The Road Trip

THE ROAD TRIP

“Next!”

Two people rushed toward the attendant behind the counter, arriving at the same time. 

“I’m next!” said the woman. She looked to be in her early sixties, dressed casually, lugging a backpack.

“I”m afraid you’re mistaken, Madame, I was here before you. You just happened to wiener your way in front of me,” said the man, making himself larger with his elbows. He was younger than the woman, probably in his mid-thirties, but just as determined.

“I was here first!” insisted the woman.

“No, I was —”

“STOP!” shouted the agent. “I don’t care which one of you was first. You work it out. But I only have one car left, so hurry up and decide”

“I have to get home!” said the man. “I have court tomorrow, and I can’t miss it!”

The woman looked at him, snorted, eyes squinting. “They going to throw you in jail if you miss your court date?”

“No, I will not be going to jail, unless it’s for contempt of court if I don’t show up first thing in the morning. I’m a prosecutor, not a defendant.”

“You’re a lawyer? Now I know you’re lying about being here first,” snorted the woman.

“People!” said the agent. “Make a decision. I have a lot of other people lined up behind you that I need to disappoint.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” said the woman, hands in front. She looked at the man. “I have to get to Toronto. My daughter went into labour, and I need to be there. This is her first child, and she’s alone. Her husband died, and well, she can’t be by herself. Plus, the baby’s only thirty-two weeks. Please. I need to be there.”

The man took a big breath. “Okay. But I have to get to Toronto as well. Can we share the car? I’ll pay. We can spell each other off for driving.”

The woman looked at the man, skeptically.

“You’re not an axe murderer, are you?”

The man laughed. “I’m not sure I’d tell you if I was. But, as it happens, I am not an axe murdered. I do prosecute them, though.”

”Okay, deal,” said the woman.

The man held out his hand.  

“Evan Luckerbie, at your service.”

The woman took the man’s hand. “Dana Bright, grandma-to-be.”

“Great, now that we all know each other,” said the rental agent, “Can we get moving on this?”

“Certainly.” Evan turned to the woman behind the desk, “What do you need?”

They had both been on the same flight from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Mechanical issues. Somewhere over New York their plane had started to whine and buck. Not a good sign when your plane behaves like a carnival ride. They had been forced to land in Ithaca, New York. While a nice town, Ithaca was not actually a transportation hub. A new plane would arrive by seven o’clock the following morning, and everyone would be in Toronto by nine-fifteen a.m. But, it was only eight-thirty p.m., and a wait of over ten hours was too much for many people, thus the rush on the car rental kiosk in the small airport.

It turned out that the only car left was actually a huge black Lincoln Navigator.  

“Wow,” said Dana, checking out the SUV, “it’s like I’m in the Secret Service, or I’m someone famous.” She looked around. “It’s huge!”

Evan turned to her. “Do you want to drive, or shall I?”

“Your buck, your choice. It doesn’t matter to me.” She smiled.

“Okay, I’ll take the first couple of hours.”

As they both got into the car, Evan took out his phone, and opened the Waze app.

“Where to?” he asked Dana.

“I’m actually going to Hamilton. Just put in the address for Union Station. I’ll be able to catch a train from there.”

“Nonsense! You’re a going to be a grandma, and we need to get you there ASAP.”

She gave him the address for St. Joseph’s hospital. He put the address in Waze, and headed for the highway.

“It should only take about three hours and forty-five minutes, not including the time at the border,” Evan said, reading the screen.

“Hopefully the baby will wait for me to get there,” said Dana, looking at her watch.

The first few minutes were quiet, as Evan navigated the streets of Ithaca, heading for the highway, and Dana texted for updates about the labour.

Evan looked over at Dana, who was staring at her phone, brow furrowed.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

Dana shook her head slightly.

“They’re trying to stop the labour. They’re worried that the baby’s lungs aren’t mature enough. Inez shouldn’t be alone. I should have come home earlier.”

Evan figured that Dana was coming from South Carolina, like he was.

“Do you live in South Carolina?” he asked, trying to distract her from worrying.

