It was pouring down rain as Sadie was driving down the interstate. She had been on the road now for a couple of months. As she was driving she got to thinking about some of the people she had met in her travels. There was Jerry and Ida who were a nice couple she met when she had stopped in Utah for a few days. They had invited her to have supper with them while she was in the campground. Jerry loved to BBQ so Sadie had made a nice potato salad to share with them for one evening and a dessert at another time. Ida loved to talk about their family and she and Sadie had a good time sharing stories about their children and grandchildren. Jerry and Ida were traveling cross country and they had been on the road for about three months. They had just retired and they wanted to see the country and at the same time look for a place to live after their trip was over. Then there was a gal named Ruth that was also traveling on her own. Ruth was a widow and had been for several years. She was on her way from Massachusetts to Oregon to visit her daughter and her family. She hadn�t seen them for a few years and she was anxious to see her grandchildren again. Ruth had been traveling this way for years. She told Sadie how she and her husband had seen a lot of the country in a motor home and after he died she just decided to keep traveling that way. She liked the fact that she could take her time and see what she wanted to see when she wanted to see it. Ruth had given Sadie some tips about places to see on her travels. Sadie had met Ruth in Cody, Wyoming where she had stopped after going through Yellowstone Park. She had really enjoyed Cody because it was like an old western town. And it had the Buffalo Bill Museum that was really worth the trip. Sadie and Ruth even took one evening and went to a rodeo. They enjoyed the bullriding the best. When Sadie left the campground by Missoula, she decided to take her time and head to Colorado. Her mother had been born in Colorado and she wanted to go there to see the town again where her mother had been born. She loved the scenery and the mountains. It really was such beautiful country. It had been at least ten years since she had taken her mother there for a visit and she wanted to go there again. There had been others that she had met too, but Jerry, Ida and Ruth were the ones she remembered the most....until she met Sam.

She met Sam Murphy in Colorado. He was traveling from Kansas on the way to California to see some family and friends. He was an interesting fellow for sure. Sadie had stopped for a few days at a park not far from Denver. There was a group of real friendly campers there and that�s where she met Sam. He was around 5�11� and a little on the stocky side, but he had twinkling blue eyes and a hearty laugh. He had gray hair and a mustache and he always seemed to be wearing blue jeans, flannel shirts and cowboy boots. He and Sadie hit it off right away. Pretty soon they were walking around the park together, sitting around the campfire in the evenings toasting marshmallows and eating s�mores, listening to music and just talking and laughing. It turned out that they both liked country music. Sam liked the looks of Sadie too. He had always been partial to voluptuous women. She was about 5�6�,a little overweight with short blonde hair and brown eyes that looked like the color of mahogany. They were warm and inviting just like her smile. She wore a little makeup and Sam liked that. He never did take too much to women that looked like they had used a trowel to put their makeup on. She was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt and walking shoes that looked expensive. He loved to listen to her talk, her voice was low and soft, until she heard something funny. Then she had the best laugh he�d ever heard from a woman! Her laugh came from deep inside her. Sadie had been at the park for a week now, and she decided she had better be getting on her way again. She told Sam that she would be leaving the next morning.

�Sadie, since it�s your last day here. I�d really like to take you out for the evening. Would you like to go to dinner and a movie with me?�

�Sam, I think that�s a lovely idea. I haven�t been to a movie in a long time.�

�Great, I�ll pick you up in about an hour in my truck and we�ll have a nice evening.�

Sam had found a nice little place with tables that actually had red and white checked tablecloths on them. Since it was a little early for the dinner crowd, there weren�t too many customers there. Sam asked the waiter to seat them at a table toward the back of the restaurant so they would be able to have a little privacy. The waiter that came to take their drink orders was a short older man with a nice smile . Sadie had white wine and Sam had a Scotch and soda. When the waiter came back to take their dinner orders, Sam and Sadie had both decided on having the prime rib dinners. Sadie ordered the 8 oz. dinner and Sam the 10 oz. dinner. Both dinners came with baked potatoes with all the trimmings and a small caesar salad. While they ate, they got to talking about all the fun they had since they met. Sadie was thinking that it was going to be hard to leave now. She and Sam were just getting to be so well acquainted. But then she thought that she had better continue on with her trip. This was too soon to be thinking along those lines. But she really wished she could stay a little longer.

�You know Sam, this has been a great week for me. I think this is the most fun I�ve had since I left Seattle on this trip. I�m really glad I met you. You have such a great sense of humor. As you can tell, I do love to laugh!�

�Yes Sadie, I found that out! And I enjoy making you laugh. This has been a great week for me too. To tell you the truth, I�m sorry that you�re leaving in the morning. I was hoping to spend more time with you.�

�How long will you be in California? And when you leave there, will you be going back to your home in Kansas?

