I was packing my luggage when the doorbell rang. “Who the hell is it at 11 PM?” I thought. It was weird indeed for to get a visit at that time in mid-winter, so a grabbed a baseball bat and ran downstairs, ready to beat anyone if necessary. But it wasn’t. When I swung it open the reddish face of my next door neighbor appeared in front of me.

“Hey, Josh!” he said. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No, come in, please”. The ass stepped in and took off his boots. It was snowing outside, so he didn’t want to get my carpet wet.

“Are you leaving tomorrow?” he asked as we headed for the living-room.

“Yeah, I’m gonna visit my parents. I’ll leave for Duluth early in the morning” I told him. We sat down in a couch.

“Hmm, that’s what I thought. Listen, could you do me a favor?”

“Sure, what is it?” I dreaded him and his favors, but I had no escape, I had to hear him out.

“Well, it all depends on the route you’re going to take...”

“I’ll drive through Canada. Boston – Buffalo – London – Marquette – Duluth” I said.

“Great! That’s what I was expecting” he beamed.

“Why is that?” I asked. I really dreaded him, but I decided to be polite to forget my panic. “By the way, do you want a beer or something?”

“Sure, a beer will do”

I went to grab a couple of cans from the fridge, gave one to Jack and sat back down near him.

“OK, the thing is my daughter Sarah was thinking of going to visit my sister so she could spend a week with her cousins in Superior and I was wondering if you’d mind to take her with you and drop her there” he explained. I sighed in relief, it hadn’t been too bad after all.

“Oh, that won’t be a problem, of course. I’ll take her with me” I smiled.

“Thanks, Josh. I knew I could count on you.” ......(cont)