Boarded up

You pull into the parking lot of the small motel. The windows of the office building a broken and boarded up. Looking out front of the mail building, you see a cracked cement pool mostly empty but for a puddle of bright green water. You turn to see your young hitchhiker looking pouty and irritated.

"Shit! It's closed?! Well... fuck. Now what?" says the woman. She falls silent for a few moments, and then sighs and turns to you, "I don't suppose you know of another motel nearby?"

"Ahh... like I was saying, I'm kinda new to the area, so I don't know much, but it's a pretty sparse area. There may be another motel around, but I don't know where," you reply, twisting your mouth up with sympathy.

"Dammit, I left a note for my friend at the last shelter that I'd be staying here too. I figured she'd meet me in the morning..." she says, shaking her head.

"Ahhh... well, I guess you could camp by the road and wait for your friend?" you suggest.

"Ah... probably not, camping by the road is sorta a cardinal no-no. All kinds of yahoos swing by the trailheads to **** hikers when they're drunk and belligerent. No, if I'm going back to the trail, I'll have to hike to the next shelter. Shit, I really wanted a shower" she says.

"Ah, hmm... well... I... don't want to.... anyway, if you wanted, you could stay at my cabin for the night, and you could find your friend in the morning," you suggest.

"Oh! Wow! Really? That would be great! Uhh... I really don't want to impose, it seems like you were coming out here to have some privacy..." she says.

"Yeah, that's true, but I've got four kids, so although I think I want privacy, the truth is I'd probably be bored without someone around," you say with a chuckle.

"Ok, well, thank you so much, that would be amazing. To be honest, motels are ok, but the though of staying in a real house sounds so nice!" she says enthusiastically.

"I bet it does. Ok, great, well, let's get goin' then, shall we? I'm pretty eager to get out of this car," you say.

You drive take a u-turn on the road and head back in the direction you came, driving just a short ways until you get to the long driveway that leads to your cabin.

"Oh, hey, my name's George, by the way," you say, offering your hand.

"Maria, George, nice to meet you," she replies, shaking your hand with a smile.

After five minutes on the driveway, you pull up to the cabin. It's a respectable sized two story cabin with outcroppings that show that it was built in sections and looks like it lays against the hill. Past the cabin, through the trees, you can see the lake shimmering in the mid-morning sun. The two of you get out of the car and you walk around the back to open the trunk and grab your things at the same time as Maria comes around to grab her pack. Maria could have stood aside for a moment as you grabbed your things, but you note that instead, she steps in to stand close to you to grab her pack.

As you drag your stuff inside, you think about what you want to do first now that you're here.