“I already do,” he muttered under his breath, revolted at the idea of fish in tacos. “I hope they have other tacos too.”
“Oh come on, have some sense of adventure—turn left.”
“How far away is this place?”
Willow sighed impatiently. “She said two or three miles. Turn left at the next street.”
“I can’t believe you asked total strangers where to go for food.”
Willow had not yet been inducted into the not-so-secret society of wives with husbands who cannot fathom the concept of asking for directions. Now, she sat staring at him as though he was insane. “You’re kidding me, right? People ask you directions to places every day and you’re surprised that I asked someone?”
“I’m a cop. People ask cops. They don’t ask strangers on the street.”
“But you’re still a stranger! You’re an officer, but you’re still a stranger.”
Chad didn’t know how to make her understand why people should and do trust officers over the average Joe on the street. As they pulled up to the restaurant, Chad had to drive half a block to park. “I can’t believe we’re eating at a hole in the wall like this. It’s insane.”
Willow finally stopped in the center of the sidewalk and waited for him to look at her. “Do you not want to eat here? I thought you were joking, but if you really don’t want this, then let’s find something you do want.”
“This is fine.”
“Is it?” she demanded. “It doesn’t sound like it’s okay. It sounds like it’s a problem.”
“I just didn’t expect lunch at a greasy spoon, but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“I think,” Willow said after several seconds reflection, “I think I’d rather skip it. It’s not worth it. There’s that pizza place we saw. Let’s go back there.”
Chad knew he’d been a jerk. Willow had decided she was hungry, didn’t want fast food, found another alternative without expecting him to know what to do in a strange place, and he’d done nothing but complain because the idea of fish tacos made his stomach churn. There was no reason not to go have a normal beef or chicken taco and let her enjoy her disgusting choice. Even as he chastised himself for his behavior, he realized that he was still being a twit.
“Willow, will you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
Her attitude surprised him. He’d expected a bit of sulking in the least. “Will you go order a fish taco and whatever else you want in there and pretend I wasn’t a first-class jerk right now?”
She grinned. “You’re sure?”
Even as she said it, Chad felt even more stupid than ever. Since when had Willow ever sulked? “I’m more than sure. You eat fish. I’ll get carne or something.”
The relish with which she dispatched the revolting tacos almost destroyed his appetite. Her plans to try to recreate them at home with trout from the stream polished off what little appetite he had left. However, her suggestion that they visit the San Diego Mission next redeemed the afternoon for him. Stomach growling within minutes of leaving the restaurant, they took off in the direction advised by the man who served them their lunch. To Chad’s surprise, Willow was a storehouse of information about the San Diego Mission. She stood outside the mission looking up to see the bells. As she pointed to the different once, she showed how to tell which was original, and explained about how the other large bell had been made from remnants of the original bells. She described when they had been commissioned and why and the one day a year that all five bells ring at the same time.
“How do you know so much about this mission?”
“I loved the idea of the missions as a child, so Mother bought several books on them. This was the first mission in modern California, so I studied it as extensively as I could. When I think of those priests and how they came evangelize—it just amazes me what a wonderful thing that was.”
“Wonderful? Willow, they enslaved those Indians—Native Americans—whatever. They were cruel and forced Christianity on them. How can that be wonderful?”
“I didn’t say,” she began patiently, “that how they evangelized was wonderful. I think that they did evangelize was. They came in and did what they thought was right. Their hearts were in the right place, even if their actions weren’t the right actions.”
“The heart is deceitful and wicked, and what those priests did was too.”
Impatiently, she climbed the steps. At the top, she turned to Chad and sighed. “I am not justifying all of their actions, but if you read their writings, their motives were to teach the lost about Jesus. They cared about the souls of those Indians. That is what I find wonderful.”
As she described the different aspects of life in the mission—the chapel, the gardens—Chad listened, amazed. She spoke with genuine interest and attention to detail. Several other tourists followed them listening and occasionally asking questions. When one tourist commented about how the Native Americans had been forced to live at the missions, Willow shook her head emphatically.
“The primary source documents of the time say otherwise. They only had room at the mission for about half of the natives to live here at a time, and there is no evidence that they could not come and go at will between rotations. The mission was just too poor to feed and shelter all of them.”
“Lass?”
Willow’s shoulders drooped. “Hmm?”
“Next time I want to learn something, remind me to ask you to read up on it.”
Everywhere they went, people they talked to asked if they’d eaten at In-n-Out Burger. The trip north to the mountains found them at a shopping center with the bright yellow arrow pointing to the restaurant. “Want to try it?”
“Can we say we’ve experienced California without it?”
Chad grinned. She wanted a burger but didn’t want to sound too eager. She loved her burgers even if she wouldn’t admit it. He pulled into the parking lot and glanced at the tables. “Out here or in there?”
“You choose. I’m good either way. You’re the hot one.”
He couldn’t let that one slide. “Thanks. You’re pretty ho—”
She swatted at his arm. “If we were home, I’d cool you off with the hose.”
