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I was hoping this was going to be a quick drive to the lake, and we could get this weekend started. The only thing was, an hour and a half into the drive, I heard a loud pop on the right side of the vehicle that nearly scared the daylights out of me.
Mike held the car steady as he eased off the gas, pulling the SUV and trailer to the side of the road to look at the damage. Ron was in the lead, and I had doubted he would stop to lend a hand, and reaching him to turn around would be fruitless, as the cell service was spotty.
“He looked back over the faces of the women and zeroed in on me. Hang tight. I’ll go take a look and see what we are up against,” he said, then exited the car.
Grumbling and complaining set in around the cabin, and I was ready to put a bullet in my head, and this lovely weekend was just getting started. Just great. Ten more minutes of waiting, and I was ready to exit stage left. Rhonda was doing nothing but stressing, which was causing everyone else to light up like the Fourth of July.
“You’d think you all have never had a flat tire before,” I said with sarcasm dripping behind a fake smile. “Excuse me,” I said to Roseann as I leaned over her and opened the door to make my escape.
“You need a hand with that?” I asked Mike as I found him under the car, looking for the spare tire.
“Ahh. No, I got it. Don’t worry, your pretty little head. I got it under control.”
“Really. Cuz that isn’t where the spare is.”
“What do you know about spares?” he came out from under the back of the car. Dusting his hands on his knees.
“Well, my daddy has one of these,” I tapped the side window.
“And.”
“You have to open the back. This year, they put it in the back under the cargo.”
“I knew that. This was just the first place I looked. You know, sometimes they are underneath.”
“No doubt.”
“You want to tell all your friends to get out of the car so I can change this tire?”
“Do you need any help? Any at all. Anything is better than sitting on the side of the road listening to this group of women complain.”
He gave me a one-eyed brow lift. “You don’t get on well with these ladies?” He asked.
“No, I get on just fine,” I repeated his word smithing. “It’s just sometimes… well, they can be a bit much.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I love my sister-in-law, but sometimes, she can be just a bit over the top,” he said. “Not sure how Ron and her ever hooked up.” Mike shook his head. “You know what I mean?”
“Most definitely,” I laughed. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing. I got this. Just go let the girls know they need to exit the car.”
I did as he asked and knew who was going to give off the most noise when I told them all to get out of the car. Roseann didn’t disappoint. When each of them exited, they made their way to the back of the of the vehicle to eye Mike and give their two cents worth of how he should change the tire. She, on the other hand, reached into her oversized bag and pulled out a few miniature bottles of tequila and vodka and began passing them around. Great. Just great. We weren’t even on the lake yet, and already we were sure to have our first drunk.
I watched from a short distance as he placed wheel wedges under the other tires to secure the car and prevent it from possibly rolling. Mike set the jack point under the car to stabilize it and lift the one side, at which point the ladies could be heard tossing around a few expletives about the flexing of Mike’s arms and the muscles moving across his back. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. His shirt flexed across his back, and I was mesmerized as well. He worked the lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts from the tire. With the shredded tire tossed to the side of the road, he began the process of fastening the tire in place. When all was said and done, he stood up and stretched his back, holding onto the wrench.
“You ladies can go ahead and get back in. Sorry for the delay, but we got it all handled.”
The women were impressed beyond reason, especially Rhonda. She was flirting shamelessly. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was hot and bothered. She actually managed to turn the tips of Mike’s ears pink.
While everyone was making their way back inside, I went around to the front and picked up the wedges, meeting Mike near the trunk. I couldn’t help but laugh. He had a smudge of black across his forehead.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, not being amused by my laughter.
“First of all, Rhonda is married. She is off limits. And second, come here.”
Mike took three steps towards me, and my heart skipped a beat. Or did it just stop altogether? I couldn’t breathe. This handsome man was not what I was looking for, yet he just so happened to fall into my path. Could it be destiny?
“What’s so funny, sunshine?” he repeated.
My brow lifted. “Sunshine.”
“Yeah, when you smile, your entire face lights up. It’s addicting. Like stepping outside on a warm sunny day. You just want to turn your face to the sun, close your eyes, and enjoy the moment. You make me want to enjoy this moment. I could be miserable with a bunch of crazy nut case women, yet I’m on the side of the road changing a tire, enjoying your presence.”
I reached up and wiped the grime off his forehead. “You have a bit of um…” I didn’t know what else to say. He had left me speechless. No one had ever said they liked my smile or that I lit up when I did. I squinted my eyes at him. Was this some sort of come-on or pick-up line?
Flustered, I didn’t know what to say. Instead, I turned and got into the backseat of the car, sitting between Rosanne and Miranda. Closing my eyes, I took a few deep breaths to calm my ever-loving nerves.
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Only to say there were no more blowouts. Roseann passed out mini bottles to all the ladies from her bottomless bag, and by the time we made it to our destination, they were all singing Kumbaya and every song from Abba, which I have to say, I belted out a line or two. I didn’t need the liquor to get me signing Mamma Mia. One, I loved to sing, and two, any song that played on the radio from the Swedish pop group was a sure-fire way to get my vocals going.
Ron and Amy were freaked out that we were so far behind and delayed. Apparently, it through off her whole schedule. Regardless, he was able to calm her down enough to get all the gaggle of women on board the floating hotel. Once on board, we stood in the dining room with our bags in tow, awaiting our instructions.
“Since we all are finally here,” she gave Mike a dirty look, like it was his fault. “You each can go ahead and get your room situated. I have the list here with your bedmate listed.” Amy held up a sheet of paper. “No switching. I have you all three in a room, okay?” We will meet here in” she looked at her watch, “forty-five minutes.”
The woman clamored to the table to see who they were bunking with. They acted like they were deboarding a plane. Each one elbowed the other to see who their roommate for the weekend would be. They acted like the list was going to magically go poof and disappear if they didn’t look at it right this second.
Mike and Ron stood near the exit that led to the top deck, watching the display of chaos. “Hey, ladies, Mike said, which didn’t get any of their attention. “Excuse me, ladies.” Still nothing.
I placed two fingers in my mouth and let loose. That got their attention. Mike looked over at me and smiled widely, his eyes lighting up. “Now that we have your attention. Ron and I will be in the other boat across the way. Should you need anything at all, we are only a short distance away.”
“Seriously, Roseann whined. I came on this trip to get away from my man, not to be watched over by two of them.”
“We are leaving you alone; we just want to be nearby if you need anything at all. Anything.” He said the last word, looking directly at me.
“Sure, and whatever was expressed. It looked like the alcohol was starting to make them all tired. I could use a nap right about now. The drive and the incessant chatting of this crowd had given me a slight headache behind my right eye. I would just need a half-hour nap, and I would be right as rain.”
Mike caught my attention and tilted his head towards the exit. I followed him out to the top deck. Ron was left in the lower level with his wife, I assume, to say goodbye.
Yeah, what’s up?”
He ran a hand through his already mussed hair. “I’m not going to be too far away. If you need anything at all, you can call me. He put his hand out. Phone.”
“Huh.”
“Give me your phone.”
Smooth. This was his way of getting my number. I see how this is playing out. Well, Mike, I’m game to play along and see where this goes.
This was written by our contributing writer, Shannon Hrimnak.
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