“No, I was just getting our … my place on Pawley’s Island ready for sale.”

“Ah.” What else could he say? She sounded so sad. 

The next hour was spent listening to Dana’s phone ding every time a text message came through, then her furiously — well actually not so furiously — texting the response.

After the last message, she looked up and smiled. “They’ve stopped the labour for now. But they’re going to keep her Labour and Delivery for a few days, to keep an eye on her. So please don’t kidnap me because Inez needs her mom right now. “ She smiled at Evan, but perhaps a little more sadly than someone who had just received good news.

Evan smiled back at Dana.  

“Well, that’s going to ruin my plans, but okay. I will take you directly to the hospital, no kidnapping.”

“Thank you.”

A few minutes passed. Dana spoke up.

“You’re all dressed up.” She looked at him. He was wearing a very nice tailored suit, open collar, and dress shoes. “What were you doing in Myrtle Beach?”

“Well ….”

Dana sucked in her breath. “Oh my God! You were at a funeral, weren’t you? I’m so sorry. I—”

“No, no, no,” said Evan. “I was working. I’m a lawyer, like I said, and I’m working with American authorities regarding the extradition of a Canadian man wanted on charges in South Carolina. We have him in custody already, and the Americans want to prosecute him for crimes he committed there.” He looked over at Dana. He didn’t want to bring up the circumstances of the case because it was particularly gruesome, and she already looked so sad. So he continued in a lighter vein. “I’ve been spending so much time down in Myrtle, I’m thinking of buying a vacation place. It’s starting to grow on me.”

“Well,” said Dana, a melancholy smile touching her lips. “I know this really nice woman who’s selling.”

Evan laughed.

“Right! I forgot. Why are you selling?”

Dana looked out the window.

“My husband died a while ago. We bought the place because he loved the golfing. I don’t golf very often, so I decided to sell. Plus, there are too many memories there.” She stopped for a moment. “Instead, I’m going to travel the world, and see things we never got around to seeing together.”

“I’m sorry about your husband." He paused.  "Where do you want to travel to? I’m a bit of a traveller. Maybe I can give you some tips.”

Dana sighed. “We were supposed to go to the Antarctic, but Covid got in the way. We had our adventure rebooked for next month, but Dan died before we could go. I had to cancel the trip — too soon after Dan’s death — but I still want to go. It was our special trip, and we planned it together.”

“I think you should go. I haven’t been, but it is definitely on my bucket list. I want to go for the bragging rights, but also for the penguins.” He glanced over at Dana, who was looking out the window. “Did you know that there are eight different species of penguins who make Antarctic their home for part of the year, but only the Emperor and Adelie live there year-round. The others …”

They talked penguins, of all things. As it turned out, Dana was a bit of a penguin aficionado, and had seen penguins in South Africa, Chile, the Falkland Islands, and the Galapagos Islands. Antarctica was the most “penguin rich” locale in the world, and that is why they had planned the trip — so Dana could see the penguins.  

There was a ping, and Evan looked down. The gas tank icon had appeared on the dash.

“We need gas. I’m going to pull in at the first station we see.”

Which was only a couple of minutes down the highway. They pulled in, and Evan started to get out to fill the tank.

“Here,” said Dana, holding a wad of cash in her hand. “Let me get this. You’ve been doing all the driving.”

“No, don’t worry. It’s all covered under business expenses,” he said, showing her his company credit card. “And, I happen to really like driving, especially this beautiful beast,” he added, rubbing his hand on the leather-covered steering wheel.

“Dan and I used to do the drive to Pawley’s Island all the time. It’s about fifteen hours, give or take. We’d leave early enough so that we could drive straight through. Dan could never understand why anyone would want to spend good money on a motel room when we could do the drive in one day." Dana sighed.  "Anyway, I’ll drive if you like, once the tank’s full.”

Evan shook his head. “You’ve got your hands full with Inez and the baby. I don’t mind the drive at all.” He looked around the car, “And this is pretty lux! It’s a pleasure to drive.”

