Part 19 (1/2)
”Mom, we're on a freeway! I can't just turn around. I have to wait for the next exit.”
Ruth leaned forward. ”Now, what were you saying about not being a foolish woman?”
Sixteen.
”I've always wanted to see the Alamo,” Annie said once they were back on the road after collecting Bethanne's purse. Her forgetfulness had cost them over an hour.
”I have a reservation in Branson for tomorrow night,” Ruth said. ”Remember what happened the last time we went off course?”
”Oh, come on, Grandma, Vegas was fun.”
”More fun for some than others,” Ruth said sharply.
Bethanne was getting used to the verbal darts and disregarded the comment.
”Personally, I'm looking forward to Branson,” Ruth continued. ”My friends tell me Andy Williams gives a terrific performance.”
Annie glanced over at Bethanne. ”Just who is this Andy Williams?”
”My goodness, Annie, he's one of the best singers ever,” Ruth said enthusiastically. ”Well, in my opinion, anyway. He's like Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and Steve Lawrence all rolled into one.”
”I've never heard of Perry or Steve, either, Grandma. Were they part of a group?”
”Heavens, no! Bethanne, this girl needs a musical education.”
Bethanne laughed, glad that good humor had been restored.
”Does this mean we're going to bypa.s.s the Alamo?” Annie asked, sounding disappointed.
”It does,” Ruth said. ”The next time your mother drives, I want you to get on that phone of yours and buy the three of us tickets for Andy Williams. This is something I don't want you girls to miss.”
”Yes, Grandma,” Annie murmured, but she didn't sound happy about it.
Bethanne took over driving just outside Texas. Studying the map, she saw that their little venture to Las Vegas had taken them even farther off course than she'd realized. Fortunately, Branson was in the southern part of Missouri.
Once Bethanne was behind the wheel, both Ruth and Annie took naps. She welcomed the silence because it gave her a chance to think. Each day on the road, she'd chatted with Julia Hayden about the business and received an update. The company hardly needed her anymore; Julia was efficient and had good judgment.
She regretted the phone call to Max earlier that morning. At the time she'd been serious-clearing her mind of him was the only sensible option. What she'd told him was true. She couldn't make a decision about Grant if all she could think about was Max. The best thing was to sever the tie quickly. Yet the moment she'd heard Max's voice, Bethanne knew she couldn't do it, couldn't walk away as if he was nothing more than a Vegas fling.
Maybe she just needed to get him out of her system. Really, what could possibly come of a relations.h.i.+p with someone like Max? It wasn't as if she could climb on the back of his Harley and travel across the country without a care in the world. Bethanne had responsibilities, a thriving company. Max had taken a sabbatical from his wine distribution company but he'd been away for three years. He hadn't said when he planned to return, if ever.
He rode from one end of the country to the other with no destination, stopping here or there on a whim. What kind of life was that? He'd lost his wife and daughter. That was hard, grief was hard, but it'd been three years and he gave no indication that he was ever going to relinquish this lifestyle. The thought of any long-term relations.h.i.+p with Max was irrational. Out of the question.
If Max was a tumbleweed, drifting with the wind, Grant was like a rock. Solid. Hardworking. A family man. Even if he'd stumbled badly when he married Tiffany. For a short time, his world had revolved around the young woman and he'd turned a blind eye to everything he'd once considered a priority, including his own children.
But his infatuation with his new wife hadn't lasted long. Only a few months after they'd married, there'd been trouble in that relations.h.i.+p.
Bethanne knew nothing about Grant and Tiffany's divorce settlement, but she did know that Grant had paid dearly-and not just financially. Soon after he left her he'd been pa.s.sed over for a huge promotion and changed companies as a result. She a.s.sumed he was doing well, since he never seemed to be strapped for money whenever the children needed it, although that wasn't often these days, other than their college expenses.
”Mom?” Annie said, straightening and rubbing her eyes. ”Where are we?”
”We're near Amarillo, Texas,” Bethanne told her.
”Texas? We can't be that far from the Alamo, then. It would just be a short side trip, wouldn't it?”
”A short side trip like Vegas?” Ruth said, obviously awake now. ”There's a lot of miles between Amarillo and San Antonio, and this time I'm not giving in. We're going to Branson, and that's it.”
”Okay.” Annie sighed. ”But I really don't think the Alamo is that much out of our way.”
Bethanne handed her daughter the map. ”You might want to take a look to get an idea of how big Texas is.”
”Mo-om, I know my geography.”
”How far is Amarillo from Branson?”
”According to MapQuest,” Annie said a few minutes later, studying her phone, ”it's almost nine hours.” She groaned with frustration.
”We'll need to find a place for the night,” Ruth said, arching her back. ”I'm beginning to go stir-crazy in this car.”
”We should spend a couple of days in Branson,” Bethanne suggested. ”Shake off the road dust and let down our hair.”
”Two days.” Annie flopped back in her seat. days.” Annie flopped back in her seat.
”I've always dreamed of seeing Andy Williams in concert,” Ruth said wistfully. ”And now it's about to become a reality.”
”That's always been my dream, too,” Annie muttered sarcastically.
”Annie,” Bethanne said. ”This is your grandmother's trip.” Those words were a now-familiar refrain.
”I suppose I'll have to wait until I'm in my sixties before I see the Alamo?”
Bethanne smothered a laugh. ”Then you'll appreciate it all the more, the same way your grandmother's looking forward to seeing her teenage idol.”
”Whatever.” Annie slouched down in the seat. ”I wrote an essay on it, you know,” she said righteously. ”I got an A.” She closed her eyes, apparently picturing Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie making their last stand.
Just before they left the state of Texas, Bethanne stopped at a Dairy Queen for ice cream, which made for a small break. Several police and fire department vehicles were parked outside. Long ago Bethanne had read a comment that Dairy Queen restaurants were like city halls in Texas-the one establishment where everyone convened.
For reasons she didn't even want to consider, she removed her cell from her purse and typed a text message to Max. She didn't know if he'd receive it or if he'd respond. All she said was: