“It still stinks,” Jane said, laughing. “Who’s Ian something-something?”
“Other than my future spouse, he is a super crush-worthy vampire on this show I love,” Jane gushed.
“Twilight?”
“No, those are movies. He’s on a TV show,” Lacey answered.
“Don’t you have to pay for that channel?” Jane asked.
“Different vampire show. This one is on normal TV."
“I’m confused. I didn’t realize vampires were so popular.”
“Come on. Hot, well-dressed guys who want to bite you. Never age, never play beer pong and don’t need to sleep. I think they will always be popular."
“Alright, alright. Just finish your toenails already, and maybe hang your feet out the window to dry." Jane said, laughing.
They speed raced through the Alamo and ducked into some of the overly priced Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museums to cool off. Eventually, the girls made their way to the river walk, strolling along with ice cream and nipping in and out of shops. Jane managed to find a spoon she liked to add to her collection. Jane called her parents to say hello. Her father thought it was great fun she had two more of her missing state spoons.
He jokingly made her promise not to try and drive to Hawaii in search of that spoon. Laughing, she replied that she would not make that same promise for Alaska, though that might be for a different road trip. Lacey had tried to talk Jane into going to Mexico, but Jane had seen all of the reports of border violence when she researched it online and flat out refused. So they headed towards Roswell, New Mexico instead. Jane promised that someday when Lacey was a rich and famous actress she could take her on a private jet to Cabo. That put an end to that.
The purpose of heading to Roswell was for a laugh. And it was a decent stopping point on their way to Santa Fe. They would take some pictures, look for aliens, stuff like that. They stayed at the Belmont and had dinner at a restaurant called Not of This World. They sadly did not locate Area 51 or any aliens. Jane was so excited to check out the very vibrant art scene in Santa Fe the next day. It was only four hours from Roswell, so they were there by lunchtime.
Enjoying local restaurants they found along their route, they discovered that authentic southwestern food tasted so much better in the southwest than the places they had back in Virginia. They started the day at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum. Jane could have stayed there all day. A sleeping bag on the floor in front of “Cottonwood Tree in Spring,” and she would be perfectly happy. Lacey, on the other hand, made fast friends with some cute local guys and wanted to get back to the inn they were staying at to dress up for that evening. They met up with the local boys at the Camel Rock Casino, which was just north of town. Having never gambled before, both girls were a bit nervous but smartly set a limit of forty dollars each to spend.
Nervous, Jane started out on the ten-cent slots. After thirty minutes of that, Lacey talked her into playing 21. They held their own for about an hour or so, until Lacey was broke, and Jane only had five dollars left. On the way out of the casino, she put it in a one-dollar slot and won a hundred dollars. The way the girls celebrated, you would have thought it was ten thousand dollar jackpot.
Now flush, Jane offered to treat for dinner. The group went to the Juan Siddi Theater to see the flamenco dancers. Jane and Lacey had so much fun even though they had stayed out later than they had originally planned. They even considered staying in Santa Fe for an extra day, but when they both awoke the next morning, they decided new adventures awaited them elsewhere so they went ahead and hit the road.
They drove about five hours to the Navajo Indian Reservation, hiked out to the Four Corners, and took turns having their pictures taken with a limb in four different states. In Flagstaff, Arizona., they stayed at a bed and breakfast this time. It was called the Starlight Pines B & B. The owners were beyond gracious. The room was gorgeous and the beds so fluffy soft, by far the nicest place they had stayed on their journey so far.
They took in an evening show at the Historic Orpheum Theater. The next day, they made the six-hour journey to the great city of Los Angeles, California. This was a real treat for them, as they had preplanned to splurge and booked a room at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. It cost more than any other place they stayed on the entirety of their trip but was a steal in comparison to some of the other historic hotels in LA. The Biltmore was built in 1923 and was located where the Oscar Awards concept was created. Where else could a budding actress stay? Lacey felt like she was walking into another time just walking through its beautiful arched doorway. The lobby alone was so incredible that, instead of checking in right away, they sat down in big cushy wing chairs and just took it all in.
