A balding man in a pop-up camper parked beside them was busy getting something out of the back of his truck. He gave them a wave and a smile. “Sorry to eavesdrop, but you ladies need lint if you want to start a fire.”
Grandma Cecilia frowned. “Lint? From a dryer?”
He bobbed his head. “Yes. It’s the perfect thing to get a fire started.” He pulled a plastic Ziplock bag out of his back pocket and handed it to them. “Here you go.”
Elana frowned. “You don’t need it?”
He shook his head. “I get some every time I dry my clothes. Besides, I am heading out in the morning, so I won’t need it.”
Elana took it. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “Of course. I love sharing tips on outdoor living. You ladies have a good evening.” He gave them a smile and headed back to his camper.
“That was nice of him.” Elana stared at the pile of lint in the plastic bag.
Grandma Cecilia looked up at her. “Outdoorsy people usually are. The more time you spend outside, the more likely you are to have a friendly attitude. It’s because of the vitamin D.” She pointed to the firepit. “Now let’s try out his trick for starting a fire.”
Elana bent down and grabbed another match. She opened the bag and pulled out a wad of lint and positioned it under the small stack of wood. When she lit the match, she held it to the lint.
It immediately caught fire, and she fed some smaller twigs under the bigger pieces of wood.
Within a minute, they had a fire for dinner.
She sank to the ground and smiled. “Look at that.”
Grandma Cecilia grinned. “You would make a good nomad. Ever think about road tripping around the States?”
Elana gave her grandmother a look. “I would love to travel, but I like my creature comforts, like my bed.”
The older woman shrugged. “You’ll be surprised at how well you will sleep out under the stars.”
Elana cocked her head. “Grandma, have you slept under the stars?”
Her grandmother gave her a look. “Of course I have. When I was young. Now, let’s get busy setting up camp. We’ll have to go to bed soon since we are getting up early.”
Elana was too tired to argue. She knew she was the one who was going to sleep out under the stars tonight. She couldn’t very well let her grandmother sleep on the ground while she slept in the van.
“Do we have something to stick these hotdogs on?” Elana opened the back of the van and poked around under the seat for some skewers.
“We’ll have to use sticks.”
Elana cringed. “I don’t think it’s sanitary.”
Grandma Cecilia picked up a couple of sticks off the ground. “We’ll scorch them first and then stick our hotdogs on.” She held the sticks over the fire. Before they burned, she pulled them back.
Elana held out her hand. “Here, let me do it.”
Grandma Cecilia lifted her chin. “I can do it, Elana.”
Elana took a deep breath. “I know you can. But as long as you are dragging me along on this road trip, don’t you think I should take the opportunity to learn how to camp?”
A slow smile crept across the old woman’s face. “You’re right. Here you go.” She handed over the two sticks. Elana wasted no time and stuck a hot dog on each one before she held it over the fire.
“Be sure to turn them. You want them to cook evenly,” her grandmother called out from her position at the picnic table.
Grandma Cecilia pulled out two paper plates from a plastic bag that held the buns and chips. She already had two waters she’d retrieved from the cooler. “I don’t think Anna put any mustard or ketchup in here. We’ll have to eat the hot dogs plain. Let’s make a stop tomorrow and get some more groceries.”
Elana cut her eyes at her grandmother. “Or we could stop at a restaurant and eat a proper meal.”
