Summer with the Bertram Brothers

e l e v e n - r o o m

When the sun rises, I wake up. Rico tells me afterwards that a man drove by earlier and offered to stop in the next town and send some help and a towing truck. I nod. Outside is still moist from the yesterday's rain. I keep the blanket around my shoulders, as I exit the car. Not a single bird can chirp, with the dread I feel inside.

Soon, we're saved and get a ride to the nearest township. I don't exchange any words with Rico. He did most of the talking to the tow man. 

Once he walks up to me, he stares at his shoes.

"Tom says his nephew will be here later in the day, possibly tomorrow morning. He'll be able to fix my car."

"Who's Tom?" I ask, forgetting that we're not on speaking terms.

"The guy—the one who gave us a ride," Rico explains as he turns and points, "His nephew's a mechanic. Apparently we're lucky. He also said we can get a low price room for the night up that street and it's walking distance to his garage."

"Why don't you fix? Why do we have to wait?" I ask, fussy. 

Rico rocks his head to the side, looking at me.

"I don't have the tools," he shrugs.

"What are we to do in the meantime?"

"Book a room, I guess."

The glint in his glare is suspicious to me. The slight sly in his grin is sinister and I can smell it.

I turn and glare at Rico, "You mean two rooms..."

He looks sideways and scoffs, "I mean if you can afford your own room, I'm cool with that."

I glare harder. He knows I don't have money with me. 

He walks away from me, prompting me to follow. It's a hill to climb. There are people enjoying the little sunlight walking about. I see a bunch of retired people sitting in an outdoor restaurant. It looks like a small town in a small town, where everyone is on first name basis.

"I only have twenty dollars for gas," Rico talks, "So we'll have to get a room to stay in before it starts raining again."

"How do you know it'll rain again?" I ask.

"The TV in the shop was on the weather channel."

I sigh heavily. This is so long and so painful. I want to go back home. But then again, I'm glad I am far away from it. I feel like I need an aspirin, though, or some food.

We enter the motel lobby. The lady by the desk greets us. I visibly starve.

"How may I help you two?" she asks, folding papers.

"Well, we need a room for the night. Unfortunately, I don't have too much cash," Rico says. 

I lean on the wall. Inside is nice and big for a motel.

"Let me see what I can do," she replies sympathetically and turns around to a wooden box with hooked keys, "I can give you a room for $90 for the night."

She slides a key over the desk.

I watch Rico purse his lips, "Fifty."

"How about 85," she offers to go lower.

Rico leans more atop the counter and flashes his billion dollar smile and offers to pay $55. I guess it compensated the rebate, because the lady decides to give the room up for $60. Once he finishes his transaction, he hands me the key to our room. My belly grumbles wildly.

"I'll go try getting us something to eat," he says.

"If you can find a McDonald's, that would be great," I add.