“Thank you,” said Dana. “At least let me get you something to drink. Coffee, tea, caffeinated beverage, power drink, water, milk?”

“I’ll take a large black coffee. That would be great.”

While Evan filled the tank, Dana bought them both a hot beverage. Evan a large black coffee, and a mint tea for herself.  And she picked up a few snacks. Because she didn’t know what to get him, she bought candy, chips, two cookies, and a hot dog.

That should cover it, she thought.

They were back on the road in no time.

“We’re only about fifteen minutes to the border. You have your passport, right?” Dana asked.

Evan laughed. “What kind of a lawyer would I be if I didn’t have all my paperwork in order?”

“Dan always asked me about my passport, about ten times every trip. I finally just gave it to him to look after. It was easier that way.”

They were quiet, drinking their drinks, and munching on snacks. They made it through the border, quickly, without delay.

Once they were on the Canadian side of the border, Dana asked “What is the case that you’re working on?”

“The Foster case. John Foster, a Canadian living in South Carolina. He joined an incel group — that’s a group of men who hate women because they can’t get a date. Anyway, John Foster rented a truck and drove it down the boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, killing three people, injuring twelve, severely injuring three of the twelve. Most of the victims were women, although two men were killed. After he drove down the boardwalk, he drove to the airport, and flew back to Toronto before anyone knew who he was. Once he was back in Canada, he tried the same thing, but was stopped before he could put his plan into action. Toronto police arrested him. His trial date is set for next month. But South Carolina wants him back. The problem is that South Carolina has the death penalty, and Canada will not extradite to a capital punishment state. So we’re at an impasse.” Evan looked at Dana. “Do you know the case?”

Dana nodded her head, saying nothing. 

“Are you alright?” asked Evan. Dana’s face had paled, and she looked almost sick. He was kicking himself. He shouldn’t have brought it up. It was a gruesome crime.

“I know all about the case, Evan.”

They drove in silence. When the highway split, Evan took the westbound route, right into Hamilton.

Dana’s phone pinged. She looked down.

“Oh, dear. The contractions have started up again. They believe if is best for Inez and the baby to let the birth occur.”

Evan stomped on the gas. 

“I’ll get you there. Hold on!”

A ride that should have taken twenty minutes took ten. They pulled up in front of the hospital.

“Thank you, Evan, for everything.”

“I’m not letting you go up there on your own. I’ll come with you.”

“No. It’s okay. I should go alone.”

“I insist,” said Evan, parking in a no parking zone, and following Dana into the hospital, up to the third floor.

Dana entered Inez’s room, Evan on her heels.

“I’m here sweetie.” She looked around the room. “I’m not too late, am I?”

“No, Dana, you’re right on time," said the nurse, smiling.  "You’ve got a few minutes with Inez before we take her in for a C-section." She turned to Inez.  "Isn’t that right? You’re going to have your baby in no time.” The nurse patted Inez’s hand.

Dana’s eyes filled with tears. She went to her daughter’s side, and held her hand, stroking it gently.

“It’s going to be just fine, sweetie. Mom’s here, and everything is going to be good.”

Evan just stood at the door, taking in the scene. A few minutes later, the nurses returned and wheeled Inez off to the surgical suite.

Evan and Dana took seats in the hall.

“How did you know?” asked Dana.

“At first I didn’t. It wasn’t until you asked about the case. There was a couple, the Carstons, a husband and a wife. The husband was killed at the scene, the wife, who was pregnant, suffered catastrophic injuries. Her father was also killed in the attack. Her mother was uninjured because she had stopped at a stall to buy her unborn grandchild a stuffed toy. After the attack, the woman’s mother chose to keep her daughter on life support until the baby was born. That’s you, isn’t it, Dana?”

Dana just nodded. Evan noticed that she was holding a little tiny bear.

“Dana, I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” she said. “It’s just so hard.” Tears filled her eyes. “After the baby is born, I going to have the doctors take her off life support. She is also an organ donor. She’s giving the baby a life, and, hopefully saving the lives of others.”

Evan put his arms around Dana, and let her cry on her shoulder.

Life was so hard for those left behind.