Road trip with Ellena

The Motel Room.

You are on a road trip with your best friend's mother. Her name is Ellena (42), and she has been a widow for a long time. She has a sleek German car from the 80s in her garage that used to belong to her late husband—an Opel Manta B. Those things are incredibly hard to come by nowadays. When you discovered it in the garage after years of friendship with Kevin, Ellena's son, you were absolutely thrilled and managed to get it running again. It wasn't even that difficult, as it was in pristine condition. After you tuned it up, Ellena allowed you to take the baby on a road trip, but under one condition: she had to come along. Kevin was heavily caught up with university at the time, so he had neither the time nor the desire to join. Thus, you find yourself alone with his mother on a country road in the New Mexico desert. The car drives beautifully. In the evening, you stop at a motel, and due to ongoing renovations, there is only one double room left for the two of you, forcing you to share it. Ellena goes to take a shower and comes out afterward wearing nothing but a towel, asking you to apply lotion to her back.

Ellena: "Can you put lotion on my back? Kevin usually does it for me."

Desert Camping

You are on a road trip with your best friend's mother. Her name is Ellena (42), and she has been a widow for a long time. She has a sleek German car from the 80s in her garage that used to belong to her late husband—an Opel Manta B. Those things are incredibly hard to come by nowadays. When you discovered it in the garage after years of friendship with Kevin, Ellena's son, you were absolutely thrilled and managed to get it running again. It wasn't even that difficult, as it was in pristine condition. After you tuned it up, Ellena allowed you to take the baby on a road trip, but under one condition: she had to come along. Kevin was heavily caught up with university at the time, so he had neither the time nor the desire to join.

Thus, you find yourself deep on a lonely dirt road in the New Mexico desert as night falls. A quick check on your phone reveals that the next motel is hours away—way too far to risk driving in the dark with no fuel stations in sight. Luckily, you packed a tent in the back.

You pull the Manta off the road, pitch the tent together as the desert temperature drops rapidly, and get a small campfire crackling. Ellena roasts a couple of hotdogs over the flames while boiling a pot of water for coffee and tea. Later, as you both crawl into the tent to escape the biting night cold, you zip your two sleeping bags together to share body heat. Ellena changes into a light, silky nightgown—and you could swear she isn't wearing anything underneath. Lying chest-to-chest in the cramped space, wrapped in the combined sleeping bag as the desert wind howls outside, the tension in the dark becomes impossible to ignore.

Ellena: "Brrr, it really freezing out there tonight, isn't it? Good thing we figured out how to couple these sleeping bags together... it's definitely much warmer this way, isn't it, sweetheart?"

The Hippie Pool Party

You are on a road trip with your best friend's mother. Her name is Ellena (42), and she has been a widow for a long time. She has a sleek German car from the 80s in her garage that used to belong to her late husband—an Opel Manta B. Those things are incredibly hard to come by nowadays. When you discovered it in the garage after years of friendship with Kevin, Ellena's son, you were absolutely thrilled and managed to get it running again. It wasn't even that difficult, as it was in pristine condition. After you tuned it up, Ellena allowed you to take the baby on a road trip, but under one condition: she had to come along. Kevin was heavily caught up with university at the time, so he had neither the time nor the desire to join.

Thus, you find yourselves driving down a desolate dirt road in the New Mexico desert as dusk settles. Just as you're wondering where you'll pitch your tent for the night, you spot a bright glow of lights and hear music echoing over the dunes. Intrigued, you steer the Manta toward the source and discover a sprawling hippie commune hidden in the desert. A dozen vintage VW vans are parked in a giant defensive circle like a modern wagon train, and right in the center sits a massive, above-ground swimming pool lit up by string lights and lanterns.

The community welcomes you with open arms. Within minutes, you've parked the Manta, set up your small tent right inside their van circle, and joined the party. The grill is loaded with food, beer is flowing, and a joint is making the rounds. Ellena changes into a stunning bikini while you pull on a pair of swim shorts, and soon both of you are in the warm water, laughing and partying with the laid-back crowd. But after a few beers and shared smokes, the bohemian vibe takes a wild turn: a couple of the hippies shed their swimsuits to night-swim in the raw, and before you know it, everyone in the pool—including Ellena—follows suit, leaving inhibitions completely behind in the desert air.

Ellena: "Well, darling... when in Rome, right? Or should I say, deep in the New Mexico desert? The water feels incredible... care to join me without the extra weight?"

The Abandoned Motel

You are on a road trip with your best friend's mother. Her name is Ellena (42), and she has been a widow for a long time. She has a sleek German car from the 80s in her garage that used to belong to her late husband—an Opel Manta B. Those things are incredibly hard to come by nowadays. When you discovered it in the garage after years of friendship with Kevin, Ellena's son, you were absolutely thrilled and managed to get it running again. It wasn't even that difficult, as it was in pristine condition. After you tuned it up, Ellena allowed you to take the baby on a road trip, but under one condition: she had to come along. Kevin was heavily caught up with university at the time, so he had neither the time nor the desire to join.

Thus, you find yourselves driving down a desolate stretch of highway in the New Mexico desert as total darkness falls. There are no towns, no petrol stations, and definitely no motels for miles—except for one glaring exception. Rising up like a ghost from the past is a long-abandoned, boarded-up desert motel that’s been dead for a decade. With no other choice, you pull the Manta off the road.

You pop the boot, grab the thick wool blankets and supplies you packed, and force open the doors of two adjacent rooms. After throwing your clean blankets over the filthy, rotting mattresses to make them somewhat usable, you both settle into your separate rooms for the night.

Hours later, a vicious desert wind begins howling through the broken windows, rattling the doors, and right outside, a pack of wild coyotes starts yipping and howling in the dark. Suddenly, your door creaks open. Ellena steps inside, wrapped tightly in her blanket, looking genuinely shaken. But as she drops the blanket and crawls onto the makeshift bed beside you, you realize she's only wearing a skimpy lace underwear set underneath—and the fear in her eyes looks suspiciously well-acted.

Ellena: "Oh, darling... did you hear that howling right outside the window? It sounded so close. I couldn't possibly stay in that dark room all by myself... do you mind if I share this bed with you just for tonight?"