Ride to Redemption

by D. J. Wilson

  “I’m sorry, D. I can’t speak as one who has had the responsibility of raising kids, as well as juggling a career, while trying to be a wife and a lover. However, I would think your children should have completed the both of you. I mean together you made these precious kids. Your DNA blended together and created life. That to me would be the ultimate relationship binder. Thriving together as a couple, to nurture these sons into men, whereby, they can draw on the both of you, to learn how to survive, and thrive.”

  “Life happens, Candi. We play the hands we’re dealt. Sometimes, you just have to toss them back in and start again. It’s not easy to say I quit. It’s even harder to admit you failed. As the French are so apt to say, “Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be.

  “Can we go now, Candi?” I asked, trying to move us further down the road, but more importantly, turn off this sad, heart wrenching, all to real, conversation.

  “Yes, baby, we ride. Just let me put my jeans on. I’m not sure how liberal the Canadian’s are here in Alberta, about a girl riding in nothing, but chaps and a thong,” offered Candi, sporting a semi-wicked smile.

  * * *

  In just under two hours, we pulled up beside the Fairmont Chateau, Lake Louise, Alberta.

  “I’m speechless!” exclaimed Candi, while looking at the blue and green waters of Lake Louise, just a stone’s throw from the hotel. “They have a spa, too! Pinch me. I’m in heaven!”

  “And afternoon tea,” I announced, while holding an imaginary teacup with two fingers and biting into an invisible crumpet. “We have two days here, compliments of Giovanni. That is, if he makes it,” I chuckled, while looking around the parking lot for their familiar bikes. Not yet.

  Hand in hand, we made our way to the front desk. I was pleasantly surprised to find a room key waiting. Gio and Mile had managed to get there before us.They must be out exploring, or shopping or both.

  “Spa!” begged Candi. “I want to book a massage, a manicure, and a pedicure, now.”

  Tiffany, our vivacious clerk who was not a day over twenty, happily obliged. “Miss, please just pick one of these times from the schedule and I’ll make your reservation.”

  “Gladly. I’ll take this one,” said Candi, pointing to an opening only 10 minutes away. “What about you, D? What are you going to do while I’m gloriously indulging myself?”

  “I’ll be gloriously indulging myself, too. Tiffany, if you please, point me to the bar.”

  “Gladly, sir,” offered Tiffany. “The Lakeview Lounge is just down the hallway on the right. If I might add, sir, the view from the bar is outstanding, our wait staff is exceptional and our beer is glacier cold.” Looking directly into Candi’s beautiful brown eyes, Tiffany continued, “Enjoy your spa miss. I can assure you, your guy will be just fine.”

  ”Slut,” whispered Candi into my ear as she kissed me on the cheek.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Candi was forcefully staking her claim and wanted me to damn well know it.

  “Have a good time, miss,” I teased Candi. “I’m off to find the bar, the barmaids and the beer.”

  One hour and four Canadian Molson’s into my glorious indulgence, I looked up to see Gio and Mile sauntering into the bar. After scanning the entire crowd, Mile finally locked eyes with me and came running across the dance floor to give me a hug.

  “Missed you, D,” expressed Mile, breaking out with a smile to die for. Glancing at Gio, as he walked up ten-seconds behind her, she pointed to him and said, “He miss you, too.”

  “What?” I began, while extending my hand to Gio. “No tour guides as good as me?”

  “No, D. We no look. You best. “

  “Good to see you guys, too,” I added. “Mile, Candice is in the spa,” I said and pointed to my fingernails. “Gio, you tell her she can join Candi if she wants to. Tell her to go find Tiffany at the front desk.”

  By Gio’s excited conversation in Italian, I could readily deduce what Mile wanted. Gio threw up his hands, shook his head at me and followed Mile out the door toward Tiffany.

  I ordered Gio two Molson’s and had them opened and waiting on his return.

  He looked at them and asked if one of them were mine. I explained. “I’m on number four,” while holding up 4 fingers. “You have some catching up to do.”

