“End of the line.”

Jerry opened his eyes and yawned.  He hadn’t expected to fall asleep, but the cozy, warm interior of the car and the hypnotizing effect of the snow on the road lulled him to slummberland.  “North Platte?”

Robert nodded, a strand of dark brown hair falling into his eyes.  “Every hotel I’ve seen has a ‘no vacancy’ light on.”

They drove on in silence.  Jerry scanned the hotel signs looking for something that promised a vacancy.  He’d talked Robert into heading out into the storm.  “Hey…down the way on the right.”  He couldn’t read the word, but all the ‘no vacancy’ signs had been red.  “It’s green not red…maybe they still have a room.”

Snow crunched beneath the car’s tires.  The temperature must have fallen a good twenty or more degrees since they’d left.  Jerry prayed there would be a room.  Sleeping in a car in freezing temperatures would put a real damper on the weekend’s festivities.

Gradually, the building came into view.  With a nearly full parking lot of snow covered vehicles an older hotel still proclaimed ‘vacancy’ on its signage.  “We just may be in luck, ol’ boy.”

“I hope so.  I’m damn tired.”  Robert pulled into a parking space.

Together, they pulled their bags out of the trunk and trudged toward the main doors, the wind blasting icy particles at them.  Jerry was six times a fool to convince his roommate to travel in such adverse conditions.  What had he been thinking?

He shook his head.  The answer to his rhetorical question come from his third leg– the head with the smallest brain did the thinking for him.  For over two years he’d kept his distance from the Robert the Brainiac…but lately, well, lately there seemed a subtle shift in Robert’s attitude.