"Hi, Ann," my daughter-in-law said as I went out the front door.
"Hi yourself, Kay," I replied as I ran down the steps to my daughter-in-law's big old Caddy. For a modern woman, my daughter-in-law has the occasional bit of retro taste, she drives a very nice old Cadillac, for ex, well-maintained and very pretty. It can be an absolute bear to park, though! Every time I get in it I have a wave of memories from the old days, I can remember when this was a new model. No need to think about how old that makes me, though!
"Ready to go to lunch, Annie?" Karen asked me.
"Sure, I'm hungry enough to eat a horse!"
It was early autumn, and the weather had turned off cooler. It had been a couple of months since the day my family and I had ‘posed’, for want of a better word, for a picture Karen wanted to make for my son’s anniversary present. Since then, life had gone on and I hadn’t thought about that day...much. Anyway, school was back in session, and with the twins back in class Karen had some free time, and the two of us had decided to go out to lunch on a fine lovely Thursday.
(Yes, I get along splendidly with my daughter-in-law, stereotypes be damned.)
The Caddy was a comfortable ride, its air conditioner worked, and so the two of us were quite content as we rode into town, talking about the twins, politics, clothes, life in general. On our way to the restaurant, Karen mentioned that she wanted to stop and run into a local store for a minute to pick up some laundry detergent, since I was there to watch the car while she did.
That comment puzzled me a little, Karen had never struck me as paranoid about having her car stolen, certainly she’d left it unattended many times in the past. I meant to ask why she’d said that when she got back, but I had the radio on, listening to some old songs, and one of my favorites came on. I started to sing along to it and forgot about my curiosity by the time Karen got back.
The two of us were both singing along with the music as we reached the restaurant, and we were in a good mood as we went inside. It was there that Karen did something else that struck me as just a little bit odd: she insisted on a table near a window where she could watch her car! That brought back my earlier curiosity about why she’d wanted me to stay with the car when she went into the store, and I asked her what was going on.
“Oh, nothing, Ann,†Karen said, an impish smile on her pretty face. “Just being...careful.â€
At that point, I knew something was up, but for the life of me I could not quite figure out what!
Anyway, we had a good meal, grilled chicken and salads, filling and not too terribly fattening with the light vinegar dressing, though Karen looked longingly at the honey-French dressing.
“If I put that on my salad,†she told me sadly, “it won’t just be its own calories, but it’ll magically double all the calories in the rest of my meal, I just know it. But it’s so good...â€
I could sympathize, though for me it isn’t the salad dressings that tempt, but the fried chicken. But still, it was a good lunch, and good company.
After lunch, we drove over to another friend’s house, Karen and I were going to be helping her with a cleaning project, which was why we had both gone to lunch in casual clothes. Karen parked in a shady spot near our friend’s house, there was plenty of room since she lives a little outside of town, with a big yard and lots of trees.
“Ann,†Karen said to me softly, a wickedly amused grin on her face as she did, “remember you wanted to know why I didn’t want the car unattended today?â€
“Yes,†I said.
“Wanna see why?â€
“’See’ why? I guess so.â€
“Come here,†Karen urged me, and I followed her around behind the car. It was then that I noticed that the trunk of the car had holes in it! Little holes in the back that looked like they’d been made intentionally. A moment later, as she raised the lid, I saw why there were holes in the trunk: they were air holes!
As for why the trunk needed air holes, I saw the reason as soon as she raised the trunk: lying there on a layer of thick blankets and a big fully pillow was my best friend Lisa, who also happened to be Karen’s mother!
She was dressed in a one-piece red swimsuit, barefoot and casual, but her wrists were tied in front of her and the ankles tied to her thighs, with a rope connecting her knees to her wrists! She had some flexibility to move, but only so far, and she had a piece of tape over her mouth!
“Hi, Mom,†Karen said to the bound woman. “Still nice and comfy?â€
Lisa glared at her daughter, then she saw me and blushed scarlet behind her duck-tape gag.
TO BE CONTINUED...