Walter's Vacation

By Kathy

Walter was looking forward to his downtime. He hadn't been to North Carolina in years, and the fishing was reported to be better than ever. When he say the picture of that guy holding a 256-LB grouper, he knew just where he wanted to head. Even if he didn't go out in the Gulf Stream on a boat, the piers were reporting flounder in the 3-5 pound range. Spanish mackerel and bluefish were biting, too.

Looking over his pole, (fishing pole, that is) he decided it was time to treat himself to some new equipment. Since he wouldn't have too much to carry, he decided to ride his Harley and camp along the way. He easily secured a reservation at a summer rental when the owner suddenly got called in for a tax audit by the IRS. Amazing what Birkoff could do with a few taps on the keyboard. By the time Walter's vacation was over, it was quite possible the cottage would be for sale.

The keys were under the doormat, so Walter wasn't too worried about arriving in the middle of the night. That way, he would get settled in and be out fishing before the poor fish knew what hit them. He'd arranged for his selections of fishing gear to be delivered the week before his arrival. The cleaning lady had been more than willing to pick up the packages and put them inside when he wrote and enclosed a generous tip for the service.

It was about 4:30 am, and Walter was almost to the beach. He'd been riding for several hours without a break and when he looked down he realized he could use some gas as well as some coffee.

Pulling into the nearest gas station, Walter was disappointed to note that it didn't open until 6am. He decided to keep going and try to find an open station. Just past an all night grocery store, he saw a car broken down on the other side of the road. It was a station wagon, and Walter decided to take a closer look.

Hunched down in the seat was a woman. She was not amused. This was the third time her car had died on her this year. It seemed to think she was made of money and could just endlessly pour it into said car. First a head gasket, then the battery. Some tires had blown, and now it just stopped. And she was now late for work. Again. And she really did NOT want to walk the last two miles. Not since her friend Kathy had seen a rabid raccoon in the area a few days before. At least, she consoled herself, if she could get to work in the next few minutes no one would know she was late. That was one advantage of being the manager of the gas station. No one was up to check on her at 5am. Oh, someone would be quick to call the office and complain if the doors weren't open at 6am, but the office wasn't open that early. As long as the coffee crowd got their coffee, things would be OK.

She looked up when the motorcycle approached, thinking for a moment that it might be Don, a friend and sometimes lover. He would have stopped to help her. But no, it went past. Then she heard it turn around. Just to be on the safe side she made sure she could reach the steak knife under her seat. She didn't expect trouble, but just in case, she was prepared.

Walter approached the car, stopping where she could see and hear him, but hopefully not feel threatened. He asked if he could call someone for her or take her somewhere. Trusting her instincts on this one, she quickly told him her name was Coleen and she was the manger of the gas station just down the road. If he could give her a ride there, she would make him some coffee.

She opened the door and quickly turned off the alarm. Then she put on the coffee. For a change, the night person had done all her work, and a little more. Coleen would have an extra easy morning, which meant she had a few extra minutes to talk to the man who had helped her.

Walter told her he was on vacation, and planning on spending most of it fishing. She told him some of the good spots the locals knew about. Little places where he might even do better than off the fishing piers.

As he was leaving, Walter suddenly realized that now Coleen had no way home, since her car was by the side of the road, waiting for Billy Bob's towing to come get it AGAIN. Turning around, he went back inside and told her that he'd pick her up when she got off, if she'd like. She agreed, saying she'd be ready at 2pm.

Walter went on his way, having filled the tank before he left. Humming to himself, he knew this was going to be a great vacation.

The End

This story ©copyright KathyB, 2000 - Used with permission

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