Chapter 7: Sarah

I know Mike was surprised to see me still there, but honestly, I had nowhere to go. Carlos had fallen in with a crowd that favored two of his main past times, drinking and poker. He was actually a pretty good player while he was sober, but tended to bet wildly as the booze took over. They were off in one of the campers, having a high old time no doubt, and he may come home before dark, or he might not come at all. Besides, it looked like spending time with Ga ... er, Carrie was coming to an end, so I selfishly wanted as much as I can get. She tried to calm me, telling me the thing with Mike was just a fling, and we’d forget him pretty quick when we got home, but I knew better.

The genie was out of the bottle. She got to experience living like she was always supposed to, treated with kindness, a guy lusting over her. You can’t deny nature, IF she came home with us, she wouldn’t last three months. She wouldn’t be able to fool herself or anyone else. She would be miserable, and that would make me miserable. I didn’t see a good end here, unless some fairy tale prince would sweep her off her feet, take her to his castle, and love and protect her for the rest of their lives. I hadn’t noticed any princes since we got here. Well, except for maybe Mike.

I heard his boooming voice call out happily, and smiled at the surprised look on his face when I popped out of the bedroom.

“Hello to you to, honey,” I giggled, “And before you ask, Carrie is cleaning the bathroom. Please don’t be angry at me for being here, the sad truth is I have nothing else to do. It’s sit around under a shade tree doing nothing, or this.”

Carrie came out with her own grin, surprising him by kissing his cheek. “Please let her stay. We’ll get done twice as fast if she does. You need new sheets for the bed, the old ones are just, well, old. And you need to get a guy in here to check the appliances in the ki ... galley. I turned a burner on and didn’t like the smell. I’d hate to blow us up trying to cook something for you.”

I was anxious, waiting on his decision. It had just hit me that being here was cutting into their time together.

“Maybe I should just...”

“Finish what you’re doing. We can always use a helping hand, can’t we Carrie? Now, since you guys are going to be here awhile and we can’t use the galley, think about what you want for dinner. You can pick it up when you run back to Walmart to get new sheets. Please tell me one of you has a license.”’

We both did, but I wasn’t too sure about driving that monster truck. Carrie seemed thrilled at the idea, though, so we hustled, and being almost done to start with, it didn’t take long to finish.

Carrie was almost quivering to drive the truck, and asked if he had cash to pay for the sheets and a few other items we felt he would need. Mike pulled her over to the side, whispering in her ear and handing her a debit card. We walked up to the dock manager’s office and borrowed a phone book, to check out the food choices. We talked a little, asking him about favorites.

He knew we were with Mike, and was very friendly until we told him we were there camping, and mentioned our names. He frowned when we gave him our campsite number.

“Ma’am, it’s none of my business, but the campground manager and I talk constantly, and he’s a little concerned about your husband, especially his loud voice and choice of words. Also, we have a very liberal policy on the consumption of alcohol, the key factor being self control. He and several others he consorts with have been seen staggering, before dark. If you could have a word with your husband it would probably make your stay here a bit more pleasant.”