A little town in the middle of nowhere

Hidden away from most media and conspiratorial eyes sits a little town in the middle-of-nowhere-Wyoming that is just a little out of touch with time. The inhabitants, happy as they can be, seem to not know of the modern world, its as if their clocks all stopped in 1951. Gas is 0.27 cents a gallon, children play in the streets and people are still  chanting the victories of World War Two. Nobody has ever questioned it, as if wandering in a loop they may never notice, until one day, a stranger enters town. 

Traveling at a speed much faster than most in the little town was a true marvel to the towns fold, a white hyundai tucson, Newly engaged Ted Brockman and Chandler Dunnam were traveling across the state to spend the fourth of july with Teds family in Utah and may have made a wrong turn or two, or five. Chandler would never admit it though. 

“Honey, are you certain this is the right way?  It looks different than when we went for Christmas” Asked the meek brunette in the passenger seat. 

“Darling I’ve told you three times now this is the right way, its where the screen is telling me to go!” Chandler gestures at the middle console. Noticing his radio is acting off he attempts to change the channel only to get the sweet harmonies of duke ellington. Shaking his head with a sigh he turns the radios off. 

“I’m just saying maybe we should ask for directions, we could stop for lunch! Hows that sound hun?” Ted didn’t believe his stubborn honey as far as he could throw him. 

“Alright, Alright, If it'll make you happy” looking around he doesn't see anything straight away “Google what food is near us, I’ll pull into this gas station and fill up” 

Once at the pump he goes to insert a card and finds he can’t, muttering to himself about small towns never paying for anything to be updated he gets out and makes his way to the register. 

The door makes a little ring when he opens it and Chandler takes notice of the old fashioned posters adorning the walls.

“Ay Mac what's the deal with the tank you got out there? I ain’t never seen a machine like that before” the clerk behind the counter asks, furrowing his brow in confusion. 

“My car? Its just a hyundai, nothin special… Hey I think your signs outside have been messed with, it says the gas is under 50 cents”  Chandler says, a little confused with the mans wording but assuming its just the area. 

The clerk peers out a window behind his counter and says “ No, the signs on the nose,0.27 cents exact, you from a fat city or somethin? I heard the prices get a little nutty, but out here in the sticks if i charges anymore it’d earn me a knuckle sandwich “ miming getting punched he dramatically sighs, “so how much you needing slick?” 

“Um.. well I guess about 10 gallons then… how much would that be?” chandler says uncertainty, pulling out his wallet for cash, not seeing a card reader anywhere. 

The clerk types something in an antique register and says “ that’ll be 2.70” 

Visibly confused, Chandler gets out his money and hands it over. The clerk holds it up to the light and says “ This a new print? It looks real enough…” and puts it in the register “you’re all set pally, have a good one” he smiles at him. 

Walking to the car chandler just gets more confused, he pumps his gas and gets in. 

“My service isn't working, we’ll just have to find something” Ted begins, startling his partner out of his thoughts. “What's wrong? Did something happen in there? You know how backwards these little towns can be” 

“No, no, its just..did you see the gas prices?”

“Are they high?” Ted says looking around for a sign. “Well that can’t be right, what was the real price?”

“I asked the man in there the same thing and he told me that was the right price… I just got 10 gallons of gas for less than 3 dollars.” 

“Wow, I know gas is cheaper in the country but this place is insane!” Ted exclaims. 

“Yeah… you know I think I see a diner down there” chandler squints and points ahead. 

“Sounds great hun”

Entering the retro style diner Ted is immediately excited by the jukebox and dashes over “do you have a dime? I wanna pick one of these old songs, i’ve always wanted to use one of these old fashioned ones with the records inside, it looks like it's in really good condition” 

“Yeah i got one you dork” he tosses his fiance the dime and a waitress tells him to pick a seat and she’ll be right with him, he choose the closest as he knows his antique loving weirdo will want to play some more. ‘Might as well take advantage of the extra cash after the deal I got on gas’ chandler muses.  

“So what’ll it be to drink for you two darlins, we’ve got soda pop, shakes, lemonade, coffee and water” a sweet looking lady says, holding a notepad in her hand 

“I’ll have a coke, if you’ve got it” “same goes here” 

“Alright, i'll be back in a jiffy and here's the menus for y’all” 

‘This can’t be right’ chandler thinks, frowning at the menu “first the gas and now this, he says to Ted. 

“Maybe we got lucky and drove into the cheapest town in the world,” Ted shrugs. 

They order their food once the server returns, not quite understanding what's going on, and just decide to not question it, either they’ll get a regular price and the menus are wrong, or, like the gas station, this place is ridiculously cheap.  

“Do you think we can keep the bottles? Or do they clean these antique ones and reuse them?” Ted wonders aloud. “ either way they are really selling the retro diner vibe.”

“Are you gentlemen thinking of any sweets? I made coconut cream pie just this mornin that is just killer diller.” the waitress returns, chipper as can be. 

“Well i have been dieting but, what the hay its been an interesting day, two slices for us, and say, you wouldn’t happen to know how to get to salt lake city from here would you?” candler says, smiling politely,  

“Well I sure do, let me grab a map and I’ll mark it down and bring the pies out with it” walking of into the back the waitress hums a tune along to the song playing on the jukebox, nothing chandler recognises but Ted says his grandpa used to like it. “Rum and Coca Cola” by the Andrew Sisters, he was told matter of factly. 

“She's grabbing a map? Maybe they’re not allowed to break character so she can't give us the google route” Ted decides, nodding to himself, he has got to bring his papaw here sometime soon, he’d love it. 

“Alrighty, so, heres the map, see this red line here is my marker, so just follow this and you’ll be cookin with gas in no time, just make sure not to goose it over on this street” she taps the map, “ the heat sit in the old church parking lot every day but sunday.. You boys need anything else?” 

“He's wondering if we can keep the glass bottles” 

“Sure thing puddin, you boys fixing to trade em in at a recycling station? Awful nice of ya, I’ll go get you guys your ticket” 

“Recycle? Why would I recycle this? Maybe they’re not real.. I suppose I can have an  antiquarian look at it once we go home” Ted says. 

“Yeah that should work, worst case scenario they’re fakes and we have some convincing bottles for decoration.” chandler replies, begging to clear off the table a little bit, never been one to leave a mess for the underpaid waitstaff at a restaurant. 

“Here you are gentlemen” the waitress hands two tickets to them 

“Oh, actually I’ll be paying for me and my partner here” Ted chimes in. 

“Oh, you boys in business? I thought that car looked awful decked out, must be from the city” she turns away to rewrite the tickets.

Puzzled, the men watch after her, but decide not to correct her. Today has been weird enough without getting into a homophobic rant at a diner. 

She returns, they pay and they’re on their way. 

“Can’t believe all that was only a 1.55” Chandler shakes his head incredulously. 

“Well I gave a good tip, they can’t pay much given those profits, so I left her a 20” 

“We have got to tell your parents about this town, maybe the whole thing is a retro attraction? I’ve never heard of it before but it's SO detailed” 

On they drove, making right on time for dinner and bed with the Bockman family, 

The eldest finding particular amazement at how spot on the pricings were and how the bottles look so much like his youth, reminiscing of his mother buying him a soda pop after his big game in the town's little league. 

Yet unknown to them, a young waitress who was down on her luck is jumping for joy over the rich men who tipped her half a week's wages. Nobody ever took notice of the little town outside of time, in the middle of nowhere.