Travels of Tracy––Autumn - Part 2

Good Morning Friday Fiction Fans!
I was forgetting it was Friday morning and I needed to get this post up. :P But I'm working on it now. :)

I don't know about you, but we've have major climate change this week. On Monday it was in the 70's and my best friend and I went for a walk in the evening with no jackets and were even a little warm. But on Tuesday it was cold! The past two days I don't think it's even been above freezing! And, if that weren't enough, there is a chance of snow this weekend! We almost never have snow before Thanksgiving! In fact, I don't remember ever getting any before then. Sometimes we'll have snow before Christmas, but usually we have to wait until January before we get snow. Such strange weather we have. :) But I love living in a place that has the changing of seasons. What about you?

This week I've been writing. I got inspired with an idea for a Christmas story, and have been working on that. But last night I was having a terrible time making anything sound right. I'd write something and think, "That's blah. Don't want that." Or, "This part is not even interesting! I'll just delete this part." It wasn't until I was in bed that I had an idea. Right now I'm mulling it over in my mind, but the more I do, the better I like it. So, if we don't babysit this evening, I think I'll be cutting, changing and working on the Christmas story. I'd appreciate some prayers. :)

But here is the end of Travels of Tracy. I would love to hear what you think of it. And if you haven't read the rest of the stories about Tracy, check on my Short Stories page to find and enjoy them. :)

Travels of Tracy––Autumn

Part 2

    When the park ranger, having seen her fall from a window, reached her, Tracy was sitting in the sand rubbing her ankle with one hand while holding her cat with the other. “Do you need some help, Miss?” the ranger asked.
    Tracy sighed dismally and looked up. “I could use some,” she admitted. “My car is stuck in the sand back there, the beads from my shoes are scattered everywhere, and I don’t think I can walk very far with this ankle.”
    “I see,” the ranger replied, looking from the direction of the unseen car to the girl and cat before him. “I’ll help you into the center and then we’ll see about your ankle and car.”
    “Oh, please, can’t we gather these beads up? I don’t want to litter such a beautiful park as this, even if these are wood,  and I might be able to sew them back on my shoes. Lyn, stop putting your tail in my mouth, please,” she begged, shifting her cat in her arm.
    The ranger felt in his pocket, pulled out a handkerchief and, after tying some knots in it, offered it as a place to put the beads. Several minutes were spent gathering the refractory objects which delighted in hiding in the sand and under the brown grass. Then Ranger Jones, putting the handkerchief with it’s unusual collection in his pocket, held out his hand. “Let me help you up. And I would strongly suggest that you carry instead of wear your shoes.”

    Once Tracy was settled on a chair in the office of the nature center, Lyn curled up in a contented, purring heap in her lap, she asked, “Is there a phone I can use?”
    “Yep.” and Ranger Jones moved a phone across the desk. “Help yourself.”
    “Thank you.” Tracy dialed a number and then waited. “Tad? It’s me, Tracy . . . Um, I sort of got stuck here at the state park . . . Mmm hmm. That’s the one . . . The car was spinning its wheels and then, well, I’m here at the Nature Center, and I can’t drive very well tonight, what with the car and then . . .” There was a long pause. “Yes, I have Lyn.” Another pause. “Oh, Tad, would you? . . . Of course I’ll wait. I can’t exactly go anywhere now . . . All right. Good-bye, Tad.”
    Giving a vast sigh of relief, Tracy hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. “Tad’s coming for me.”
    “Your brother?” asked Ranger Jones.
    Tracy shook her head. “No, fiancee. We got engaged just before school started again. He’s graduated, but I still have one more year. Then we’ll get married.” She looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled.

***

    It was later that night. Tad and Tracy had arrived at his parent’s house, and Tracy’s things had been deposited in the guest room where she had often stayed. Her blue car had been pulled from the sand and was now parked in the driveway, none the worse for its delay at the state park.
    Now Tad and Tracy sat on the couch together in the living room before a crackling fire while his parents did the dishes. Tad had his arm around Tracy’s shoulders and her turned ankle was resting on a soft footstool.
    “Tracy, I’m not going to wait until June,” Tad stated firmly. “We’re going to get married at Thanksgiving.”
    Tracy looked astonished. “Why, Tad!” she exclaimed. In her amazement she pulled away from his arm to sit up straight and stare into his face. “I won’t be done with college yet, and Thanksgiving is only six weeks away!”
    “Exactly,” Tad nodded, pulling her back. “If you had a longer break before then, I’d move the date up.” Lyn jumped into Tracy’s lap and rubbed her head against Tracy’s chin. The rumble of her purr was loud, and Tad chuckled. “Madelyn agrees with me.”
    Pushing back one of her loose, tawny curls, Tracy’s hand felt Tad’s and she held on to it. “Why the sudden change of plans,” she asked.
    “Because I can’t stand the worry any longer. Why, Tracy, every time you set off to travel anywhere by yourself, you run into problems. You’ve had a flat tire, had engine trouble, been swept off the road and almost caught in a tornado, gotten lost, and now you have twisted your ankle after getting your car stuck in the sand. It’s a wonder my hair isn’t white,” he teased. “You shouldn’t have any reason to drive any distance before Thanksgiving, and then we’ll be married and I’ll be with you on all your trips.”
    “But—“
    “No, buts.” Tad put his finger over Tracy’s lips and shook his head though he grinned. “From now on I’m not going to let you drive anywhere outside the city alone. I want to make sure that should trouble arise, you will be able to get help right away. Besides,” he couldn’t resist adding with a twinkle in his eyes, “this way will save us a lot of money.”
    “How so?”
    “It will save the cost of buying you new pairs of shoes to replace all of your favorite ones which you have ruined in your travels.”
    In the end Tracy agreed to the plan. She always did agree when Tad really wanted something. And so, on a cold, blustery day near the end of November, Tracy and Tad were married. Thus the travels of Tracy Linnet with her cat, Madelyn, in the little blue Road Runner were ended.

There, these stories are over!

How did you like the ending?
Was it what you were expecting?