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LOU

The storm poured rain in buckets as the wind howled, whipping up the low-hanging branches of the huge oak tree in front of the big window outside the Red Cardinal Diner. It was on that stormy night when the menacing outlaw parked his motorcycle in front of the diner and walked into my life.

The bell hanging from the handle on the glass door jingled, and I groaned realizing I’d forgotten to flip the sign to closed. The tall, dark-haired man entered and stood there, surveying the diner like a predatory beast getting accustomed to his new environment.

His shoulder-length hair was soaking wet and I’m sure the chiseled jaw that hid beneath his dark shaggy beard gave off this vibe of male arrogance. Water droplets puddled on the floor where he stood.

Craning my neck, I leaned over the counter, curious to see his back patch when his dark eyes met mine. The world spun for a second or two, before I noticed a dark bruise around his left eye, then looked down to see his scraped-up knuckles.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I was just getting ready to close,” I said, continuing to wipe down the countertop.

“Anybody in the back, or are you here alone?” he asked, his voice deep, sending a tingle down my crooked spine.

“Just me,” I said, feeling a sudden sense of panic.

“I’ll head out once this storm passes.” He walked to the end of the diner and sat in a booth beside the window, giving me a good look at the patch on the back of his vest.

The top patch said, Berzerkers MC.

In the middle was a skull wearing a Viking helmet with a pair of wings around it.

Under it said, Nomad .

He watched me as I came around the bar and limped to his table. There was no way to hide it, and for the first time in years, I felt self-conscious about it. I placed a menu on the table, then offered him a dry dish towel.

He stared at the towel, combing his hands through his wet hair, and his brows furrowed like it was the strangest thing he’d ever seen. Then he took it and wiped his face dry and shook the towel on his head, drying his dark hair.

“The cook already left, but I can cook something for you,” I said, pulling out the little notepad from my apron pocket. “And I still have some coffee, but it’s not freshly brewed.”

“I’ll take a beer,” he said and placed the towel on the table. He reached into his vest and pulled out a Zippo lighter, along with a wet pack of cigarettes. “A dry cigarette would be good right about now, too.”

I pulled a pack of cigarettes from my apron and placed them on the table. “Mine are dry.”

“Thanks, Lou.”

How? Oh – name tag.

I read his patch.

“You’re welcome, Ajax.”

“A pretty chick with a man’s name,” he said, as his lips clamped on a cigarette while he flipped open his Zippo to light it.

I bet he calls every woman he’s met pretty.

“It’s Louise. Lou for short.”

I left and brought Ajax a glass mug of cold beer, then went back to wiping down the tables and bar.

It was quiet, the only sound was the wind and rain outside. Neither one of us spoke. Ajax drank his beer and smoked as he looked out the window, watching the lightning in the dark sky dancing to the loud clap of thunder.

By the time he finished his beer and smoked two of my cigarettes, the rain had stopped. I counted the till in the cash register, then walked over to his table. He stood, pulling out a black leather wallet attached to a long chain clasped to the belt loop of his jeans, and unsnapped it, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill, before handing it to me.

“I’ll bring back the change.”

“No, keep it.” He shrugged. “For the beer, smokes, and the dry towel.”

“Thank you, Ajax,” I said, smiling inside.

He walked out of the diner and climbed on his bike, and it roared to life when he started it. I didn’t look away until he pulled out of the parking lot and rode away.

My mind wandered, imagining myself on the back, feeling the wind on my face, the warmth of his body…

Headlights blinded me as Erwin’s car pulled up, parking in the spot Ajax had just left.

Dread and anxiety set in. I finally had the guts to kick Erwin Harding out of my house for the third and last time a few weeks ago, after he’d hit me one last time, cracking a tooth and leaving a bruise.

Reaching up, I touched my cheek. The bruise healed weeks ago. I hurried to lock the front door, but Erwin was quicker, yanking it open. And I stepped back as fear set in.

My knees buckled.

“Hear me out, Lou, please,” Erwin said, holding his hands up. “You owe me at least that, okay?”

“Owe you? I don’t owe you another moment of my time,” I scoffed. “That stripper was giving you a blow job on my couch! And she looked barely legal, you piece of shit!” I reached for a napkin dispenser and threw it at him.

He ducked, the dispenser flying past him as he chuckled. “I gave the girl a few lines of coke, and she didn’t have any money to pay me,” he said moving toward me. “So I settled for the blow job.”

I stepped back until my back bumped into the counter.

“Don’t you dare touch me!”

“I won’t let you throw away the two good years we’ve had Lou!” He lunged, grabbing a handful of my hair, and I screamed and swung at him. My fist landed on his jaw, and his eyes went wide with shock, letting me go.

He touched his jaw, then glared at me. “You wanna fight, huh?”

I turned to run, but my left leg was weak, and I fell hard to the floor as the bells on the door jingled.

Ajax grabbed Erwin’s shoulder and spun him around.

“Who the fuck are you?” Erwin asked, the tone of his voice a pitch too high.

Ajax brought his fists together, then cracked his scraped-up knuckles. “You get to throw the first punch. Then it’s my turn, dipshit.”

Erwin swung, but Ajax leaned away quickly, then grinned.

“My turn,” Ajax said and swung his fist towards Erwin's nose.

The impact was brutal, as blood splatted all over his face. Erwin stumbled backward, clutching his broken nose in disbelief.

He ran past Ajax and out the front door.

I sat on the floor sobbing as the tires of Erwin’s car screeched as he drove away.

Ajax lifted me off the floor, and my hands grabbed onto his vest, a dizzy spell coming on.

He cupped my jaw, his dark eyes locked so intensely on mine. “It’s good that fuckhead didn’t leave a shiner on that pretty face.”

Tears still fell down my cheeks, but I laughed. “Not this time anyway, thanks to you.”