A Day in the Life of...

Perfect Strangers Part 2- William Byron

By the time Jazz woke up, the sun had been shining through the window of her hotel room for a few hours. That had been the best sleep she had gotten since she left Rhode Island over a week ago. Jazz reached for her phone, seeing that she had a missed call and voicemail from Benson Garage saying that her car was ready to be picked up. Just like that, her time here was almost at an end. Jazz thought back to early this morning and to William. He had been nice, one of the nicest people Jazz had ever met. He didn't have to be nice, but he was and Jazz appreciated it. Nobody had ever been that nice to her. Jazz called the garage.
"Benson Garage. This is Evan, how can I help you?"
"Hi, this is Jasmine Lake returning a phone call about my car."
"Ms. Lake. Your car is ready to be picked up."
"I'll be there within the hour to retrieve it. Thank you." Jazz hung up. She needed a shower first. To wash away all the dirt and grime from being stuck in her car. As soon as she shower and put fresh clothes on, Jazz was on her way to get her car. Jazz walked, luckily the garage was only a few blocks from the hotel. She found the place a few minutes later, seeing her car sitting outside. Jazz headed inside to retrieve her keys and see how much she owed.
"Jasmine?" The guy at the desk asked.
"Yeah." He turned around and grabbed her key off the wall.
"We put two brand new tires on. We also gave her a bit of a tune up, oil change. Your belt was close to breaking, so we replaced that too."
"Oh. How much do I owe you?" Jazz asked, digging into her purse.
"It's already been paid for."
"What do you mean?"
"We had a phone call as soon as we opened the morning. Asked us to give your car a once over and fix anything that needed it. And then he came in this morning to pay."
"Who was it?"
"Here. He told us to give you a message." Jazz took the piece of paper. It was from William.

Jazz,
Don't be mad, but I had to make sure your car was going to make it to wherever it was going to take you. Though, I honestly thought about telling them tell you that your car was unrivaled and then you'd have to stay. I really enjoyed our time together and I hope you find yourself back in my neck of the woods soon.
Safe Travels,
William

"I cannot believe him" she said under her breath. He was a stranger. Just someone who stopped to help her. This was beyond anything Jazz could have imagined. "Did he leave an address or phone number?"
"Yes, but he gave specific instructions not to tell you. I don't know what kind of thing you've got going..."
"He's just someone who helped me." Evan held out her key. Jazz took them. "Thanks."
"Have a nice day." Jazz turned and left the garage office. She crossed the lot to her car before throwing her things into the passenger seat. This was it. Jazz wish she would have gotten William's number, that way they could have kept in touch. Unfortunately, Jazz was never going to see him again. Jazz started her car and headed out of the garage lot, no idea of where she was going next.
***
Jazz didn't know where she was when she finally pulled over. It had been a few days since she gotten her car fixed and a few days since she last saw William. Jazz thought about him as she drove, a little voice in her head telling her to turn around. Jazz knew she couldn't. Instead, she kept driving south. Jazz pulled out her phone to find a place to eat.
"Taz's diner? Okay." Jazz followed the directions before pulling up in front of a small diner, not unlike the one she went to with William.
"Welcome to Taz's. Sit wherever you like." She nodded before finding an empty stool at the counter.
"Hi. My name is Lexie. What can I get started for you?" Jazz was greeted with as a menu was placed in front of her.
"Just water please."
"Today's lunch special is chicken dumpling soup with fresh baked wheat bread."
"I'll take that." Lexi nodded before leaving to grab Jazz her water. Jazz pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from her bag. Even if she couldn't send it, Jazz had some words for William. Lexi came back a few minutes later with her water and soup. "Thank you."
"You a writer?" She asked, looking at Jazz's pen and paper.
"Uh, no. Photographer actually. I'm just writing a letter to someone. Well, not exactly to someone. I don't have their address and I only know their first name and..."
"You don't talk to people very often, do you?"
"I've been on the road by myself for a week and a half. The last person I spent more than ten minutes with was all the way up in North Carolina."
"NASCAR country."
"What now?"
"You don't know NASCAR?"
"I think I've heard of it, but that's it." Lexi grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the TV in front of them.
"William Byron is going to win at Martinsville!"
"Oh, I love William Byron. Such a cutie." Jazz watched as the driver did a burnout before climbing out of his racecar. Jazz's jaw dropped as soon as he took his helmet off.
"Oh my God."
"I know, right? So cute."
"That's him."
"Who?"
"A few days ago, when I was stuck in North Carolina, he helped me. He could have told me he was a racecar driver."
"William Byron helped you?"
"I had two flat tires. He pulled over and helped me."
"You are one lucky girl."
"Who does he drive for?"
"Hendrick Motorsports, why?"
***
"If you can't stop winning shit and saving it for the rest of us, that be great." Chase said to his teammate as they walked across the campus parking lot. William laughed. "But seriously, I need a turn."
"You just have to be better."
"Clyde bitching about not winning again?" Alex asked, coming from behind them.
"Naturally."
"I haven't won either, Clyde. You don't hear me complaining."
"We usually don't when you're running at the back half of the top ten while we're up front." William said, laughing when Alex flipped him off.
"You three squabbling like a bunch of kids again?" Kyle asked, joining them at the door.
"Always." Alex replied. The group walked through the door.
"William."
"Morning, Darcy."
"You have a package." William walked over to her desk. She held out the large envelope.
"Thanks, Darcy."
"Since when do you have packages sent to the shop?" Alex asked.
"I don't know what this is." William said.
"Open it then." Chase told him. William turned it over in his hands before ripping the top open. William reached inside, pulling out a stack of photos and a sheet of folded paper.
"Who's the babe?" Alex asked, taking the stack of photos out of William's hand.
"Jazz."
"The girl that you found on the side of the road in the middle of the night?" Kyle asked.
"Are you going for drives in the middle of the night again, Willy?" Chase asked.
"I couldn't sleep. I saw her hazard lights and I stopped."
"You are too nice foe your own good." William took the photos back from Alex. He flipped through them briefly, seeing she finally made it exactly where she wanted to be. Somewhere warm with blue skies, and of course, a place where she could bury her feet in the sand. William slid the photos back into the envelope before opening up the sheet of paper.

William,
As you can see, I made it. St. Augustine has been better than I can imagine. I really only been here for a few days, but I already feel more at home than I have felt in a long time. I really wanted to thank you for everything you did for me, even if you didn't have to pay to get my car fixed. You seem like a stubborn guy. I wish one day that we could meet again, so if you ever find yourself in St. Augustine, come find me.

Jazz
P.S. you could have told me that you were a famous racecar drivier!