Reading Wade's tale of being left at home while the family drove off in the camper reminded me of a similar instance I had with Beth and Laura in the middle of Nebraska.
When Chad got married it meant two very important things: we got a new Mini-Van (a Chevy Astro Van that is) and we got to go to Minnesota for his reception. Up to that point we'd only had itchy, cramped station wagons and the van was a roomy, soft seated pillow in comparison. Lucky for us, the back bench folded itself down into a bed. That was extra nice because we didn't stay at hotels when we travelled for days at a time, we'd just pull into a rest stop and sleep in the car. As we ventured back across the never-ending-highway that is Nebraska, Beth, Laura and I were a
sleep in the back of the van when my Mom pulled over for some gasoline. We woke up just in time to see both of our parents going inside to pay and to use the facillities. Thinking we'd better take this opportunity to use a real toilet rather than the side of the road later on, we all three hopped out of the car too. We went inside and used the bathroom, came out and to our surprise the van was gone! We walked outside to see if they'd pulled it into a parking spot or around back and couldn't find it anywhere! We went inside and asked the attendant if they'd seen a grey mini van pull out a few minutes ago and he was able to confirm our worst fear - WE'D BEEN LEFT!
sleep in the back of the van when my Mom pulled over for some gasoline. We woke up just in time to see both of our parents going inside to pay and to use the facillities. Thinking we'd better take this opportunity to use a real toilet rather than the side of the road later on, we all three hopped out of the car too. We went inside and used the bathroom, came out and to our surprise the van was gone! We walked outside to see if they'd pulled it into a parking spot or around back and couldn't find it anywhere! We went inside and asked the attendant if they'd seen a grey mini van pull out a few minutes ago and he was able to confirm our worst fear - WE'D BEEN LEFT!He assured us that they would be back in no time and that if they were gone for too long that he would call the police and they would track them down. In my overly dramatic ten year old mind I started going through the possibilities of being lost children forever, having to live on the streets and in train cars. As we sat outside on the curb waiting we talked about all sorts of things. Finally, about an hour later we saw in the distance the astro van speeding our way. My parents both got out of the car as soon as they screeched to a stop and ran over to us.
My parents had assumed that we stayed asleep in the car and when they returned they just took off. As they drove and had a conversation my Dad (remember, he's blind so we isn't able to just look in the back seat to see if we're still there) said to my Mom, "Linda, it's awful quiet back there, will you check on the girls?" That's when my mom pulled over and found out that we weren't there at all!!
1 comment:
You poor girls.. I wonder what the gas station attendant was really thinking? "Three girls abandoned by choice by family who couldn't take it anymore?"
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