“Then I guess I’m glad we’re not home.” He held open the door and the cool air made up his mind for him. “We eat in here. This feels great.”
Willow scanned the menu above the registers. “Um, I hope you want a hamburger.”
“Why?” Chad glanced up, following her eyes.
“Because you can buy burgers, drinks, fries, and shakes. That’s it.”
“Well, they are famous for their burgers.”
“Are they?” She frowned. “How do you know?”
“Because everyone we meet suggests them?”
After ordering their meals, Chad and Willow waited at the front of the store and watched the employees as they cut fries, put fresh meat on the grill, and literally toasted the buns. By the time their number was called, Willow insisted on buying Chad a t-shirt as a souvenir. “I can just see you milking the next goat or giving the new dinner cow water while wearing that shirt,” she giggled as she spoke.
Chad bit into his burger almost before he seated himself. “Well, I have to admit, they’re good. They’re really good.”
Willow nodded her agreement and examined her burger wrapper closely. “Look! Remember that woman who said there were Bible verses on the packaging? This must be what she was talking about. Nahum 1:7 is printed right there!”
“The verse?” Chad looked at his wrapper but didn’t find it. Finally, he saw the reference. “I wish I had my Bible.”
“It’s um…oh, man. The one about the Lord being helpful in trouble and that He knows who trusts in Him.”
Chad examined his cup. He lifted the lid and glanced inside, checked the seam, and finally lifted it to look under it. “This one has Proverbs 3:5.”
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
&nbs
p; “Impressive.”
“Isn’t it!” Willow was thrilled. “I can’t imagine what made them do it but it’s brilliant. You put it out there without preaching and trust that it won’t return void.”
Laughing, Chad swallowed hard and tried to get a drink after choking on his burger. The shake didn’t work. “Get- Coke,” he begged.
Willow raced to buy a drink, filled the cup they handed her, and hurried back. “This one says John 3:16.”
After a few gulps. Chad took a deep breath. “So, with this packaging, they’re ready in season… or is that seasoning.”
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine. There’s nothing on the fry thing that I can see.” Chad looked disappointed.
“I never thought I’d read wrappers so carefully. I wonder how many people actually look up the reference.” Unaware of Chad’s amusement at her expense, Willow glanced around the restaurant, trying to see if anyone noticed the little words that meant so much to her.
As he watched, delighted with her perspective on life, free of the cynical thoughts he had about the effectiveness of a tiny Bible reference that few would see and even fewer would read, Chad took a deep breath and sighed. “Lass…”
“Hmm?” She didn’t even look his way.
“I love you.”
A slow smile spread across her face as she turned to see what prompted his latest reminder. “That is really nice to hear.”
The climb into the mountains began almost immediately after they left the restaurant. Tight winding roads wound around the mountain on a slow climb dotted with occasional turnouts. Willow, of course, wanted to stop, take in the view, while Chad, in typical male fashion, was on a mission to conquer the destination in as little time as possible. Her eyes widened as he snapped for her to sit down when she tried to rise onto her knees to see the view below them.
“What is wrong with you?”
“If we got in an accident, you’d be thrown out and killed. Get down.”
“Then pull over!”
“There’ll be views when we get there. We just got started again.” The irritation hadn’t left his voice.
Willow sank into her seat, correcting the seatbelt and staring at Chad in shock, hurt, and dismay. “What is the rush? I don’t understand.”
“We just got back on the road, and you want to pull over already.”
“And I ask again,” she repeated very slowly, “What is the rush? So what if we just got back on the road? I thought the idea was to see California, not to whiz past it as quickly as possible.”
“And I’ll say again, why do you want to stop when we just got going again!”
“Because I want to see!”
Chad swerved into the turnout, slamming on his brakes as he did. “There. Have at it.”
Lost as to why Chad was being so grumpy, Willow grabbed their camera and left the car, feeling half-abandoned. So far, he’d been interested when she wanted to see new things, but she knew instinctively that he didn’t plan to move from his seat. Two cars passed before she could jog across the road and lean against the railing that helped keep cars from tumbling down the hill if they slid off the pavement.
The view was unlike anything she’d ever seen. Trees slowly gave way to dirt and then buildings rose up from the ground. Cars zipped to unknown places, and while the air was crisp and clean from her vantage point, she could see a brownish-gray haze over the valley below her. “Chad—that haze down there—is that pollution?” she called curiously
“Yes.” His answer was curt.
“Wow, you can see it! I can sense it in Rockland sometimes. It feels like I can’t get enough air, but I’ve never seen it like this.”
Ignoring his grunt, she snapped a few pictures and walked across the road. The car door was stuck with the seatbelt trapped into it. Chad irritably kicked it from the inside while she lifted on the handle and then stumbled back against the mountain at the force of the door flying open. “Ooof.”
