The Incident of the Lost Car Key

“We just went to San Francisco for our honeymoon. We can’t afford to go to Hawaii or anything like that,” I answered. “My parents always took us to visit family in Cottonwood, Arizona and Albuquerque, New Mexico,” I suggested.

“I don’t know if we can just barge in like that,” he said.

“We could do that in two weeks so they can meet you. Both Grandmothers are very hospitable, you’ll like them, and they might enjoy a visit now that they live alone. I’ll call to make sure it’s all right to visit.”

“Okay,” he agreed. So, I called both my grandmothers to let them know we were coming. They were both happy to have visitors.

We packed our bags and an ice chest with water and snacks and off we went. Ishmael is a very good driver and map reader. He was in a transportation unit when he was in the Army. He planned the whole trip. We started off at dawn because he likes to see the sunrise. I tend to fall asleep with the motion of the car so, I slept most of the way. My mom said it was our Native American blood because she often saw Native Americans sleeping in the back of a pickup truck on the road.

We were almost to Cottonwood when we pulled over to stretch our legs. It was very hot, and our 1970 Toyota Corona didn’t have air conditioning. It was just on the shoulder of the road surrounded by woods. The air was clean and smelled of pine and other leafy trees. I’m a plant person but I don’t know the names of trees. I could smell damp earth and when I walked around the car there was a little stream in a shallow ravine. The water was so clear I could see fish swimming there.

“Look Ish, there’s a stream. We can get in and cool off.”

“That water’s too cold. I’m not getting in.”

“Chicken PA-ACK CA-PUCK,” I said flapping my elbows like a chicken.

“Hey there’s fish in there, I’m gonna’ try and catch one.” He had his tackle box and fishing pole but no weights, so he used the car key for a weight. He cast the line out over the water and the key fell off on the first try. I could see it glinting in the sunlight as it flew off the line.

“Now you have to get in the water to get the key back,” I said laughingly.

“No way I’m getting in there, the water’s ice cold. I’ll catch pneumonia.”

“Oh well, at least we have a spare key in the car”, I said. But when we went to the car it was locked. We tried both doors, but they were locked.

“Why did you lock the car when we are just a few steps away?”

“You never know if someone might stop by and rob our stuff,” Ish said. “I’ll just have to break a window to get in. What choice do we have?”

“Oh no you don’t. Your choice is to get the key out of the stream. You’re not breaking a window on my new car when you can clearly see the key where it fell in the water. I don’t care if it’s cold.” I had just bought the car new before we were married.

“Well, I’m not going in that ice-cold water. I’d rather break a window and get it fixed later.”

“Nope, no way! I’ll get the key, I’m not afraid of a little cold water. Anyway, it will feel good to cool off.”

I kicked off my sandals and stepped slowly in wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. The stream was so clear it looked to be only a foot and a half deep, but as I waded in it turned out to be at least three feet deep. The current wasn’t strong. I could see the key resting innocently on the sandy bottom of the stream. I had to submerge all the way in to reach it. I felt my body getting cool. Such a relief from the heat. As I waded out of the stream and handed Ish the key with a smug smirk on my face, I got close enough to shake my long hair like a dog spraying him with cold water making him yell. I tried to hug him with my wet clothes, but he wouldn’t let me. Then I used one of HIS shirts to dry myself off. I didn’t feel hot anymore making it a double victory. It was so hot my clothes dried quickly.