"Are you sure the air conditioning was set to the right temperature?" Rafael Diaz pulled the family car out of the driveway, so far unable to take his mind off his worries. As much as he had been looking forward to a vacation, he hadn't quite gotten himself into the proper vacation mindset.
"Yes, Rafael." Angie rolled her eyes, thinking it must be at least the fifth time she'd answered that question.
"What about the stove? Were all the doors locked? We didn't leave any water running?" Rafael was going through his mental checklist, making sure that everything in the house was set for them to leave for the weekend.
"Raf, it's fine! We didn't forget anything! We're going to drive to Vegas, have a fun family weekend, and we will finally, FINALLY get a break. And Marco, since you're six years old now, and officially a big boy..." She sighed quietly, whispering the next part under her breath "... and because my mother bailed out on babysitting for us at the last minute to go to a seniors kite surfing retreat..." Angie quickly forced herself to perk back up, not wanting her son to feel like he was a burden to them on the trip. "You get to come with us! So are you excited about Vegas, Marc-oooooooooooooh... honey?" As Angie turned toward the back seat of their car, she realized with shock that they had, in fact, forgotten something fairly important after all. Angie cleared her throat, swallowing hard and pointing toward the rear view mirror.
"Oh... oh no. Not again." It didn't take long for Rafael to realize the one thing they actually HAD forgotten. Namely Marco. He quickly pulled the car into a U-turn, drawing angry honks from several nearby drivers as he sped back toward the house.
After a quick turn around to pick up their son, the entire Diaz family was quickly back on the road. Marco sat quietly in back seat holding his stuffed bunny, Esteban. He gently swung his feet, smiling slightly as he looked out the window and watched cars pass on the road. The boy seemed none the wiser that his parents had briefly forgotten him.
Angie and Rafael sat in the front, wracked by guilt, relieved that their son couldn't see their expressions from where he was. Rafael drove on in silence, while Angie tried desperately to justify their actions. "We were just... testing the car."
"Okay." Marco seemed to believe the explanation.
"We wanted to make sure it was safe since we're going on such a long trip." Angie had no idea why she was still going. She couldn't convince herself, and Marco was already convinced.
"That makes sense." Marco nodded, figuring that was probably a good idea.
Angie drew in a breath to make another excuse, but Rafael reached a hand out to rest on her shoulder, stopping her. "Dear, let's just get on the highway and get going. Once we get to Las Vegas I'm sure we'll forget all about-" He could see his wife glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, no, forgetting about things was the problem, wasn't it? I'll just... try to focus on driving." Rafael pulled onto the interstate, resolving to himself not to say anything stupid for at least the rest of the day.
It was about halfway through the four hour trip that it happened.
Under normal circumstances, Angie would've been happy to play car games with Marco to keep him busy. But she and Rafael had been so shaken by forgetting him, on top of all the other stress they had been trying to get away from in the first place, they instead ended up making the trip in near silence. Marco, to his credit, had been reasonably well behaved, but he was beginning to grow restless after being cooped up in the car for several hours.
"Hey Mom?" Marco finally spoke up after a long period of total quiet in the car.
Angie took a deep breath. She honestly would've preferred the silence, but she summoned up her reserve of maternal patience and responded. "Yes, Marco?"
"Are we there yet?" There it was. One of the questions every parent dreaded.
Angie groaned quietly. She knew it had to be coming eventually, but that didn't make it any easier. "No, Marco."
"When will we be there?" The question was as completely innocent as it was grating to adult ears.
Angie checked the GPS on the car, looking at the time estimate. "Another few hours, honey."
"Oh." After half a minute of silence, Marco spoke again. "What're we gonna do when we get there?"
It wasn't Marco's fault. He was just a child after all. It wasn't his fault that work had been so difficult lately, and the pressures of adult life had been creeping in more and more. It wasn't his fault her mother hadn't been able to babysit for the weekend. It wasn't his fault that they had to take him along on what was supposed to be a husband and wife getaway. None of it was his fault... but she couldn't help but feel a small hint of frustration toward him. "Ask your father. As for me, I'm going to get the biggest margarita in Vegas, sit down in front of a slot machine, and forget that anything else exists for a while. Check back with me after that, but first thing's first. Mama needs a new pair of shoes."
Marco hadn't entirely followed what his mother had told him, but the biggest standout to him was a single unfamiliar word. "What's a margarita?"
"It's a drink for grownups that your mom likes a little bit too much." Rafael laughed as Angie shot him a dirty look.
"Okay." Marco seemed satisfied with the explanation. "So what are we gonna do, Dad?"
"Oh, I don't know. We could see a show, I could teach you how to play cards... well, penny poker anyway. Maybe you should learn that from your mom, I'm not actually very good at gambling..." Rafael wasn't sure if children were even allowed in the casino area, but he figured a place like Vegas would have plenty of family friendly activities. "It doesn't matter, we can do anything we want! It's Las Vegas!"
Marco perked up in response, excited by the promise of freedom. He held his stuffed rabbit up high, Rafael catching a glimpse of it in his rear view mirror. "Can Esteban and I have a margarita?"
Rafael was a bit shocked at the question. He leaned over to his wife as far as he could while driving, whispering quietly to her. "Are we sure it was a good idea to bring Marco to a place that people actually call Sin City?"
"It's not like we could just leave him alone." Angie shrugged. She had been looking forward to some alone time with her husband, but she did her best to enjoy Marco's presence. "I'm sure we can keep him away from the bad part of Vegas."
"But isn't the bad part of Vegas just... Vegas?" He was starting to reconsider how family friendly Las Vegas would really be. Rafael straightened up in his seat again, now addressing Marco. "Ehh... I don't think you and Esteban would like margaritas, Marco. They're... well, they're made with limes."
