19 Spin Cycle

Chapter 19 SPIN CYCLE Coke and Pep weren't laughing. There was no doubt anymore. Something had happened. Something had changed. Mrs. Higgins and the bowler dudes were out to get them again. Maybe Dr. Warsaw had recovered from his meltdown and decided to resume his quest to eliminate them. Whatever had happened, their lives were obviously in danger. It had been a long day. The twins weren't in any mood to make chitchat in the car. Dr. McDonald pulled into a drive-through joint for burgers and then got back on the road, heading west on I-30 from Arlington. His plan was to get on I-35 and stop somewhere at a motel for the night. Mrs. McDonald was looking through her

guidebook, as usual. Just as they were about to pull off I-30 at the exit for I-35, she shouted, "Ben, stop the car!" Dr. McDonald slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Fortunately, everyone had a seat belt on. They were all getting used to this kind of thing. "What is it?" "We have to go to the washing machine museum!" "Are you out of your mind?" Dr. McDonald shouted at his wife. "I almost caused a huge accident just then! You could have gotten us all killed!" "I had to stop you before you took the exit," Mrs. McDonald explained. "My readers would never forgive me if I didn't tell them about the washing machine museum." "There's really a museum devoted to washing machines?" Pep asked. Coke just shook his head. Nothing surprised him anymore. Dr. McDonald let out a sigh.

"Where is it?" he asked. "Mineral Wells," Mrs. McDonald replied. "It's only an hour west of here." "Bridge, it's been a long day" "That's for sure," Coke said." and now you're asking me to drive an hour out of the way—to go to a museum about washing machines?" "It's free, Ben," said Mrs. McDonald. "Of course it's free!" he exploded. "Nobody wants to go there. Nobody's going to pay good money to look at a bunch of old washing machines! I wouldn't go if they paid me." "You don't understand, Ben," said Mrs. McDonald gently. "The museum is just a part of a regular laundromat. All the clothes we bought back in Memphis are dirty now. We've got to do a load of wash anyway. We might as well do it at the washing machine museum." Dr. McDonald took a minute, closing his eyes. Bridget McDonald was a wonderful woman. She was bright, funny, dedicated, and

beautiful. But she wasn't easy to be married to. "Okay, okay," he finally grumbled. Instead of turning off at the exit, Dr. McDonald continued west on I-30. Shortly after passing a small airport, the road split and he got on Route 180, which goes directly to Mineral Wells. Route 180 is also called West Hubbard Street, which happens to be the street where the Laumdronat is located. Yes, that's how it's supposed to be spelled— Laumdronat. It was a plain white building. Dr. McDonald found a parking spot down the street and popped open the trunk. The rest of the family gathered up their dirty clothes. "I can't believe we're going to a washing machine museum," Pep said as they opened the door. Laumdronat is essentially a regular laundromat that has a display of vintage washing machines. On a shelf above the modern machines are old-time tubs, washboards, and

laundry accessories dating back to the days before most homes had electricity. Hanging from the ceiling are some ironing boards. There are also signs that say LAUNDRY, which are, for some reason, upside down. "It's the history of laundry!" Mrs. McDonald enthused. "Isn't this fascinating?" No, was the unanimous silent response from the rest of the family. "Believe it or not, there's another washing machine museum, in Colorado," she told them. "If we have to go there," said Dr. McDonald, "I'll shoot myself." "Oh, you people are no fun at all," Mrs. McDonald said as she began separating the darks from the lights. A few other people were doing their wash, but there were plenty of machines available. Once the clothes were inside and swishing around, Mrs. McDonald started taking pictures and jotting down notes for Amazing but True. There were a couple of ancient Pac-Man games

in the corner, and Coke dug some quarters out of his pocket so he and Pep could play. Dr. McDonald pulled up a chair and read his newspaper to kill time. The dryers were huge, so when the clothes were done washing, Mrs. McDonald was able to fit all the darks and lights into one machine. When the dryer clicked off, everyone helped to fold and carry the clothes out to the car. They were about to drive away when— "Dad!" Coke yelled. "Stop!" "What now?" "I'm missing a pair of my underwear." "Well, go get it," his father said wearily. Coke hopped out of the car and ran back inside the Laumdronat. It was empty now. He went over to the dryer they had been using and looked through the round window. Spinning around in there were his missing Fruit of the Looms. He opened the door. As he leaned inside to grab the underwear, Coke was taken by surprise. The two bowler