He still looked amused but he had the decency or the good sense not to laugh again. You’re welcome,” he said. “You ready to go get some breakfast? When I was out at the market I saw a really nice little riverside café.”
“No breakfast,” she said, “But coffee sounds wonderful.”
“Maybe some toast,” he said, “You need something on your stomach.” Eva rolled her eyes but she didn’t argue with him. She put on her sweatshirt and grabbed her purse and followed him out the door.
* * *
Two hours later, they were back on the road, headed to Asheville. Eva hated to admit that Marshall had been right…about everything, but she did feel like a new woman. As Marshall drove, she skimmed through the “guide” that Henry had left for them. There were at least three major things he wanted them to see or do while they were in Asheville. There was no way they’d be able to do them all in one day.
“How long are we going to stay in Asheville?” she asked Marshall.
“I don’t know, it looks like there’s a lot he wants us to do while we’re there,” he said, “But we really don’t have to do it all.”
Eva looked over her shoulder at the urn on the seat and said, “I feel like we do. I feel like he’s still watching us and he’s going to be upset with us if we start skipping things.”
Marshall shrugged and said, “I’m not in a big hurry to get back…I mean, I miss Simone a little, but other than her…”
“I’m not in a hurry either,” Eva said, not wanting to talk about Simone. “I’m guessing from looking at what he wants us to do that the stay will have to be at least three days.”
“Okay then, do we count today?”
Eva looked at the clock, it was eleven fifteen, “We’re about forty-five minutes away now. Let’s say from noon today until noon on Friday. That will give us seventy-two hours exactly.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said, “You want to start calling hotels?”
“I was thinking…”
“Uh-oh,” he said.
“Stop it! I was thinking that maybe we could camp out.”
“Like, sleep in the car?”
Eva laughed, “No silly, in a tent. We could stop at a sporting goods place when we get to Asheville, I’m sure there are lots of them, and we could buy what we’d need.”
“Sleep in a tent, huh?”
“Oh come on, I know Granddad took you camping.”
“The last time he took me camping I was fourteen and I complained all weekend because my phone wouldn’t get service. He never offered again, and I never asked.”
“Okay, then be prepared for your phone to not get service because I’m not listening to you whine.”
He just shot her a look. When they got into town they saw that Eva was right. Asheville was a hotspot for outdoor activities and there seemed to be a sporting goods store on every corner. Marshall pulled into the lot of one of them and they went inside.
“So what do we need?” He asked her.
“Everything,” she said, “A tent, sleeping bags, cook stove….”
“A cook stove? Can’t we just drive into town and get something to eat?”
“Yeah, we can. But I thought it would be nice to make coffee and hot chocolate and maybe breakfast one day.” Eva was a lot more excited about the prospect of camping than Marshall was. While she was browsing the tents, Marshall was looking through the rack of brochures near the entrance. He found one that peaked his interest and he picked it up. A while later, Eva found him still there.
“Hey,” she said, cart laden with camping supplies, “What are you doing?”
He grinned at her and said, “I’m thinking of a compromise.”
Eva raised an eyebrow and said, “What’s that? A two star motel?”
Marshall said, “Ha! Ha!” in a fake laugh. Then he handed her the brochure and said, “Look at this.”
Eva opened it up and read:
Unique, historic log cabins built in the 1930’s but refurbished with all the modern amenities. Fully furnished and only five miles north of downtown Asheville. Cabins are fully equipped with linens and towels and all major kitchen appliances. Central heat and AC and large screen televisions.
“Are you kidding? We may as well stay in a hotel.”
“Are you kidding?” he mimicked, “Did you read the part about the stunning hiking trails and the zip line adventures and the stargazing? Come on, Eva…we can still do all the things we could do camping…Just a little more comfortably.”
Eva sighed and read on. They offered packages where you could rent your cabin as well as buy a horseback ride or a guided hike or go white water rafting….it did sound like more fun than sleeping on the ground…
“Okay, but if we do this your way then when we get to the desert or somewhere else where the camping is great, can we at least camp out one night?”
“Absolutely,” he said with a grin.
Chapter 7
Marshall once again paid for the cabin and wouldn’t take any of Eva’s money. “You don’t have to pay for everything, you know,” she told him. “Granddad left me money too.”
“You can spend yours shopping,” he told her. She rolled her eyes and said,
“You know me better than that. Who do you think I am? Si…..” She stopped herself there. She wasn’t sure what had come over her lately. Marshall had to know what she was going to say, but he didn’t say anything about it. He handed her the paperwork and grabbed their bags from the trunk. She was looking at it while following him to the cabin when she suddenly came to a dead stop. “A hot air balloon, really?”
Marshall thought she was objecting to it and he said, “I think it will be fun.”
“Oh, so do I!” she said, “I just didn’t think we’d really do it.”
Marshall smiled and sat the bags down in front of the door to their cabin, “We’re supposed to be on an adventure, remember?” Eva smiled back, she remembered. She was so excited that she probably wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight at all.
