Jerry looked at Mary in disbelief

She smiled and broke the silence

Look I needed to see you to apologize face to face

I never killed anybody I made up that story

Mary emptied her bag on the seat

Spreading out her few possessions

No knives in here she said reassuringly

I just use that line to defect any potential aggression

But I can tell you are a good man

It was wrong of me to make you feel so uncomfortable

Apologies accepted said Jerry

It was raining hard outside as she reached for the door handle

Wait said Jerry you cannot walk out in this weather

She closed the door and said OK lets drive

Jerry handed her his coffee and fired up the engine

He played music to avoid any conversation

She started to sing along and he joined in

They spent hours singing giggling and picking out songs

He could not remember the last time he laughed so much

Mary never asked him where he was heading

They ate dinner late in an almost empty diner

I will have to park up soon to sleep said Jerry

Mary winked and said any room in your bunk for me

Jerry smiled and said only if you promise not to snore

He was just about to drive off when he realized he had forgotten something

He ran back to the now empty diner to leave a generous tip

The waitress thanked him and said she was locking up now

He walked back to his truck contented

He noticed Mary standing outside the truck with a man

They appeared to be arguing

The man hit Mary hard and she fell to the ground

Jerry lunged at him raining punches