"Oh. Um, do you mind if I ask where you're camping? Somewhere around here?"

"Bout ten klicks back the road here, probably eight or nine. It's a private campground, probably not your thing.", he said, eyes glancing swiftly to the kids behind me, then to Columbia and back.

"Why?"

"Well,... It doesn't have the amenities that say, Victoria Park has. No cordoned off swim areas with lifeguards, no swimming lessons for the kiddies, no manicured trails, public washrooms, stuff like that. Anyway it's private, like I said."

"So we can't get in.", I finished for him, downcast again after seeing a false ray of hope in salvaging this vacation disaster.

"Well,...", he said, shrugging thoughtfully, looking me over and then the twins. "You seem like good people,... If you want, just follow me back the road. You can stay the night, anyway."

"Hey! I said get the fuck offa my land!", the store owner shouted from the open screen door of his grubby establishment, cursing and waving at the invading moths before slamming the door shut to watch us from inside.

"Fuckwit.", I barely heard the big man mumble under his breath.

"Is- Um, is there anybody there at this hour? How will I get in?"

"I know the owner. Well, everyone there knows Elmo, but we'll get you into a lot and, when he comes around my place in the morning, I'll tell him what's happening and he'll stop in to see you. Probably just charge you a day's camping fee, or something. Don't worry, he won't rip you. Like I say, we all know him."

"That sounds great. You're sure it's no trouble?"

"Not at all." he shrugged. Who knows, you three might even want to stay. Name's Junior, by the way." he said, walking closer and offering his hand.

I quickly switched arms over my deep cleavage so I could shake the man's hand, blushing.

"I'm Trudy. I'm sorry about my- well, I was in bed and I had to rush to the door,..."

"It's okay." he laughed. "No offense, Trudy, but you seem like you had one of those days."

"You can't imagine." I laughed nervously. "These are my kids, Jenifer and Jarid."

"Hey.", Junior greeted, casually waving at the twins, who had moved up on either side of me. They each said 'Hi', almost in harmony and a little reservedly.

"Well," our seeming hero of the day finished, "I'll pay for my fuel and pull out to the road while you three get underway. Should probably get goin' before this asswipe really does call the RCs."

"Right.", I said, turning and hustling the kids along ahead of me, Jenifer looking back at the large man with me as I called to his back, "Thanks a lot, we really appreciate this!"

He waved casually over his shoulder without looking back, a gesture that advised me not to worry about it.

Just over five minutes later, this time properly dressed with a peach, button neck pullover, I hurried out of the RV, parked at the side of the road. Under a bright mercury light, there was a simple wooden sign, big enough to read quickly and easily while whizzing by on the lonely stretch of road that proclaimed our current location as 'Wheeling Park'. Junior was opening a padlocked chain that cut off entrance to a dark, narrow, dirt road through the trees as I began to hurry over.

"Junior?" I called, trying not to slip on the partly exposed, ribbed metal culvert pipe I saw in the headlights.

"Yuh?" he asked, dropping the chain on the ground.

"Uh, heh, I'm not sure my space shuttle will come down here."

"It'll be tight and you'll scratch some paint, but it'll go. Ol' Abner has a rig about this size and he gets her in. But, this is what I mean about it maybe not being your kinda place, you know?"

I looked down the dirt track, at Columbia and then back at him.

"I can get it down there, if you want." he offered. "I can get it past the culvert, but I won't be able to save the paint."

I looked back at the RV once again, imagining the kids in the front, invisible to me above the lancing headlights, but sure to be watching this. I looked back at him and shrugged, saying with a smile and a shake of my head, "I don't care about the paint."

It seemed funny at the time. I couldn't have said why as I looked at him, nor can I now, but he smiled back suddenly.

"You'll wanna stay. Tell your kids what's happening and I'll bring my truck in first before I come back for yours. You guys can help guide me in."

"Okay."

