One day off. That’s all he wanted. Just a day to roam away from the drudgery of daily discipline. He didn’t have many such days. He was dependable and so was his schedule. His fine reputation was, in part, due to keeping commitments he made whether they made sense or not. He sighed. He was tired of commitments. Well he had none today! This would be a treat! He would RELAX. He decided to take an unfamiliar road out of town and came to a five-booth restaurant in a tiny town where he stopped, made small talk with the only other customer, and got a cup of coffee to go.

He was on the road in no time and looked at the scribbles on the paper next to him. The written directions said to veer right, but there was no right – only straight and a left turn that became a frontage road. He shrugged and kept going straight.

Twenty minutes found him with the choice of a dead end or a sharp left onto a gravel road. He took the left turn. It wasn’t a bad road. He just knew it wasn’t the right road. A stray piece of gravel kicked up and made a tiny chip in his windshield. He leaned closer to peer at it, and in doing so, unintentionally veered toward the ditch, but pulled his car back in the nick of time. Turning back may have been prudent, but he’d committed back when he didn’t veer right because there was no veer right to veer. The road turned into blacktop and led to a mid-sized city.

A glass building with an attached outdoor cafe caught his eye, so he pulled into the nearest parking spot. Why not? He was getting hungry. It was close to 11:00. Close enough. As he was finishing his corned beef and swiss on rye, an eerie sound, low and wavering and unyielding emitted from a sewer grate in the street near where he sat. A few customers ignored it and a few others paid and quickly left.

As he drove away, a deafening explosion followed him. The rearview mirror showed light gray billows of smoke. Steam vapor from unseen vents? An explosion of an old boiler? He increased his acceleration and found himself at a roundabout. He hated those things, but took it as a sign.

His reversed course led him back to the original road. He parked alongside the curb, got out and examined the spot. Okay. He had to admit there was a slight road to the right, but it was nearly overgrown by weeds. He excused himself his original choice. It was understandable why he hadn’t noticed it!

A sudden slap on his back made him jump.

“Hey there, buddy! Did you find the place I told you about? Glorious as all get out! My favorite is the waterfall. Boy howdy does it make noise!”

“Noise?” His ears still buzzed from before.

His acquaintance peered at him more closely. “Guys like you should take a break every now and again. You don’t look so good. You must be hungry. There’s a cute little diner back in town. Just take your first left.” He paused and pointed. “You should get that chip in your windshield fixed. Stan’s auto is two doors down from the diner.”

The man thanked him and got back in his car. A day wasted, a damaged eardrum, and a slight case of dyspepsia. Next time he told himself he should keep going because he’d already committed, he’d slap himself silly and veer even if there was no veer to veer.

In fact . . .  He looked at his watch, started his car, and veered right.

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