| Just Go Away In the midst of Florida's most beautiful weather, my Uncle Bubba and Aunt Betty invited me to join them for a weekend at Daytona Beach. They had booked a two bedroom suite at an oceanfront hotel. My husband was out of town, so I happily agreed.
Two days before departure, I twisted my back. The ER took an X-Ray and said I had not broken any bones. They gave me a generous prescription of muscle relaxors and pain meds. I called Betty to bow out (not literally) of the weekend.
She assured me that she did not mind caring for me while I was not feeling well, so I agreed to come.
The day dawned bright with a blue, cloudless sky. Bubba and Betty helped me into their car and we drove the short distance to the beach.
At the hotel, we discovered that they had made an error in booking us. Instead of the luxurious suite, we were sent to a small standard room that was being renovated. Bubba complained vehemently, only to learn that this was the only room left in the hotel, and along the beach.
Always the optimist, Betty settled us in to our little room. In agony from my back injury, I fell into the bed closest to the view. Betty reminded me to take my medicine. I complied and fell asleep within minutes.
The sound of men's voices awakened me. Betty and Bubba were gone and four burly men had entered the room carrying a long board. My mind was fuzzy from the medicines, but I jumped up and ran toward them. I thought about grabbing the lamp to defend myself, but knew I would not be able to pick it up. Besides, it was the only lamp in the room.
Just go away! Just go away! I said in an angry voice and poked one of the very tall men with my finger. I am trying to sleep and my back hurts, so just go away!
They stopped dead in their tracks and looked at one another. One of them meekly said, They told us this room was empty, ma'am. Having overexerted myself, I hobbled back to bed and pulled the covers over me. It's not empty and my back hurts. I said, ferociously and sleepily. Well, ma'am, if we could just nail this frame around the sliding door, we will be right out of your way. Well, O.K. But then, just go away!
What kind of drugs are you taking for that back? one of the men asked. I told him, and he replied, Well, if you need anything else, just ask for Sam, I be the drug man around here. He sounded proud about that.
I was terrified, and yawned. I kept a sharp eye on them as I slid into a fuzzy sleep.
The door creaked open, waking me. I was ready to pounce again as Betty and Bubba came into the room. I began telling them about the men. They both laughed, and Betty asked if I was certain I had really seen them.
Yes, they were real, and Sam the Drug Man was there, too. I realized how absurd that sounded, and began to think it had been a dream.
Huddled in our little room, Betty rummaged through the huge cooler they had brought, expecting to be able to cook. We ate ingredients for dinner; some cheese, lettuce and tomato, sans hamburger. It was delicious.
The cooler sat at the foot of my bed, and took up just about the length of the room. To get to the sliding door for the view, my bed became a stepping stone. I didn't mind, I was having a wonderful time as long as the pain med was working.
We sat talking after dinner and Bubba read the newspaper, scrunched in a tiny chair. I looked out to the beach and ocean and saw an amazing site! A sea-turtle was making it way up the beach! I tried to convince Betty that it was, indeed a turtle, while Bubba would look up every few minutes and say, It's a rock.
He finally climbed over the cooler, my bed, suitcases and little table to get to the sliding door. Looking out, he pronounced it to be: A rock.
Later, Betty teased me about the mythical men in the room. Those men got taller and burlier every time I thought about them. Bubba explained calmly that the hotel certainly would not allow workmen in an occupied room. Yes, but this hotel told us we were in a luxury suite, too.
I considered. It would be a luxury suite to a family from Nepal. But it was one of the smallest hotel rooms I had ever seen. We had a delightful time. Uncle Bubba and Aunt Betty walked the beach as I watched from the room. They stopped to see the Sea-Turtle. When they returned, they reported that the turtle was indeed A rock.
On the last night I lay looking out at the beach, and my eyes drifted upward to the top of the sliding doors. There was a brand new, unpainted frame nailed above the door. I made a mental note to mention it to Bubba and Betty in the morning. In the rush of trying to sort through our things and pack the car the next morning, I forgot to point out the PROOF of the four men's presence.
Even now, years later, they tease me about the mythical men. We laugh about the tiny room.
If only they knew that the mythical men were real! And Sam the Drug Man was there too.
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