The Strawberry Reservoir Trailer Snatcher

“Hurry up! The trailer won’t be set up until dark if we don’t leave now.”

Joseph Emerson could not get off work the Friday they were set to leave. If he did get it off, they would already be at Strawberry Reservoir fishing or having fun in some other recreational way.

They all pile in the truck. Joseph is driving while his wife, Becky, sits in the passenger seat with their daughter, Laurel, between them. Their other two children, Susan and Ryker, sit in the back playing hand games. About halfway there, Becky puts in a CD and starts jamming to Def Leppard until they find that perfect spot.

Every single Emerson has a job to do. Ryker and Susan gather rocks and move them out of the way. Laurel and Becky help guide the trailer in, so it doesn’t hit any trees or animals. Then Susan and Ryker help to put the rocks in front of and behind the tires to keep the trailer from rolling.

The only thing left to do is get the food put in the cupboards, but that can wait until tomorrow. It gets a little cool at night, but just enough to sleep comfortably. The nights seem to pass the fastest because sleep is essential on these trips.

“Can we light a campfire before we go to bed? Like we usually do?” Susan asks as she stares into the fire pit with a wish in her eyes.

“We can’t light a campfire because we don’t want to be up that late, but we can have a snack.” Becky replies.

They go into the trailer and gather the beef jerky and Chex trail mix. After pulling out the chairs from the trailer, they sit and tell stories that are hilarious and mysterious. Joseph dreamt to be a fiction writer in his childhood, so he leads the story-telling.

Susan rises with the sun. She gets dressed and heads out of the trailer. Before she fully exits the door, she sees him. There is a mysterious guy sitting in one of the camping chairs they left out the night before from their late-night snack. He has deep set eyes that are too dark for his face. His nose is enlarged a little too much.

“Uh. Dad?”

“Go back to bed Susan.”

“But there’s somebody sitting in the purple chair.”

This causes Joseph to jump out of bed. As he exits the trailer, he asks, “Are you a ranger? I can show you my permit if you are.”

“It’s always that question first. Everybody always has the same questions and reacts the same way,” Mr. Peterson thinks it’s starting to get old. “Here’s the deal. You have two options. You can listen to me or you can just go back to the trailer I’m about to steal and try again later.”

“That sounds like one option to me, dad.” Susan points out.

“Go inside Susan. I’m going to listen to this man.” Susan goes inside as Joseph closes the door.

“When we are done here, you are going to go inside, sit your family down, and tell them the deal. After you tell them, you will clear out your sleeping bags. The bags will stay outside until the end of your trip. Until that point, you will share everything; food, bathroom, adventures. Everything. I can decide what I would like to participate in. You are not allowed to tell me if I can participate or not.”

“What’s the catch?”

“Since you asked, your family can only come in the trailer to get dressed, during meal times, and to get medicine.”

“I thought we were sharing the bathroom too.”

“I changed my mind. I’ll put toilet paper in your truck. Now, meet the first part of my deal.”

Susan is sitting on her bed, reading, when her dad comes back in the trailer. She raises her eyebrow in question. Joseph shakes his head, so Susan goes back to reading.

Joseph goes into his and Becky’s room and closes the door. After a few minutes, Joseph runs back outside.

“Here’s my deal Mr.- “

“Peterson.”

“This is our trailer. This is the one vacation we get a year to ourselves. You are not about to ruin our family vacation.”

“I wouldn’t be so confident. Before you ask why, just hear me out. You cannot see it, but on the left side of my jeans, right here,” Mr. Peterson lifts his shirt just enough, so Joseph can see what he’s describing, “I have a knife. You do not want to know what I can do with this knife.”

Knowing this, Joseph backs up to the trailer in a trance. Right before he puts his hand up to the handle, he hesitates as if he wants to say something more but can’t find the words.

“Go on. No hesitation.” Mr. Peterson taunts.

Joseph shakes off the trance and goes inside. With another raised eyebrow, Susan looks at him. He sits on the bench with a defeated posture for what seems like forever. The curious girl that Susan is, makes her climb out of bed to sit next to her father. She puts her arms around him in an endearing attempt at comfort. He accepts the gesture by reciprocating the gesture.

After a few minutes, Laurel wakes up with a stretch and a very long yawn. “Is everything okay?” She asks as she reaches into the cupboard for a granola bar. Joseph and Susan ask for one too.

“There is a creepy man outside.” Susan pipes up for the first time since she told her dad the guy was outside. This makes Laurel all the more interested. She sits down across from them in awe while they all eat their small breakfast.

“Susan wake your brother up. Laurel go get your mom please. We need to have a family meeting.”

When everyone has gathered around the table with a granola bar, Joseph starts explaining Mr. Peterson’s deal. He explains everything except the threat of the knife.

“Luckily, we brought our tent and tarp. We can just set that up to sleep.” Becky informs the family.

“Let’s get started.” Little Ryker says. His eagerness seems to lighten the mood for a minute.

“We need to get everything in one go. Everything you will need throughout the day, except at meals, needs to be taken. Those items need to go in the bottom of your sleeping bag and then carried outside. When you are finished, set it to the side and help your siblings. Do not leave the trailer until we are all ready,” Joseph instructs.

