Road Trip

Chapter 3

"Spring break, driving to the beach with Sam, beautiful girl. We're cruising along the highway and a car pulls up along side my window with four women hanging out of it, trying to talk to me. Waving arms and all that stuff. Sam seemed to think I knew these girls, and that I was flirting. That didn't end well, needless to say. Next exit I pull off and she storms into the ladies' room, I go to get gas and realize that the gas tank cover was still popped from the last stop, and that was what the girls were trying to tell me. When Sam comes out, I tell her what happened, and she didn't believe a word of it. It didn't matter, she had already called her ex, who was also headed to the beach, and he picked her up before the tank was even full."

"That seems convenient, that the ex was so close," Dr Merritt observed.

"Yeah, I had thought so at the time as well. But it didn't really matter either way."

"True. Either way it was over, right?"

"Yep. No more Sam."

"And when was this one?"

"That was the first, 8 years ago. Sam was still in college so that was why I was doing the spring break with her."

"So, one more?"

"You want to cover that now?"

"We might as well."

"Fine. This was the most recent. About a year and a half ago, just before Christmas. I was driving here believe it or not, with Victoria. I had a place down in Houston at the time and we had rented the cabin I'm living in now for a winter getaway, while stopping to see her grandmother for her birthday just outside of Huntsville, Alabama. So, we hit Huntsville, and everything is fine. But then we stop to get gas, and the sky starts spitting ice and snow, traffic was a mess within minutes. Snow in Alabama at rush hour, not ideal. But we get on the road, we're supposed to take a road, 431 if I remember right, but it is a sea of red lights."

I took a sip of water again; my tongue was getting dry. This memory was too recent.

"GPS was useless, it wanted us to stay in the traffic, but we were supposed to be at Vicky's grandmother's house for a birthday dinner, and she didn't want to be late. Now, what I didn't know at the time, was that this Route 431 road went over some kind of a hill, and with the ice and snow it had turned into some sort of a skating rink for cars, and that was why there were red lights all over it. Anyway, I pull up google maps, and I notice that there is a parkway that was a little north of 431 and connected to it later. Now, I learned to drive in New Jersey, so when I see Parkway I think the Garden State Parkway, a highway, so I'm thrilled. I make our way over there and find the sign for the parkway and start going. There was no traffic at all."

"It turns out, that in Huntsville a Parkway isn't a highway, but literally a road that goes to a park. This road switchbacks up a big hill, which in the snow was a true joy. I didn't own a 4-wheel drive car yet, so the roads were really treacherous, but we did make it to the top of the hill, which dumped us out into a neighborhood. But the map showed that it would connect to 431, so we kept going. I should point out that by this time Vicky was screaming at the top of her lungs, alternating between oh god pull over, and damnit we better not miss my grandmother's birthday dinner. My hands were sore from gripping the wheel so tight, and I was just ignoring her. I'd already been through enough road trip breakups that I knew where this relationship was headed."

"The Parkway let out on 431, just like it said, and the road was a mess. Cars and trucks were sliding all over the place, and when I pulled out to go down the hill towards her grandmother's house we slid right across the road to the grass on the side. We sat there for a minute, Vicky screaming at me while I was flexing my hands to get feeling back in them. That was when I noticed that 431 had a grass median down the middle of it, and I realized that if I could get the tires onto the median, I could ride it right down the mountain. I was about to do that when a big SUV went sliding right past me, and into the ditch on the side of the road. Vickey screamed some more, but I got out and went to check on the car. A mom was in there with her teenaged daughter, they were trying to get down the mountain too with a carload of groceries. Now, I already knew Vicky was leaving me by this time, since she'd made it pretty obvious. I just wanted to make sure the mom and kid got home safely, so I offered to help give them a ride. We loaded the car with their groceries, and they piled into the back seat."

Doctor Merritt was looking at me with a strange expression on her face, and I knew that she thought I was crazy. Good guess. Not good when it was coming from a doctor though.

"Anyway, I did what I had thought of, and got the wheels onto the median, and we made it down the mountain just fine, worked out just like I had planned. I was actually pretty proud at that point. The best part was that Vicky had finally stopped screaming, I guess she was too embarrassed to scream at me in front of the strangers. But we drove to Vicky's and I dropped her off so she could eat, though an hour late, and I would drop off the lady and her daughter. Vickey never even said a thing, just walked out and to the house, never looked back or waved. I wasn't shocked. The lady's name was was Janet, and she gave me directions to her house. I started driving and they just started gushing thank you over and over. The daughter was Blake and I know she was home for college for the semester and they were shopping for groceries and Christmas gifts and that was why they were out. So, I drove them home, and that was that."

"That was the whole story?" Doctor Merritt confirmed.

"More or less."

"I didn't hear a breakup there."

Ethen hung his head. "Fine. My car was synched to the phone, Vicky texted me when she was out of the car and I was still driving Janet and Blake home, and the phone read it out loud. She said I hate you, don't come back, go to hell."

"Oh."

"Yep. Got a little quiet in the car at that point. On the good side, Janet and Blake let me crash at their place on the couch after that. We had been driving so slow in the snow that it was pretty late by that point and I didn't have any idea if there was a hotel nearby. We all had some quick sandwiches, and everyone got to sleep. The next morning, I got up and kept driving to the cabin. It was the first time I had a road trip break up that I finished the drive on, even if it was alone. I liked it here so much, I came back a bit later to live."

"So, that one seems to have been a bad breakup as well," she said cautiously. "That was the last girl you dated?"

"Yeah, no dates since."

"So, you've been alone since Vicky. That is a long time."

"Well, Blake and Janet each gave me a kiss on the cheek before I left, does that count?" I asked hopefully.

"No." Doctor Merritt dashed my hopes.

"It was a shot."

"I have a prescription for you." She wrote quickly and handed over a slip of paper.

"I would prefer not to take any medication," I said, looking down at the paper.

Written in black sharpie it said, "Take One Road Trip."

"What is this?" I didn't understand what that was supposed to mean.

"You're not dating anyone. You liked your last road trip, once Vicky was gone anyway, enough that you bought a place to live where you went. Now, I want you to take one without someone you're dating. Maybe more good things could happen."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I realized she might be right. Once Vicky was gone, I felt free, and the week at the cabin had been the most relaxed I'd been in ages. "My sister comes for spring break next week," I reminded her.

"Fine. Go on the trip when she goes home. Your work schedule allows you freedom, so take it. I don't want to see you till you get back. You can text me if you need help while you're gone," she stated plainly.

I smiled, this was much better than incense and meditation.