eight legs and a scream
there was a time i owned a fast & fun car where spontaneous road trips were a given. often times, i’d arrive at my parents’ house unannounced or drive just to the illinois/wisconsin border to partake of cheaper sales tax on outlet clothes. hell, i even once followed a polka band to toronto just because i could.
despite being sans motor vehicle for nearly three years now, i still adore road trips. they just require a bit more orchestration these days. a trip to the airport to get the best deals on a car rental and hopefully a reliable soul to tend to my 11-month old pup while i spend a day and a half outside the chicagoland area with the boy.
we decided on madison, wisconsin, and it was a good choice indeed. we arrived in the city just around 10am on saturday to find ourselves battling with the patrons of the weekly farmer’s market right at the capitol building. parking for a whopping dollar in a garage let us explore the territory for a few hours where i picked up a couple deals at maxwell street days market on state street, and our taste buds were exposed to ostrich and buffalo meat, both in stick form. the first for either of us.
the heat did take its toll, so we decided to head back to our hotel at the ruby marie in order to freshen up before heading out again for dinner and drinks.
fortunately, our room was equipped with expansive cable channels, including OLN, where the boy got his fix of stage 15 of the tour de france. he being captivated by george hincapie’s performance in the race, i opted to shower. but not before having yet another one of my comical ordeals.
the shower was warming, i was derobing, and that’s when i looked up to see a sizable spider using the shower curtain rings as a jungle gym. i screamed, did a little “ewww, gross, get rid of it dance,” and the boy came to my rescue. not wanting to kill it (and though i don’t like them, i certainly don’t wish them a premature death either), he did his best to wrap it in a wash cloth.
but i never saw him depart the room. i swear. i just jumped in the shower, lathered, rinsed and dawdled for a moment wishing that apartments in chicago had this kind of water pressure. i emerged from the shower to hear knocking. when i peaked outside the bathroom to see the boy not in the room, that is when i realized he left the room entirely to dispose of the spider.
so there he had been, standing in the hallway, knocking at the door to be let in while i was oblivious to his vulnerable situation.
locked out in his boxers.