�I�m not sure how long I�ll be in California Sadie. Two of my children and their families live there and I have some friends I want to visit. But yes, when I leave California I will be going back to Kansas. Why?�

�Well, I just had a thought that I might be able to stop by for a visit sometime. I�m going to be heading east now, but on my way back to Seattle, I could come thru Kansas and pay you a visit. Would that be alright with you?�

Sam got quiet for a minute, then he cleared his throat and spoke. �Sadie, there is something I should have told you before. But we�ve been having such a nice time, I didn�t want to spoil it.�

�Oh Sam.....I�m so sorry. I guess I was taking things for granted. You don�t have to explain anything to me. Honest.�

�But I want to explain. I just never expected to meet anyone that I could have such a good time with.� Sam stopped for a minute and then took a deep breath and started talking again. �I guess I should just come right out with it. I am married and I have been for 40 years. My wife is a lovely woman, but about 8 years ago she started having some health problems. We went to several doctors and finally found out that she had Alzheimers. I took care of her as good as I could. But eventually it got to be too much for me. She turned into a person I didn�t even know anymore. And she got very hard to handle. My children and I discussed what to do, and we finally decided it would be best to put her in a nursing home. You don�t know how much I hated that idea, but my health was starting to suffer too. And I was so tired all the time. So, about six months ago, we found a very nice home for her. I went to visit her every day. That was so hard too. Some days she wouldn�t even know me, and other times she would scream and yell at me and try to hit me. It got to be very hard for me to go there every day. My children finally told me to get away for a while and they suggested I travel out to California to visit them and some of my friends. So I left home about a week ago and I�ve just been taking my time on the trip. So that is my story. I�m sorry I hadn�t mentioned this to you before.�

�Oh my God Sam, I�m so sorry to hear that. Alzheimers is such a terrible disease. My father had that and I remember how hard it was on my mother. It must have been a terrible time for you. I would like to think that I�m your friend. We have had some nice times and I�m glad I had the chance to meet you. I�ll be on the road in the morning, but I will remember the time I�ve spent here. I have to say again that this has been the best week I�ve had since I left Seattle. And I thank you for that.�

�Thanks Sadie, I hope we are friends. I would like to stay in touch with you if you wouldn�t mind. You�re so easy to talk with and besides that you make me laugh. I haven�t done much of that lately.�

�Alright Sam, I�ll give you my cell phone number and you can call whenever you want. I don�t know when I�ll be getting back to Seattle, but I will let you know. Now, I think it�s a little late to go to the movies, so lets just head back to the campground. I have to get ready to head out of here in the morning.�

They left the restaurant and got in Sam�s truck for the ride back to the campground. They both stayed silent, but during the ride back, Sam reached over and took Sadie�s hand and squeezed it. �You�re a good woman Sadie....thank you for a lovely evening.� Sadie just smiled at Sam, but didn�t say anything.

It was about 10:30 when they pulled into the campground. It was a warm night and the sky was full of stars. When they got to Sadie�s campsite, she turned to Sam and smiled. �It was a lovely evening Sam. Thank you very much for the dinner and the conversation. It�s been quite a while since I�ve had such a nice evening and such good company. Just a minute and I�ll give you my cell phone number.� Sadie got a piece of paper out of her purse and wrote the number down and handed it to Sam.

�It was my pleasure Sadie. I�ve enjoyed the time that we�ve known each other. And thank you for the number. I do intend to keep in touch with you. But dammit, I sure hate to see you leave in the morning. Please excuse my language! But I really mean it. Since you will be leaving in the morning, I think I just might get myself ready and head for California tomorrow.�

�I think that would be a good idea. I�ll bet your children and your friends are anxious to see you. If you do leave tomorrow, please drive carefully and I hope your trip will be safe.�

Sadie took Sam�s hand and leaned over to kiss him good night on the cheek. But just as she was about to kiss his cheek, he turned his face and they kissed each other on the lips. Before they knew what was happening, they were in each others arms. Sadie thought to herself, �Good grief woman...what are you doing? Sam is a married man.� Sadie pulled away and caught her breath. �Sam, this isn�t right. I�m so sorry. I just wanted to give you a good night kiss on the cheek. I should have known better.�

�Sadie, I�ve been wanting to kiss you all night. I know it was wrong of me but I couldn�t help myself. I enjoyed it but I sure don�t want to lose your friendship.�

Sadie got out of the truck and turned around to look at Sam. �You won�t lose my friendship over a kiss.� She smiled and then turned and went into her motor home. She heard the sound of the truck as it pulled away and she sat down and tried to pull herself together. This was something she really hadn�t expected when she left Seattle. �You foolish woman. You finally find a nice man that is fun to be with and he is married.�

In the morning when Sadie woke up, she fixed herself some coffee and a bowl of cereal for breakfast. She looked outside and saw that Sam was outside and had hooked his truck up to his trailer already. It looked like he meant what he said about leaving this morning too. She cleaned up her dishes and checked everything for the last time. Yep, she was ready to leave. Last night had been so nice but she felt a little foolish for being so reckless. She had feelings that she hadn�t had for quite a while and she wanted to get on the road before she changed her mind. Deep down she had the feeling that she hadn�t heard the last of Sam Murphy. And that didn�t bother her one bit!

As Sadie pulled out of the campground she waved goodbye to Sam and headed east. And back in the campground, Sam watched as the tail lights of her motor home disappeared in the distance