Amanda and I went for a long walk. We went past the orchards and into the woods and followed a hardly used path which led to some old railroad tracks which came out in a clearing not far from the lake. That’s where we saw the caboose.

“Do you know what that is?” I asked Amanda.

“Of course I do, it’s a caboose. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before, except in story books. How come they died out?”

“It’s Fred’s fault,” I said.

“Fred?”

“Yeah. Flashing Rear End Device. Once Fred came along there was no need for the caboose.”

“Oh, that’s sad,” Amanda said. “So without the caboose, where did the conductors fuck?”

“Oh, Amanda,” I sighed.

She smiled that impish smile. “Want me to flash you with my rear end device?”

The woods appeared to be deserted. The caboose seemed to be empty. Amanda kicked off her shoes and lowered her skirt. She turned away from me. She shimmied. She shook. She shimmied some more.

Then she turned back to me and said, “I see your Front End Device likes my Rear End Device.”

“It does,” I agreed.

“I like your Front End Device, too. Do you mind if I suck it?”

I didn’t mind.

Thanks to daysatthecapri3 for the caboose photo.