Plans Changed

I was driving across the desert in Utah when my car broke down.

I sat for a while. The heat waves created ripples in my view of the distance to nowhere extending for miles in every direction.

An armadillo walked across the desert towards my car. The armadillo stopped and waited by the passenger door. I opened the door and the armadillo got in, closing the door behind itself.

The armadillo said, “Where you going?”

I said, “I’m heading towards the coast.”

The armadillo said, “Can you take me?”

I said, “No. My car has stopped working.”

The armadillo said, “Oh. Then would you like to stay with me?”

I thought about it and then said, “Yes.”

The armadillo and I walked to its burrow.

I said, “I won’t fit.”

The armadillo said, “We’ll see about that.”

The armadillo clawed the burrow to at least ten times its original size. The armadillo went in first. I followed.

The armadillo said, “What do you think?”

I said, “I like it!”