“Ugh. Here comes that really long bridge. I’d forgotten about that.” Mark craned his neck to look around the cars that were in front of him to try and gauge just how long it really was.
“Do you want me to drive it, hon?”, Jane offered, never expecting that he would take her up on it.
“There isn’t a good spot to switch drivers. Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” And she could see him set his shoulders a bit more and hunker down. She really wished that he would let her ease his burdens more but she also knew that that wasn’t his way. Twelve years of marriage (and three of dating before that) had taught her quite a bit about her man. He could be the most stubborn and driven man she’d ever met. Loving too, when it came around to that.
She reached over and put her hand on his knee to reassure him. “It’ll be fine. Just focus on the car in front of us.”
He grunted under his breath and then said, “Good idea. I’ll try it,” and fell into silence. When the car entered the different concrete of the bridge she noticed him tense even more but she made no reaction.
It really was a long bridge. You couldn’t cross the
She looked over at him and he was staring at the license plate in front of them. That seemed to be working as his panic level wasn’t rising. She quickly decided that she wouldn’t distract him for anything. That left her free to look all around if she wanted to. The north side of the river was steep and covered with pines. Fog played with the trees and made them look mystical.
A quick splash caught her attention. She clearly saw a head and shoulders. Then it flipped and she saw a large green fish tail. Did she really just see that? Should she tell Mark? No, he was still focusing and she didn’t want to break his concentration. Jane looked back at the spot but didn’t see anything else. She waited for it to resurface but nothing did.
Then the bridge started to elevate. It formed a large hump that ships could go under. Driving there wasn’t as bad as you were away from the water. Through her hand she could feel Mark starting to relax. Then they were over the hump and into the long curl that brought them into downtown.
Mark let out a long breath. “Maybe we should stop and get a bite to eat.”
“That’s a great idea.” Give him a chance to stretch his legs and unwind. She dearly hoped that he’d unwind. That was one of the reasons for this trip, to get some of the tension that had been collecting inside of him to go away. The second reason was one that she hadn’t discussed with him, to try and recreate something from earlier in their relationship. Back when he was obviously in love with her instead of shutting her out.
He parked the car at a local place that had a promising sign outside. It wasn’t crowded and they grabbed a table and some menus. The waitress was young, Jane thought. Twenty-one or twenty-two at most. She couldn’t help but notice that she was well endowed and not shy about it, wearing a scandalously low cut shirt. Would Mark notice? She wasn’t worried that he’d notice too much, she was actually hoping that it might break him out of his ever increasing shell a bit. No such luck. The menu could have been a thriller for all of his rapt attention. He barely glanced up at her while they ordered.
The back of the menu had a history of the place. Apparently there had been a trap door here once. Men were drugged while drinking and they’d wake up on a boat to
Her fish and chips arrived and they were as good as she’d remembered. There really is something about eating fish at an ocean-side restaurant. Freshness maybe. Or just the atmosphere. This had been their first trip to the ocean back before they were married. This was the trip that convinced her that they were in love forever and marriage was soon to come. Three months later he’d proposed to her. They had been terrifically happy and she had always thought that the magic of this place had something to do with it.
She glanced out of the window and saw a tiny figure zoom past with a trail of sparkles. Did she see a wand and little wings? She thought so. “Mark, look!”, and she pointed. But it was too late. He’d missed it.
“What? Where am I looking?”
“Something strange just flew past the window.” They looked for another minute but it didn’t come back. “Sorry. Not sure what I just saw.”
“Don’t worry about it.” And then back to the meaningless small talk. After they were done they paid up and left. Traffic was light and that suited them well. They wanted to take the drive at their own pace. Soon they were driving around the curving coastal road. The ocean was gray and choppy with low clouds. On their other side was a steep embankment with enormous trees on top of it. And huge boulders covered with moss. Mark was driving again but this time she felt ok about pointing out particularly beautiful spots. Some of the tension seemed to be draining away from him. They drove along peacefully. This really was a wonderful area.
And then they turned a curve and discovered a car parked the wrong way on their shoulder. Mark hit the brakes sharply and swerved around them. Some tourists had picked a terrible spot to stop and get that must have picture. Mark swore at them as they drove along.
Jane could feel beneath her hand that all of the tension had returned, maybe doubled. She silently wished she could go back and run over the stupid tourists herself!
