driving a truck," George said.

"Oh, I won't be driving it, we just need it and a fuel trailer too, because Dad said it would be too much paper work to put in underground tanks at our air strip," I said.

"Oh, I guess it would at that. What do you think of this beauty?" he asked.

Before I could say anything Bill jumped in.

"Don't tell me you're stuck with this," he said, waving toward the truck.

"I wouldn't put it that way, exactly," George said, and the smile he'd had faded away a little.

"Come on, George, it's a hell of a truck, but you didn't order it to sit on this lot," Bill said.

"No, it was a special order for a customer but some complications arose," he said.

"Let me guess..." Bill said.

"Don't bother, you know damned well that this was intended to pull a bull rack. I made him put up sixty thousand before I even ordered it. I wouldn't take cash and he had to go open a bank account and bring me a cashier's check. I even made sure that it cleared and was in my account before I placed the order.

"It took three months to get the truck and he was so excited when I called him that I thought he'd shit himself. He went by his bank for another check and called me from it, saying he'd be right over. Six DEA cars surrounded him when he turned into our drive.

"When they pulled him out of his car, I could see that his eyes were wide as the trucks headlamps and red as the truck. The dumb bastard even had go-fast smeared under his nose while they were cuffing him.

"I don't know why the cock-suckers didn't let him pay me for the truck before they grabbed him. They could have confiscated it as easily as the check I wanted. When they searched his car they found enough hundred-dollar bills to fill fifty chain-drive wallets. It just made me sick," George said.

"What are you gonna do with it?"

"I'll be damned if I know, no company is going to buy that thing. The sixty thousand didn't cover much more than the extras he ordered. Can you see a long nose Pete with a ninety-six inch sleeper going down the boulevard pulling a Schneider wagon?"

I could tell that George didn't even dream that I might buy the truck, he wasn't even considering that as a possibility, he was just crying on Bill's shoulder over his predicament now. Pissing and moaning to hear his teeth rattle I guess.

Bill looked at me and raised his eyebrows. I assumed he was asking if I wanted the truck, so I looked over at it and raised my own. He nodded his head and so I gave him a big wide grin and nodded mine right back.

"I hate to see you in such a sad shape, George. If I could find someone to buy that thing would you make them a good deal?" Bill asked him.

"I'd almost be happy to get rid of it and only lose fifteen thousand bucks."

"Damn, what's the damage altogether?" Bill asked.

"The selling price to the bull hauler was one eighty five. I have one sixty in it and I'm not shittin ya."

Bill gave me the raised eyebrows again and I let him have another nod for yes.

"If Jimmy lets you get even on the truck, will you get him a tank for cost too?"

George looked at me really strangely then and I could tell he was reconsidering his estimate of me.

"If he can get me out of that truck without losing money, I'll get him a tank for cost and give him my daughter as a housekeeper for that damned sleeper," George said, chuckling right at the last.

"Better watch your mouth, George, the little bastard's already got mine," Bill said, and then he laughed like hell.

"I'll take the truck Mr. Baugus, and I want only the best for a tank," I said.

He looked at me when I spoke up, he seemed like he couldn't believe it and then he took another, questioning, look at me. It was just a little strange for a second.

"Jimmy Breslin," he said, and the look on his face let me know he was thinking about something.

"Dammit Bill, he's already got my daughter too, he just won't come take delivery," George said, and then he laughed till he nearly lost his breath.

"Are you Karen's Dad," I asked him, after he'd wound down a little.

"Yes I am, and I should probably give you that truck for getting rid of Brent Jefferson, even if she does mope around the house all the time waiting for you to call her again. What happened anyway?"

"I'd really rather not say Mr. Baugus, but I'll tell you if you insist." I said, and then wondered why I had.

"If you think I'll go postal because you got in Karen's panties, you're wrong, Jimmy. I knew that she was going to attract the boys by the score when she turned twelve. It isn't that I wanted her to go out and start spreading it around, but I knew it was inevitable," he said, sounding a little sad.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about on that score Mr. Baugus, Karen isn't that type of girl. I know. What came between us was something completely different. In fact I was planning to call her again sometime, until Kathy and I got together," I said, barely remembering to add that about Kathy for Bill's benefit.

"Maybe Karen and Kathy can get along and share the housekeeping duties in the sleeper," Bill said, shocking the shit out of me.

We all had another little chuckle over the girls and then headed inside for the paperwork. It only took about five minutes on the phone to the bank before Mr. Baugus was smiling again.

"There's a lot of crap about licenses and the like yet to do, but you and Bill can go ahead and take the truck anytime you want to. I'll send the papers to you when they're done," George said.

"What about the tank, Mr. Baugus?" I asked.

"If it's alright with you, I'll look around for a few days and try to get a new tank that we don't have to wait on. I'll make sure that it's top quality," he said.

