Now Wouldn't You Like to Know (3 page)

Leaning back into the car seat for the first time since she entered my SUV, she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. It was as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders. I drove on and after a while she fell asleep. I could not believe that the attractive looking woman I saw for the first time the day before was actually sitting here right beside me, her lovely face looking so serene and so beautiful. I never have this kind of luck.

Reaching over I tuned in a piano jazz station on my satellite radio and headed east until I-4 intercepted I-95 near Daytona Beach some sixty five miles later. Taking the north ramp I merged with the I-95 northbound traffic and after a while set my cruise control speed at 74 mph. Jacksonville was just two hours away. It would not be long before I offloaded my lovely cargo in Jacksonville, Florida.

Chapter 2

D
iana stirred as we neared the Palm Coast area. I asked her if she wanted to make a comfort stop, especially since we were coming up on a rest stop. Still in a sleep-like state, she opened her eyes briefly and nodded yes, then closed them again. As soon as the exit ramp to the rest station appeared on my right I pulled off of the busy interstate. She awoke when I stopped, though she was still somewhat groggy. I told her to go on ahead, that I would be right behind her, but first I wanted to spread the damp towel she had used across the rear seat so that it would dry off faster.

Securing the SUV I followed in her wake, watching her as she disappeared from view in the complex area where the ladies room was located. Bearing left, I headed towards the men’s room.

Afterwards, I dropped a few quarters and grabbed a bag of chocolate-chip cookies from the snack machine while I waited for Diana. She appeared a minute later, this time with her dark hair pulled back, though a few loose curls framed her face. Spotting me, she sashayed over to where I stood in the concessions area. I asked her if she wanted anything but she said that she’d preferred to wait until we stopped to get something to eat. I told her that we were not too far from Palm Coast and that we could grab some breakfast there, although I had already eaten. We began to walk.

“I see you changed your hairstyle,” I said surveying her hairdo.

“I just decided that for traveling purposes, it would be easier for me this way,” she answered as she kept pace with me.

“I get that a lot from women when I ask about their hair,” I said.

Returning to the Navigator, we took off. Several minutes later we entered the Palm Coast area which was located on the east coast of Florida, just below St Augustine and a few miles west of Flagler Beach. Both Flagler Beach and Palm Coast were part of the fastest growing county in Florida, Flagler County, during the late nineties and throughout the earlier years of the new millennium. It was a rural county named after railroad mogul Henry Flagler, a friend of, and former partner in the oil business with the world’s first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil. Few knew it but Rockefeller spent his last few years in Ormond Beach, Florida, just south of Flagler County, I told her.

A minute later, we pulled off an exit ramp and followed my GPS system faithfully as it guided us to a Steak ‘N Egg restaurant just off of Palm Coast Parkway where we would dine for breakfast. Before we entered the restaurant we looked up the phone number to the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Jacksonville on my GPS system and Diana gave them a call. After a few minutes the call ended.

“They have a bus scheduled to leave at 4:30PM this afternoon.”

“Good,” I said just before we entered the restaurant.

Since I had already eaten breakfast, I simply ordered a cinnamon flavored pastry and a cup of coffee. Diana ordered an omelet, hash browns, and a slice of toast. She had a small glass of orange juice to chase it all down.

“Are you married?” she asked, finally popping the question most women ask in the first two minutes of meeting a guy.

“No, divorced,” I answered, raising my cup of coffee to my mouth.

“What happened, if I may ask?” she continued her inquiry as she chewed on a piece of toast.

“I worked long hours, and she worked long hours, that’s the way it started,” I began. “She was a dentist. And a good one at that, I might add. She was so good that I wouldn’t let anyone else touch my ivory grill but her. But over time we grew apart and eventually fell out of love.

“Oh, we still maintained the appearance of a happily married couple but you can only fool other people, including yourself, for so long. Eventually, she found comfort and happiness and sexual bliss in the crushing arms of one of her regular patients.

“Then, one day she came home from work and told me straight up that it was over between us. End of story.”

“Any children?” Diana asked.