"Blech! Esteban hates sour stuff!" Marco gagged, immediately losing interest. "Nevermind..."
Rafael was glad that was enough to get Marco off the topic. "Don't worry. There are lots of other fun things to do. And we'll be there before you know it!" Rafael excitedly raised a single fist in the air in celebration. "Nothing in the whole world can keep us from our family vacation!"
As if on cue, Rafael suddenly heard a loud popping noise coming from the front of the car. The engine began to sputter, and Rafael could feel the vehicle losing power. He carefully steered it toward the shoulder, coming to a stop on the side of a barren desert road.
Rafael wondered if it was somehow the consequence of breaking his earlier resolution. He opened his mouth to speak, but Angie quickly clapped a hand over it. "Don't." She glared angrily at her husband. Even though she knew he couldn't have actually caused their car to break down, the way he had tempted fate was just too much to completely write off.
From his place in the back seat, Marco looked confused, and just a little bit betrayed. "I thought you guys tested the car..."
Angie couldn't even bring herself to respond, using her free hand to pull her cell phone from her purse and dial the nearest towing service.
"You folks are lucky. Not always easy to get service out here, phone or tow." A large, muscular, heavily tanned older man leaned over the engine of the Diaz car, inspecting it for damage. His nametag read "Clint", and his accent clearly marked him as not being native to the area. "This ain't somethin' I can fix here. Gonna have to take 'er back to the shop." Clint began the process of hooking the car up to his tow truck with practiced ease, not even waiting for approval from the Diazes. He knew they didn't have much of a choice.
"The shop?" That was exactly what Rafael hadn't wanted to hear. The trip was delayed at the very least, though he held out hope that it wasn't outright cancelled.
"Yessir. In the town of Oak Springs, few miles down south. Y'ain't gonna find it on too many maps, probably 'cause it's too small to show up on one. There's a little motel, a diner, and... not a whole lot else. Folks 'round here mostly keep to themselves." Clint jumped down from his truck after securing the car, giving the Diaz family a quick visual appraisal. "And no offense, but y'all don't look to me like yer the small town type."
"Not so much, no." Angie shook her head in concern, not exactly looking forward to a weekend trapped in the middle of nowhere. Echo Creek proper was no metropolis, but it was spitting distance from Los Angeles, and Angie couldn't remember the last time she'd spent a night this far from a major city.
Clint pulled out a clipboard and quickly scribbled on a piece of paper, tearing it away and handing it to Rafael. "Here's my estimate for the car repairs. I'll get 'er done right, but it ain't cheap, and it ain't quick. Wish I could at least give ya two outta three, but this ain't what ya'd call an easy fix. I reckon you'll be in Oak Springs over the weekend."
Rafael scanned over the paperwork, his eyes going wide as he saw the bottom line. "Oh my. That's... that's about what we had in the budget for the Vegas trip."
Clint shook his head, giving the Diazes a look of genuine sympathy. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I can give ya a lift to the Oak Springs motel, but that's as far as I go. Las Vegas is outside my jurisdiction." The man banged gently on the side of his tow truck with his palm, gesturing for the Diazes to join him. "Well... hop on in."
"Uh-huh. Okay. Thanks for understanding. Yeah, you too." Angie hit the end call button on her cell phone, turning toward her husband. "Well, the good news is I was able to get a refund from the travel agency for the hotel and everything else. That should pay for the car repair. The bad news is... well..."
The group surveyed the room of the motel where Clint had dropped them off. The place was at least clean, but that was about the only thing that could be said in its favor. It was small and poorly lit, with only a bed, a dresser, and a single wobbly chair as furniture, lacking even a TV. The bed would be a tight squeeze for two people, and it would be worse with a third person in the mix, even a child sized one.
Angie sat down on the edge of the bed, burying her head in her hands, completely defeated. "This was our big trip. We were supposed to be in Vegas by now. Happy hour is almost over. I shouldn't be THIS sober."
"We'll be alright, dear." Rafael took a seat beside Angie, wrapping a comforting arm around her. "We're all safe, we're all together. That's the important thing, isn't it?"
"I know." Even though her husband was completely right, she still couldn't help but be disappointed at the way things had gone. "I just wish we were safe and together in Vegas."
"Dad...?" Marco tugged as the leg of his father's pants, trying to get his attention. "Can I have some money for the gift shop?
"Hm? Oh... of course, son." Rafael had hoped he could do something for his son to keep the trip from being a total loss. If a quick trip to the lobby gift shop made him happy, the money was a small price to pay. He pulled out his wallet and handed Marco a ten dollar bill before turning his attention back to his wife.
Marco rushed out of the room, shouting a quick word of thanks on the way out the door.
Rafael and Angie sat in silence, simply holding each other, until they heard Marco at the door a few minutes later. Rafael noticed that he seemed to be struggling with something, and rose to hold the door open for him.
Marco slipped into the room, arms full from his trip to the gift shop. "I had an idea! We can make our own Las Vegas right here!" Marco dumped the contents of his arms onto the bed, revealing a large plastic bag full of pennies, a deck of cards, and a can of lime flavored soda. He took his stuffed bunny from its place on the dresser, presenting it to his parents. "Esteban and I can put on a show for you guys, and you can teach me how to play penny poker, and the vending machine has lime sodas that probably taste just like margaritas!" Marco smiled innocently up at his parents, eagerly awaiting their approval. "What do you say?"
Angie and Rafael shot each other a look, and suddenly swept their son up in a hug. They beamed with pride at their son as they set him on the bed, sitting down next to him. It wasn't exactly Vegas... but it was good enough.
"What do I say? I say..." Angie quickly tore open the card deck, expertly shuffling back and forth between her hands, a devious grin on her face as she began to mix them up.
"Mama needs a new pair of shoes."