No gas

He took the wife up into the hills Friday night. They drove through thick fog following the curves along the top of a skyline ridge. The roads were treacherous and as desolate as desolate gets in the Bay Area.

Twin fears clawed at her mind as they ascended. One, she feared the road. She pictured the car hurtling from the road like a missile crashing into one of the surrounding redwoods giants. Despite the proven driving skills of her husband, like a mantra, she repeated over and over, "Slow down."

Fear number two was one of her own doing. She had not refilled the gas tank in some days and watched the meter slowly approach empty. It was not until they were some miles on the road this night, that she remembered to pointed this out. There was nothing to be done about it. If they ran out of gas, they would disappear. No one would notice, but the carnivorous bears and mountain lions.

But by hope and prayer, eventually, they reached their destination, a quiet little oasis for the mountain traveller, a restaurant simply named the Mountain House. There was a warm fire and white clothed tables where courteous wait staff served exotic entrees like venison tenderloin in blackberry sauce or buffalo T-bone. Though the people could relax and refuel, there was no place to buy gas.

He appreciated her. He took her to this out-of-the-way location because he wanted to share something new with her. Still, she chose a common fowl, duck while he chose the venison. They talked about the ordinary things in their life. They shared this meal like they shared everything, and neither was in any sense of the word alone. He loved her dearly.

The fueltank was flashing empty from the moment they stepped back into the car for the drive home. And the fog had only worsened as they ate. Her heart raced as she wondered if there would be enough gas to reach a gas station, or even a friendly, well-lit street. They did not talk focusing on their surroundings as mile by mile they crept through the dark fog. Fortunately, their fuel efficient Prius came through for them. Driving almost exclusively downhill, they were able to coast ten miles into their local Chevron. Finally, she was able to relax.

So the story has a happy ending, but we wonder if the wife of this story learned her lesson and will remember to fill her gas tank once in a while.