“No, Tiffany had a miscarriage,” I answered, mentioning my former wife’s name for the first time. Before continuing, I wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Hell, she didn’t seem interested in having children after that.”

“My, that’s sort of sad,” Diana murmured after several seconds. “Most couples usually try again after some point.”

“Well, I was willing but she wasn’t,” I explained lowering my head momentarily to stir my coffee. “What about you? Do you have any children?”

“Naah, never even came close,” was her short reply.

“Had you ever considered having children?”

“Jack wanted children, lots of them,” she replied. “But me, I did not see myself going through all of that pain and suffering and agony more than once or twice.”

“You mean, going through pregnancy.”

“That’s exactly what I meant,” she said with a pointed look. “Anyway, I told Jack that I wasn’t having
jack
until the two of us got married.” She found herself chuckling after that pronouncement and pun. I joined in.

“Well, I guess having children is out of the picture now.”

“That’s right it’s out of the picture,” she quipped. “God, I’m never falling in love again.”

“It’s that bad, huh?” I said lifting the cup of coffee to my mouth a third time.

“I imagine it is,” she said softly, almost thoughtfully, as she sipped at her drink then set it down on the table with a thump.

“Now me, I’m never going to marry again,” I conveyed as that statement landed with a thud.

“Come on, your marriage couldn’t have been all bad, now,” she said looking at me with a doubtful but bemused expression.

“Yes, it certainly was.”

“Damnnn,” she murmured, drawing the word out.

“Well, if you’re finished, we better get back on the road.”

“Yeah, I guess we should get going.”

I paid the bill while Diana insisted on leaving a tip. Almost immediately, she politely excused herself and made a beeline to the ladies room. With nothing better to do, I headed out to the Navigator to warm it up for her. By noon I expected the weather to warm up as well. She joined me inside minutes later and we pulled off.

“What time is it?” she asked me.

Pointing to my dazzling dashboard I showed Diana the time display, but just the same, I told her anyway, “10:10.”

“What time do you have to be in Jacksonville?” she asked.

“No set time,” I replied, as I passed an eighteen wheeler with ease. “Most of my folks are at work right now.”

“Then why did you get such an early start?”

“Well, I had originally planned on stopping in St Augustine to have lunch and look around some. It’s been a while since I last visited the area.”

“So, you’re saying that because of me you’re going to cross that stop off of your itinerary. No, I can’t let you do that.”

“Well, I have to get you to Jacksonville so you don’t miss your bus.”

“But remember, my bus isn’t scheduled to leave until 4:30PM,” she emphasized. “No, I can’t let you ruin your plans on account of me.”

“So, what are you saying?” I asked, glancing at her side profile momentarily.

“What I am saying Sheldon is that we have plenty of time to stop there along the way. Four and a half hours to be exact. And that’s not even including travel time.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, turning to face her again.

“Listen, I don’t want my schedule to come into conflict with your schedule or any other plans of yours. I just can’t do that.”

“Okay, it’s settled. There’s a St Augustine exit coming up a mile ahead,” I told her. “We’ll take that exit.”

“Good,” she said, “Besides, I have never been to St Augustine.”

“Well, hang onto your seat,” I said, steering the Navigator onto the exit ramp.

Turning right on County Road 207, we headed east in the direction of the nation’s oldest city. Traffic was light, thankfully.

“How long before we get there?” she said, her eyes darting between the passing scenery and my own eyes.

“We’re about fifteen miles out so I’d say another eighteen to twenty minutes, depending on the traffic.”

“Good,” she said sporting a smile. “Where are we stopping at first?”

“I don’t know, what do you have in mind?” I asked.

“Like I’ve said, I’ve never been there before so I don’t know.”

“Well, is there any particular anchor store or shop you might want to stop at?” I pressed her.

“I’ll know once we get into the area and I can see what’s there. Perhaps there’s a Goodwill Store somewhere nearby.”

“Okay, we’ll decide then.”