Both girls enjoyed LA. It was different then it seemed in movies, but all the sites were there: the Hollywood sign, the Walk of Fame, Rodeo Drive, and all of the stores well over their budget. The girls, for the first time, were introduced to In and Out Burgers, which turned out to serve amazing burgers. That evening, they headed north towards Santa Cruz. What better way to watch a sunset than from The Pacific Coast Highway, the road that runs along the coast for most of California. The girls weren’t in a hurry, as the next day was a beach day.
The Pacific Ocean had much bigger waves compared to the Atlantic. They sat and watched surfers perform maneuvers that could have come out of any Hollywood movie they had ever seen or been a cover of a surfer magazine. There were, of course, also the less successful surfers. What amazed Jane were the younger surfers. Some of these kids could not have been older than eight. They showed no fear as they took the waves with abandon.
Jane watched awestruck and asked herself if she had ever felt like that. The answer was no. The whole point of this trip had been an excuse to get back together with Wyatt. She had to acknowledge to herself, if nothing else, that the closer they got to Chicago the less she felt like going there. She pushed that thought away. Wyatt was her future. If they did not get back together, what would she do?
They were too tired from all the sun to head straight to San Francisco that night, so they stayed another night in Santa Cruz and hit the road early. San Francisco was not far, and it did not alter their schedule too much by staying. Once in San Francisco, they drove down the famous Lombard Street.
They then found a centrally located parking place and walked to Fisherman’s Wharf. While touring Alcatraz, they took turns taking pictures of each other in jail cells making silly faces. They both wore headsets and the speaker had the most monotone voice. By the end of the tour, they had both stopped listening, and Lacey was inventing wild facts about the prison that had Jane laughing so hard she was clutching her sides. Their antics drew stern looks from staff, and stifling their giggles, they were on their best behavior until they returned to the mainland.
For a late lunch, they each had a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl. Someone along the way had said it was a wharf staple, and it was some of the best advice they had ever taken. After lunch, they had planned to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. As they made their way over there, they realized just how big of a walk they were getting themselves into and agreed to instead walk onto the bridge then back off of it. All the walking at the Wharf and Alcatraz had taken it out of them.
Chapter 16
After leaving San Francisco, the girls headed towards Las Vegas, Nevada. Although still physically exhausted from all the walking the day before, they got up early to beat the rush hour traffic out of San Francisco. They pulled onto the Strip in Vegas around 4pm later that day. They were staying at the old end of the strip for a ridiculous twenty-five bucks. They didn’t gamble much since they mostly came to see the lights and people watch. They strolled the strip and had dinner at the Paris Café before going to see one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. Jane’s mom had bought them the tickets for the show, and it was like nothing they had ever seen.
Over the years, PBS would televise different performances live from Las Vegas during different fundraising campaigns. Seeing it liv
e, though, was something else all together. Lacey sat with her mouth open, and Jane kept holding her breath, not wanting to make any movement or noise and take anything away from the performance. They were the only ones left in the theater. They had not moved from their seats for a full ten minutes after the final bows saying, “oh my God” over and over again.
They ended their evening with the light show on Fremont Street. On their walk back to their hotel, Lacey vowed to someday live in Vegas. The city had found a new diehard fan. Jane thought it was a fun city, but she knew she would never want to live there. It was like sensory overload and almost made her head hurt. She almost wished she was back in Santa Cruz, feeling the sun on her back and watching surfers.
They stopped in Park City, Utah next. It was the home of the Sundance Film Festival. The festival was in January, not August, but there were still plenty of things to do there. They went and saw a movie too, just so she could honestly say she went to a screening at Sundance.
It was beautiful country as well; it was easy to see why celebrities wanted to live there. They stayed in another bed and breakfast. It wasn’t as amazing as the one in Flagstaff, but that place had set the bar pretty high. They both phoned their parents. Jane got a bit of a lecture since her folks had expected to hear from her more often. She promised to be better about it going forward. They just had been so busy. They went to take pictures of The Great Salt Lake that the city was named after, and then made their way west to Denver.