  “Si,” Gio said, nodding, then he drained the first bottle in one turn long swig. Starting on the second, just as he turned this one up, I grabbed it and set it down on the table. “Slowly, Gio. You can catch up with me, but slow-ly,” I said, as I dragged out the word to make sure he understood that he didn’t have to drink all three immediately.

  “You had good ride? Mile, she like mountains, snow, and big deers. Me, I just like ride. I call you two times. You no answer.”

  “Phone off,” I woefully acknowledged, as I poked at the off button, inadvertently turning it on. I poked it again, turning it back off, whereby he finally got the message.

  “Tomorrow, we ride the Icefields Highway to visit the Columbia Icefields,” I explained, while pointing out the panoramic window at the Victoria Glacier staring back at us from the extreme far end of the lake. “Not that one, Gio, but one much similar.”

  Time flies, I suppose. That is, if you base time on the number of beers consumed, versus hours. In any event, at the six plus beer mark, by then whoz counting, the girls found us, by my calculation, slightly inebriated.

  “How did it goooo, baby?” I asked Candi, suddenly realizing how thick my tongue felt as I spoke.

  “Fine, D. It was incredible. Look at my nails. Aren’t they beautiful?” Realizing I was looking at the floor, and not her hands, Candi exclaimed, “They’re drunk!” then repeated it to Mile in excited Italian. Whereby, Gio suddenly raised his head up and entered the conversation nonverbally by nodding slowly in agreement.

  “Mile, help me,” directed Candi, again repeating her words in Italian. “Let’s get them to the room. Then you and I will have a quiet dinner, just the two of us.”

  “Just the girls? What about the two us?” I stammered. “We have to eat too, you know. We’re gonna need something to take the buzzzz off,” I managed to add, before the world as I knew it went dark...

  * * *

  And, that was the last thing I remembered, before waking up at 5 a.m. to the sound of my alarm, my clothes still on and intact. Rolling to my left, with my right arm following suit, I snuggled up against Candi, who strangely felt much bigger than I remembered. “What happened, baby?” I asked, in a fog, as my right hand moved to hold her ample chest. Where did the ta-tas go? was all I could think as my hand stroked a grossly hairy chest, similar to my own.

  “Yuck!” Bolting from the bed, I turned on the light as Gio rolled over, smiling.

  “Ciao, D, I think we drink bad. Candice and Mile, they get us to room, but how you say, not two.”

  “Both, I think that’s the word you’re looking for.”

  “Yes, we sleep here, they sleep there,” pointing at the adjoining room.

  “Why is it, Gio, I can’t ever seem to remember the alcohol in Canadian beer is at least 50% more than home? No wonder I feel a hangover coming on.”

  “Mi scusi?“ asked Gio.

  “Never mind, I agree with you, we drink bad. Go back to sleep, pal. I’ve got to find some caffeine to stave on this headache.” While he rolled back over, I picked up the room’s key card, and my phone, before making my way to the lobby in search of a fix. Filling two large cups with dark roast coffee from a silver plated carafe next to the front desk, I negotiated my way to an outdoor patio that overlooked the lake. Sipping this much-needed elixir, in silence and solitude, I reflected on the events that occurred after we left the bar. I got nothing, absolutely nothing. I drew a complete and total blank of last night’s closure with a capital C.

  With the throbbing in my head, medicated, I turned my phone on to find one new voice mail from Vic.

  Message 1:

  Hi, D. Vic here. I hope you’re having an awesome time bangin’ your sweeti
e, while those of us in the real world are trying to make a living, and keep your cute ass out of jail. Call me. I’ve got some rather good news on your Marine friend, Frank.

  Hmmm … I never told her he was a Marine. Or did I? I wonder if she found that out through the media. I’ve got to start watching the news again, but there is no way it’s gonna be today,. maybe tomorrow.

  Answer the phone Vic, I mused, on the fifth ring. Rats voice mail. Just as I was about to leave her a message, Caller ID, showed an incoming call from a number I didn’t recognize. Clicking over, I said, “Speak.”