As we watched for traffic and guided Junior, who took the wheel of the great and mighty Columbia, I really doubted he'd do it. The kids must have felt the same way as they watched him angle the huge thing in and over the narrow culvert, because they smiled like I did when he actually accomplished the feat.

The kids followed our bright red tail lights on foot, me catching up after struggling to drag the chain back to the opposite iron post so I could secure it with the heavy padlock, fearing I'd break a nail in the process. He stopped when he came to his truck, put it in park and we sidled along between the trees and the RV, staying low where the evergreen tips weren't quite as thick, until we got to the door where he met us.

"I can keep on and put her in a lot if one of you knows how to drive a standard."

That let me out.

"Jarid can drive a motorbike, isn't that a standard?"

"Motorbike, uh? You're gonna love it here.

"But I've never driven a standard car.", Jarid said.

"It's nothing, put 'er in first and ease the clutch, the power'll do the rest."

"Uhh,... you sure?" Jarid asked nervously.

"Take your sister, your mum probably wants to ride with me to make sure I don't steal your RV.", he joked with a smile before disappearing back inside.

We looked at each other, Jenifer and I wearing reserved, although amused grins while Jarid looked ahead of the RV at Juniors truck, obviously fretting.

"Don't worry, honey, he seems to know what he's talking about. Just do what he told you." I assured.

"Yeah, c'mon, Nervous Nell. I thought you were this big 'garage guy'.", Jenifer teased, squeezing past and moving forward.

"I'm into bikes, not cars!" he retorted, following her.

I climbed inside, slamming the door behind me and wondering if I hadn't made a mistake here, but everything seemed on the up and up. He warned us about the locals and was very frank about what we could expect at this 'private park', and it's not as if there wasn't a sign, chintzy as it was. It was all one would need for a private park, just enough to mark the spot and possibly to satisfy any local licensing demands. There was even a light with a security chain.

As if reading my mind as I sat in the passenger seat, he asked, "Oh, sorry, did you happen to get the chain?"

"Yes."

An expression of mild surprise crossed his face as he did a double take, obviously having expected me to say no and probably prepared to run back out to do it himself.

"Good girl, Trudy. I hope you three do decide to stay." he commented, looking forward again to watch the twins hopping into his truck, both of them through the driver's side with Jenifer going first.

I sat there, somewhat flattered at the 'girl' comment and the approval of this man, of whom a teeny weeny part of me suspected of being an axe murderer despite the sign and the rest of it. Alternately, I wondered if he was married as the brake lights of his truck flashed. Jarid began to move forward and I suddenly began feeling guilty, thinking of Kevin and the fact that he'd bought the damned camper in order to save our marriage and now,... One hell of a time and way to try to get a life, wasn't it?

We set off, slowly following his truck down the track, listening to the branches scratching and screeching the sides.

Breaking the following silence that my melancholy mood produced, he asked, "Space shuttle, uh?"

I smiled ruefully. "Yes. The Columbia."

"Sounds like bad luck."

"Is that one of the ones that exploded?"

"Yup."

"I wasn't sure, I just picked the first one I remembered." I admitted. "Is it too late to change it? I haven't smashed a bottle of wine across her bow yet."

He grinned and answered, "We'll help you with that. We'll all vote on a name before you leave and whip a bottle of something expensive at the hood, how's that?"

"If you think it'll avoid an explosion."

This time he laughed aloud and I realized my sadness was gone. It was hard to be sad with such an easygoing, laid back personality around. I hoped he wasn't married, but how many single men bought a camping trailer and rented a lot? Possibly the type who runs around murdering people with an axe?

"So, Trudy, what would put you out on the highway with a new Winnebago and a couple of kids with no plan whatsoever?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Kinda, yeah. Like I say, you look like you had one of those days." he repeated. "Plus, the fact you got sales tags on all your clothes."

"Oh God! I complained, looking down and seeing he was right. It hadn't even occurred to me.

He slowed in order to navigate a tight bend, grinding into the branches. "Sorry.", he said apologetically.

