The day in Salida consisted of shopping, shopping, and more shopping. And eating. But mostly shopping.
First, they stopped by the shop that Cabe, Sly, Walter, and Paige went to warm up when they arrived. Now that they were relaxed, they could actually see what to store looked like. Little trinkets and candies lined the shelves with handcrafted wind chimes hanging from the ceiling. Toby cracked up at the chocolate covered raisins that were in a package that said "Bear Crap." That resulted in a punch in the shoulder by Happy. Walter, Ralph, and Sly made fun of the board games as Cabe studied the wooden sculptures. Paige liked the wind chimes.
There was a small cafe inside the shop, so everyone got a warm coffee, but Ralph had to get hot chocolate despite his protests.
With steaming drinks in hand, they left that shop and went across the street to an antique place. Paige and Cabe were the only ones interested, so the geniuses stood in the entryway-and secretively bought ten bags of kettle corn that they found by the cash register. They came out of the shop and sat in the back, eating their kettle corn. Toby and Happy were eating the s'more flavor, Walter ate the cinnamon (because he knew Paige liked it), and Sly and Ralph ate the red licorice.
Cabe and Paige finally came out of the store to find five miserable geniuses with sticky fingers and bags of kettle corn on the ground in front of them. Two bags were empty, one was partially eaten, and the rest were unopened. Paige handed each of them a wipe to clean their hands and loaded them back into the vehicle.
"Will you guys be able to eat lunch after all that sugar?" Paige asked as she turned around in her seat. They all nodded. "Skipping a meal because you're full is for the weak," Toby mumbled. Ralph nodded in agreement. Happy just opened up the bag of caramel apple kettle corn and began to eat from it. "Happy, you've had too much sugar," Paige said. The mechanic shook her head. "I'm practically thirty years old, I can eat as much sugar as I please."
Paige turned back around in her seat. "Paige," Walter picked up the cinnamon bag, "I saved you some cinnamon." He handed it to her. She smiled at him.
That night, the cabin was filled with five sick geniuses. Ralph and Walter were on the couch, Sylvester was reclining on a chair, and Toby and Happy were sharing a warm bath. Every now and then, someone would groan or sound like they were going to puke. Actually, that's the first thing Happy did when they arrived back at the cabin-throw up in the garbage can. Paige told her, "I told you so," with a grin.
The next day, at 5:00 PM, since the geniuses were feeling better, they walked down the snow covered road bundled in jackets and scarves to Love Ranch. Ralph brought his binoculars to look at the massive mountains in front of him. Everything was covered in snow, making it feel like a winter wonderland. It sparked some scary memories of the white out in Antarctica, but those thoughts were quickly pushed down by the happiness of being with their family. They didn't stay that long, because the temperature was dropping quickly. Back in the cabin, everyone got warm by the fireplace and did some Mad Libs. Here are some of their favorites:
Snow White at the Seven Dwarfs' Cottage- My name is Snow White, and I am hiding from my SMART stepmother, PAIGE, at the Seven Dwarfs' cottage in the GARAGE. It is a CRAPPY little place with a roof made of WRENCHES. Since the dwarfs are letting me stay here, I help out by dusting the BOOKS, cooking INTELLIGENT dinners, and washing their CHEESES. The dwarfs and I have become really close FEDORAS and enjoy one another's STETHOSCOPES very much. Their names are Sleepy, Happy, HAPPY QUINN, TOBY CURTIS, Doc, Sneezy, and DUMB. The dwarfs and I share many UNEFFECIENT interests. We especially like to sing, "Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to LOS ANGELES we go!" Oh, sorry, have to run now. There's a sweet, old PSYCHIATRIST at the door selling apples.
Man on the Street Interviews- This is roving reporter Perry Winkle, and I'm here in KOVELSKY'S to ask folks today's random question: "What is the first thing you would do if you ruled the world?" Responses ranged from intelligent to downright INCONSPICUOUS. Here's a sampling: PAIGE from WALMART said, "I'd make sure everyone had plenty of of healthy BARBECUE SAUCES to eat and a warm, safe CHALLENGE to live in." An up-and-coming GENIUS by the name of JOHN WAYNE said, "I would give each man, woman, and BUSINESS a job. It's important to use your mind or your LIPS to work and make the world a better place." HAPPY from CBS TELEVISION STUDIOS said, "There'd be no wars. People would only be allowed to CHIN wrestle one another, but then they'd PSYCHOBABBLE and make up." Local comedian TOBY said, "I would require every citizen to address me by my superhero name-HOT SAUCE Man!"
The next day, everyone slept in because it was a free day. But, Toby and Walter had different plans they didn't know about. Toby was about to leave the cabin when Walter spotted him. "Toby?" Walter whispered. The behaviorist stopped dead in his tracks. "Where are you going?"
"I need to buy some stuff," Toby replied. Walter slipped on his shoes and jacket. He picked up his wallet and came to the door. "I need to pick up something for Paige," Walter said. The men drove up to the ghost town in silence.
When they finished their tasks, they drove down to the city and bought wrapping paper and other miscellaneous Christmas items to cover their tracks. They walked in to Paige and Happy having a very serious conversation at the table. Paige stopped midsentence and took a long sip from her mug of coffee. Toby kissed Happy's head as he went into their bedroom. Walter smiled at Paige and disappeared from the room. "I think they are up to something," Paige said. Happy rubbed her neck, "When aren't they up to something?" Paige laughed.