The moment she was buckled, Chad shot out onto the highway again. They drove up the mountain, the wind flying through their hair, what of it Chad kept on his head. Willow watched the trees fly by, amazed as she saw houses packed together and set into the side of the mountain. Eventually, Chad pulled into the parking lot of Johnnie’s Market and General Store, grabbing his printouts and grumbling over them.
“What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t right. We should be in Arrowhead by now, but that sign I just saw says Lake Gregory, which…” he turned the papers as if they’d tell him something different. “According to this, is the opposite direction from Lake Arrowhead.”
“Well, let’s ask someone.”
“I’ll figure it out,” he groused.
A dark green Suburban pulled up beside their car. A cute teenager jumped out with a bright smile on her face. “Cool car!”
“Thank you,” Willow answered smiling. “Can you tell us how to get to Lake Arrowhead?”
Another voice broke in before the girl could answer. “It’s only about ten miles back down the road. You take Lake to Hwy 18 to Hwy 189. Where are you going in Arrowhead?”
Willow smiled at a sweet looking woman with an adorable baby on her hip. “I don’t remember, what’s the name of that inn Chad?”
“Lakeview Lodge.”
“Oh, you’ll like that—”
A child’s voice interrupted her. “I want to see the car! Can I see the car?”
Before the mother could ask, the young woman dashed around to help her little brother and sister from their seats. Small children swarmed the convertible. The boy gave Chad a serious expression and asked, “Where are you going in that car?”
“We’re trying to find some place to sleep.”
“You don’t have a house?”
Chad laughed. “Not in California, but back where we live, we have a little farm with sheep, a cow, a dog, and a goat.”
“We have goats!” The boy’s eyes lit up excitedly. “The mama is going to have babies.”
“That sounds very exciting.”
“Are you going fishing?”
With mock sorrow, Chad shook his head. “I wish I could, but we didn’t bring our fishing gear.”
“My daddy has fishing poles and a boat and everything. You could go fishing with him.”
“Si, let’s go in now.”
“I was telling him—I was telling him how to go fishing.”
Chad and Willow watched as the family disappeared into the store, and then Willow sighed. “Wasn’t he adorable?”
“Yeah. Did you see that baby?”
“She was so cute!”
He took a deep breath and laced his fingers through hers. “Sorry, Lass. I was being a bear.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“I don’t either. I think it’s genetically wired into men to focus on a destination, and any obstacle to that destination must be eradicated at all costs.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t know, but I remember when I was a kid. I hated it when Dad refused to stop. He’d be zipping past all the best places, while we all begged him to stop. When did I become my dad?”
“I don’t know,” Willow answered, shrugging her shoulders, “but usually I’d say that was a good thing. Just not in this one. I want to enjoy this trip.”
“I’m going to do it again.”
Willow grinned. “I know.”
“This is a mountain lodge?”
The door to their cabin stood open revealing a shabby chic and Victorian dream. The room was beautiful; she would not argue that. However, there was nothing like the mountain lodge they’d anticipated. Their imaginations had conjured ideas of log furniture, pine trees, boats, bears, and similar things but instead, they found roses, wreaths, antiques, and the delicate scent of floral candles.
“Well, it’s pretty,” Chad commented carefully.
“Well, yes. It is. The bed looks comfortable. It’s huge!”
“It’s quiet up here,” he tri
ed again.
Chad waved at her and then pointed to the suitcases. “So, you want to try hiking around?”
“I’m starving.”
“Ok, change, food, water for hiking. In that order.”
Within the hour, Chad parked at the north shore campground, and they took off up hiking trails. Willow was fascinated with the nature around them. She listened for birds, watched squirrels darting to the campsites before racing back to their homes. She dropped her water bottle, and started to retrieve it but Chad grabbed her hand. “What are you doing?”
“Getting my bottle?”
“That’s poison oak!”
She stared at it with a disgusted look. “Oh. Mother hated that stuff.”
“You’ve never seen it? The woods around Rockland are full of it!”
“Mother killed it. By the time I was nine or ten, it was gone. She didn’t let me anywhere near where it was. I think,” Willow confessed, giggling, “Mother had a bad experience with it.”
“How do you kill all the poison ivy and oak in such a big area?”
“Diligence. Mother was nothing if not diligent.”
Half an hour later, she had learned to identify and ignore all poison ivy and oak thanks to Chad’s careful training. “We’ll have to read what Mother did to kill that on our land so we can kill it from the land we bought from Adric,” Willow mused absently as they climbed.
“Do you have any idea how amazing it is that we have that record? I mean, it’s just so rare know so much about your parents’ day-to-day lives these days. I have no idea how Mom learned to cook, or to rear children or anything like that. I can ask, but I don’t have a ready reference at my fingertips like you do.”
“We do.”
Arms around his wife, he looked out over the tree-covered mountains and agreed quietly. “We do.”
Willow took a deep breath, her lungs filling with the fresh pine-scented air. “I could live here, I think. I liked the other places we visited, but I could live here.”
Chapter 12 3
Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Volume 4 Page 17