pointed at Joyâs brightly decorated RV. âThat your rig?â
âWell, itâs my friendâs. Joy Jorgenson. Like I said, sheâs elderlyâalmost eighty-six. Iâm helping her with this, uh, trip.â
âWell, Iâve seen some crazy-looking RVs before, but this might be the wildest one yet.â She grinned. âI like it.â
Miranda relaxed a bit, explaining about the Christmas Joy Ride and Joyâs website contest. âAnd weâre going on Route 66âall the way from Chicago to Phoenix anyway. It was Joyâs dream to do Route 66 in her motor home. Kind of like a bucket list, you know?â
May nodded. âWell, good for her. And good for you too.â May jerked her thumb toward a golf cart. âHow âbout I meet you at space 9 and weâll see if we can get your rig to take a dump?â She laughed louder.
By the time Miranda got back into the driverâs seat, Joy was back in the bedroom. âIf youâre ready,â she called out, âIâm taking off. Hang on!â
Joy gave her the go-ahead, and since May was already leading the way, which was helpful since it was just starting to get dark, Miranda cautiously took off.
They quickly found space 9 and May helped Miranda get parked. Then Miranda hurried to the side of the RV where May had already turned on an exterior light that Miranda didnât know existed. Now, outfitted in her yellow rubber gloves, May was tugging a large hose from one of the holds.
âWhy donât you hook up the fresh water while I do this,â May called over her shoulder. âThat way we can flush the system once weâre done here.â
After May got the big hose situated, she explained the various valves and why you pulled the black one first and the gray one second, and several other things that went right over Mirandaâs head. Sometimes this RV stuff felt like visiting a new planet.
Miranda tried not to cringe at the aroma of sewage as May pulled the âblack waterâ valve. But her respect for May had grown significantly. This was nasty work and this tough gal wasnât complainingâor even swearing.
âItâs really nice of you to help me with this,â Miranda said meekly, looking on as May released the âgray waterâ valve.
âHelps to have these gloves.â May held up a hand. âYou should get some too if you plan to do this yourself next time. We got some in the store by the office.â
âYes, Iâll definitely do that.â
After about fifteen minutes, the tanks were emptied, the big smelly hose was rinsed and put away, and the water and electric were all hooked up. Miranda looked over the setup with a sense of relief and victory.
âThank you so much,â Miranda said as she trailed May back to her golf cart. She watched with admiration as the can-do woman peeled off the rubber gloves and tossed them in a bucket.
âNo problem.â
Now May grabbed a bottle of disinfecting hand cleaner, squirted some on, and started to vigorously rub. âNever can be too careful, you know.â
âYeah, Iâll bet.â
âAnd when you go inside, make sure you put some tank conditioner into your toilet.â
âWhatâs that?â
âAsk your friend if sheâs got some. If not, you better come by the store and pick some up before we close at six. Keeps the smell down. You might need some of this too.â She tossed the disinfectant into the cart and climbed in.
âGood idea.â Miranda nodded eagerly. âNow if you can wait just a minute, I have something for you.â She dashed back into the motor home. âOkay if I give the manager a cookie plate?â she called out as she did a quick hand-washing herself.
âCertainly,â Joy called from the bathroom. âPlease do!â
Miranda grabbed a big cookie plate and hurried back out to present it to May.
âWell, this is