"About my bad day or the RV?"

"Both, I guess."

"It's okay. In both cases. Yes, it was kind of a bad day. A shocking revelation, you might say."

"The worst kind. Divorced?"

"Yes. Yourself?"

"Married. The wife's back here at the trailer, you'll meet her sooner or later, if you decide to stay."

My foolish hopes around Monsieur axe murderer sank, but I replied, "You seem to think we will."

"Yeah. I hope you will. Like I say, you and your kids seem solid and it's cool to have new people here every once in a while. We're just a bunch of people from town, not everyone from the same town, but everyone knows each other through business, or whatever. We come out here to relax and have a good time without being bothered and just forget about the world for a while."

"Sounds nice."

"It is. Mostly because it's private and we can keep the garbage out. Sort of a summer family, you know?"

"Yes.", I said with a smile as any fears of being axe murdered went right out the side window.

We rounded another tight bend, the passenger side corner of the front bumper laying down weeds and short trees on the outside of the curve as he took it as wide as possible before straightening out and coming to some partially cleared land. To our right, I could see moonlight reflecting from the surface of a lake. To the left, patio lanterns and RVs in lots stretching down a row. After signaling a left turn early for Jarid, we turned and trundled down a rear path that serviced another row of campers.

"Nothing available in front and I couldn't put you there if there was, but the back lots are pretty big. Good for if you got stuff. Bikes, ATVs, a car and/or a truck, you get the picture."

I nodded.

"I'm down the end of the back row here, lot fourteen. I'm putting you in number seven, so you're surrounded."

"Surrounded?"

"Locals."

"Oh. Herd mentality, right?"

He performed another double take and laughed. "Yeah. We look out for one another here. I'm glad you get it."

"I watch a lot of TV. Discovery channel."

"Okay.", he chuckled as he passed an empty lot with a reflective '7' on a post, flashing the lights and coming to a stop as the kids did the same in front of us.

"You want it backed into the trees?" The Master bed is at the very back, right?"

"Yes, please do."

"Okay, you guide me in and we'll have you and your kids all snug in your beds inside a half hour. Bring me right alongside those white service ports stickin' outta the ground there, see them?"

"Yes, one minute." I said, jumping up and heading for the side door as the kids exited the truck ahead of us, again, each from the driver's side.

It didn't take long for Junior to get it parked, after which he shut it down and hopped out to join the three of us.

"All set." he reported, adding, "Keys are in the ignition."

"Junior, I can't thank you enough. You're a lifesaver and this place looks really nice, at least in the dark. I wish I'd brought some patio lantern, but I never even thought."

"Don't worry about it. Now remember, Elmo will be around tomorrow morning, about nine or ten o'clock."

"His name is really 'Elmo'?", Jenifer asked with a smile.

"Yup. I wouldn't laugh at him, though. Well,... you could, but I wouldn't. Hey, nice meeting you three, but I gotta run. I actually told Pammie I was going out for a pack of cigarettes and, after all this time, I can only imagine what she's thinking."

"Say no more, Junior. Again, a million thanks." I called as he was leaving.

"S'nothin', Trudy." he called over his shoulder while walking to the truck. "You three get some sleep and we'll see yas tomorrow."

The kids called their own goodbyes while we watched him go. It didn't matter if he was married or not, I happily realized. He was very friendly, he got us in somewhere that seemed nice, and that was enough. Even the kids seemed happy. Hey, it was an adventure, right?

I stepped outside while mom was in the bathroom the next morning, Jarid looking at me like I was making an attempt at the prison wall. In the cool, still dewy grass with my bare feet and the same shorts and T-shirt I slept in, I walked around in aimless circles, really just to feel the wet grass and look at my surroundings.

'Naturalized' was the word that hit me. Across the lane was the first row of trailers and RVs, only partially visible within all the trees that had been left standing. The lot we occupied was nice too, with a large shade tree and thick woods behind, bordered by a drainage ditch. In the not too far distance, I could hear a chainsaw running and two or more men talking from a different direction as the park woke up.