  “What do you mean speak?” asked the feminine, somewhat groggy voice on the other end, “I’m sleeping and speaking at the same time. Why are you calling me at 5:20 a.m.? I just went to sleep three hours ago, asshole.”

  “Vic, it’s you,” I sighed, gratefully relieved. “You’re on central time in Iowa, the same as me. Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “I’m on Pacific time asshole. At least that’s what they told me when I landed in Portland yesterday,” acknowledged Vic, considerably more alert.

  “What are you doing in Portland, may I ask?”

  “I’ve been chasing down your ‘friend’ Frank. He wouldn’t take my calls so I put my butt on a plane and came out here to Oregon to find him.”

  “Were you successful?”

  “Believe it or not after a long 48 hours I was. He’s one of the reasons I didn’t get back to the hotel, till one in the morning, that and the Cadillac Island Casino, I couldn’t pass up on the way back. All this has been done on your dime, no less. Full disclosure, remember?”

  “And?”

  “Well, it took quite a few well placed Franklin’s to find him. But, I did. Then I had to spirit him away from the flood of reporters that have constantly hounded him since he broke your story.”

  “You seduced him with your wily ways, I bet. Just like you did me. Yep, I can see it now.”

  “Slow down tiger. You got at least part of the story correct. I did make myself an irresistible 10, wearing a thigh high, slit skirt, while showing lots of my desirable cleavage through, an almost see through, milky white, blouse. Tricks, I might add, which were more than sufficient to momentarily get his most undivided attention.”

  “Then what happened, Vic, you’re dragging this out on purpose, aren’t you?”

  “Yep, you deserve the full effect, D. Moving on, I strolled up to him in his local honey hole, while the reporters were standing idly by outside, and asked him, just like I asked you, if he wanted his luck to change for the better?”

  “After sizing me up, Frank said, ‘No thank you, he couldn’t afford me.’

  “D, was that a compliment or what? What is it with you and these guys you run with, I am not a hooker, get it?”

  “But you play the part so well, Vic. Could be a sideline business for you someday,” I playfully retorted.

  “Hush! Not to be denied, I whispered in his ear, ‘I am yours for free, compliments of D.’ That got his undivided attention, I tell ya, damn near immediately. I told him to give me five minutes, then excuse himself, go out through the back door, and I’d be there to pick him up. The rest is now history.”

  “What did you do, Vic, whack him?”

  “No D, what kind of girl do you think I am? Ignore that last question. We’ve been down that road before remember when my hand handsomely introduced itself to your cheek.”

  “I remember vividly,” I retorted, fondly thinking back to what transpired later, where she was standing before me in all her glory. “Go on.”

  “He’s really a nice guy, D. Surprised the hell out of me. Seems he’s been doing all this to take the heat off of you, whoever you are. He used five of the diamonds to make himself credible, then began giving false leads and is making up the story as he goes along. Can you believe that? Said to tell you when I talked to you, he’s got you back, Semper Fi or something like that.”

  “Vic, that’s the Marine motto in Latin, it means, Always Faithful. Just when I was beginning to lose my trust in people, Frank goes and does something admirable.”

  “D, he said to tell you that no one ever inspired him to better himself by helping others the way you did. And then when he got home, and opened the package you gave him, he said he couldn’t leave the house for two days. Says you were an answer to his prayers. He owes you and he’s doing what little he can to help. And, he doesn’t even know your name. He asked me if I did.

  “Go figure. I bet that’s why I’m here, too. Don’t ya think? At least I know your name,” Vic concluded.

  “Neither one of you, owe me anything. Neither does anyone else for that matter, well, with the exception of a certain one, which I’m repaying in kind. Your success is thanks enough. I am speechless. What am I supposed to say after all the Intel you've discovered? Thank you?”

  “You don’t have to say any more, D. You’ve done more than enough. I am eternally grateful. I can’t speak for the other 1000 or so you’ve attempted to make whole, but, as for me, I too, agree with Frank. You can always count on me to have your back. Oh! And one more thing, if and when the time comes to discard your ride along, I’m always willing to have your front to. Now, hang up and let me go back to bed. You’re taking me shopping this afternoon, in spirit anyway, on my way home through Seattle. Know I love ya. Bye, D.”