They were going to spend the day at the Clyfford Still Museum. He had been a professor at their university. This was one of the things Jane adored about art history. How could one artist have made an impact in so many different areas? She was also a huge fan of his work.
Lacey was a good sport, even though art museums were not really her thing. She was just content to see Jane so happy. Besides, after their night in Denver, their next stop would be her house. Her parents lived in a town called Irwin that was northwest of Des Moines, Iowa. Her father was treating them to two days at the spa. After all of the driving they had been doing, Lacey could not wait for a long soak and a massage.
Lacey’s mom was now into carving. She had her father trekking through the woods around their home looking for fallen trees. Lacey shook her head at them. At least her pieces were now taking up less yard space. Some of her smaller pieces were actually quite charming, even though neither Lacey nor Jane could tell what they were.
The first day at the spa, both Lacey and Jane fell asleep in their mud baths. Heading to the showers to rinse off, Lacey asked Jane why they were really going to Chicago. Jane, still drowsy from her nap, shrugged and looked away quickly. Caught you, Lacey thought. She spent the rest of the day trying to talk Jane out of it even though she knew it was futile.
Jane could be so stubborn when it came to things that made absolutely no sense. Lacey wanted to shake her friend. Jane was having extreme tunnel vision, and unfortunately, the only thing at the end of it was Wyatt. Even she was unable to put into words why she even wanted to be with him at all. Lacey gave up hoping, even though it would cause Jane pain in the short term that Wyatt really was done with her.
They didn’t really speak to each other the second day in Iowa. Jane felt defensive, and Lacey felt sorry for her. By the end of that day, Lacey caved and said whatever happened she would respect her decision, even if she did not agree with it. Jane readily forgave her because she could never stay angry at Lacey for too long. Lacey’s parents planned a big dinner in their honor. They invited a bunch of Lacey’s friends from high school and their neighbors. Before the night was over, Lacey’s mother gave them each a small carving she had made.
She explained that the carvings worked both separately and together. They were, individually, each a female figure. Jane’s stood with one arm gently on her hip and the other over her heart. Lacey’s had one arm stretched out to her side and the other crossing over in front of her. The outstretched arm of Lacey’s figure fit perfectly through the nook made on the side of Jane’s figure, where her hand was placed on her hip. The other arm crossing her body rested on Jane’s figures hand covering its heart. They were beautiful both apart but even more so together. It brought Lacey to tears. She embraced her mother, realizing that while her mother did seem out of it more often than not, at the end of the day, she got her.
Seeing Lacey cry made Jane cry, and sniffling, they hugged each other, any awkwardness from earlier now completely gone. The next morning, they took their time over breakfast and saying their goodbyes to Lacey’s parents. Lacey and her mother gave each other an extra long hug.
There was a comfortable silence on their drive to Chicago. They were there by dinner time and checked into their hotel. They were staying at the Best Western downtown, which of course broke their national chain rule, but most hotels were expensive in Chicago. This was the only way they were going to afford a place overlooking Lake Michigan.
On the way to the hotel, they had a heart to heart as to what Jane’s true plan for Chicago was. She knew Wyatt would be living downtown, not far from his school. She would text him when they got to their hotel to let him know she was in town and ask him if he wanted to meet up. Hopefully, they would meet for lunch, he would admit his error in ending things, and they would be back together by dessert. Meanwhile, Lacey would go sightseeing at Navy Pier.
Everything went according to plan, and Jane met Wyatt the next day at Petterino’s. She had chosen one of his favorite dresses to wear, and Lacey had to admit she looked beautiful. He would be a fool to not see that for himself. Jane arrived at the restaurant before him and, since they had reservations, was seated first. The table had three settings. Jane tried to tell the hostess there was a mistake but stopped when she saw Wyatt arrive with a guest.
