Disclaimer: Glen A. Larson and Universal own the Knight Rider characters in this story. Bonnie's family and her family background were created by me.
This part includes a reference to the episode "Knight Moves" (Season 1, #20) and to the episode "Knight Song" (Season 4, #11).
in this chapter, I'm referring to a scene from "Knight Moves" between Norma and Bonnie which was actually cut out of the final version. It was still included in the 3rd draft of the script.
Chapter 21
"It hasn't changed a bit." Bonnie noticed as they reached Chief Joe's Café a few minutes later.
"I wonder if Norma still works there." He said remembering the waitress who'd worked at the café during his assignment.
He looked around to see if any of the tractors of the Alliance were parked in the parking lot. It would be nice to see some familiar faces and catch up on how they were doing. But the parking lot was rather empty. Only few cars were parked. It didn't surprise him. The truckers had probably spent Thanksgiving with their families and not on the road.
"See you in a bit, buddy." Michael opened the door for Bonnie and offered her his hand to help her out of the cabin.
The bell on the door made a jingling sound as they walked into the café. "I'll be right there." They heard a voice say from the kitchen. "Feel free to sit wherever you want."
"Sounds like Norma." Michael grinned and guided Bonnie to one of the booths at the window.
"Now this is what I call a pleasant surprise." Norma's eyes widened as she walked out of the kitchen and approached their booth. "Didn't think I'd ever see your handsome face again."
Michael stood up and gave her a quick hug. "Hey, I promised I'd come back for your Sloppy Joe's. And here I am."
"It was about time. It's been how long? 5 years?" She smiled at him while tucking her pencil behind her ear. "Let me look at you. You are still attractive."
Michael's grin grew wider as Norma looked at him admiringly. He was used to women gazing at him like that. He glanced over to Bonnie to see if she minded and was relieved that it seemed to amuse her.
"And you brought a lady." Norma had finally stopped gawking at Michael and noticed Bonnie sitting in the booth.
"Yeah, you remember Bonnie?" Michael said quickly before he sat down again.
"Of course, I do. We had some really interesting talks, right honey?" Norma smiled at her brightly as Bonnie remembered her conversation with Norma about their ideal men. She hoped Norma wouldn't bring it up. At least not in front of Michael.
"Good seeing you again, Norma." She smiled back at Norma. "Michael's been dying to have one of your Sloppy Joe's again."
"Only one?" Michael said with a mocked disappointed sound in his voice. "I need at least two or three."
"Coming right up, honey." Norma grinned. "Anything else?"
"Some coffee and a soda would be nice." Michael added knowing how much Bonnie enjoyed coffee. "And some fries."
"I'll be right back." Norma winked at him, then turned and headed back into the kitchen.
"I didn't know you and Norma had talked so much." Michael had noticed how Bonnie had reacted to Norma's comment.
"Well, Devon and I spent quite some time here while you and Terri were on the road." She explained. "This was one of the few times I got to be out of the semi, so I enjoyed talking to the people."
She missed having such interactions while she traveled either alone or with Devon in the semi. Their conversations usually revolved around literature as Devon was well-read, politics, research and their assignments. She couldn't discuss topics such as fashion, men or movies with him. That's why she had enjoyed those brief moments outside the semi so much. Talking to Norma felt good and it also got Bonnie thinking about what kind of man she was looking for.
"Must be boring being around Devon all the time." Michael laughed.
"It's not so bad." Bonnie defended their boss. "But sometimes it would be nice to have another woman around. I was glad when RC joined us. We talk a lot when Devon isn't around, and when the semi is on auto-pilot."
"I wasn't aware that you were lonely in there." Michael felt guilty for being in the field most of the time. He had never thought that Bonnie lacked having more company around. "I doubt it would be good idea to ask Devon to convince April to come back."
Bonnie laughed. "No, that wouldn't be helpful. It would be nice to have another woman around from time to time, but two technicians would cause too much competition, especially concerning KITT, even if we didn't mean to compete."
"KITT wouldn't mind getting more attention than usually." Michael grinned. "Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. You'd have more time for me."
She slapped him playfully on the arm. "You'd enjoy that."