And then something caught her eye up near the clouds. Something was up there. What was that? A…horse? Yes, a white horse with…wings? Was there really a Pegasus up there?
And then they drove into a cloud bank and were engulfed in fog. Mark slow down in case there were any more foolish people parked up ahead. Jane shook her head, did I really see that? What an odd morning!
A sign popped out of the fog, telling them that a place called the Devil’s Punchbowl was up ahead. “Mark, let’s stop there and get out. Walk around a bit.”
“Sounds fine to me.” Silence again. “Wonder why the devil left his punchbowl here. You’d think that would be inconvenient for parties.” Jane laughed, giving his joke more praise than it was worth. It had been so long since she’d heard any attempt from humor from him that even a weak one was a good sign.
“We’ll just have to keep an eye out for other ‘party-goers’ then,” she tried to play along. “Hope they don’t think we’re one of them.”
“No problem,” Mark countered. “The devil only throws formal parties.”
She could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was that…banter? “Then we’ll just watch for tuxes and ball gowns.” She could see a smile growing on his face. Under her hand she could feel him relaxing again.
They parked the car and Mark went to the trunk to get out the camera bag. Jane pulled on her windbreaker. As her head came out the top, she saw a little green man walk up to a tree, just off of the parking area. He turned to her and winked and then walked behind it. She darted after him but by the time she got to the tree there was nothing there. And no sign of him either. No tracks, but the ground was covered with needles.
Mark spoke, startling her. “Hon, what is it? What are you doing?”
“I just thought I saw…something.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure.” But she was. And she was now certain that he’d winked at her. Would a pot of gold make Mark happy? She shook her head. “It was nothing, ok?”
They walked down to the formation and watched the water boiling around. It looked like a big limestone pot, with water in the bottom. The wind was strong and they both got cold quickly and walked back to the car. Jane offered to drive and Mark took her up on it. She was a little worried that she’d see something else that was too strange to be true but wanted to risk it anyway. Maybe only the passenger could see the strange stuff. She’d love to be able to share that with her quiet husband.
He seemed to be happy enough looking out at the surf. There was never a time when he was so still that she could be certain he slept. She also never noticed him spotting something strange. If he did, he kept it to himself. Before she knew it, another hour had gone by and there was a small town coming up. Her bladder said it was time to stop.
“I’ve got to take a break.”
“Fine with me.”
She found a street that looked like it catered to tourists and pulled into a spot in front of a knick-knack store. She told Mark that she wanted to stop in there. He’d spotted a bookstore a few shops down and said he was going to head that way. She thought that was another good sign.
She entered the store and noticed an old woman behind the counter. “Excuse me, could I use your restroom?”
“Of course, but I know the real reason you’re here.”
That took her back a bit. “And what is that?”
“Take care of your business first and then we’ll talk. Right through that way.”
Bewildered, but in need of relief, Jane went to the restroom. When she came back she walked up to the woman, “I don’t know what you mean, I really did come here to use your bathroom.”
“Tell yourself that, if you’d like. But I know better.”
“What do you mean?” Was this some kind of sales technique? If it was, she didn’t like it. Not at all. In fact, at the first sign of a sales pitch she’d be out of there like a shot.
“You came here to find happiness. Or maybe I should say to regain it.”
“How do you know that? What do you mean?” She then noticed that the woman’s left hand was resting on a large glass ball. It had to be glass, right? They don’t really make them out of crystal, do they?
The old woman looked at the ceiling in despair. “Always the same. Afraid to reach out with both hands when something good is there. Afraid to look like a fool.” She looked her straight in the eye and her gaze had an intensity that Jane didn’t like. “Will your pride stand in the way?”
Jane couldn’t help but feel like she was on trial suddenly. As if an entire crowd’s eyes were on her and this answer was very important. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, looked the old woman back in the eye and said, “I want to be happy. How can you help me.”
The woman relaxed behind the counter and the feeling of being watched disappeared. “I’d hoped you’d feel that way. One moment.” And then she ducked behind a shelf for a moment. When she came back she had a small leather pouch. She set it on the counter between them.
“What is that?,” Jane asked.
“It’s a special mixture. Put some into his wine tonight and he’ll come back to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your pride again,” the woman growled. “This will bring your love back to you. It will bridge the distance.”
