OC,SH NETWORK | memberships HERE
YouTb💗Twit FBPag&Grp 🚙 CCHs, A-Vs, PGs
BECKY P: Wildlife Studio website HERE
[click post image(s) for larger size]
} ALL Story Sunday posts HERE }

POLL ALERT:
Vote (via THIS LINK HERE) in this week’s OC,SH express “Sunday Survey” query pitting 9 vehicles recently featured.

Click HERE for entire Don’t Forget Schuster.
Click HERE for entire Route 66-based story.
Click HERE for entire The Newspaper Limo.

 

mystery story sequel-continuation

‘Well, isn’t this a bit deja vu-ish,’ Vern thought to himself as he steered his somewhat-packed-&-ready-to-be-fully-packed-in-the-morning 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis into a parking spot in front of Charlene’s. It was about 6p &, once again, most of the townsfolk were gathering for a communal meal. This time, though, Vern was the unspoken guest of honor; in the morning, he would finally embark on his road trip.

The afternoon had been spent getting new(er) tires on Evan’s 1991 Ford Crown Victoria, getting Vern’s 1975 Caprice Classic convertible settled in the 1-car attached garage for his extended absence (though a few different people planned to take turns driving it) & making sure Evan had enough room in the detached 2-car garage to work on his car, because, to make room for the Caprice in the 1-car attached garage, Vern, Evan & Tyler had moved Vern’s riding lawn mower tractor & a few other items to the 2-car detached garage. Then, after the 2 young lads left ~3:30p, Vern tackled packing full throttle. He loaded what he could into the Mercury, but decided to wait until morning to fully pack it, since the Caprice was already snuggled in &, if he needed to go anywhere, he’d have to drive his Mercury.

Good thing he decided to do that, too, because ~5p, the flurry of phone calls started flying, with folks making plans for dinner. Vern resisted for a while, figuring it best to rest & not do too much that eve of his trip, not to mention his desire to not make a “fuss” of his departure. But, when Old Lady Yannich called to tell him to be there, something inside him gave in & he decided to go.

Now, opening the driver’s door of his Mercury to exit & go into Charlene’s, Vern realized this was right where he needed to be.

“Surprise!” a chorus of voices rang out when Vern burst through the front door.

“We know you’re not surprised,” Charlene yelled above the din of noise that filtered like a wave after the initial greeting, “but since this is your last night in town for a while, we wanted to make it special!”

Ironically, Vern was surprised, but he didn’t disagree with Charlene.

“Tyler,” Charlene continued, “let’s start getting the food served, shall we?”

“Right away,” Tyler replied. Before darting into the kitchen area he paused & addressed Vern from across the room: “So glad you are here tonight!”

Vern smiled & nodded towards Tyler, who smiled back & rushed into the kitchen to start grabbing plates of food.

“Now, aren’t you glad you came?” Old Lady Yannich queried with a smile, while grabbing Vern’s right arm lovingly.

“Yes, I do believe I am,” Vern smiled back. He gave Old Lady Yannich a half-hug while she kept hold of his right arm.

Mabel moved towards Vern & jokingly ordered Old Lady Yannich: “Now, don’t hog him!”

Chuckling in her crackily voice, Old Lady Yannich let go of Vern’s arm & retreated to her regular table, while Mabel reached out & hugged Vern.

“I know I hugged you earlier today, Vern, but who knows how long you’ll be gone!”

“That’s OK, Mabel,” Vern said, returning Mabel’s hug. “I don’t mind at all.”

“Well,” Mabel said, releasing the hug, “I am so very glad you are going to see your Nephew. I know he must be ecstatic to get to spend some time with you. I can’t wait, though, until you get back & we get to see & hear about your trip!”

Vern nodded & smiled, not knowing what to say in response. Mabel smiled back, then turned to join Old Lady Yannich seated. Vern then started walking towards his table, but was soon greeted by Ashley.

“Now, Vern, don’t you go falling in love with Nashville Tennessee now, you hear? We do want you to come back to Wyoming!”

“Oh, don’t you worry about that, Ashley,” Vern replied. “This will always be home. If anything, I’d fall in love all over again with the road & then never stay in any place for very long!”

“That’d make you a modern-day drifter, I suspect,” Kyle observed, while Ashley turned her attention back to the kids.

“Yeah, yeah, I suspect so,” Vern nodded, winking at each of the kids.

“& don’t worry about your place here,” Kyle said matter-of-factly. “You know me, Phil & Sheriff will keep an eye on it.”