"Oh, I would." His grin grew bigger. He hoped that he'd be back from his next assignment soon so that he and Bonnie could spend more time together. If Devon didn't make him work on the next case immediately afterwards. "I wish I didn't have to leave again tomorrow."
"I know. I hate that thought too." She took his hand again and laced her fingers with his. This was a downside to their job. They'd never know how much time they'd spend on a case and how long Michael would be away. Even if Bonnie was tagging along in the semi, she'd only see him occasionally whenever he needed information or help or if KITT's systems would have to be adjusted.
The door to the kitchen opened with a loud thud when Norma returned with a huge tray full of mugs, glasses, and plates. Michael's mouth began to water as she placed a plate with Sloppy Joe's right in front of him.
"So, what brings you to New Mexico? A new assignment? Are Terri and her friends in trouble again?" Norma poured some coffee into Bonnie's mug after having distributed the food.
"No, not that I'm aware of. I haven't heard from them in a while." Michael savored the smell of his food. How he loved placed like Chief Joe's Café. He was glad that Bonnie had seen the sign on the road. "Actually, we are on a kind of vacation. We had the week off and are now on our way back to Los Angeles."
"On vacation? The two of you?" Norma's eyes got bigger and she gave them a telling look. "Ah, I see. I must say I'm not surprised. Looks like you've found your ideal man." She said winking at Bonnie.
"Oh, no, it's not what you are thinking." Bonnie stuttered. "Michael was just giving me a ride." She was lying and she realized that her explanation sounded lame. This wasn't fair to Michael. It was no longer true that he was only giving her a ride. They may have started this trip as friends with one friend doing something nice for the other. But now they were in love.
Norma laughed and shook her heard. "Honey, you can't fool me. I've worked here all my life. I've seen enough couples coming in here. I know when someone is just here because they got a ride. Those people don't have this sparkle in their eyes. I can tell from the way you look at him that you're a lot more than just friends. Why would you hold hands and behave like love-sick teenagers if you weren't?"
"You're real good, Norma." Michael grinned and bit into his Sloppy Joe's. "Mmmmm. Still as good as I remember."
"Of course." Norma smiled at him before she turned to Bonnie again. "You know, I kind of thought you had a thing for this one, when you were here the last time. That he was your Mr. Right. The look on your face when he and Terri left for the Tick Tock. Your heart wished that it was you who he would take there."
Bonnie sank deeper into her seat. She felt embarrassed as Norma read her like a book. She was thankful that Michael was too busy devouring his food to pay attention to what Norma said.
"Well, I'll let you enjoy your food. I'll be back later." Bonnie watched Norma head back to the kitchen. She was relieved she had left before she could tell Michael how Bonnie had described her ideal man a few years ago.
"I'm so glad we stopped here, Bon. This is so good. I should ask Norma to pack one or two for Devon." He laughed picturing the shocked look on Devon's face if he really brought him a Sloppy Joe's.
"Devon…. Michael, Norma could tell from the way we look at each other that you and I aren't only friends. What if it'll be obvious to Devon too?" Michael mentioning Devon's name had reminded her of Norma's observation.
"Bon, this is Norma's job. She works with people. She sees a lot and she's learned to read people and their body language like a book. You can't fool her." Michael wiped away some sauce from his mouth. "Don't worry about Devon. He's not an expert on people like Norma."
"You know that I can't lie to him. He always catches me. Remember when we were supposed to be in Detroit but stopped in Chicago instead so that RC could visit his family, you could listen to Charley Conners' concert and I could go shopping?" Bonnie reminded him of their detour to Chicago.
He nodded and grinned. "You never showed me the content of those pretty shopping bags of yours."
"I did. I wore one piece of it last night." She rolled her eyes. "What I was trying to say before you mentioned my shopping bags was that you covered for me because you knew you wouldn't be good at lying to Devon. He would have seen right through our lie if he'd asked me why we weren't in Detroit."