As we drove on Diana pulled out her cellphone to check her incoming calls. Since she had turned the volume all of the way down, we didn’t hear any calls come through during our drive but checking now she noticed seven of the nine incoming calls were from Jack. Against my advice she listened to his voice mails and grew apprehensive.

“So, what has he to say?” I asked as I stopped for a red light at the corner of CR 207 and US1.

“He sounded pretty upset with me,” she answered, her right hand squeezing her left arm nervously. “He said that if I didn’t return right away he’d come and find me.”

“Oh, that’s just a scare tactic he’s using to keep you unsettled,” I said reassuring her.

“You think so, huh?”

“Of course,” I replied. “Guys like that are bonafide assholes and enjoy the control they have over women. Scare tactics are a tool they resort to at times to keep their women in check.”

“No disrespect but does this sound like a scare tactic,” she said as she put the speaker on to let me hear Jack’s voice ranting and raving and cussing at her.

“I still believe it’s just all talk,” I insisted, although I was initially taken aback by his tone and profanity.

“Sheldon, you don’t know
Jack
,” she stressed, her voice rising.

“I don’t, do I?”

“No, I didn’t quite mean it that way,” she said forming a smile.

I chuckled too at her unintentional play on words.

“Look, don’t you worry your sweet head off,” I came back. “By this evening you’ll be on a bus and on your way up to New York. I doubt if he’ll track you up there.”

“I hope you are right,” she said, inhaling.

By now we were in the historic area of St Augustine. It took a few minutes but we eventually found a parking space near the harbor and the famous
Bridge of Lions
. A marina with a full complement of moored sailboats and yachts was situated just south of the historic and revamped bridge. A restaurant named OC White sat across the street and to the right of the marina.

Walking north we came upon a historic fort named Castillo de San Marcos and decided to take a tour of it. Afterwards we walked further north until we came upon Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. We decided we didn’t have time for that tour.

Around 1:45PM we came upon Harry’s restaurant where we ate lunch. It was one of those upscale restaurants that sat just across the street from the Bridge of Lions and the picturesque harbor. Several sailboats sat anchored just off of the shoreline.

Afterwards, we decided to resume our trek north in the Navigator, this time on a more scenic route known as A1A. Along the way we passed by numerous vacation homes, many of them in the multi-million dollar bracket. Every few minutes there would come a clearing where we would catch a glimpse of the sandy beach and the expansive Atlantic Ocean. It was a beautiful sight. Once we passed through the affluent community known as Ponte Vedra, I turned left on J Turner Butler Blvd and headed west until we intercepted I-95. Once we returned to our northeast heading, I drove on until we closed in on downtown Jacksonville. 

Once in town, I steered the Navigator onto an off ramp that merged onto a street that took us past the city’s Prime Osborne Convention Center and along a stretch of towering buildings. We happened upon the Greyhound Bus terminal several blocks later. Pulling over near the curb, I glided my SUV to a stop and parked it within walking distance of the terminal.

“Well, here we are,” I said.

“I imagine this is the end of the road for us,” she replied, looking at me with a solemn gaze.

“Yes, it is. But I really enjoyed your company Diana,” I told her as we traded stares and smiles.

“And I have had the most wonderful time with you Sheldon, especially when you consider how my day began on a sour note.”

“You know, I meant to ask you how long were you walking before I came upon you.”

“Off the top of my head, about twenty or thirty minutes, I believe.”

“Man, that’s a long time,” I sighed. “And on top of that, carrying a ton of luggage.”

“Hey, you’ll be surprised at what you can do when you get desperate,” she came back. “But I am glad you were kind enough to stop for me. And thank you for being such a gentleman.”

“You mean to tell me that for as long as you were walking no one offered to give you a ride?”

“Oh, I had a few offers but I got bad vibes about them. So I turned them down and continued to walk. Then you came along.”

“Well, I am glad that I could be of some assistance to you.”

“And you were,” she said, touching her hand to my hand. “I really appreciate everything. I’ll remember our time together and for a long time to come.”

“Yeah, me too,” I murmured feeling a touch of sadness. “Well, we had better get your things unloaded and you into the station before you miss your bus.”