Cheap Transportation
Artie nudged his Fiesta through the snow skillfully, best as I could tell. We were still on the road, hadn't hit the guardrail. Artie was a guy in his fifties, short and squatty with a heart the size of Texas. I would always be his friend, even if a dead one. We were the typical Mutt and Jeff. I was tall and told commanding but right now I felt about three feet tall. It wasn't looking good and this wasn't a winter car.
Two guys on the road back from a fishing trip in the Rockies, it was a yearly thing. Both of us worked hard as linemen and we deserved a break - at least once a year. My wife didn't have a problem with that. Artie never married. He was a cheap SOB and had no reason to be. No wife, no kids and no friends, well, except me.
"You want me to take over, Artie?"
"Naw, you wouldn't do any better than I am, Bud." A gust of snow-laced wind sideswiped the small arctic blue vehicle and nearly pushed it off the road. I suppressed a gasp; it was a long way down over the shoulder.
"I was just thinking of giving you a break is all. You gotta be tired by now."
"You fuss over me like a mother hen. If I'da wanted that, I'da gotten married."
"Look Artie, not all wives are like that. My Sally isn't, as you put it, a mother hen." I noticed how he swerved to avoid a downed branch. This was a heavy snowfall, not the light fluffy stuff.
"Then you're lucky that way. I knew I'd never be, so I didn't chance it." The car was slipping and sliding and if it hadn't been for the weight of our bodies, it would likely have no traction at all.
"Well, it's not just about a wife who cares. My kids are important to me too." Although Jake and Claire were on their own, they were all still a pretty tight family. I could see the tension building in Artie’s face.
"Hey, could we just skip this discussion altogether? I'm trying to concentrate on getting us through this."
"Sure, Artie, sure." The car slipped and slid from side to side and almost connected with a guardrail this time.
"You know," said Artie choosing his words carefully, "the weather forecast should've been researched before planning this trip." I noted that he didn’t just say directly that I should have checked the forecast, like that was my responsibility.
"Well, if you have to give advance notice of vacation time, how can you know what the weather will be? We have to give a month's notice, if you recall."
"Maybe so, but before we left you could've checked again. If it's a no-go then we do a different vacation."
"Or none at all," I said before thinking. Ah, he finally had said it; blaming me for this weather dilemma.
"What are you talking about?" demanded Artie, his tired eyes fiery with anger. "You know we've done vacations together for years."
"True, and I left Sally home to accommodate you. Not that she minds," I added hastily. You didn't want to get Artie mad. He was very unpredictable at those times.
"Hmmmph." Artie grunted.
I thought about when we left camp a couple hours ago. The sky was clear as ever except for a couple small clouds gathering in the northwest. Not a big deal. Well, at least not for the first hour or so. We worked our way down the mountain then all of a sudden the sky became overcast. Gray clouds began to churn everywhere. We were going to have to ride through whatever it turned out to be. That "whatever" started out like a blizzard, then diminished a bit. Visibility was down to near nothing. We decided to wait by the side of the road until the snow let up a little. It didn't.
"You got any of that coffee left?" asked Artie, jogging me back to the present.
"Uh yeah, sure," I handed him the filled cup off the old thermos. Artie took a gulp and spewed it out of his mouth.
"Why didn't you tell me it was so hot? My throat's not made of asbestos." I could see that Artie was now reaching the breaking point.
"I would've said something if I'd seen steam, and I didn't so I didn't."
Artie gently braked the car to a stop. The Fiesta purred nicely as it idled waiting for its next command, but the wipers couldn’t keep up with the heavy snowfall.
"Nature's calling." Artie waited for the retractable belt, which was more like a harness, to free him. "That dang thing. I'm gonna cut it one of these days." He got out of the car and dumped his remaining coffee on the snow and handed the shiny thermos cap to me.
When Artie returned he looked pale as a ghost. He was shaking like a leaf as he sat down behind the wheel.
"What's wrong, Artie?"
"We ain't gettin' outta here alive. It's the snow--getting deep! Not to mention the cold."
"Well, we still have plenty of gas and the car is doing the best it can."
"Maybe so, but I'm pushing old Betsy here to the limit."
"We've been riding for a few hours and this is how things will end--being stranded on the way back from a fishing trip? Using gas to keep the car warm till it runs out?"
"So what do you think we should do, Bud?" I noted the touch of sarcasm. "You can be the answer man on this."
"I've got nothing." And I didn't. How did I know what to do?
Artie slammed the steering wheel. "Well, you better come up with something or you're gonna make Sally a widow--a widow with two orphans."
"Hey, let's not be overdramatic. There's gotta be something we can do. I just wish you'd stopped at that small town we passed. At least it was civilization." Artie was both a stubborn and a proud man, not one to take advice readily. Snow continued to fall and blow into drifts. Silence. Then finally Artie spoke.
"You know, Bud, I've always liked you, but you lack common sense. If we'da stopped back there at that town, who knows when we'da got back - and back to work. Not only that, but it would be expensive to ride it out at some motel there. At least this way we have half a chance, and a lot more economical too." I could see Artie didn't really buy that, but it was just part of that stubborn nature of his.
"Sally, I tell you, baby, we were in a real bind. I didn't think I'd make it back to you and the kids. All I could think about was being here under the blankets in my own bed thawing out.”
"Well, I can't even imagine how you made it," said Sally sadly, sitting on the edge of the bed brushing her long blonde hair. "Tell me again, Bud. Don't leave anything out."
"I'm just saying Artie took his half a chance to make it and mine was better than his. I wanted to go back to that town and it was worth the risk, but Artie insisted on driving through. We both took our chances. I'm just glad now that he didn't have a wife and family to make the arrangements. That'll be my job now.”
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