The adventure continues

Sandra and Donita are finally ready for their cruise to Aruba. All the problems seem to have been solved. They picked up the travel documents which have the airline tickets, hotel reservations and tickets for the ship. They both have their passports. Now they need to get the rental car to drive to Seattle. A friend drives them to the agency, then leaves. The women enter the office.

Sandra:		Excuse me; I’ve reserved a car for today. 
		Here is my driver’s license and credit card.
Clerk:		Oh yes, I’ve been expecting you. Will you 
		both be driving the car?
Sandra:		No, I’ll be the only driver.
Clerk:		And do you need insurance in case of an 
		accident?
Sandra:		No, my insurance policy will cover any 	
		damage to the car.
Clerk:		(He makes notes on the paper.) Please sign 
		here.
Sandra:		I’d like to inspect the car before I sign 
		anything.
Clerk:		The car is in perfect condition.
Donita:		Just sign the paper so we can get going. 
		There will be a lot of traffic soon.
Sandra:		No, it’s important to check the condition 
		of the car. I don’t want to get charged for any
		damage that wasn’t my fault.
		They go outside to inspect the car. 
Clerk:		Hmmm. I didn’t notice this dent when the 
		car was returned. And here’s a scratch.
Donita:		It’s a good thing you asked to check it 
		over.
Sandra:		If you will circle the drawing of damage 
		spots on your paper, I will be glad to sign it.
Clerk:		Of course. Here’s the paper and the keys. 
		When will you be returning it?
Sandra:		I made arrangements to return it to the car 
		rental at the Seattle airport. Do you have 
		that information? (She signs the paper.)
Clerk:		No, I don’t. I’ll have to ask my boss about 
		it. She isn’t here yet. 
Donita:		(Groans.) Another problem! Do you think fate 
		is trying to keep us from going on this trip?
Sandra:		Who else could I talk to about this?
		We have a long drive ahead of us and need to
		leave soon to avoid all the traffic.
Clerk:		Maybe I can find something in your 		
		reservation paperwork. (Looks through file 
		folder.) Here it is. You are going to leave 
		the car at our airport office. 
Sandra:		Yes! We had better get going. Do you have 
		any maps?
Clerk:		Not at this office. You would have to drive 
		to the downtown office in Salem to get one.
Donita:		Let’s stop at triple A on the way. They 
		have a lot of maps for members. (They go outside
		and get in the car.)
Sandra:		I could hardly keep from laughing when he 
		said we would have to drive 20 miles out of our
		way to get a map!
Donita:		I know! But now the adventure can begin.
Sandra:		Maybe we should “cross our fingers” for 
		good luck? (She laughs.)
Donita:		And our arms and legs, too?
Sandra:		I don’t think I can drive like that!
		Eight hours later, they have arrived in Seattle
		and returned the car. It has been raining hard
		and both women are very tired. An airport shuttle
		takes them to the hotel. They make arrangements
		for a ‘wake-up” call and transportation to the
		airport. They have to be at the airport two
		hours before the flight leaves. 
Donita:		I’m tempted to just sleep in my clothes, 
		since we have to be up at 4:00a.m.
Sandra:		That’s a good idea, and then we don’t have 
		to unpack anything.
Donita:		What if the hotel clerk forgets to call us?
Sandra:		(Sleepily.) It’s all computerized through 
		the phone. The computer won’t forget. Night.  
Donita:		O.K. I’ll try to relax until tomorrow. 	
		Goodnight.