The Woman of His Dreams

On a sunny Saturday in early June, Craig Peterson woke up in an apartment that was already as hot as an oven. It was very uncomfortable and he knew it would be worse by the end of the day. "I've either got to move, or buy an air-conditioner," Craig thought to himself. He decided to go out for breakfast.

The restaurant down the street from his apartment was pleasantly cool. Craig sat down to enjoy a nice long breakfast with the morning paper. He opened the newspaper to the want ads; he thought he might find a used air-conditioner there. However, as he glanced through the newspaper, one of the ads in the Personal section caught his eye:

WANTED: TRAVEL writer wants driver/ friend, age 25-35, who enjoys sports, reading, traveling, cooking. Call L. Bunker 632-8471.

Craig read the ad again: sports, reading, traveling, cooking—all things that interested him. "That's me," thought Craig. "Someone out there is looking for me! I'm the right age, I enjoy all those things, and I can drive."

He went to the phone and dialed 632-8471. A gentle, female voice answered, "Hello."

"Hello," began Craig. "I'm calling about the ad in the paper."

"Yes," said the lovely voice. "Are you interested?"

"Uh ... well, I think so ...  I mean, yes!" answered Craig nervously. That voice! Who did it belong to? L. Bunker. Linda? Laurie? Lynn? Was the travel writer a beautiful young woman?

At 5:30, Craig was standing in front of the house at 1421 Windsor Road. He was feeling a little silly about dropping everything to find out about the ad. Then the door opened and the most wonderful eyes Craig had ever seen looked out. "Mr. Peterson?" asked the voice.

She let him in. She had dark hair, warm eyes, and a soft smile. Craig melted. This was the woman of his dreams. He heard her say, "I'd like you to meet Mr. L. Bunker, my father. Dad, this is Craig Peterson, who is answering your newspaper ad."

Craig's eyes turned toward the sofa in the living room. He saw a man about 60 years old with the same soft, warm eyes as the young woman.

"Glad to meet you, Mr. Peterson," said the man. "I'm looking for a young man to travel around the U.S. with me this summer and help out with the driving. I'm getting too old to do all the driving myself, and the days get long when you're traveling all alone. My daughter here used to go with me, but this summer she is too busy with her own work to be with me all the time. She has promised to join us for a few weeks during the summer, though."

Craig was too surprised to speak. L. Bunker wasn't this young woman. It was her father!

"Well, Mr. Peterson ... what do you say?" asked Mr. L. Bunker. "Are you interested in talking about this?"

Craig thought carefully. His eyes went from the father to the young woman. He remembered what the father had said about the daughter joining them for a few weeks. He began to smile. "Yes, I'm interested," said Craig. "Let's find out exactly what you have in mind."

As he sat down next to L. Bunker, Craig remembered his hot apartment and the air-conditioner. He probably wouldn't need either one this summer!