back to where ever they came from.”
Polly smiled. “I hope so. It just felt like they were up to no good. If you are an undercover cop, feel free to check those guys out.”
I smiled. “Polly, I assure you I'm not any kind of cop.”
We had walked the full circle around the park and were back at Polly's Airstream. Oscar was tired from the walk, and he promptly plopped down on the small patch of grass in front of Polly's trailer.
“ Walker, do me a favor. Give me your cell number so I can call you if something comes up.”
We exchanged numbers. And almost immediately Polly's phone started playing 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'.
Polly answered her phone. “Hi Lucy, what's up?”
Stepping away so Polly could talk with her daughter in private, I walked around my motorhome, looking for any issues that needed to be tended to.
A motorhome is a house on wheels, and like any house, it will need occasional maintenance to keep it in tip top shape. But unlike a normal home, a motorhome is subjected to the equivalent of a continual earthquake as it is being driven down the road.
Stop and go traffic, pot holes, and taking hills and corners at sixty miles an hour puts a lot of strain on the motorhome's bits and pieces.
Even if you never drive a motorhome, things can wear out. Especially the rubber seals around the roof vents and windows, which are exposed to the hot sun or driving rains.
Since I'm living in mine full time, I regularly check the condition of all the components. I want to keep things in good shape – because I never know when I might need to hit the road unexpectedly.
So that's what I was doing while Polly was on the phone. When I completed my walk-around, Polly waved, beckoning me over.
“Walker, I want to ask you a big favor. Feel free to say 'no'.
“ That was Lucy on the phone, and she's having a bad day at the car lot. A customer came in screaming about something wrong on his title, and Lucy's boss blamed her.
“ The thing is, Lucy wasn't involved in the sale. She didn't have anything to do with it. But her boss still blames her and she's feeling kind of bad.
“ So here's the favor. Call Lucy and ask her out to dinner tonight. Take her somewhere she can relax, have a drink or two, and forget about work.
“ Just don't tell her I asked you to call. Would you do that for me?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
So I called Lucy, and asked her out to dinner. And she said 'no'. But I persevered.
“ Lucy, we can go to Zekes. We can sit outside under the tiki hut and watch the sun go down over the gulf.
“ We'll eat some shrimp, drink some wine and watch the dolphins play in the bay.
“ You won't have to do anything. I'll come pick you up, and whenever you get tired, I'll take you home. No strings attached.
“ So how about it?”
Lucy paused, then asked, “Walker, did my mother put you up to this?”
I laughed. “Of course she did. But even if she hadn't, I would of eventually asked you out anyway. This way, we make your mother happy, and if it turns out badly, we can blame her.
“ But if you don't want to go out with me, just say so and I'll be able to deal with it. It'll mean I'll be all alone eating by myself tonight. But don't you worry about that.”
“ Walker, don't try the pity routine with me. It won't work. But if it'll make my mom happy, I'll go to Zekes with you. Just know that I'm not getting dressed up or anything. I'm coming the way I am.”
Lucy gave me her address on Harbor Drive, and I agreed to pick her up at six thirty. That would give us time to get an outside table at Zekes, one that overlooked Lemon Bay.
This time of year, the weather in southwest Florida is just about perfect. Sunny, with deep blue skies, temperatures just barely hitting seventy, and almost no humidity.
In the evenings, it drops down into the mid fifties – a little cool for just shorts and a t-shirt – which is my normal daytime attire in Florida.
Since Lucy and I would be dining waterside with a good
Polly smiled. “I hope so. It just felt like they were up to no good. If you are an undercover cop, feel free to check those guys out.”
I smiled. “Polly, I assure you I'm not any kind of cop.”
We had walked the full circle around the park and were back at Polly's Airstream. Oscar was tired from the walk, and he promptly plopped down on the small patch of grass in front of Polly's trailer.
“ Walker, do me a favor. Give me your cell number so I can call you if something comes up.”
We exchanged numbers. And almost immediately Polly's phone started playing 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'.
Polly answered her phone. “Hi Lucy, what's up?”
Stepping away so Polly could talk with her daughter in private, I walked around my motorhome, looking for any issues that needed to be tended to.
A motorhome is a house on wheels, and like any house, it will need occasional maintenance to keep it in tip top shape. But unlike a normal home, a motorhome is subjected to the equivalent of a continual earthquake as it is being driven down the road.
Stop and go traffic, pot holes, and taking hills and corners at sixty miles an hour puts a lot of strain on the motorhome's bits and pieces.
Even if you never drive a motorhome, things can wear out. Especially the rubber seals around the roof vents and windows, which are exposed to the hot sun or driving rains.
Since I'm living in mine full time, I regularly check the condition of all the components. I want to keep things in good shape – because I never know when I might need to hit the road unexpectedly.
So that's what I was doing while Polly was on the phone. When I completed my walk-around, Polly waved, beckoning me over.
“Walker, I want to ask you a big favor. Feel free to say 'no'.
“ That was Lucy on the phone, and she's having a bad day at the car lot. A customer came in screaming about something wrong on his title, and Lucy's boss blamed her.
“ The thing is, Lucy wasn't involved in the sale. She didn't have anything to do with it. But her boss still blames her and she's feeling kind of bad.
“ So here's the favor. Call Lucy and ask her out to dinner tonight. Take her somewhere she can relax, have a drink or two, and forget about work.
“ Just don't tell her I asked you to call. Would you do that for me?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
So I called Lucy, and asked her out to dinner. And she said 'no'. But I persevered.
“ Lucy, we can go to Zekes. We can sit outside under the tiki hut and watch the sun go down over the gulf.
“ We'll eat some shrimp, drink some wine and watch the dolphins play in the bay.
“ You won't have to do anything. I'll come pick you up, and whenever you get tired, I'll take you home. No strings attached.
“ So how about it?”
Lucy paused, then asked, “Walker, did my mother put you up to this?”
I laughed. “Of course she did. But even if she hadn't, I would of eventually asked you out anyway. This way, we make your mother happy, and if it turns out badly, we can blame her.
“ But if you don't want to go out with me, just say so and I'll be able to deal with it. It'll mean I'll be all alone eating by myself tonight. But don't you worry about that.”
“ Walker, don't try the pity routine with me. It won't work. But if it'll make my mom happy, I'll go to Zekes with you. Just know that I'm not getting dressed up or anything. I'm coming the way I am.”
Lucy gave me her address on Harbor Drive, and I agreed to pick her up at six thirty. That would give us time to get an outside table at Zekes, one that overlooked Lemon Bay.
This time of year, the weather in southwest Florida is just about perfect. Sunny, with deep blue skies, temperatures just barely hitting seventy, and almost no humidity.
In the evenings, it drops down into the mid fifties – a little cool for just shorts and a t-shirt – which is my normal daytime attire in Florida.
Since Lucy and I would be dining waterside with a good
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