Ch.8 Road Trip Pt. 2

Brrr-iiiinngg! Brrr-iiiinngg!

“Ugh, Jackson, the phone is ringing.” Kristan said lazily, still a little tired.

“Mmhm.” I mumbled, trying to go back to bed.

Kristan rolled her eyes and pushed me gently. “Come on, it’s closer to you.”

“Fine, fine.” I pushed the blanket off of me and got out of bed.

The telephone ringed impatiently, waiting for me to pick up. “Hello?”

“Good morning! It’s Debbie.” Debbie greeted.

I took a quick look at the clock; 5:22 a.m. “Morning, Debbie.”

“The car repairman is waiting for you in the lobby. Get dressed quickly and you can meet him there.”

“Great! We’ll be there in 5 minutes!”

“Alright. See you two soon.” She hanged up.

I turned to Kristan. “Get dressed quickly, a car repairman is waiting for us in the lobby.”

Kristan and I got dressed in the clothes we were wearing yesterday and headed down to the lobby. We found Debbie talking to a man dressed in jeans and a jean top, with a toolbelt trapped around his waist.

They laughed and then Debbie spotted us walking in.

She waved and ushered us over to meet the repairman. “Hello, Jackson. Hello, Kristan. Meet Ian.”

“Hello.” Kristan and I said.

He nodded. “Debbie here, told me that your car broke down in the middle of the road.”

“Yes, I have no idea what’s wrong with it.”

“Well, we’ll se what’s wrong. I’ll drive you two over to where you left your car and hopefully I can get it fixed so you and your wife can be on your way.”

“How did you know?”

“Debbie told me.” The way Ian said it made it seem like he and Debbie go way back. I felt Kristan smile behind me.

“Alright. So when can we go?”

“Right now would be good, so follow me.” Ian said and waved goodbye to Debbie as we walked to the door.

I explained how the landscape looked of where we left the car because I had no idea what the name of the highway or street where I left it. Ian seemed to know exactly what I was talking about.

After 20 minute drive, we made it to our car. Ian immediately popped the hood and took a quick look at the engine. He fiddled around and then closed the hood.

“So, what’s the problem?” I asked.

“Your car’s battery is dead. It’ll cost you $65 for a replacement, which I have on me so you two are very lucky.”

“Oh that’s great! Thank you so much! How long should it take?” I said as I reached into my pocket to get out my wallet.

“Not long, at most 30 minutes.”

I gave him the money and he slid it into his jean’s pocket. “Okay, you guys can sit in my car as I work on your car if you would like. Just give me a couple of minutes and you guys are free to go.”

Kristan smiled and guided me to his car to wait.

It didn’t take long for him to change the car’s battery which I was very happy about. Before Ian left, Kristan gave him a hug and whispered something in his ear; Ian blushed and nodded in response. They broke away and he gave me respectful nod and picked up his toolbox. I watched as we got in his beat-up truck and drove away.

“What was that about?” I asked Kristan.

“Oh nothing.” She smiled. “Now let’s get going!”

I looked at her suspiciously, but I let her get away with it. All I wanted was just to get back on the road and out of this weird town.

*  *  *

It took us 5 days to get to Starlight Shores, we drove non-stop except for the occasional bathroom break. Kristan and I alternated driving so that one us could sleep while the other drove. I woke up Kristan from her nap when we finally arrived in Starlight Shores.

We stopped at our house that we rented for our stay at Starlight Shores – we didn’t plan to stay long, probably only 3 days before we moved on to our next stop – to freshen up and get changed into a clean pair of clothing. I bet you could smell me from a million miles away, and my beard as started to grow in so I might as well shave.

Afterwards, Kristan and I went down to the Delmar Boardwalk for an evening of fun. Kristan friend had been to Starlight Shores and suggested us to go there.

As soon as we arrived, the gaming area of the Boardwalk called to Kristan and I. We had a lot of fun with the games, Kristan more so than I because she ended up beating my high score every single time.

“Haha, I beat you again!” Kristan bragged.

“Ugh, I quit!”

“OMG! Jackson, look! A photobooth! Let’s try it out!”

The photobooth was actually a lot of fun, to my surprise.

We spent the rest of the day smiling, laughing, dancing, singing . . . we spent the rest of the day like it was our last. There was nothing better in the world that I could ever wish for.

~ by Dana on August 15, 2012.