A Nights Adventure
By
Esther S. Casady
“Bye, Lisa.” twelve-year-old Lindsay said, hugging her friend before climbing into the family van.
Jenny, Hannah, and Rebecca waved from the windows to the kid standing on the lawn.
“Is everyone in?” asked Mrs. Lacie.
“No, the boys aren’t in the van yet.” Jenny replied.
“Michael, James, Harold, and Mark.” Mrs. Taylor called firmly.
“We’re coming.” the for boys called in perfect unison.
“Okay, lets go. It’s getting late.” said Mrs. Taylor as she deftly backed the big, blue van out of the driveway.
Lindsay flicked her headlamp on, and proceeded to read a book that she was borrowing from Lisa. She was so caught up in her book, that she failed to notice the van slowing. A loudly asked question from her younger brother, Harold, brought her back to reality.
“Why are we stopping?” Harold asked, his face pulled into a puzzled expression.
“Yeah, why are we stopping?” James repeated.
“I don’t know. The van just won’t accelerate.” Mrs. Taylor replied, frustrated.
Rebecca pulled her earbuds out to join in the conversation. “Do you think someone sabotaged our van on purpose?” she asked excitedly.
“No, I most certainly do not, Rebecca Taylor.” Mrs. Taylor replied emphatically.
Mrs. Taylor shut off the engine, and then tried to restart it. The engine sputtered and died. Mrs. Taylor tried again, but this time, the engine just made a weird groaning noise. Mrs. Taylor checked the gauges and sighed.
“Well kids, it looks like we’re stuck here.” Mrs. Taylor stated.
“Stuck!” exclaimed Hannah.
“Yes Hannah, stuck.” Mrs Taylor affirmed.
“What are we going to do?” Seven-year-old Michael asked.
Mrs. Taylor shrugged as she called her husband’s phone.
“Hello, this is Ryan’s phone. For some reason, I’m not available to answer your call. Leave a message or call back later.” a voice on the other end said.
Hannah stared out the window at the cars passing on the interstate. “I wonder if Momma will call Lisa’s mom, since she can’t reach Daddy.” she thought.
“Mommy, will you call a tow truck? Can we ride in it?” asked seven-year-old Jenny.
Mrs. Taylor turned and silently pointed to the phone at her ear. Jenny silenced quickly, knowing better than to talk when someone was on the phone.
Lindsay had finished her book, and was almost asleep, when she heard someone call her.
“Huh, oh, sorry. I didn’t hear you. What were you saying?” Lindsay asked quickly.
“Momma is talking to you.” Mark said, a trifle impatiently.
“AAA won’t tow our van tonight, and my phone died, so I can’t call Mrs. Logan. I need you and Mark to go across that field over there, and borrow their phone to call Mrs. Logan. Ask if she will come and pick us up.” Mrs. Taylor said.
“Yes, ma’am.” Lindsay said obediently.
Lindsay and Mark each slipped a jacket on, and stepped out of the van, into a large field.
“Brr, it’s cold out here.” Mark said.
“I know, it’s freezing.” Lindsay replied, before lapsing into silence.
The two walked in silence for a few minutes, before finally reaching the house.
“Oh, finally, here’s the house.” Mark said, stepping up onto the porch as he spoke. Mark reached for the doorbell, but before he could push it, the door swung open.
“Hello, do you need something?” a boy asked.
“We were wondering if we could use your phone?” Mark asked.
“I can place a call for you, but I can’t let you in.” the boy replied.
“Okay, call 251-869-6783, and ask for Mrs. Logan. Please tell her that the Taylors are stuck on I-25, about an hour from her house. Ask if she can come pick is up.” Mark instructed. “Did you get all that?”
“Okay, yeah sure. Goodbye.” the boy said, slamming the door as he spoke.
Mark shifted uncomfortably, not sure if he was supposed to go or stay. Finally, the door open.
“I made the call for you. The lady said she’ll come for you. You can go now.” the boy said.
“Thank you for your help.” Lindsay said gratefully.
“Well, that was interesting.” Lindsay remarked as she stepped off the porch.
“You’re telling me.” Mark said with a slight smile.
A few minutes later, they arrived back at the van.
“How did it go?” Mrs. Taylor asked, as she opened the van door for Lindsay and Mark.
“It went fine.” Lindsay said, proceeding to tell her Momma what had happened.
An hour later, another van pulled up beside the Taylor van.
“Finally, Mrs. Logan is here!” Jenny exclaimed.
“Did she bring Alex?” Michael asked.
“No, she probably didn’t. He’s most likely in bed, like you will be soon.” Lindsay replied with a smile.
“So, I heard that you got stuck.” Mrs. Logan said good-naturedly as the children climbed into her van.
“Yeah, we did. We’ve been here almost four hours.” replied nine-year-old Rebecca.
Mrs. Taylor climbed in and then Mrs. Logan closed the door. Mrs. Taylor glanced at the children in the back of the van. She smiled to herself when she realized that all of the girls, Michael, James, and Harold were already sound asleep.
Mark sat upright, trying to keep awake. But soon, no longer able to fight sleep, he fell asleep to dream of his nights adventure.
The End
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