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Connie took the bags, paid for the subs, and gave Zak a tip that made him smile.
The couch was still too wet to sit on so we huddled around the tiny table.
“This is like camping out,” Lula said. “I never camped out, but I bet it’s like this.”
“I camped out once,” Connie said. “It sucked. Nature isn’t what you see on television. I had bug bites all over me and there’s nothing to do. You’re just out there in the woods.”
“Didn’t you have television?” Lula asked.
“No. We were in a tent. No electricity. No toilet.”
“I wouldn’t do that kind of camping,” Lula said. “I gotta have television and a toilet.”
We finished lunch and left the bus. Everyone got into the Discovery, and I drove to Benji Land. Carpenter Beedle’s Mercedes was parked in front of the store. There were a few people wandering around inside. One of them was Sparks in his Sir Lancelot costume.
Benji came over to us. “There’s a food truck out back,” he said. “It’s all free. Wieners and soft drinks.”
“That was nice of you to give us Thor,” Lula said. “It’s the good Thor, too.”
Sir Lancelot came over. “What do you think of Benji’s store? It’s wonderful, right? There’s a whole Tolkien section now. Plus, he’s added D&D, Magic: The Gathering, and Pokémon game-play nights.”
“I gotta go see Tolkien,” Lula said. “Point me in a direction.”
Beedle ambled over. “How’s it going?” he asked. “Benji said you didn’t need our help anymore, so I guess everything got resolved.”
“Unfortunately, nothing is resolved. A friend of mine is in the security business and he’s running protection for me.”
“Rangeman,” Beedle said. “We’ve been seeing the cars.”
“How’s it going with you?”
“It’s good. I’m in start-up mode with the finance business, so it’s slow, but it’ll pick up. I have a couple clients. I see the bail bonds office is operating out of a retired school bus.”
“It’s temporary. Connie is looking for something more substantial. Lula and I are looking for a storage locker for some of the stuff we were able to salvage.”
“Did you try Susan Dippy Storage?”
“No. It didn’t show up in Google.”
“Yeah, it’s under the radar. I keep some stuff there. It isn’t fancy but it’s convenient. It’s a couple blocks from here on Cord Street. If you go out the back door it’s a three-minute walk. You turn left down the alley and right on the first cross street.”
I found Lula in Superheroes, checking out the Thor action figure with short hair.
“I might need this,” Lula said. “It would be good to have both Thors.”
“I was just talking to Beedle, and he told me about some storage units a couple blocks away. I thought we could take a look at them.”
“Sure, but I need a free wiener first. I haven’t been to the food truck yet.”
We went out the back door to the food truck. I got a soda, and Lula got a hot dog and a soda.
“They’ve got all the good condiments here,” Lula said. “This is a first-class free wiener. And the bun is just right. Not too big and not too small. Plus, the slit is on the top.”
We walked down the alley and turned right on Cord Street.Traffic was sporadic. Houses were set back on large lots. There were lots of trees. We came to the second block and didn’t see Susan Dippy Storage. When we reached the third block, I saw a car turn out of the alley that ran behind the houses.
“Bingo,” Lula said. “I just got the same idea you got.”
We took the cross street to the alley and found Susan Dippy. It was a small cinder-block strip mall of storage units that had been built into the alley and stretched the length of a block.
