Tommy’s orders. He’d suss out the diner we’d meet at about ten seconds after we checked in to whatever motel we were gonna stay at.

Even Josh didn’t miss breakfast.

Band bonding.

Chicks came and went.

The band remained.

We’d do that for decades.

Except sometimes, one chick, who sadly came and went, would join us.

And only the first time she did would anyone have a problem with it.

I sat in that diner, though, gotta tell you, shaken.

It wasn’t Lyla.

It wasn’t Preacher.

It was maybe partly that I’d never seen that, the way my parents were.

I’d never seen anything that pure.

That right.

It was definitely that I saw Preacher holding a woman like he was holding Lyla.

I saw the look on his face before he looked to me.

Christ.

[Pause to swallow]

That look on his face.

I was glad he had that, feeling some relief, and not a little fuckin’ joy, a whole lot.

And it was that I wanted it for myself.

Just that.

What I saw Preacher had with Lyla

A woman asleep, cradled in my arms, trusting me in her vulnerability, tied up in me.

Holding me tight.

That started my quest.

I’d look for just that for years.

Goddamned years.

I thought I had it a couple of times.

I didn’t.

Until I found Natalie.

The Roadmasters

Jesse:

That morning, Tim, Tommy and Dave showed first at the diner.

Preacher showed with Lyla.

We can just say, this was not a popular decision.

Tommy was the most pissed.

But Tim was too.

It was a shock, nothin’ pissed off Dave.

But he was too.

I was, as you probably can guess, not.

You know what? Even if she had a bad attitude the night before, you just could not stay pissed at Lyla.

You just couldn’t.

It was impossible.

Preach saw it, that was one of the reasons, I figure, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

I didn’t.

Not until that morning.

She was fragile.

China.

[Off tape]

Is that how she got her nickname?

Yeah.

It wasn’t her deep-set eyes?

No.

[Firm]

No, it was not.

Josh didn’t show until later, after it all went down.

’Cause, see, Lyla was also not stupid.

Preach had kicked back, put his arm around her, lying it across the top of the back of the booth behind her, and was staring down the guys, but Lyla felt it.

So, she said something like, “I’m gonna find a payphone and call my friend to come and get me.”

Then he definitely said, “No, you are not.”

And then, you know, they haven’t known each other a day, they start bickering like they’ve been married for thirty years.

Quiet-like.

Lyla wasn’t a shrew. She didn’t raise her voice. She kept real calm almost all the time.

It was a gift.