  Chapter 33

  Making my way back to the room, I found the women dressed and waiting on Gio to get out of the shower.

  “Prince Charming, you’re not, especially when you’re wasted,” declared Candi. “Silly, yes and dead weight too, heavy like lead. I finally got a bellhop to push you both up here, while you were hanging off a luggage cart. You owe me $50, by the way. I’m a big tipper when it comes to cute bellhops.”

  “Thanks guys,” I replied, while gazing at Mile and her new doo, compliments of the Hotel’s Salon and Spa, no less.

  “You’re beautiful this morning, Mile,” I exclaimed.

  “What about me, D?” stammered Candi.

  “You’re always beautiful, baby,” I responded. “It’s the first time I’ve seen Mile without helmet hair. She looks great!”

  “We both looked stunning late yesterday,” declared Candi, “but you were both too drunk to see.”

  Gio emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel. “Ciao,” said Gio cheerfully. “Mi scusi for last night. We drink bad,” while slapping me on the shoulder, abruptly causing his towel to fall to the floor.

  “Yuck!” shouted Candi. “Put some clothes on, Gio. Nobody wants to see you naked, especially before breakfast.”

  “Mi scusi,” said Gio, reaching to the ground for his towel to wrap back around his waist.

  “Mile, let’s go grab something to eat while these guys do whatever guys do in the morning.”

  With Mile and Candi out the door, I returned the slap on the shoulder to Gio. “I don’t know why Candi was so upset. You, pal, are hung like a horse.”

  “D, remember, la mia famiglia,” said Gio sheepishly.

  After a quick shower and shave, Gio and I headed downstairs, grabbing two café lattes from the hotel’s espresso bar.

  Joining the ladies, who were just wrapping up breakfast, I asked Gio, “Would you like to eat or ride?”

  “Ride,” replied Gio, much to my delight.

  “You heard the man-horse,” I declared in a proud and loud voice. “Ladies, we will meet you at the bikes.”

  “Gio, today we ride to the glaciers. Do you have glaciers in Italy?”

  “Sì, but, bigger in Switzerland.”

  “We’re ready to ride,” Candi announced, escorting Mile by the arm. “Is it going to be cold up there? Do we need to put on more clothes?”

  Looking at my leather-clad entourage, I stated, “Highs today will be in the 60s. If you start to get cold, we’ll stop. Okay?”

  Chapter 34

  With that, we were off. Riding through both Banff and Jasper National Parks is probably the most picturesque and scenic ride
I’ve ever taken on a bike, bar none. Cobalt blue lakes, ice blue glaciers, snow-capped mountains and meandering, lush green valleys pierced by magnificent streams, envelope you along this 144-mile long journey.

  Gio was in his element. With camera in hand, he acted just as he did when he joined us in Sioux City. Passing back and forth between Mile and I, Gio was all smiles for the next 90 miles. An hour and a half of pristine landscape was captured on film, including the last thirty terror-filled seconds, which would forever rock my world.

  Sweeping through a blind curve, running not much over 50 mph, I found myself running headlong into a cow moose and her calf. Knowing immediately that Candi and I were about to be royally screwed, I managed to accelerate just enough to pass between them on the road. The Italians, who were following directly behind us, where not so lucky.

  Looking into my rearview mirror, I saw Gio with his camera in hand, hit the cow moose straight on, catapulting him over the bike and into the 1200 lb. moose, where they both tumbled and collapsed to the ground.

  Mile, reacting immediately to what was happening to Gio, cut left, then right back into the path of the calf. Thankfully, with an instant’s warning, she laid her bike down and allowed it to take the full brunt of the impact with the calf, before her body followed suit.

  Candi turned back just in time to see the sudden carnage scatter all over the road and come to a halt. She dug her fingernails into my shoulder blades and yelled, “STOP!”