“You got any idea where you want me to take you?”
“I’m not really familiar with the area, but anywhere with a phone I can use will be fine. Well, and preferably somewhere I can wait for someone to come get me.”
“I know just the place. There’s a diner in town. You can use the phone and have dinner while you wait.”
The thought of food made my stomach turn. I wasn’t the least bit hungry and hadn’t been since the whole ordeal started. Instead, I found myself fighting off bouts of nausea every time I thought about Aspen, which was more often than not. Even though I was out of the woods and well on my way home, the uneasy feeling in my gut hadn’t relented. Not even a little bit. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse.
Almost thirty minutes after we left his cabin, Jimmy turned into the diner’s parking lot, which was relatively empty.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but they have some of the best food you’ll ever put in your mouth.” He paused and gave me a serious look. “But don’t go telling all of your friends. We don’t want this place to become overrun with tourists and out-of-towners.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I promised. As soon as I figured out where exactly I was, I had no intention of ever returning, regardless of how good the food was.
When we entered the diner, the waitress greeted Jimmy by name and started making her way over to us with a broad smile on her face. “Hey, Jimmy. I didn’t expect to see you today,” she cooed.
“I wasn’t planning on being here today, but I found this young man lost in the woods. He needed a ride into town to use a phone, and I thought, what better place to stop than here.”
She gestured to the table. “Have a seat, and I’ll take your order. Then, I’ll show you where the phone is.”
Jimmy rattled off his order without even glancing at the menu. I, on the other hand, didn’t have a clue what to order. I really wasn’t hungry and didn’t think I’d be able to eat even if I tried. “Do you have cheeseburgers?” I asked.
“Oh, I’m sorry, honey. If you need to look over the menu, I can come back in a few minutes,” she offered.
“If you have burgers, I’ll take a cheeseburger and fries.”
“You’re in luck. We have some of the best burgers around. What would you like to drink?”
“Sweet tea, please.”
“Sure thing,” she smiled. “Follow me over here, and I’ll get the phone for you.”
I took a seat on one of the barstools at the counter, and she placed the phone in front of me. I picked up the receiver and paused, suddenly realizing that I hadn’t bothered to memorize anyone’s phone number in years. I hadn’t needed to since they were all stored in my cell phone.
There was one phone number I knew by heart. Uncle Luke’s cell phone. He had me memorize it when I was a child in case I ever needed to call him in an emergency. Thankfully, he still had the same number all these years later.
I quickly dialed his number and held my breath while I waited for him to answer. I didn’t know what I would do if he didn’t.
“Luke Johnson,” he barked into the phone.
“Uncle Luke,” I exhaled, overwhelmed with relief at the sound of his voice.
“Coal!” he shouted. “Where are you? Are you okay?”
I cleared my throat and chose my words carefully, knowing Jimmy and the waitress were listening to my conversation. “Yeah, I’m good. I, uh, got separated from the other campers and have been lost in the woods. I ran into a hunter, and he gave me a ride into town. I called you as soon as I got here. Can you arrange for someone to pick me up?”
“You’ve been camping?” he asked in disbelief.
“No.”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Cover story?”
“Yes.”
“Gotcha. Tell me where you are, and I’ll get someone to you.”
I moved the phone away from my mouth and made eye contact with the waitress. “Excuse me, ma’am, can you tell me the address for this place so my friend can pick me up?”
“Of course, darling,” she said and rattled off the address.