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Lance In Limbo
by C.M. Neumann
Laredo had left for good on Thursday, October 31, 2002. Halloween. And for Lance it had been a nightmare ever since.
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Sloppy's bar-b-que had lost its taste. The pig runs weren't quite as fulfulling any more and listening to Country sing the same songs over and over had lost its zing. In fact, life itself had lost its zing and Lance felt aimless. Maybe it was time to hit the road.
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Lance drove down to Sloppy's restaurant in North Galbutt. As usual, Sloppy was slinging bar-b-que and hash behind the just about all you can eat counter.
"Can we talk, Sloppy?"
Sloppy was not an insensitive man, just a busy man, but this time he realized by the look on Lance's face that sensitivity was in order. So he hollered over to Messy Maude, who was cleaning tables, "Hey, Messy, take the counter for me!"
Sloppy and Lance found a table near the back of the restaurant and sat down.
"What's on your mind?" Sloppy tended to be straight to the point with Straightpoint.
"I want some time off. Ever since Laredo left I ain't been worth a dang."
"Where you going?"
"To a little town I know in the Rocky Mountains."
"What's it called?"
"Limbo."
"Take as much time as you need. Laredo was a good woman. I'm sorry things didn't work out.
"Thanks, Sloppy, you're a good friend."
Lance had anticipated Sloppy's reaction. His clothes and other necessities were loaded in the truck. The gas tank was full and his house locked up for the winter.
On his way out the door, Messy hugged him and handed him a brown paper bag. A bar-b-que sandwich was inside.
See you later, North Galbutt, Lance thought as he pulled out of the parking lot onto Highway One. He was headed west.
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They say America is beautiful. Spacious skies and amber waves of grain and all that stuff. Lance didn't know. He drove across it but he didn't remember any of it.
The town of Limbo was nestled in a valley surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. It had two traffic lights, seven churches, ten convenience stores and no Wal-Mart.
Lance parked on Main Street, just across from the courthouse. Beside the courthouse was an old house that had been converted to a lawyer's office. Lance walked up to its front door. The sign read, "El Paso Weeks, Attorney-at-Law."
Lance stepped into the foyer. There was no secretary. He called out, "Anybody here?"
A few seconds passed before Lance heard footsteps coming down the hallway. A tall woman, with slacks and a red sweater and red hair approached Lance.
"Hi, Lance, what brings you to Limbo?"
"My life is in limbo so I thought by matching the internal with the external I might find some balance."
"Laredo has left?" El Paso motioned for Lance to sit down.
"On Halloween."
"Do you think she might come back?"
"No. She's gone to Argentina with a flamenco dancer named Jorge."
"I see. That sister of mine, she was always unpredictable."
Lance looked at the photo on the wall depicting El Paso and Laredo when they were young girls growing up on the border of Texas. "Yes, but this time there's no turning back."
"What will you do?"
Lance got up to leave. "I think I'll drive up to Canada. Catch a rodeo in Alberta. After that, who knows."
They hugged and said goodbye. Lance headed north.
THE END
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