Page 33 of Play to Win

“That’s what it says.”She taps her phone.“How can you not want to go to a town named Climax?I mean, really.”

I give her a long glance and let out a sigh.“Fine.”

“Yay!”

We watch for the sign, I signal and turn off the interstate.This road is narrower, not as smooth, heading into the desert away from the highway.After five minutes, I ask, “How far off the interstate is this town?”

“Oh, I don’t know.Hang on.”She studies her phone again.“Ten miles.”

“Jesus.Well, we’re halfway there.But if we run out of gas because of this little detour, you’re going to be walking to the nearest gas station.”

“Phht.”

We arrive at Climax and I slow down to cruise the main street.The only street.A few cacti and scrub have encroached on the town.Rickety wood buildings line the dusty street, most of them clearly empty and abandoned ...except for one.

“This is creepy,” Lacey says in a hushed tone, gazing around.

“Should we check out the trading post?”I nod at the neon sign.

She grins.“Of course!”

I’m almost nervous about entering this dilapidated store.We push open the creaky wooden door.Inside it’s dim and only a few degrees cooler than the broiling heat outside.Wood shelves hold a few products ...bags of potato chips, candy bars ...condoms.Behind a counter sits an old man with a weathered brown face.

“Howdy.Welcome to Climax.”

“Thanks.”

“Cold drinks here.”He spits chewing tobacco into something behind the counter.

“Uh, great.”We approach the counter.Lacey eyes the stuffed gopher sitting on the worn wood.Nice.

We both order a Pepsi.

“How long have you lived here?”Lacey asks the man as we pay.

“I came here in the seventies.Looking for gold.”

“Ah.”She nods as if this makes perfect sense.“How’d you do?”

“Well enough to retire.”He grins, revealing brown teeth.“And I got a pool out back.”

“Oh!Awesome.”

“What do you do for fun here?”I ask warily, taking my cold can of Pepsi.

“All kinds of things.Never a dull moment.The desert is mystical and awe-inspiring.Beautiful and harsh.‘You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.’”

Lacey and I exchange uneasy glances.

“Psalm 63,” he adds.“A psalm of David.When he was in the Desert of Judah.”

“Ah.”Lacey rolls her lips inward.

“And once a year we have Climax Days.People from all over come for a long weekend and party.Anything goes.”

Lacey and I exchange another glance.

“Uh, wow,” she says.“That sounds like fun.”

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