Kyle Turner and his sister, Caitlyn, were midway between their hometown and Aunt Aimee's house when the gas line of their parents SUV clogged and the vehicle came to a stop. The auto was less than two years old and in excellent condition but sometimes strange things happen for unexplained reasons.
Two hours later, Kyle called his mother on his cell phone. "We had the car towed in," he told her, "and the mechanic says a fuel line is probably blocked. The thing is he doesn't know how long it'll take to clear it out."
"Where are you?" his mother asked.
"About two hundred miles from Aunt Aimee's house," Kyle told her.
"I knew I should have put my foot down and not let you drive down there," she said.
"Calm down, mom," Kyle said, "no one's hurt. We're right next door to the Star Crest motel. We'll spend the night and leave first thing in the morning. We'll be at Aunt Aimee's by noon."
"You call me the second you get there," Kyle's mother said, "Now, let me talk to your sister."
Kyle handed the phone to Caitlyn and stood by, listening to a series of, "Yes, mom---OK mom. ---I know---its alright---I will..."
Kyle did not wait for the conversation to end. He walked over to where the mechanic was checking out the car. "What do you think?" Kyle asked.
"Nothing too serious," the mechanic said, "we'll take a look at the computer and see what we're dealing with then pull open the gas line and blow it clean."
"My sister and I will be next door," Kyle said, "at the motel. Unless I hear from you, I'll see you in the morning."
"Sounds like a plan," the mechanic grinned.
Caitlyn stepped out of the office and handed Kyle his cell phone. "Mom is such a worrier," she told her brother, "I mean, I'm eighteen and you're almost twenty. She acts like were little kids."
"In her eyes," Kyle said, "I guess we always will be little kids."
They each took a bag out of the car, so they would have clean cloths to wear in the morning. Then they walked across the gravel lot to the motel office.
The room was not as nice as they hoped but not as bad as they feared. The carpet was old and worn, but clean, and the furniture, though scarred in places, was sturdy. They were both surprised to see a 32 inch flatscreen TV bolted to the counter at the foot of the double bed.
"Is that going to a problem?" Kyle asked.
"Is what going to be a problem?" Caitlyn wanted to know.
"There's only one bed," Kyle said.
"Why should it be a problem?" Caitlyn wanted to know, "We've slept together in the same bed before."
"When we were eight," Kyle reminded her.
"You're worse than mom," Caitlyn said, "I'm going to take a shower."
Kyle flipped through the TV channels while he waited for his sister to finish her shower. When she came out, he went in.
When Kyle came out of the bathroom, Caitlyn was wearing sandals, white shorts and a pink tank top. Kyle put on red running shorts and a white T shirt. He also wore sandals on bare feet.
The restaurant was a quarter mile from the motel. Kyle and Caitlyn walked there easily. It was an old fashioned diner with linoleum on the floor and tables instead of booths. But the food was good and the servings were big.
After they ate, the siblings decided to buy a six pack of soda (the sign next to the counter said, "We check ID's.") and a bag of potato chips to take back to the motel.
They spent the evening watching a movie they had both seen before but they both liked. It was ten o'clock when the movie ended. They watched the local news show, fascinated by the mix of international and very local happenings. A report on the war in Afghanistan followed by the report of an accident involving a tractor and Frank Jenson's pick-up truck.
