Page 19 of Journey to Cheshire Bay
“I do listen, believe it or not, it’s just that I don’t like abbreviated pauses or long gaps in conversations, so I tend to fill the silence to take away the awkward.” He took a noisy sip of his drink.
I fought a yawn, and not because I was bored of the conversation, Holden was an interesting guy, but I’d been up for so long that Mr. Sandman was tugging on my eyelids.
“Are you tired?”
“Aren’t you?” I countered.
“Not yet.” He tore open one of his chocolate bars and tossed the wrapper on the floor behind out seats.
I grabbed it and stuffed it into the bag at my feet, while looking out the window into nothingness. “Tell me about where we are, right now.”
“Well, we’re on the Trans-Canada Highway. This highway stretches from Vancouver all the way to Nova Scotia.”
And for the next thirty minutes, Holden filled the space with information I never knew, and would likely forget. He had a way of talking about facts that actually made it interesting.
However, despite the jolt of caffeine and an overload of sugar, the random knowledge Holden was imparting on me wasn’t preventing me from nodding off every so often. I woke and stared at Holden through my half-closed eyes. The soft glow from the awakening skies illuminated the way he’d perfectly blossomed into a damn good-looking guy. A perfectly set jawline, a nose with a tiny upturn on the tip, and long lashes to die for. He covered a yawn and wiped at his eyes.
“Why don’t you pull over and get some rest?” My own voice sounded tired and worn. I was tempted to add how dangerous it was to drive while tired, but bit my tongue being that I wasn’t exactly a poster child of a perfect driver and rule follower. My suspended license was case in point.
“You know, it’s nearly eight already, and I’d be on the flight to Victoria. If things had not detracted from the set plan, I’d be landing by 9:15, and that’s when she’d be leaving to pick me up. My plan is to call her in thirty minutes and update her on the situation when we grab some breakfast, stretch, and top up the tank for the rest of the mountain pass. We don’t want to be stuck on the side of the road without gas.” His words practically fell over top of one another in a big, giant ramble, and he ran a hand through his thick wavy hair, scratching the back of his head before he tipped it from side to side.
“See? You are tired because you didn’t even answer my question and none of what you just said made much sense. Why don’t you pull over and rest?”
“After I call Grandma, I’ll consider your request.” He chased back the last of his nursed coffee.
Meanwhile, I took a pretend sip as I’d finished mine about an hour ago but didn’t want to let on. We’d be stopping soon enough.
“Can I change the station?” His finger hovered over the button. “I need something more uplifting than country music. Don’t know how much more I can take of breakups and pickup trucks.”
“I truly don’t care what we listen to as long as it’s not death metal.” The ex-boyfriend had been a long-time fan, and hearing it only made my skin crawl.
He randomly flipped until he found one that wasn’t a talk radio station or country.
“Hey, it’s a song about you.”
I sighed.
That was just the name of the song, but there was no way it was about me. The Goo Goo Dolls wrote that for some movie and besides, I was no angel, and there was no truth in my lies for the simple reason I never lied to begin with. Still, it was intriguing to watch Holden silently sing along as he head-bobbed in time to the music. Whatever kept him from nodding off was one hundred percent okay with me.
The sun slowly rose behind us, and the skies grew brighter, making it easier to watch for wildlife on the side of the roads. It also made the giant, carved out rocks we drove through a borderline point of interest. I’d never seen a such a monstrous rock look like it was split down the middle and a road paved between. I quickly snapped a picture, marveling as we approached.
More importantly though, the rising sun showed the real danger of driving in the mountains. The guard rails alongside the highway were the only thing separating us from a long drop into the valley. That was enough to keep my heart pounding whenever Holden took the turn in what I thought was a little too fast for the curve.
His phone buzzed.
“Aren’t you going to check that? That’s the twenty-third time it’s done that.” It was irritating.
“Not while I’m driving. Besides it’s likely just my friends who are checking to see if I’ve landed.”
“Nice.” I flipped my phone over and stared at a screen blank with notifications. No one had bothered to reach out.
Thankfully, the voice on the GPS announced we were descending into the valley town of Golden, so I opened the app, ignoring my lingering ache, to see what we were near. Golden was a small dot on the landscape, and the only town for miles.
“Let’s stop here.” I glanced over at the gas gauge. The compact car was highly fuel efficient, but we still needed to top it up. “This place looks like it has everything we’ll need; gas and food.”
“An unbeatable combination.” He nodded slowly and rested his head on his braced arm.
I knew he was on a deadline to get to Victoria, but it also didn’t need to come with sleep deprivation, on top of the time change, which our bodies hadn’t yet adapted to. A couple of hours of rest would be good for him. Me too.