roadtrip with ping: romance

Ping at the second Arby's.

The reason Ping was so excited (or, as she would say, "so exciting") to see Arby's was that the chain apparently doesn't exist in the Boston area, where she lives. She hadn't seen it since she was first married and living in Miami.
   The first road trip—and last til now—she ever took was from Miami to Boston, where her new husband was moving to take a job at Wang (remember Wang computers?).
  "That's about the same distance as we are driving," I said.
   "We stayed in motel two nights," she said.
   "We could do that too, but what. would you do hanging around in a motel room for hours," I said.
   "Make love."

  In the event, we stayed in a flea-bag motel somewhere outside of Dayton. I should probably mention the name just so you never make the mistake of staying there. But you wouldn't make this mistake. My problem is I like to be able to see my truck from my room.
   I knew it was a mistake when I saw the two construction workers having a tailgate Bud Lite party in the parking lot next to me. But I had paid, so. . . The light fixtures were dangling by wires off the hall walls, the carpets were tatty, the sheets dirty. But oh well, it was just for a night. The partyers went to bed early. We did not sleep well. Ping dreamed about her ex-husband, not happily.