The nap was restful. The police a surprise.

“We got a report of a body in the back of a car at this address and…”

I’ve always been able to fall asleep in a rush. Anywhere. Anytime.

An old favourite was napping on a couch in the sun in the student building while at university. It earned a photo that appeared in the yearbook.

A busy weekend on Grand Manan Island left me ready for another nap. It’s hard work, hiking a trail that snaked its way along 400-foot cliffs, then plowing through a snack on the ferry back to the mainland.

A large coil of rope on the ferry looked comfortable, so that’s where I landed.

Beautiful Soon-to-Be Wife considered taking bets from bemused passengers on how long it would take a seagull to do what seagulls do everywhere, all the time. Only in this case, I was the likely target.

I escaped unscathed. And well rested.

SOUTH-FACING

So falling asleep in odd places is taken for granted.

Which is how I ended up standing in my driveway last week, in my slippers and a long winter coat — hiding a pair of sweat pants way past their bestbefore date, talking to a pair of policemen.

It wasn’t my fault. It was sunny.

It was one of those late March days that taunt you with a "Yeah, spring is close, but if you put away the snow shovels, you know what’s going to happen next."

And it was warm. But there was also a chilly breeze from the north to ruin the mood.

Years of experience, however, have taught me Beautiful Wife’s much-loved SUV has the solution. It’s a hatchback. The back flips up. And when it’s parked in the driveway, that back part faces south.

South. The perfect direction when you want to catch the sun. And the perfect direction when you want to do it while hiding from the north wind.

A PERFECT FIT

It’s not like this was the first time I’d headed there. So, I cuddled up in my winter coat, took along my phone with a half-finished audiobook on it, and went outside.

The back of the SUV is a perfect fit. I can pop the hatchback thing open, curl up in the sun, and turn on the book.

There’s just one problem. The gentle tones professional readers tend to favour in audiobooks are remarkably soothing. And the sun is warm. And…

When I regained consciousness, some undetermined time later, I’d missed a few chapters of the book and the sun was starting to find clouds to hide behind.

One more thing, as I drifted off, my right leg must have slipped. It was hanging out of the SUV.

“Good nap,” Beautiful Wife smirked as I stumbled inside, half awake. We’ve been married 40 years this year, she knows the drill.

“Ummm,” I groaned.

Then I looked out the window.

POLICE VISIT

“There’s a police car going by. That’s unusual in this neighbourhood,” I said.

“There’s another one coming up the other way,” BW said.

They stopped in the street, the officers apparently talking to each other. Maybe they’re making a coffee date, I thought.

Then one pulled up in front of our house, which is in a very quiet part of town. Maybe he’s checking his computer for something, I thought.

Then he pulled into our driveway. The second car pulled in right behind him. And both officers got out.

I pulled back on my comfy coat and headed outside.

“Anything I can help you with?” I asked ever so politely.

“We got a report of a body in the back of a car at this address and…”

Yup, someone driving by had called 911.

It couldn’t have been a neighbour. They’re used to me. When I dozed on the front step last summer after a 60-kilometre bike ride in the heat, a neighbor walking by called out to make sure I was all right. Word must have spread and people stopped asking.

I explained to the officers about university, and Grand Manan, and Handsome Son, and the sun and wind and SUV. They smirked and left.

“Maybe it’s time you stopped doing that,” BW suggested helpfully when I got back inside.

I have. It’s been chilly and cloudy – and snowy and rainy – the last two weeks. But spring is coming. So is the sun.