by: Marty Chrisman

 Luke Duke pushed open the door to the Boar’s Nest and stepped inside the bar. He was ruggedly handsome young man in his early twenties with sapphire blue eyes and dark brown wavy hair. With his lean muscular build and good ole boy southern charm every girl in Hazzard County fantasized about being his girlfriend. (And a lot of them had been at one time or another) But Luke had no intention of settling down to just one girl. He liked playing the field. Maybe someday he would meet that special someone but it just hadn’t happened yet.

Since it was a Friday night, the bar was crowded and noisy. Several friends called out greetings as Luke made his way through the room towards the bar. Luke’s cousin, Daisy Duke, was working behind the bar. She was a pretty girl with long reddish brown hair and big blue eyes. In her early twenties, she was one of the most popular girls in Hazzard County. But anyone who went out with Daisy knew better than to step out of line. If they did they knew they would have to deal with her cousins, Bo and Luke, and nobody in their right minds wanted to tangle with either one of the Duke boys.

Daisy smiled when she saw her oldest cousin come into the bar. She quickly filled a mug with beer and sat it down on the bar for him. Her youngest cousin, Bo, was already there. He was sitting at a booth in the back with his latest flame, Carla Morrison. With his baby blue eyes, feathery blonde hair, and boyish good looks, Bo was just as popular with the ladies as Luke was. Both of the boys were considered a prime catch. Luke finally made his way through the crowd to the bar and smiled his thanks as he picked up the beer Daisy had already poured for him.

“You on your own tonight?” Daisy asked, raising her voice so she could be heard above the noise in the bar.

“I’m supposed to meet Mindy here. Have you seen her?” Luke said, raising his voice slightly.

“I saw her come in a few minutes ago.” Daisy told him, waving her hand towards the back of the bar “I think she went that way…”

“Thanks, Daisy.” Luke said, carrying his beer as he made his way through the crowd once more heading towards the back of the bar. He saw Bo and his date but Bo was too busy whispering sweet nothings in Carla’s ear to notice him. Finally, he spotted Mindy standing by herself over by the jukebox. Mindy Carson was a pretty redhead in her late teens with big brown eyes. Luke had been dating her off and on for the last couple of weeks. But, tonight he was breaking it off with her. She was too clingy and possessive. She was already acting as if they were an established couple even though Luke hadn’t done or said anything to give her that idea.

She smiled brightly when she saw Luke. “Hi, baby…” she purred, moving in close to rub herself against him suggestively.

“Hi, Mindy.” Luke said self consciously taking a step back. He wasn’t comfortable with open displays of affection. A kiss or two was okay but as far as Luke was concerned anything more than that needed to be saved for a more private setting. “Look, do you wanna take a drive? We really need to talk.”

“Sure, darling.” Mindy said, linking her arm through his. Anyone else would have picked up on those four little words We have to talk and started to get worried. But not Mindy. It was as if she hadn’t even heard what had Luke said except for the part about going for a drive. Luke finished his beer in one long swallow and sat the empty glass down on a nearby table. He began to make his way through the crowd towards the front door with Mindy clinging tightly to his arm.

Outside in the dirt parking lot in front of the bar Luke led the way to the stock car that he co-owned with his cousin, Bo. With it’s distinctive orange paint job, the big black 01 trimmed in white on both doors and the rebel flag painted on the roof with the name General Lee painted above each door the car was hard to miss. Everyone in Hazzard County knew the General Lee and the Duke boys. The boys were the best drivers in three counties and the General was the fastest car. Some folks even said the General seemed half human sometimes what with some of the things the boys could make that car do when either one of them was behind the wheel.

Luke slid into the car on the driver’s side, while Mindy crawled into the window on the other side. The doors were welded shut so that they wouldn’t fly open during a race so the only way to get in was by climbing through the windows. Luke turned on the engine and pulled out of the lot onto the highway. He drove in silence to Hazzard Pond, an isolated spot that local couples often used for make out sessions and romantic picnics.

Luke parked the General and turned off the engine and the lights, letting the darkness settle around them. Mindy scooted over closer and reached out trying to slip her hand inside his shirt. Luke gently took her hand stopping her from touching him. She looked at him with a puzzled expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, honey?” she cooed “Don’t ya wanna make out?”

“No, I told you we need to talk.” Luke told her firmly. He took a deep breath and continued “We need to stop seeing each other.”

“What?” Mindy exclaimed “You can’t be serious! What did I do wrong?”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Luke reassured her “Things just ain’t working out.”

“You can’t break up!” Mindy said in a tearful voice “You have to give me another chance. I can make it better, I know I can…” She reached out trying to put her arms around his neck but Luke gently stopped her.

“I’m sorry, Mindy. I really am but I think this is best for both of us.”

“You think it’s best?” Mindy yelled, her tears suddenly turning to anger “I should have listened to the other girls. They told me not to go out with you! They said you only wanted one thing!” Her voice raised until she was almost screaming “And now that you got what you wanted you’re done with me, right?”

“Mindy, it’s not like that…..” Luke said trying to keep his voice level and calm. This wasn’t going as well as he had hoped it would. “We can still…..”

“Don’t you dare tell me that we can still be friends, Luke Duke!” she screamed in his face on the verge of hysteria. “I hate you! I hate you!” Pulling back her hand, she slapped him across the cheek as hard as she could. Before she could hit him again, Luke grabbed her hand holding her wrist tightly. “Don’t hit me again.” He told her in a cold, carefully controlled voice. Luke had been raised to respect women and would never raise his hand to one and he expected the same courtesy from them.

“Fine!” Mindy said jerking her hand out of his grasp. She climbed out of the window “I’ll find my own way home!”

“Mindy, get back in the car.” Luke said reasonably “I’ll drive you home. It’s almost five miles to your house.”

“I said I’ll find my own way home!” She screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. “I’ll call one of my brothers to come and git me. So just go away and leave me the hell alone!” Turning, she ran away into the darkness.

Luke sighed. He knew it was pointless to go after her. She knew the area as well as he did and could easily hide from him in the darkness. He hadn’t meant to hurt her but it was better to break it off now instead of waiting. That would only have made things worse. Luke took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He hoped that Mindy would be okay and found her way home safely. He wished that she had let him take her home but she was too angry to be rational. Turning on the engine and the headlights, he headed back to the Boar’s Nest.