He agreed and we decided that we might as well get a couple more of those delicious drinks and relax in the cool air of the bar.Īs we talked I found Tyler to be an completely awesome individual. It's no problem with me, whatsoever,” I reassured him. “I won't lie to you-I really don't want to drive anymore tonight.” He didn't respond at first, but after a moment said: “Are you sure that's cool?” “I could share my room with you,” I blurted out without really thinking about it, “.if you want.” He was super friendly, and I wished there was some way I could help him out. The entire time we talked I felt really sorry for the guy. We chatted the whole time, where we were from, what we did for work and fun, that kind of thing. Our food soon arrived and we started to eat. He explained how he had been driving all day and was just dead, and the thought of having to go for hours still was not a good one. “Really!” he questioned after hearing my own troubles. I was sorry to have to tell him the bad news, but felt duty bound to let him know that he wasn't going to find a room for a long ways, given that I had come from the direction he was heading. We was also trying to find a motel room for the night, but wasn't having any luck so far. He told me he was on his way to Minneapolis to visit some friends and had stopped to get some food before it got to late. Tyler and I sipped our drinks while waiting for our food and chatted. He simply nodded and went about making one for him. “Can I get one of those?” Tyler asked the bartender, pointing to my cocktail. “I don't remember what it was called-it's good, though.” “What are you drinking, there?” he asked. I told him my name and that it was nice to meet him. “My name's Tyler,” he said politely and shook my hand. His complexion was also quite dark, and he had big brown eyes. He was very handsome, taller, and had jet black hair. “No problem,” I replied, and he took the bar-stool next to mine before placing his order. He told the guy that it wasn't, so the stranger looked at me and asked if it was alright for him to sit next to me. I don't remember what it was called but it was pink and sweet and did the job on both counts.Ībout five minutes latter, a guy came up to the bar beside me and asked the bartender if it was too late to order some food. I figured something like that would be both relaxing as well as refreshing. I went in and sat at the bar and ordered some food and a stiff fruity drink. It was a typical place, kind of like an Applebees, but I had never heard of it before. I was also starving, so after checking in and getting the key, I didn't even go in the room to have a look, I just got back in the car and headed for a restaurant a little ways away the clerk had told me about. I just wanted to get out of the car and get some rest. I didn't really care at this point, though. The hotel was pretty run down and old-what most people would refer to as a “flea bag”. I told the clerk it was fine and took it. They had one room left with a single bed. Everyone kept telling me to go a little further down the road and I would find a room.Ībout an hour latter I finally found a place with a vacancy.
Unfortunately every hotel I found was booked up.
It was starting to get dark, so I decided to find a motel to stay the night and make the push through Indiana and Ohio the next day. I was making really good time, but being alone I could only go so far in one day. The moving truck bringing my things was a day or so behind me, so it was just me and the open road. Luckily, I had a fairly new car and the a/c was in good working order. I was somewhere in Indiana, and the thermometer in my car said it was 103 degrees outside. It was the second week of August, and we were in the middle of a raging heat wave. I was driving cross country on my way to a new job.