Iberia, MO

Yesterday I was banking on resting for a while midday in the library in Iberia. Unfortunately, the library was closed on Mondays. There was nothing else in town. I biked despondently East on 42, figuring I'd just pedal through the heat. But then, a mile outside of Iberia there was a gas station, that also looked like a bit of a country store. I stopped in, thinking I'd at least fill up my water, but hoping in the back of my brain that I could rest in there. A handwritten sign on the door said, "We are no longer taking credit. Absolutely no exceptions. If you have a balance with us, please pay it immediately." I didn't know any country stores still offered credit. There was wall full of shelved liquor. And a sign that priced different quantities of hay. To get to the bathroom I passed a couple tables in the back, set up like a dirty diner. I filled up one of my bottles in the bathroom. Then as I was going outside to put it back in my bottle cage, the lady at the counter, previously engaged with a customer, said, "You don't want any ice, son?" I said no, it usually melted so fast it didn't matter. She said, "And you don't want nothin to eat, either?" I said, well, what did she have. She pointed at a menu abover her head painted by hand on a big piece of plywood. There were hamburgers, different kinds of sandwiches, lots of fried things. I asked if this was a restaurant. She said, "It is. I'm the cook." She explained that she'd have to go in the back and cook whatever it was I wanted. "Takes about 20 minutes." I think she could tell I was hungry, which was why she was offering. But I could tell that cooking stuff kind of bothered her. I said, oh, I thought I'd pass. I'd have a look around at the snacks she had. I walked a loop around the store. Nothing really interesting. I was thinking about a hamburger, or two. I think she sensed this. She asked me one more time, "You sure you don't want nothin to eat, son?" I said, well, really, if she didn't mind. She looked at me. I could tell she did. But there was something else there too. She said, "You're the one paying me, son." She looked at me real sternly. It was like she was trying to teach me a lesson about life. And I didn't mind it somehow. "It's hot as hell back in that kitchen. No air whatsoever. I believe I lose a pound every time I go back there to cook a burger. But I did offer it to you didn't I?" I felt kind of awkward. I asked if I could have two burgers and a plate of french fries. She cooked it and brought it to me. Best burgers I've had in some time. I tried to pay her immediately when she brought everything out, but she said, "You eat that first, then you come pay me." She wouldn't even let me give her a tip later. I stayed for almost two hours, reading, and talking with a few local people that stopped in and stared at me. Talked with her for a while too. Once, after a long silence, she leaned her head around the snack rack to ask me if I'd gone to sleep on her. I told her no ma'am, just enjoying myself.