“Yeah, but I’m most looking forward to driving that Caprice,” Phil, sitting at the table next to Kyle & his family, chided with a smile. “I mean, the owner won’t be here, so it’ll be joyride any & all the time, am I right!?”

“Just remember I know what mileage the odometer read when I parked it today,” Vern amusingly warned, walking towards Phil playfully threateningly.

Phil laughed: “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t know that info, Vern!”

“Just think,” Tom started to say while Vern walked towards & past the table Tom shared with Phil, “so much will have changed around here by the time you get back … the mileage on your car, for instance … progress on the DTR Memorial Oasis, &, of course, that old Braidwood place……”

“Some changes will be nice & more than welcome,” Vern confirmed while Tom’s voice trailed off. “I definitely look forward to seeing what you do with the old Braidwood place. It sure will be nice to see life … real, good life, that is … there again.”

At that, a round of applause & cheers echoed through the room, which Vern acknowledged with a slight nod. Then, Vern reached his table, where Marty, Captain Wyatt & Evan sat.

“I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay at your place while you are gone,” Evan sorta blurted out while Vern sat down in his familiar spot.

“Letting you?” Vern asked, half-shocked. “Heck, you’re doing me a favor, too, Evan. It’ll be good for you to be there, in more ways than one.”

Evan nodded, while Vern turned his attention to Marty & Wyatt, nodding at & exchanging pleasantries with both before cautiously mouthing: “Dare I ask?”

“Sure,” the Sheriff said, “if you 1st tell us if you’re going to be able to listen to any of the World Series games broadcast by Pat Hughes.”

“Hope so,” Vern said, “but we’ll see. Soooo….what about that Buick & Mrs. Wilma Schuster?”

“I’m glad you asked,” the Sheriff began. “Turns out, that 1976 Buick Century belonged to David Schuster’s … sister-in-law.”

“Belonged?” Vern questioned. “As in, she is dead, too, Marty?”

“Well, no, we’re not really sure what happened to her or how her car ended up here in Wyoming, but Captain Wyatt’s team is still investigating,” the Sheriff replied, quickly adding: “I’ll be sure to keep you updated even while you are on the road & in Tennessee, Vern, so don’t even think about what I can see is starting to form in that brain of yours!”

Vern chuckled: “Yeah, I’ve put off the trip a few times haven’t I? Well, not this time! I will be happy for you to keep me updated while I’m out of town.”

“Good!” the Sheriff exclaimed, while Tyler delivered a plate of spaghetti to Vern.

“Serving the guest of honor 1st,” Tyler said, quickly darting back into the kitchen to grab more plates of food.

“Before I forget,” Captain Wyatt began, “You’re not completely correct, Sheriff. That is no longer my team.”

Vern gave Wyatt & Marty a quizzical look, while Wyatt stood up.

“Hey everybody, your attention please,” Wyatt loudly announced over the buzz of voices. After those gathered quieted, Wyatt continued: “Look, I know this isn’t exactly the time or place & I will have a more formal announcement later, but I’d rather y’all hear it direct from me instead of through the grapevine rumor mill.”

Now with everyone’s attention, including Tyler & Charlene, who’d both stopped in their tracks with plates of food in hand, Captain Wyatt thought to himself perhaps this wasn’t the best idea to say something. Sensing Wyatt’s hesitation, Sheriff Marty urged him: “Go ahead, tell them!”

Captain Wyatt nodded, then launched into his announcement: “Somebody asked me the other day why I seemingly spend so much time here. My quick, reactionary response was always: it’s my job. Yet, there is just something about this place … the family feel … the way you care for each other…. Well, you all made me feel like I’ve lived here forever. Yet, when Tom approached me about the vacant mayoral job here, I immediately & politely declined, thinking there’d be no way you all would want an outsider in that position. But, Tom told me several of you had inquired about me taking on the position. So, I thought more about it, & after careful consideration, the job really started to appeal to me. Don’t get me wrong … I will always love being a Captain & member of the force, but after seeing your town in action, I really want to be a more integral part of your … family. & so, I’ve resigned as Captain & will begin as Mayor here next week.”

With that, more cheers & applause filled the tiny diner, while Charlene & Tyler started to serve the rest of the meals.

Several hours later after a wonderful evening of eating, reminiscing, talking about traveling & the future with many a family member, Vern was finally back in his home, headed to bed to get some sleep before hitting the road early the next morning. Before he clicked off his nightstand light, he grabbed his favorite photo of Amy & placed it with his things so he’d remember to take it with him on his trip. Night noises wafting in through his open bedroom window then coaxed Vern to sleep.