Geiger Nelson (1)

Geiger Nelson (1)

    Geiger slowed the station wagon as he passed the sign read WELCOME TO 100 OAK VALLEY! 30 MPH. It had been a long drive and, finally, he'd arrived at the destination. As he drove into the town, he realized the long drive had been well worth the hours on the road. 100 Oak Valley was gorgeous in the late September afternoon. The deciduous trees that outnumbered the buildings 200:1 were in amazing color. Reds and browns and yellows struck his eyes and gave the world a colorful tint. Out in Billsburg, his corner of Indiana, there wasn't enough vegetation for him to get this kind of effect, and the sight sent chills of ease and relaxation down his spine. Yes, 100 Oak Valley would be the perfect spot to start his newest novel.

    Geiger drove slowly down the main road of 100 Oak Valley, Anne Street, and took in the whole downtown and uptown at once. On his left, five buildings stood: a post office (100 Oak Valley Postal), a laundromat (100 Suds), a bookstore (100 Oak's Used and New), a gas station (100 Oak Valley Quickie Gas!) and a small clothing store (100 Wardrobe). On his right were five more: a library (Mary Elizabeth Public Library), a restaurant (100 Oak Valley's Finest), a bar (The Big 100 -closed 'til 7pm), a church (The First Church of 100 Oak Valley in Christ's Name) and, the biggest building of all, a grocery store (Wilbur's Grocer). Straight in front of him, where Anne Street T'd into Thomas Street Avenue, was a long school (Apple Garden Montgomery K-12 School).

    At 12:30 in the afternoon, the streets of 100 Oak Valley were deserted, reminding Geiger of a ghost town, but, of course, no ghost town was this beautiful. He looked down at the fuel gauge, saw it was on empty, and pulled into the 100 Oak Valley Quickie Gas!. Good enough, he thought as he parked the car next to the lone gas pump in the lot and got out of the car. He needed to get directions to 100 Oak Valley Woods anyway. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

    He popped open the gas tank and began to fill the car with Unleaded from the pump. As the fuel flowed into the station wagon, he looked across the street, directly at Wilbur's Grocer. He had packed food and beverage into the trunk before he left, but, after several days of travel, his supply had diminished by about half. After he'd gotten settled into his cabin in the Woods, he'd come back and pick up some more supplies.

    The gas quit pumping, the tank full, and Geiger replaced the Unleaded hose, closed the fuel tank and walked into the Quickie Gas!. 

Inside, light music drifted down from ceiling-mounted speakers as Geiger went to the cooler in the back and grabbed a bottle of Cherry Chug soda. He came up to the counter, where a man, about his own age, sat on a stool, watching a ball game on a black and white television. Geiger grabbed a Johnny Bar from the rack beside the cash register and set the items down, so the man could total them up.

    "I got $32.17 at the pump, too," Geiger informed the man, Durham, according to his name tag.

    "Anything else for you today, friend?" Durham asked with a small smile.

    "Yeah, I was wondering if you could give me directions towards 100 Oak Valley Woods? I have reservations for a cabin up there."

Durham went into a drawer behind the counter, pulled out a red binder labeled CABIN RENTALS and flipped to the last page. Trailing down the full page with his finger, he came to a name about a third of the way down and said, "Geiger Nelson? That you?"

    "Yes, sir," Geiger smiled. 100 Oak Valley was small indeed, if the cabin rental was the same place as the gas station.

    "Alrighty," Durham nodded. He picked up a small package from the same drawer as he had gotten the binder from and handed it to Geiger. "This is your cabin key and windshield decal. Keep the decal on, or there's a chance you could get a fine. You're in Cabin 1 up in the Woods. To get there you go down Thomas Avenue, past the NOW LEAVING sign and the third left onto 100 Woods Road. Pretty easy to get there. Just keep going on that and there's signs posted for which way to go to the cabins. Cool?"

    Geiger nodded. "Thank you."

    "Not a prob, Bob." Durham grinned. "Now, the purchases and the cabin payment come to $121.13. Cash, check, or card, we accept it all, my good tourist friend."

    Geiger chuckled as he pulled his Univer$al credit/debit card from his wallet and handed it over. Durham swiped it, Geiger entered his PIN number, and, the transaction complete, both men said "have a nice afternoon" and Geiger left the small gas station.

Reviews

[Drifter]

As I read this the first thing I asked myself was "Why is he getting his key from the gas station clerk? Doesn't make much sense to me." I looked back to see if I had missed something. I don't think I did. Clarification as to why that is would be beneficial. Other than this, your descriptions are quite nice.

[James Watts]

This is a well written work. I believe I will be suggesting to some people on here. Very Nice.

[Fallacy Pharmacy]

I iz intrigued o.o