“Oh wow, this is nice,” she said when Marshall moved back so she could step inside the cabin. Marshall looked around, she could tell that he wasn’t overly impressed but he said,
“Yeah, nice. I guess it beats a tent and a sleeping bag.”
The cabin wasn’t big; nothing like their room had been in Florence. It had one big room with two beds and an armoire with a big screen television hidden inside. There was a little kitchenette along one side with a refrigerator, stove, microwave and a small table. The bathroom was tiny and only had a shower. Eva looked at Marshall and said,
“You have to look deeper.”
Marshall, used to Eva’s broad imagination and blaring optimism cracked a smile as he sat on the end of one of the beds and said,
“Tell me what you see, Eva.”
“This cabin has been here since the 1930’s. That’s almost a century of people coming and going. A family lived here, some of them probably died here….And those mountains out there,” she said, pulling back the shade, “They’re older than time and back then, they were covered in thick forest that was barely touched by man. The Cherokee lived there; in those mountains they called this “The land of the blue mist.”
Genuinely interested now, Marshall said, “Why?”
“Because early in the morning the whole valley is covered with a mist or a fog. Because of the colors that reflect off of the mountains and the sky the mist looks blue. The Cherokee saw it as some kind of magic.”
Marshall grinned and said, “How do you know all of these things?”
“I read a lot, oh, and I paid attention to my books in school instead of the cheerleaders.”
Eva had sat down on the other bed and she was facing Marshall. No sooner was the word, “cheerleader out of her mouth than Marshall grabbed one of the pillows off of his bed and launched it at her. He didn’t expect it to hit her with such force. It actually knocked her back on the bed. Marshall jumped up to check on her saying,
“Oh my goodness, Eva. I didn’t mean for it to hit you so hard.”
He wasn’t expecting it as she sat up laughing and launched herself forward with the pillow in her hand. She caught him off balance and they both fell back onto the other bed. Eva was on top of Marshall and the pillow was pressed between them.
Marshall smiled and without warning, he began to tickle her. Eva hadn’t been tickled since she was a little girl. She squealed and began to thrash, laughing wildly. Marshall was suddenly on top of her, he had her pinned to the bed and she was giggling and struggling against him.
“Let me go, you big ape!” she said.
“That’s not what most women say when they’re lucky enough to find themselves in your position.”
Eva cracked up at that, “Lucky enough? Man, do we think a lot of our self.”
Marshall squirmed just a little bit, allowing their bodies to really press against each other. Then he grinned again and sat up. Eva was still trying to catch her breath, not from the tickling, but from the heavy flirting. Was she really just imagining it all?
“I’m hungry,” he said.
Eva sighed and sat up. That question would have to be explored at another time. “Give me ten minutes to clean up and we can go find something to eat,” she said. When she stood up, she picked up the pillow lying on the floor and turned and launched it at Marshall. He was caught off guard and by the time he was on his feet, she had run into the bathroom giggling again, and closed the door.
* * *
They drove into town and found a little Italian restaurant. It wasn’t quite dinner time yet so there weren’t many patrons. The lighting was dim and the atmosphere of the place romantic. There was soft Italian music playing and the tables had red tablecloths on them with white candles flickering in the center. They were shown to a table right away and when the waitress left to get their drinks Marshall said,
“I didn’t know you liked Italian food.”
Eva grinned and said, “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
“I doubt that,” he said as he looked at the menu.
“Oh, you think you know so much,” she said teasingly, “What’s my favorite color?”
“Green,” he said, without looking up. Eva smiled and said,
“That was an easy one. What is my biggest pet peeve?” she said.
He looked up at her and said,
“Bad manners.”
“Two easy ones,” she said.
He laughed, “Then ask me a hard one.”
“Okay, who’s my biggest celebrity crush? Living or dead?”
He rolled his eyes and said, “Jimmy Stewart.”
“How did you know that? I’ve never told you that.”
“You don’t hide it well. Remember movie Sunday when we were kids? What other thirteen/fourteen year old girl wants to watch Shenandoah and Harvey?”
“He was really handsome,” she said with color flooding her cheeks. She was saved by the waitress who came and took their order. She started to say something else when his phone rang. She knew it was probably Simone. She didn’t want to listen to them go on about missing each other. She tapped Marshall on the hand and said, “I’m going to the restroom.” Marshall nodded and she got up. She didn’t really have to use the restroom, so she sat down on the leather bench outside the door and took out her phone. She had a new Facebook message from Helen,
“How’s the trip going? When are you going to post some pictures?”
“It’s going great. Simone couldn’t make it. Her car got stolen. Can you believe that?”
“How did Marshall take it?”
“He seems okay with it, but he’s on the phone with her right now.”
“Oh well, he’ll see her when he gets back. This trip is supposed to be about the two of you. That’s how Henry wanted it.”
“I miss him. My heart aches every time I think about not seeing him again.”
“I know it’s hard to lose someone you love. He’s watching over you though, I’m sure of it.”
“I think so too. He made my life so much better than it would have been otherwise. I just hope he knew how much I love and appreciated him.”
“I’m sure he does dear. You go have fun, that’s what he wanted.”