Chapter 17
The air left her body, and she tried her best to inhale as she watched Wyatt approach the table holding the hand of a gut-wrenchingly beautiful girl. He was holding her hand. Jane could not believe what she was seeing. They had only been on a break. He was supposed to have seen Jane and want to be with her. Instead, he was pulling the chair out for another girl.
Wyatt introduced Blythe Carlisle, his girlfriend, to Jane. It took every ounce of strength for Jane not to burst into tears on the spot. When she saw Wyatt observing her for this very response, her will hardened. She suddenly behaved as she had at every mixer her mother had ever thrown. She was the epitome of grace. She regaled them with stories of her trip with Lacey, looking Wyatt directly in the eyes.
She wanted more than anything else to show him she was not broken. At one point, when Blythe rose to go to the ladies’ room, Wyatt had the nerve to ask Jane if she wanted to fuck. Blythe had errands to run after lunch, and he could do her in his car for old time’s sake, if she wanted. She almost left right then, but Blythe was already returning, so she stayed put.
When their meal was done, Wyatt even invited her to go out with them that evening. She waved him off, explaining she and Lacey already had plans and that she had only left lunch free to see him. She reveled in how taken aback that comment caught him. She smiled sweetly, kissing Blythe on both cheeks and only waving at Wyatt when he had clearly opened his arms for an embrace before she left. She felt a final victory in that.
She walked away in tears, vowing not to look back. Jane sent Lacey an S.O.S text and headed straight back to their hotel. Lacey met her there about thirty minutes later. Jane was a mess. She sat on the floor, in her pretty dress, shaking with tears. Her mascara, which claimed to be waterproof, ran in faint lines down her cheeks.
“What happened?” Lacey exclaimed, rushing to her.
When Jane spoke, she sucked in a breath after each word. “He…brought….his…new….girlfriend…..and when ….she was …..in the …..bathroom …..he asked…. me if I …wanted to …do it,” she sobbed.
Lacey rubbed her back and let her cry it out. When Jane was calmer, she wiped the makeup off her face and brushed and braided her hair. Lacey ran a bath for Jane.
Clearly, her friend need a long, hot soak. Lacey even sprang for room service and ordered Jane’s favorite, a deep Belgian style waffle topped with powdered sugar and strawberries and with cantaloupe on the side. Jane had no appetite but, seeing how much Lacey shelled out for the food, ate it all. Her mind was racing. She was so depressed and angry at the same time.
Wyatt had ambushed her. He should have told her he was 1) bringing someone and 2) that someone was his new girlfriend. At the very least, she was proud of herself that she had been able to hold it together. For that part alone, she had no regret. Jane went to sleep before Lacey and sniffled every so often. Each time she did, Lacey would look over at her to see if she was still asleep. The next morning, when Lacey awoke, Jane was sitting on the edge of her bed just looking at her. It was kind of creepy but forgivable.
“Lace,” she began. “What am I going to do?”
Lacey sat up and asked "Today? Or like for life?”
Jane shrugged in response.
Lacey smiled. “We’re young babe. You don’t have to know."
“I just don’t understand why he doesn’t love me anymore.” Jane sighed. She looked up her, eyes brimming with tears. “I still love him so much it hurts."
What Lacey wanted to say was, “How, how, how can you love that asshole?” But that would not have gone over well so, biting her lip, she said,“Shh, shh. It will be okay, sweetie."
They had been on the road for over three weeks and had planned to go to New York and then New England next. Lacey made an executive decision that they were instead going to Dollywood. They would stop in Nashville on the way down, and then go on to Dollywood. She was certain this would cheer Jane up better than anything else.
Not up for arguing, Jane agreed to the schedule change. Someday, she would make it to the Brandywine River Museum, but her heart just wasn’t in it right now. She truly just wanted to go straight home but didn’t want to break the news to her mother either. Lacey drove the whole way this leg.
A Bridge of Her Own Page 8