There was a sound a lot like Jarid's motorbike coming down the lane. It turned out to be an ATV being ridden by a big guy with long hair, beard and mustache, and a red headband. He looked surprised when he saw me, but smiled and did something that looked like a waving salute with a bottle of orange juice he was holding.

I smiled and returned a little wave as he went by.

It was nice there, I had to admit. Whether 'nice' was enough to dump my hard earned spot in hockey school down the crapper was another matter, but it seemed I had no choice either way. As for Mom, Jarid and I had come to the conclusion in Junior's truck the night before that she was going through some kind of midlife crisis thing that people talked about. That, or her mind snapped at Dad's wedding. I was a bit worried, yeah, but not like I was the night before, when we were turning off the highway. No, standing there at the time, any worries were more about her mental condition. She was acting totally unusual, standing on things she never would have before and a lot more decisive in a funny way. Like she was on some kind of mission.

But, as I looked around myself and after having met Junior, I had to admit that, next to hockey school, this was the best way I could think of to spend at least some of my Summer. We never were able to pin her down to a timeline, but overall mom had actually done good for someone who never left the couch if she could help it. I wondered if she even brought any of her Oprah magazines.

"Jen, I told you we're having breakfast, would you please get in here?" she called from inside the RV.

"Yuuup.", I agreed, walking over to the drainage ditch to look at the incredibly dense trees and undergrowth, imagining a time when there were no white people on the continent and the whole place was just full of trees, with no roads or-"

"Whatcha lookin at sweetheart?" a slightly rough voice from behind asked.

I turned to see an older guy making his way over the grass towards me. He looked like he was in his late fifties, or maybe early sixties, short legged, barrel chested, but a powerful looking man, nonetheless. He wore khaki shorts, a loud, half buttoned Hawaiian shirt, sandals and Foster Grant style sunglasses with an amber shade. He puffed from a cigarette as he joined me.

"Um,... I was just looking at how thick the woods are and wondering how the Indians ever got around."

He seemed to find that a little amusing and offered, "Well I'll tell you, it's a pain in the ass to clear and it goes back a ways from what we can tell. Lotsa pickery bushes in there, too, but it's all good for security."

"The locals?"

"Yeah. What's your name, sweetheart?"

This made me blush. The old guy had a funny way about him that made it okay for him to call me 'sweetheart', where I might have kicked some other old guy in the nads for it back home.

"I'm Jenifer. We got in last night, I hope its okay."

"Well now, who's 'us'?", he asked, politely.

"Me, my Mom and my Brother. We were kinda stuck for a place, but a man named Junior came along and let us in."

"He did?"

"Yup." Mom's supposed to talk to someone named Elmo this morning."

"Jen, I told you to get in here- Oh. Hello." my surprised mother said in the opened side door of the RV.

"You'd be Mum, I take it?" the man asked.

"Uh,... yes. My name is Trudy." she said, moving further from the door and offering her hand.

He shook it and replied, "Pleased to meet you, Trudy. Name's Ollie. Just got in last night, huh?"

"Yes, I'm afraid we were unprepared for our little vacation."

"Nice rig ya got there. The branches didn't do her any favours, though."

"Thank you. The scratches are alright, these things are meant to be enjoyed, right?"

"That they are." Ollie smiled.

"Would you like a coffee?"

"Sure.", he accepted, his entire face now embracing his smile.

"Please come in. Jenifer, you too, I'm not telling you again."

"Yup.", I answered, following Ollie into the RV. This guy was interesting.

Once Jarid was introduced and we were all sitting at the booth table, Ollie with a coffee, he asked, "So, Jenifer tells me Junior let you in."

"Yes.", Mom confirmed, "I sure hope it's okay with everyone, he did tell me that this is a private park."

"It's okay." he said with finality. "Damned good coffee, thanks."