“Thank you, Helen.”
“You’re very welcome. I want to see some pictures soon!”
Marshall was off the phone when Eva got back to the table. “How’s Simone?” she asked.
“She sounds happier than she did the other day. The police still haven’t found her car and the insurance is giving her a hard time, but she seems to be taking it all very well.”
“That’s good,” I said, honestly. I didn’t care for her, but I sincerely felt bad for her, having her car stolen. I did hope it all worked out for her…after we got back. She was really the last person I wanted to spend my vacation with.
“Yeah, I’m glad she’s feeling better but she was acting a little strangely. She asked where we were staying, and then she wanted all kinds of information about the place. I thought maybe she had rented a car or something but she said the insurance hasn’t Okayed that yet and she couldn’t afford it.”
“Hmm, maybe she wanted you to pay for one.”
He looked guilty. He knew that Granddad hadn’t approved of him always giving her money. I’d never said anything about it, it really wasn’t my business. But, it seemed that somehow he knew I wouldn’t approve either.
“I called AVIS yesterday. They said that since she’s over twenty-five, she’d have to rent it herself. I wired her some money, but she didn’t mention it today.”
“Hmm,” was all Eva said. Eva was sure that the money was well spent…on something nice and new and expensive for Simone. The conversation seemed to be making Marshall uncomfortable though, so she let it go at that. “I can’t wait for our hot air balloon ride in the morning,” she said.
Marshall smiled, “Neither can I.”
* * *
The next morning they were up before dawn. They had to be at the launching site by five a.m. They were both excited and looking forward to sailing above the Smoky Mountains as the sun came up.
When they arrived, they were introduced to their pilot and he went over all the safety rules with them. The ride would be an hour long and they would have to stand the whole way so he asked them a few minor medical questions as well. When everything was ready, Marshall helped Eva into the basket that was attached to the huge, colorful balloon. She was so excited she was shaking.
Marshall climbed in after her. The pilot was already inside.
“Are you kids ready?” the pilot asked.
“I am,” Marshall said,
“Me too,” Eva told him. It was still dark outside and the light from the gas burner that heated the air to fill the balloon flickered yellow and gold across their faces.
“So how does this work?” Marshall asked him as the anchors were freed from the ground by other workers.
The pilot told them that the gas burner heats the air to about 212 degrees. Since hot air is lighter than the air outside the balloon, the heated air causes the balloon to rise. When the air inside cools down or is let out, then the balloon goes down.”
The balloon began lifting gently off the ground causing Eva’s belly to tickle. She grabbed hold of Marshall’s arm to steady herself and then she asked the pilot,
“How do you steer it?”
He smiled and said, “I can tell you that now since we’re too far off the ground for you to panic and jump out…I don’t.”
Eva looked at Marshall with wide eyes, “So, we could just keep floating and end up anywhere?”
“No, we’ve checked the winds and the gas is measured out for a certain distance and there are a few things I can do like letting air out and pulling on the toggles if need be.”
“Hmm,” she said, nervously. Marshall put his arm around her and said,
“Look over the side Eva.”
Eva looked, cautiously an
d she saw the most amazing sight she’d ever seen. The Pisgah National Forest was below them, stretching out for miles. The fall colors were trying to come out. The trees were a lighter shade of green and yellow with some reds and oranges mixed in. To see it from the air was like watching a battle between summer, which was reluctant to go and fall who was pushing his way in regardless.
Marshall was watching her as she took in the sights. Her face was flushed with the cold and her eyes sparkled with the delight of the world that lay beneath them.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she said. Marshall was still looking at her as he said,
“Yes, it is.”
Chapter 8
Eva couldn’t stop smiling and she’d only had one flute of the champagne the captain of their balloon had poured for them. The feeling of floating 1200 feet above the ground, especially when the ground was covered with some of the most beautiful sights the state they lived in had to offer was indescribable, while the feeling of doing it while you’re standing next to the man that you love….was just priceless. They had hung suspended above the earth for over an hour while Eva snapped pictures of the landscape, Marshall and selfies of them together.
The balloon landed smoothly only a mile from where their cabin was and Eva thought she might just keep floating all on her own. The Captain climbed out of the basket and then Marshall. As Marshall turned to help Eva out, a smile of his own graced his face. He looked as blissful as she did. It was a perfect morning, the best that Eva had ever had….until suddenly the voice of Cruella Deville cut through the picture-perfect day like a knife.
“Marshall!” It was Simone. Ugh! What the hell was she doing here? Eva looked at Marshall’s face. It was probably just wishful thinking, but she thought she detected just a trickle of disappointment pass through his eyes as he turned to look at his girlfriend. He finished helping Eva out of the balloon and then turned back around to face Simone. Eva could tell from his profile that he was smiling. She’d definitely been mistaken about the disappointment in his eyes. Eva turned towards Simone then and she almost choked. Standing in the background, next to a forty foot RV was Justin, the “surfer dude” from Florence. As Eva watched him step back into the RV when he saw Marshall she thought, “What kind of alternate universe are we suddenly trapped in?”
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