HOME

By Bobbie Boeve

It was a beautiful afternoon at the beach, and now sunset was drawing near. The warm ocean breeze was taking on the early evening chill. The two friends sat side by side on the sand just enjoying each other's company, joking and laughing.

 "I thought I promised you Baskin Robbins. How did we ever wind up here at the beach?" he asked, dusting the sand off the palms of his hands.

 "Are you complaining? If I remember correctly, we left for ice cream and the day was so nice that we just kept driving. And here we are. I have to say I've enjoyed it though, breaking away from work for a little while, anyway." She leaned back on her elbows, her untied hair falling loosely on the old blanket.

"He has kept you pretty busy lately, with this thing and that. We're probably going to get in trouble for playing hooky."

"Playing hooky? No, I called remember, just after we got here. I told him I was taking an extended lunch break."

"You left him a message, you didn't actually talk to him, and this is one extended lunch break. We'll have to grab something for dinner on our way back." 

"He won't mind. Besides, this is the first time I've taken any time off since I started, and ..." 

"...And he won't be in the office this afternoon, will he?" 

"Now, here you go spoiling my fun. Days like this weren't made to be indoors working.

And you're off, aren't you?" 

"That's cheating. I took this week off. Don't you remember him saying, "I don't mean to push you, but if you don't take some time off, you're going to lose what vacation you have stored, and nothing's going on here anyway... take some time off while you can." 

At the nearly perfect imitation of her boss' inflection, she giggled. "Consider yourself lucky. Don't act like you're being punished." Suddenly, she sat up, rubbing her hands over her bare arms. "I think it's getting time to go, I'm getting cold." 

"You need to get some blood circulation. All right, help me with the blanket and we'll leave." 

The pair stood, knocking the sand from their clothes and shaking the blanket. Folding it, he tucked the blanket under his arm, and arm in arm they wandered lazily over the damp sand back toward the parking lot. The beach was sparsely populated, but the two were so engrossed in their conversation and the peacefulness of the day, that they didn't notice the two men approaching them until it was too late... 

"Captain Crane?" inquired one of the men. 

Crane instantly became suspicious. No one knew he was here, he hadn't even planned to come to the beach. He eyed the two men noting how out of place they were in their suits and ties. Interlacing his fingers with the girl's, he finally answered, "yes." 

"Hello Captain, We're from Publisher's Clearinghouse, and we came to inform you that you have just won TWO MILLION DOLLARS! Congratulations!" 

Suddenly there were people everywhere. Three ladies ran forward carrying balloons. One man with a boom mike pushed forward, knocking the Captain in the head. Another man toting a huge TV camera came from around back, shoving Shalla to the side, so he could get a close-up view of the astonished look on Crane's face. The first suited man stepped forward asking him how it felt being the newest winner in the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.  

Lee spun around, not knowing where to look. A cardboard check was shoved into his hands, and the first man asked him to smile and make a statement. Some forty people surrounded them now and the noise was deafening. The noise grew louder and louder until it became a ringing in his ears. Lee struggled against the crowd wanting to get away from the din, but he was boxed in. 

All at once, someone grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him hard. Lee hit at the arms, trying to break loose. Then over everything else, he heard his name. 

"Lee..." 

The Captain startled, jerking his eyes to see who was calling him. A face came into view.

"Chip?" 

Chip Morton let go of Lee's shoulders. "Man, when you're out, you're out! Remind me next time you need someplace to stay. Your alarm clock has been going off for five minutes. You may have to get up this morning, but I WAS planning to sleep in." 

Lee quickly took in his surroundings. There was no beach. He was in the guestroom at Chip's house. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He was having the interior of his house repainted and all the furniture had been moved. Chip had been nice enough to let him stay over for a few days until the job was finished. "Hey Chip, I'm sorry." 

Chip smiled at his friend. "That's O.K., must've been some dream." 

"Huh?" 

"You were mumbling something when I came into the room, something about balloons and people. Sounds like a real party." 

"Some party," Lee stated, rubbing his still sleepy eyes. "More like a dream that turned into a nightmare." 

"I told you to take it easy at the restaurant last night. All that spicy food, no wonder you had nightmares. Well listen, as much as I'd like to stand here in my p.j.s, I'm going back to bed. Maybe, if I'm lucky, I might still catch a few winks." 

Lee pushed the covers from him. "All right, thanks Chip for waking me. You weren't a minute too soon." 

Chip started for the doorway. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you that Shalla called last night. She said something about you taking her for ice cream at lunch. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day. Might I suggest..." 

"Don't even say it Chip. I don't think I could handle it." 

Puzzled, Morton stood staring while his friend waved him off and headed for the bathroom. Then shaking his head, he headed back to his room.