"Oh, please, think nothing of it."

"Junior's my pup, by the way."

"Oh, really? I bet it's good to spend time with your family in the summer at a nice place like this."

"We love it out here." Ollie agreed, nodding. "Junior and some of the boys even come out in the winter with their skidoos. Gonna get himself killed on that bastard thing one of these days, but the older they get, the less they listen."

I expected Mom to faint at his casual use of the word 'bastard' in front of us, but she barely winced, was more surprised and amused than anything.

"Tell me about it. You should see these ones, it's like I'm not even there when I speak half the time."

"I blame those idiot computers."

"Yes,...", mom said, "But, it was the TV for us, wasn't it?"

He laughed a little, shaking his head and explaining, "I got a whole god dam box of World War Two videos and shit that I watch over there at night."

Moms smile darkened just a little at this as she looked down for a moment.

"I'm right next door on your right, by the way. Feel free to come on over and say hi to Shelly and me sometime, you kids too."

"Thanks, we will. In fact, if it's alright with Elmo, I'd like to stay on here and try out a cheap little hibachi I bought yesterday, maybe later this evening, once I figure out how to pop the sides of the RV out and everything else. You and Shelly are more than welcome to come over, we've got plenty.

"Mighty neighbourly of you, Trudy. And like I said, you're in if you want. I'll tell Elmo."

I was just finishing up the breakfast I'd bolted with Jarid, both of us watching and listening to this conversation, when someone called from outside.

"Hullo!"

"B'right out!" Ollie called, getting up and taking the mug of coffee with him. Mom, Jarid and I followed him out the door to meet who, I guessed, was Elmo.

Far from the cuddly, orange critter from Sesame Street, this guy was big and tall. Taller than Junior and, while not as finely muscled, stocky and solid nonetheless. Green eyes, short dark hair with a slightly graying beard, I guessed him to be in his early forties, but I was never a great judge of older people's ages. He stepped forward with a huge, beat up work boot that went with his short sleeved jackshirt, ruined blue jeans covered in woodchips and a dirty old cap that said 'Harley Davidson' on it as Ollie introduced us. We all shook his large, calloused paw and then Ollie started taking over.

"Trudy and her kids would like to stay for a little while, so why not give her a week to week billing deal- if that's good with you, Trudy?"

"Um, yes, that sounds ideal." mom agreed, listening to Ollie pave the way for us.

"This way," the older man went on, speaking to Elmo again, "if they decide they wanna stay, Trudy can just pay in advance later on when she wants."

"Okay.", the giant owner agreed readily. "The lot rent is a hundred bucks a week, you good with that?"

"Yes, that's great, way lower than at Victoria Park."

"Another thing that's better here than at Vicky is that we're clean. Nobody litters here, so if you go exploring in the woods, you gotta pack out everything you bring in and there's garbage barrels all over the park here."

"Of course, I Understand, that's only reasonable. Kids?" mom asked us.

We both nodded and said we understood, still in awe of the giant, I think. (Who would say otherwise to a guy like that anyway, right?)

"We got no lifeguards, so the general rule here is that nobody swims alone." Elmo went on. "And if someone can't swim, they gotta be supervised by two people who can, unless they're over twentyfive."

"You all swim?" Ollie asked?"

We all informed him that we did, to which he nodded.

"Okay,", Elmo went on, "we do have our organized events, so people can party without bugging others, but you're okay the rest of the time too, as long as your music isn't too loud and there isn't a lot of hollering, just common sense stuff, right?"

Mom nodded, understanding 'low key' if anyone on the planet did.

"Basically, just as long as you don't mess the place up and try not to get on peoples nerves, you're good. Jarid, Junior tells me you got a bike."

"Yes.", he answered, nodding.

"Here's the rule, Jar': Keep it quiet at night and you're alright, make your noise during the day and you're still okay. And keep the speed down in the park, got it?"

"Yes.", he answered again.