Malcolm's family was traveling on the open road. The boys were asleep. Hal looked at Lois.
"It's been a while," he whispered.
Lois gazed at him for a few seconds.
"Stop at the next gas station."
Hal did as she said. When they got to the nearest gas station, Hal and Lois got out of the vehicle and ran inside the store. There was nobody there but the cashier. Hal and Lois ran inside the bathroom. The cashier could hear moaning. Seconds later, a robber wearing black clothes and a black mask ran inside. He pointed a gun at the cashier.
"Don't move! Give me the money!"
The cashier nodded and opened the cash register. He gave the money to the robber, who was also grabbing cash from the tip jar. As soon as the robber left, Hal and Lois walked out of the bathroom with smiles on their faces. Hal got out his wallet.
"You know what? You deserve a tip."
Hal left a twenty in the tip jar.
Life is unfair.
"It's been a few days since we stayed with the Hecks in Indiana," Malcolm said to you. "Now we're in Arizona on Father's Day. We're gonna stop in Tucson to get Dad some gifts for him."
"This place looks nice," Hal said.
Ron Snuffkin was working at Sport Space. His oldest "son", Brandon Gunderson, age fourteen, also worked there. When none of the workers were near them, Ron asked Brandon a question.
"So did you send a Father's Day card?"
"We sent a letter saying a lot of things," Brandon said. "Since he's still gonna be stuck in prison, we decided to send him a letter reminding him about great memories. I miss him. What is life really about, Ron?"
Ron thought for a moment. Months ago, he would have had an answer. Since Gina broke up with him, however, he did not know the answer. Gina broke up with him because she could not handle the situation with the Gunderson boys. She did not want anyone to think that she was a criminal who supported what Ron was doing. Ron did not think that she was "the one", anyway.
"I'm gonna have to get back to you on that," Ron said.
"I've been wondering a lot of things lately. Do you think there could be something wrong with me?"
"Maybe. Actually, no. You're fourteen. It's normal for guys your age to wonder things. Especially if you're gonna enter high school this year."
"Don't even remind me. I'm worried enough as it is."
"You guys are good at taking care of yourselves. You'll be fine."
Malcolm's family walked into the store.
"What would you like, Hal?" Lois asked.
"You've already done A LOT," Hal said. "You kids can get me anything in this store as long as it's good."
Dewey found a soccer ball.
"Dad, remember when you coached our soccer team?"
"That brings back memories..." Hal said. "That one looks like it's deflating. Get me a better one."
Malcolm got the best hockey stick he could get.
"Here you go, Dad," Malcolm said.
"That reminds me of when I saw you play hockey," Hal said.
"Actually, you turned around when I played," Malcolm said. "Remember?"
"Oh, right. You said a bad word and I made you feel bad by telling you about how I held you when you were born, and then you said every bad word on that list."
"I don't remember you holding Malcolm right after he was born," Francis said.
Malcolm stared at Hal with an open mouth.
"Dad?"
"Francis, you were young," Hal said.
"But-"
Hal leaned in close enough to whisper.
"Shut up about that. That can be your Father's Day present to me."
Reese picked up a metal baseball bat.
"Cool," he said.
"Reese, you put down that baseball bat and give it to your father!" Lois demanded.
"Okay."
"Where are we gonna stay?" Craig asked.
"I don't know," Lois said. "We don't have enough money to spend on a motel. I wish we knew someone here."
"Hey, uh, you guys want to crash over at my place?" Ron asked.
"Really?" Lois asked.
"Yeah. Really."
"That would be great," Hal said. "I just hope it's not an inconvenience."
"It's no inconvenience," Ron said.
"What are you doing?" Brandon whispered.
"I don't know. It's Father's Day and they're being a nice family. I know it sounds weird, but I'd feel guilty about not letting them stay. I think I'm growing up."
"Gary's not gonna be pleased. Just pray that they don't find anything out about our situation."
"Don't worry," Ron said. "I'll handle this. Have I ever steered you wrong?"
"Yeah. Even your name is part of the word 'wrong'."
"You're right. Bummer. I might have to change my name."
Ron turned to the family.
"So..." Hal said.
"You guys can stay with us," Ron said. "How many of you are there?"
"A dozen or so," Hal said awkwardly. "I lost count."
"Okay..." Ron said.
He looked at Brandon with a worried look.
"This is amazing," Malcolm said to you. "I've calculated the odds of two families taking us in on a vacation, and those odds were pretty low. As you can see, this is a very rare occurrence. I might write a book about it.