“No, Mrs. Cook. Of course, Mrs. Cook. Yes, Mrs. Cook,” Mike stammered. “Eleven o’clock….mmm.”
Johnny couldn’t stop laughing.
“Sssh!” Captain Stanley warned, elbowing Johnny in the ribs. “You’ll wake him up!” he whispered.
Roy finally clamped his hand over Johnny’s mouth and pulled him away from the tossing, turning and sleep talking Mike Stoker. Marco, Chet and Captain Stanley followed them to the other side of the bunkroom.
“Of course I plan on going to college…,” they heard Mike murmur.
“You all know what this means, don’t you?” Captain Stanley asked, trying to be serious, but failing miserably.
“Beth’s mother is coming to visit,” Marco answered.
“Happens every time,” Chet added, shaking his head as he headed back to bed.
Later that morning Mike entered the kitchen. Roy poured a fresh cup of coffee and handed it to him. Johnny put a plate full of pancakes onto the table for him. Chet held out the chair for him to sit in. Marco brought him the morning’s paper.
“Alright, what’s going on?” Mike asked suspiciously.
Captain Stanley finally spoke up, after getting the go ahead from the others.
“When does she get in?” he asked Mike, his voice full of sympathy.
Mike hung his head.
“I was talking in my sleep last night, huh?” he asked sheepishly, already knowing the answer.
Captain Stanley nodded and patted Mike’s shoulder.
“I think Chris Jeffreys is taking a couple of vacation days next week. Maybe you could work the OT,” he offered.
Mike shook his head.
“I wish. Beth begged me not to leave her alone with her, so I already switched shifts with Joe Hanna so I could be home during the day,” Mike answered.
“Yeah, I remember, now. I guess I never did ask why,” Captain Stanley mused.
“So what’s the itinerary gonna be?” Roy asked.
“I don’t know,” Mike answered dejectedly. “All I know is that for the next two weeks there will be no poker games, no bowling, no basketball on TV and no golf either.”
“You mean you can’t even go to the captain and crew tournament?” Johnny asked.
“That’s the day she decided would be perfect for the family reunion,” he started. “And get this - the best news yet – she’s thinking about moving back to LA,” he added sarcastically.
“Oh, man, Mike,” Roy asked. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, Roy. I don’t know,” Mike replied.
Mike’s sleep talking became less amusing and more annoying as his mother-in-law’s impending visit got closer and closer. Eventually, he wound up sleeping on the couch in the TV room, so he wouldn’t disturb the other guys.
Johnny woke up hungry, around midnight one morning. He went down to the kitchen only to find Mike sweeping the floor in his underwear.
“Mike? What happened, you spill something?” Johnny asked.
“Bye-bye birdie,” Mike said, bending down to pick up an imaginary object.
Johnny got closer to him. He realized that Mike was still asleep. He was still asleep and playing golf with the broom. Johnny gently took the broom from Mike’s hands and led him over to the couch.
“That’s it, Mike. Back to bed,” Johnny soothed.
He covered him up with the blanket Mike had brought from the bunkroom. After getting his midnight snack, Johnny headed back to bed, chuckling to himself. He couldn’t wait to tell the guys about this one.
At 6 AM, the county dispatcher woke up the shift with its morning tone test. After dressing in fresh uniforms, they headed down to the kitchen for breakfast. They arrived at the truck bay and stopped, confused looks appearing on their faces. The engine was gone.
“Miiiiike?” Captain Stanley called. “Stoker!!!” he called after getting no response to his first call.
They went to the TV room and found Mike, sleeping on the couch. He was covered with grass and mud.
He slowly woke up, hearing the commotion. He found five faces staring down at him.
“What’s going on?” he asked, yawning.
“Mike, where’s the engine?” Captain Stanley asked.
“Huh? What do you mean? It’s in the truck bay,” he answered.
“No, Mike. It’s not,” Captain Stanley answered, his blood pressure starting to rise.
Chet and Marco left the room and came back shortly.
“It’s not parked anywhere outside, Cap,” Chet announced.
“Uh, Cap?” Johnny spoke up, hesitation clearly in his voice.
“What is it, Gage,” Captain Stanley replied tersely.
“I found Mike sleepwalking last night,” Johnny started. “You don’t suppose he could have driven somewhere in his sleep, do you?” he asked, afraid of the answer.
They all looked at Mike.
“Oh, shit,” he said quietly.
“Mike?” Captain Stanley called. “Where did you park the engine?” he asked.
“I don’t remember, Cap,” he started.
“Stoker!!” Captain Stanley exclaimed. “How could you forget where you parked the engine?!! It’s a big, huge, red fire truck! It’s a hundred thousand-dollar piece of equipment! How can you just drive it somewhere and not remember!” he ranted.
The ringing of the phone interrupted his ranting. Johnny answered it.
“Uh, Cap?” Johnny called. “Sheriff’s office,” he said, handing the phone to Captain Stanley.
“Captain Stanley,” he spoke. “Yes. Uh, yes, we had some mechanical problems. Yes, I know. Uh, no, thanks, we’re heading out now with a tool kit. Thanks,” he finished, hanging up the phone.
The group looked expectantly at Captain Stanley.
“That was the Sheriff’s office. They were wondering what our engine was doing parked up at the golf course,” he said, looking directly at Mike. “Looks like you decided to play in that captain and crew tournament after all, Mike,” he said, motioning to Mike’s grass and mud stained clothes. “They also said they found an axe lying on the first green,” he added.
Johnny burst out laughing. Chet was rolling on the floor. Marco was wiping up the coffee he’d just spit out. Roy tried to hold his laughter in. He wound up running from the room. They heard his laughs echoing from the half-empty truck bay.
“Are we going to have to put you to bed, bound and gagged, from now on Stoker?” Captain Stanley asked.
“Only if my mother-in-law decides to stay in LA,” Stoker responded, thoroughly embarrassed.
“You could always move to the East Coast,” Chet added.
“Gage, DeSoto,” Captain Stanley called. “Take sleeping beauty here to the golf course to bring back the engine,” he ordered, heading toward his office, shaking his head. Eventually, he laughed too.
Author’s note: This is in response to Jane’s “challenge” to write a story in which Stoker forgets where he parked the engine. Hope you had fun! I did. - Mady