Jane was in shock. How could this old woman possibly know what her problems were? She glanced over at the ball again. It couldn’t be true, could it?
But this was the reason she’d wanted this trip. She’d hoped that the magic of this place would somehow rub off on them and bring back the past. She had just always thought of the magic as being more metaphorical. She didn’t imagine she’d be taking potions or anything like that.
“Um, what do I owe you for this?”
The old woman softened a bit and smiled. “This you can have for free. But maybe you’d be interested in a few other things…”. Jane could hardly refuse and she left a few minutes later, with her purse lightened.
She walked down to the bookstore and found her husband lost in a section of hardcovers. She gently urged him to the register where he made his purchase, only three this time. He gave the man a very sincere thanks and they left.
As they walked to the car, he stopped and looked down the street. “Hon, maybe we should just stay here tonight. I know it’s a little earlier than we’d hoped…”.
“Can we find a place?” And then she followed his look down to a sign in a window that said ‘Vacancy’. “Looks like it.”
They moved the car down and went inside. An older couple greeted them. Of course they could stay, love to have them. They were led to their room which was very homey with a large comfortable looking bed. They unpacked a bit and laid down. A nap overtook both of them.
When they woke it was dark outside and they both felt very rested. A quick change of clothes and they went down to ask for a dinner recommendation. Someplace nice. They were advised to go to a nice place around the block.
It wasn’t crowded and they got a nice spot by the fire place. Jane thought guiltily of the small pouch she had in her pocket. What if he doesn’t order wine, she thought. Will it work in Coke? But her fears were misplaced and he ordered the house red. She sighed and wondered how the old woman could possibly have been sure he’d have wine.
And could she really put some strange something in his drink? She didn’t know what it was. For all she knew it could be drain cleaner. What was she thinking? His glass was brought to the table and she looked at it guiltily.
Mark excused himself to the restroom and Jane knew that her moment of truth was at hand. She quickly opened the pouch, hoping that no one else was watching her. She put her finger in it and it seemed like sand. She upturned it in her hand and saw a small pile of gold powder with blue flakes.
Nothing to it but to do it, she told herself. She grabbed his glass and quickly dumped it in. She saw some quick gold flashes and then it looked normal. She put it back. But she couldn’t stop staring at it. Did she just poison her husband? What a horrible thought! What should she do now?
A quick plan formed in her head. She reached over and took the glass. She took a sip. It tasted fine. Maybe another sip? She put it up to her lips.
And Mark chose that moment to come back to the table. “Is it good?”, he asked.
Trying to cover her shock she said, “Yes, it is. I just had to try some…”
“That’s fine. You keep that glass, I’ll get another one.” And before she could protest he signaled the waiter and ordered another one.
She tried not to think about what had happened. She’d messed it up! Mark was supposed to drink it, not her! Had she screwed up her shot at happiness? How often do you get a magic potion? Almost never and she’d messed up everything.
Mark’s drink arrived and he proposed a toast. “To us.” They drank. Jane noticed a warming going on inside of her. Was that the potion? She didn’t drink very often so it might just be the wine.
She was surprised when Mark reached across the table and put his hand on hers. “Hon, there’s something I’ve wanted to say for some time but haven’t known how to say it.” She looked him in the eye, not sure what was coming next. “I’m sorry. That’s what I wanted to say.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I’ve just been going through a rough patch lately. And instead of getting support from you, I’ve been pulling away. I’m sorry.” She could tell this was hard for him and thought that there might even be tears in his eyes.
She answered him, “It’s ok, hon.”
“It hasn’t been, but it will be from now on. At least I know what’s going on. And I’ll work on it.” She didn’t know what to say. This was important. Very important! But she couldn’t stop thinking of that warm spot in her belly.
Mark continued, “It all came home to me at that bookstore. The guy who runs the shop asked if I was driving through on my own. I mentioned you and he looked sad. Told me that he’d just lost his wife a year ago. Said that they were a team in everything. Then he looked me in the eye and told me that I’d be a fool to not be part of that team if I could. And he was right.” Now the tears spilled over. And the warm spot disappeared.
The rest of the dinner was wonderful. They talked of their first trip here. And how in love they were. After dinner they went back to their room together.
More together than they had been for a long long time.
2 comments:
I enjoyed your story. Is there more?
Nope. That's it.
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