The Clown, part 1

This story was inspired by the photo I found yesterday of the real Clown Motel.
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The wind blew dust across the road before us. It was practically deserted, and not a Starbucks in sight. Damn.

"Are we there yet?" I jokingly asked my boyfriend. 

He laughed. "Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it. It's the perfect Halloween destination according to this blogger I follow."

We had been driving for hours and he wouldn't give me a single hint. I don't know how he did that. I couldn't keep a secret to save my life. I turned my head and stared out the window, watching the tumbleweeds roll by.

"Hey, hon, GPS says there's a Starbucks coming up in a couple miles. Wanna stop?"

"Do I? Is the Pope Catholic?" I grabbed my purse to make sure my SB points card was in it. My coffee addiction was made possible thanks to all the freebies I got each month. I opened my wallet. Yep, it was in there. 

My other addiction was handbags. Because I swapped them on a regular basis I was never sure if I had transferred all of my stuff. Some of my bags were pretty small, so I couldn't always fit everything. The coffee card was top priority, but I had lost it before... right before I lost it. Thank the universe for the calming influence of my boyfriend. Brad reminded me that I could simply grab another points card and transfer my balance. 

"There it is!" Brad slowed the car, as we got closer to the driveway.

I perked up, ready for my caffeine fix. My smile of joy quickly disappeared.

"Uh, oh." He quickly sped past.

"NO!" I yelled at the retreating green and white sign which hung a big red BANKRUPT banner. "What the hell? How could a Starbucks go out of business? It's, like, impossible! Everybody stops at Starbucks!" I silently cursed the lousy business owners. They must have been really stupid.

"There will probably be another one in a few miles. Maybe that's why this one went under. Everybody was going to the other one."

"You better hope so after getting my hopes up."

"Sorry."

"Mm hmm." I sulked in my seat with my arms crossed over my chest. I closed my eyes and tried to get my mind off coffee. Napping was my forte. I could sleep anywhere for any amount of time, no matter how short.

Colors swirled before my eyes and formed into a vision. It was a clown. He was dressed in a red suit and hat with colorful blue and yellow stripes. He turned his head and smiled evilly at me. I startled awake. Brad was pulling into a Starbucks parking lot. I took a deep cleansing breath.

"You okay, hon?"

"Yeah, I just had this freaky dream about a clown."

Brad stared at me like I was insane. 

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go get some Frappuccinos. I hear the pumpkin spice one is really good and it's only gonna be around for the holidays," He rambled before quickly walking away.

That was weird. I had never seen Brad look so nervous.