Heads You Win, Tails You Lose by Atkins Melanie

Author:Atkins, Melanie [Atkins, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
Published: 2013-03-11T18:30:00+00:00

“Just so you understand.”

“I do.”

The man smiled, took his money, and motioned for him to pass through the gate.

Harold grinned. “We did it, Max. We’re taking Evelyn to Mt. Rushmore.”

The park had just opened and today was Wednesday, so the place wasn’t crowded. Harold sent up a prayer of thanks and parked where he had a nice view of the monument.

Max stood up on his hind legs and put his paws on the side glass.

“See it, boy?” Harold asked. “Cool, huh?”

He walked around the truck and surveyed the area. No one was parked close by. So he leaned into the truck, pulled Evelyn’s head out of the ice, and quickly stuffed her, helmet hair and all, into his brown canvas backpack.

“Ow,” he muttered, wincing as he slung the bag onto his shoulder. “Even her damned head is heavy.”

He rolled down both windows a smidgen so Max wouldn’t suffocate, grabbed a soft drink out of the bucket, and closed the door. The pooch barked for him to come back, but he shook his head and marched resolutely toward the monument. He had to do this alone; Max wasn’t allowed on the grounds in this part of the park.

Harold left the truck, sucked in a long, cleansing breath, and wound his way to the viewing area. The sky was a deep cerulean blue, forming the perfect backdrop for the regal monument. He smiled.

Right below the mountain of presidents stood a formidable line of two-foot high concrete posts painted bright yellow, designed to keep visitors from getting too close. As he eyed them, a plan formed in his mind.

He sat on a bench and looked around. Two groups of tourists presently occupied the area, taking turns snapping pictures of each other in front of George Washington’s solemn face. He waited until they were done before rising and approaching the posts along the perimeter.

A park ranger lounged in front of the visitor’s center across the way, eyeing the group trooping toward him with a jaundiced eye. Harold counted on them distracting the guard long enough for him to put Evelyn in place.

“You’ll love it here, my dear,” he crooned, pulling his wife’s head out of his backpack and thumbing her eyes open. He positioned her on the middle post and grinned. “See? They’ve carved all your favorites. Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The only one missing is Reagan, like I told you before. Yet I’m sure you’ll get over it.”

He stepped back and surveyed the odd scene. Evelyn’s helmet-shaped head looked almost as large as those of the four men up on the mountain. He laughed. What a sight.

Five tall heads, moldering in the hot June sun.

“Gotta go, sweetheart,” he said softly, knowing he had to make tracks if he wanted to stay under the radar. He kissed his wife goodbye, stared at her a long moment, and then meandered back to the truck and climbed inside with Max.

Harold sneaked one last peek at Evelyn before pulling from the lot and spotted her sitting solemnly on top of that brilliant yellow concrete post giving George Washington the evil eye.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.