The Escape

My cousin Robi is what I called her. We were very close and I always looked forward to going to Beaver where I would get to see her at Grandma and Grandpa Low's house. As I ponder on how close we were it seams a shame that as we get older we are too busy to keep in touch and lose track of each others life. But there was a time when nothing could keep us apart except the miles of living in different towns.
It was the morning of our last day of visiting. I looked down from the top bunk to the bottom bunk in the cozy bedroom, at Grandma's house, with the red curtains hanging from the window that over looked the white fence which separated the house from the horse corral.
There was a feeling of regret as Robi and I made the beds and got dressed to join the family at the table for breakfast. We asked Grandma if we could have a cup of coffee too, like we always did. As usual Grandma would tell us we could have only a little bit with milk because we were too young to drink very much coffee. We added sugar to make it taste better too.
After we finished our cold cereal and toast with Grandma's home made strawberry jam - which was the best in the world - the dread of leaving seemed to overwhelm me.
Suddenly it hit me that there was absolutely and positively no reason I should have to go back to Salt Lake with out Robi. So I devised a plan and shared it with her.
Meanwhile my parents began getting suitcases together. I anxiously told my mom that I would pack the back of the Volkswagen for her. Surprised by my anticipation she agreed to let me but warned that I must pack it good. I assured her I would.
I explained to Robi how she could go to Salt Lake with me but she needed to be very careful so our plan would work. So, she followed me outside and to the car where I had already put the suitcases in. I told her to get on top of the suitcases after which I covered her up with the blankets and pillows.
We were ready to go. We all gave Grandpa and Grandma a kiss goodbye - I always hated saying good bye except this particular day. I wasn't as sad about leaving as usual because my best buddy was coming with me. We got in the car and as we drove away we waved to Grandpa and Grandma until we couldn't see them anymore, about a block away, as we always did. My excitement was overwhelming and hard to contain, but I knew I must in order to make it out of town. So far so good.
We got on to the freeway and Robi made a noise, I quickly tried to make it as if I had done it, as my parents looked back. Further and further toward Salt Lake we drove but I knew we needed to get pretty far, in order for Robi to continue the trip home with me, before I revealed my secret to my parents. We were almost to Fillmore when I realized that Robi was getting to hot to stay under the covers much longer. "Yes," I determined that we had gone far enough that she would have no choice but to continue the trip home with us.
It's a weird feeling when you know you have to say something and every time you try to speak nothing comes out. A little bit of fear of what would happen to me if I told began to sink in. Telling my parents was a must as Robi's head began to continually poke up out of the blankets with a desperate look in her eyes. The time had come but my voice wouldn't
come out of my mouth, "what if they don't let her stay?" I really wanted to take her home. "What if I get into trouble?" Too late to think about that now.
Finally, Robi got impatient with me, if my memory serves me correctly, and quickly flew out from under the blankets. I will never forget the look on my parents face. I knew we were really in trouble. I don't recall exactly what was said but my plan did not work at all, it fell apart and crushed my spirit. We had to drive all the way back to Beaver to take Robi back. With my child like understanding of things I simply could not figure out their logic. I thought it would be easier to finish the trip home and someone could come get her in a week or two. Needles to say, Robi was in so much trouble and she got a whipping over that brilliant idea of mine. Talk about feeling horrible.
My creative thinking was stunted because the grown ups just didn't understand. They warned me against thinking with a strategy mind and standing up to what I wanted, therefore I never dared do anything like that again.