All five of the Emerson family members head off to pack up their supplies and finish within ten minutes. They have the tent set up in another ten and their bedding is laid out in five.

“You brought a tent.” Mr. Peterson notices.

“We always come prepared,” Joseph sneers and walks away. “Ryker offer Mr. Peterson some food please.”

“Would you like a granola bar?” Ryker asks politely.

“No thank you little guy. Your dad doesn’t seem very happy with me.”

“That’s because you are trying to ruin our camping trip.”

“I don’t really mind. I get that attitude a lot.”

“Then why do you do it?” This is the only question Ryker asks the entire trip.

“I don’t know buddy. It looks like your mom needs some help.”

“I think it’ll be fun even with you here,” Ryker says as he runs off to help his mom.

After introductions, Ryker and Susan start a horseshoe game.

“Are you playing for points or for fun?” Mr. Peterson interrupts Ryker and Susan.

“Just for fun.” Susan says.

“I’m going to be on Ryker’s team. Laurel, go to Susan’s team.”

Laurel was helping her mom with the raft. When she processes the demand, she stares at her mom with big, scared eyes. Becky nods her head and off Laurel goes.

“Good throw Ryker.” Praises Mr. Peterson. After Susan’s throw, Mr. Peterson yells, “No! No! That’s not how you do it. You crossed the line.”

“We are just playing for fun.” Susan sasses.

“Go get some rope.” Mr. Peterson demands as he pulls his hair out.

“I don’t even want to play anymore.” Susan mumbles shyly.

“I’m in charge. Go get the rope.”

“Susan, listen to Mr. Peterson.” Joseph interjects and Susan listens. When she returns with the rope, Mr. Peterson puts it where the poles are, so the kids no longer cross the line and cheat.

As they finish the game, Becky calls them in for lunch.

“Mr. Peterson, we are going to the lake. Did you want to go?” Laurel asks after lunch.

“No thank you sweetheart.” Mr. Peterson looks as if he is deep in thought and nervous for his conclusion.

The Emerson family swims in the lake all afternoon while Mr. Peterson sits back at camp. He tidies the trailer and reorganizes the cupboards and chairs. After cleaning, there was nothing left to do, so Mr. Peterson pulls out the coloring book and crayons he found. He turns on some 80’s rock and starts coloring a picture of an animated puppy chasing some butterflies.

After coloring the picture, Mr. Peterson looks in the cupboards to see what he has to work with. He finds everything he needs to make tin foil dinners, so he gets that started. He even makes one a little smaller than the rest for Ryker. He was even considerate enough to pull out the s'mores supplies for dessert.

“Thank you, Mr. Peterson. We are leaving tomorrow, so what’s going to happen?” Joseph asks.

“We all clean up together. Then you take the trailer and everything else you brought in.”

“You aren’t keeping the trailer?” Susan inquires.

“I’ll just torment the next family that camps in the area. Don’t you worry about me.”

Running up for a hug, Ryker voices his appreciation.

“It’s not a problem little buddy. All I ask is every one of you remember this vacation.”

“It would be very difficult to forget, Mr. Peterson. We are taking a family picture before we leave. You’ll be joining us for that?” Becky assumes.

“I wouldn’t miss it.”

After all the supplies are packed the following morning, Mr. Peterson takes one family photo for the Emerson family and sets the timer for a picture with him.

Before they leave, Mr. Peterson asks a very strange question. He asks, “would it be too much trouble if you dropped me off in Heber?”

Becky and Joseph stare at each other when Becky finally says, “not at all,” with a smile.

After Mr. Peterson was dropped off at the edge of Heber, Laurel says, “that guy was weird.”

“I liked him,” Little Ryker shares.

The next morning, the very first story the Emerson family heard on the news was about the Strawberry Reservoir Trailer Snatcher.

“After years of searching for him, Bryon Peterson finally walked into the Heber Valley Police Station to turn himself in.” The news anchor states. “It doesn’t stop there. We were blessed to have an exclusive interview with Mr. Peterson. We asked why he became the Strawberry Reservoir Trailer Snatcher.”

“I never had a house of my own no matter what I did, I couldn’t hold down a job. It was just how I survived. Everybody deserves a chance at survival.” Mr. Peterson said on screen.

“Was there anything in your past that led you to the decision to survive this way?”

“Definitely. When I was growing up, my family went camping almost every weekend. We always went the old-fashioned way; sleeping under the stars or in a tent, campfire cooking, and taking the garbage to the dumpster every night. The real kind of camping. I feel like trailer camping is cheating. I wanted the privileged kids to know the real deal.”

“You heard it here first, folks. The Strawberry Reservoir Trailer Snatcher is no more.”

The Emerson family was the last family he encountered. That picture he took with them was the event that made Mr. Peterson decide to turn himself in.

Maybe Mr. Peterson realized that the way things work changes over time. There is nothing he can do to stop it. People still know the traditional way, but they choose the simple way. Maybe Mr. Peterson was getting too old to be playing his game. The lessons he needed to teach were over. He had nothing left to learn.