"Bonnie, we will tell him eventually." He put his food back on the plate and took her hand. "We aren't lying into his face. We just don't tell him how close we are now. We'll keep it for us. If he finds out by chance, then be it. I won't deny how I feel about you if he'll confront me." She nodded and he continued. "As you told KITT, we'll separate work and our relationship. I won't kiss you if he's around or if he is anywhere nearby and could catch us. I might sneak into your room at night but only if I'm sure that no one is watching me. That is if you are okay with me spending the night in your room when we stay at the mansion."
She smiled at him. "Of course. I wouldn't want it any other way."
"I was hoping you'd say that." He smiled back at her before he bit into his food again. "Now, why was Norma calling me your ideal man? Did I miss something?"
She sighed. She should have known from experience that not even food could stop Michael from hearing Norma's comment. He used to be a cop after all. He was trained not to let himself get side-tracked.
"Um….." She started, buying herself some time. She didn't want to tell him what she and Norma had discussed while she had been waiting for Michael and the semi in the café. This was personal and she wasn't sure how Michael would react to the description of her ideal man. "You remember that she was involved with Sam Volker back then?"
Michael nodded. He hadn't forgotten holding Norma in his arms and comforting her after Volker's car had exploded with him inside.
"While you and Terri were heading to Denver, we talked a bit. How Sam was supposed to be her ticket out of Holbrook, her end of the rainbow. Her Mr. Right." Bonnie explained leaving out her part in the conversation. "She described her ideal man and the description matched Sheriff Winston."
Michael listened while he finished his second Sloppy Joe's. He would have loved to have eavesdropped on this conversation.
"Bonnie here had such a perfect idea on what her ideal man should be like." Norma had walked up to their booth without neither Michael nor Bonnie noticing. "I had to write it down because it was so beautiful."
Bonnie sank even deeper into the seat this time wishing she could disappear while Michael grinned widely. "Really, Norma?"
"For someone who'd claimed that she'd never wasted a thought on picturing her Mr Right, she had quite an amazing description." She pulled out her notepad from her apron and leafed through the stained and greasy notes to the end of her pad. "There is it. I knew I still had it. You don't mind, honey?
Bonnie opened her mouth to protest but Norma had already begun reading.
"She described her ideal man - and now I'm quoting her - like this: "I'd like him to like classical music, but he should be open to all kinds of different styles. He's definitely got to love books and plays. I think he should have a good sense of humor, witty... kind of sophisticated. It'd be nice if he were athletic, but I don't want him to be a jock. I like a guy who's full of surprises."
"Ain't that beautiful?" Norma put her notepad back into her apron and smiled. She noticed that Bonnie's mug was empty. "I'll bring you more coffee."
Bonnie nodded, her eyes glued to the table. She was still too embarrassed to even look at Michael. She felt he was staring at her and waiting for her to react.
"If you hadn't mentioned athletic, one could believe you were describing Cedric Bagshaw aka Devon Miles." Michael finally said hoping to lighten her mood. She was feeling uncomfortable because he now knew what kind of man she had been dreaming of. "Classical music, books, plays, sophisticated – seems to be fitting."
"Devon? Michael, come on." Bonnie quickly replied. "Since when is he open to all kinds of different music styles and full of surprises?"
"Good point." He grinned. "Who else could fit this description?"
She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I know a guy who is full of surprises. This guy surprised me the last few days ago with more than just one gesture and action that showed me how me how much I mean to him. On one occasion he proved that he is also open to classical music while he usually prefers different styles. I've seen him read books too. I'm not sure how he feels about plays. He's definitely athletic and has a great sense of humor." She smiled at him. "And a great and kind heart. Which I forgot to add to my description back then."
"Keep going." Michael smiled back at her. "I like what I'm hearing."
"He also drives a nice car…. oh wait, this was Norma's ideal man." Bonnie laughed. "Michael, I don't care if you like classical music or plays or none of them. This isn't important to me anymore. What matters is that I can trust you and that I know you'll always be there for me. You are my Mr Right, my ideal man. I know that and it makes me very happy that I'm the lucky woman you have feelings for me."
"And you, Bonnie Barstow, are my ideal woman." He bent over the table and pulled her into a kiss.
Norma was waiting them from behind the counter and smiled. She loved seeing happy couples and watching Bonnie and Michael kiss was proof to her that friendship could turn into love and that it was worth finding one's Mr Right.