"Oh, I just thought that the truck would look better with a trailer. I have to show it off when I get it home," I said.

"I can let you borrow the bull rack he ordered for that. The guys just finished a polish job on it and we were about to hook it up to try getting some attention, hoping for a bite on selling it."

"I'm not much of a borrower, why don't you call the bank and tell them I'm buying the trailer too." I said.

George was flabbergasted at this news but he was happy too.

"I'll take Karen out tonight, shopping for a maid's uniform, you can come and pick her up anytime," George said, and laughed again.

Bill asked me about insurance then, bringing the real world back into focus for a few seconds. I called Dad's office and Francis answered, so I had George give her the details and she said she'd send a courier with the proof of insurance card, probably in half an hour.

Bill and I went back to the truck then and there was a mechanic waiting to tell us where to hook the bull rack. I got in the passenger seat and just watched the whole thing wide eyed.

Bill made sure to explain everything he was doing as he did it but I knew I wouldn't be able to remember it all. He said I needn't worry, because he'd give me all the lessons I could stand.

"Hey, Bill," I said, "There's no rear window."

"Even if there was you could only see the front of the trailer. You'll have to learn to back by mirrors too. I know good and well that you don't intend to hire a driver for this truck. If you need to get some fuel or haul some cattle for that matter, before you learn to drive it, I'll do it for you," he said.

"Good, it's too pretty to let just anyone drive it and it would be silly to hire a driver for one or two trips a year. I am worried about having two trailers and only one truck though," I said.

"Well why don't we wait until your tank gets here before we buy a truck for it," he said, laughing.

I was just riding with Bill while he hooked up the trailer and then drove back out front. Mr. Baugus came out with a bundle of paperwork and the limo arrived with the proof of insurance at about the same time. I saw my Hummer and realized that someone had to drive it back home. I intended to go with Bill, so I gave the Hummer's keys to the limo driver and asked him to take care of it.

I walked over, joining Mr. Baugus and Bill and just listened while they bullshitted each other for a few minutes and then we were about to leave.

"Mr. Baugus, Bill says it'll take me a couple of days to learn how to drive this thing, tell Karen I'll be over for her as soon as I get the hang of it," I said.

He had the strangest look on his face when I turned and walked away. I could see Bill was shaking, trying to keep from bursting out laughing.

"You really got his goat at the last," Bill said, when we were in the truck and rolling.

"Well, he started it. I'll ask Kathy first, of course, but I think it would be hilarious if I drove this over there in a few days to pick Karen up.

From the way Bill was laughing, I could tell he already thought it was hilarious. He finally calmed down, then he turned to glance at me and he lost it again.

I thought we'd go right to my house but Bill drove to an industrial area and found a nearly empty parking lot near a factory that was closed. My truck driver training started right away.

It seemed like it took an hour of practice before I could pull off from a stop without making the truck buck and jerk. It wasn't anything like a car or anything else I'd ever driven. You don't have to give a big truck any gas to get it moving, you just ease off the clutch and away you go. You don't let the clutch do any slipping either.

"The only time you'll ever need to give it fuel to get moving will be when you're already in some fucked up shape, probably off the highway. It'd be cheaper to call a wrecker. You won't break anything that way," he said.

"What would break?" I asked.

"Your best hope is that the driveline will twist in two, the drive shaft. The next choice is the transmission and in your case, the five and four will probably go first. Just try not to get it in a shape where you need to give it fuel to start moving," he said.

We didn't have any worries about that today anyway. We practiced until one PM and by then I was ready to eat. Bill thought we might go to a truck stop but I didn't feel like doing that until I could drive there myself, license or not.

I called home and told Kamakeata that Bill and I were coming with appetites and a big surprise. She said that she'd get some food ready and warn the other's that something new was on the way.

We switched drivers and when he sat down, Bill looked around at the floor on both sides of his seat. I was about to ask what he was looking for when he found it.

"I knew it, he wouldn't have left that off," he said.

"What?" I asked.

He pushed on something with his left hand; it must have been mounted on the left side of his air seat. It made the truck's horn blow but it didn't sound like a truck. It was really loud and it sounded just like a train. Bill laughed.

"He got the real deal, and they did a good job hooking it up. A lot of bull haulers like to have train horns; it's what passes for entertainment for some of them. Hell, if he bought a new set they probably cost a couple of grand," he said.

"Why did they put the switch down by your seat?" I asked.

"It isn't a switch, it's an air valve, the same kind that's used to control the trailer brakes. It's called a trolley valve for some damned reason. The normal horn chord is here," he said, reaching up near the top of the cab, on his left, and pulling a cable that I hadn't noticed. These horns sounded like a truck.

"The valve for the normal horns won't let enough air through for the train horns."

"Well be sure to pull up near the front door when we get to the house, I want everyone there to be able to enjoy those train horns," I said, and we both laughed again.