ANOTHER YEAR... More adventures (Part 168b)

ANOTHER YEAR… More adventures (Part 168b)

Getting into the car was a real shock. Even though it was obvious that the car sat low to the ground, I had the feeling I was sitting on the ground and from there I had no idea where the front of the car was. Lynda was babbling while I was trying to figure out where the button for the headlights was located as well as the ignition switch. It only took a few seconds to see it had a four speed manual transmission. That was definitely not a problem as I had one in my car. Not really ready to turn the key I remember looking over at Lynda and wondered how I got myself into this situation. I finally turned the key and I swear I could feel the power right though the seat as the engine fired off. It was impressive!

Even though I drove a four speed transmission car and was familiar with using the clutch pedal, when I went to release it to back out of the space the car occupied… I stalled it. It was almost like I’d never driven a ’stick’ before. I had success on the second try and slowly inched my way out of the spot. I was a bit intimidated by the fact that it was the most expensive car I’d ever driven. Pulling out into the street was ‘interesting’ because I had little more than the length of a car to do it. Cars parked on the street blocked my view and the fact of not knowing where the front of the car was made me hold my breath. I made it and to get to the road that would take me to where Lynda lived I had to go past the bank. That was when I remembered I had the passbook for the account Lynda had just opened. I looked over at her and she, thankfully, had passed out. I remember thinking it was just like with my youngest and sometimes having to take her for a car ride to get her to go to sleep.

There were two separate roads I had to traverse just to get to the town where Lynda lived. The first started right after crossing the bridge over the river. There was some limited commercial development and scattered homes over the first three miles. Then, it was five miles of nothing but scrub pine. It was on that stretch that I finally had time to think of how I was going to explain the whole thing to Elle. Then it hit me that I had no way to get home from Lynda’s… and it shocked me enough that I slammed on the brakes. That was a mistake! It woke Lynda up.

To start with, she had no idea where she was… or who I was. The only light came from the speedometer area and it had been turned way down. I hadn’t stopped the car completely and when I realized I’d woken her let the car coast off to the shoulder. I attempted to identify myself and opened the door which gave off enough light so she could see me and I could see her. I tried explaining why I was driving her car and she seemed to understand. It was then that I told her she’d have to give me directions to get to her house. That was funny! She couldn’t understand why I was going to her house. I shut the door and pulled back onto the road.

The second road I had to use was called the “by-pass” because it by-passed a village. As the area become more popular with Summer tourists, going through the village itself created traffic jams. Some of the people who spent Summers there were rich and influential and had managed to get a new road built to eliminate the bottle neck in the village. It was relatively new and the only ‘signs of life’ were a few random construction and heavy equipment businesses but not much else. Once on it I was worried for a bit that she might not recognize just where she was. I kept after her asking if she recognized anything but didn’t get much response. I finally reached the road that would take us into the village where Linda lived and as I made the turn she sort of ‘came to life’. However, it wasn’t what I wanted to hear at that time. “I got to pee! I got to pee! I got to pee!”. Weather you choose to believe me or not, hearing that did not arouse me… even a little bit.There were a number of reasons in trying to ignore her and not the least of which was that if I did stop and was able to get her out of the car, what would happen if a cop drove by and found the daughter-in law of one of the more prominent business people in town peeing on the side of the road. Another thought, not too far behind the first, was once out of the car would I be able to get her back in it. Sooooo…. I told her we were only minutes away from her house… and that bought silence for a few minutes.

I was soon back at her again almost pleading for directions. I’d reached Main Street and had no idea where to turn from there. We were stopped for maybe a minute when she finally mumbled for me to go left. From there on it wasn’t too bad as long as I went fairly slow. I can tell you this… I have always been pretty good remembering places I’ve been, especially if I’m driving… but I knew there was no way I’d ever find my way back to where she directed me to go. About the only thing that I saw as a reference point was a small tavern with a host of neon beer signs in the windows and a very unique name… “THE Bar”. The name of the street she lived on was “Bungalow Lane”. Being dark and with no street lights she missed her driveway. Actually, that wasn’t hard to do because, from the road you couldn’t see the house. There was a hedge about six or so feet high and just a narrow cut through it for the driveway. When I found it, and turned in, I made out what was one of the reasons for the name of the street… a small, white bungalow. The driveway led to a very small garage with an open door. But, there was also another part to the driveway that went right in front of the house. I chose that part.

Lynda was now somewhat alert and I now had the job of getting her out of the car and into the house. There were no lights on inside or outside. I got out and walked up to the door. With the headlights still on I was able to find the lock. The car keys were on a ring and I hoped the house key was among the other keys. While I fumbled through them I could hear Lynda calling out for me to help her. I also heard her calling out that she had to pee. It took a minute to get the door of the house open and another minute to find a lamp. Once on, I took a quick look around. It was truly a bungalow… a low ceiling with small rooms. It was very reminiscent of the houses where Elle and I grew up. I looked in a couple of doors and found a bedroom. That was my ‘target’ as I headed back outside. When I got there I found Lynda with her legs out of the car but unable to get herself out and upright. I didn’t know just how the walk to the house was going to go as I approached her.

I reached my hands out and told her to grab them and that I was going to pull her up to a standing position. As I did and got her vertical I eased her, still facing me, towards the back of the car hoping that would give her some support until I could get my arm under her arm and around her waist. As she did I again her heard her say “I have to pee!”. While slipping my arm behind and around her I thought I heard something and looked down… she was peeing right there. I couldn’t believe it… and, truthfully, wasn’t happy about it.

To be continued…