Heartbreak Highway 1 (7 page)

“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 and 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

E
va 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?”

Marshall didn’t see him. He opened his arms as he got close and Simone ran into them. She spotted Eva over Marshall’s shoulder, and smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was more of a smug,
“Look out Eva, here I am,”
kind of smile. Eva smiled back. She hoped it didn’t look as much like a crocodile as she imagined it did. She pictured herself, opening wide like a crocodile does and snapping Simone’s pretty head right off her shoulders. She would of course have to spit it out right away so as not to taint her own system. It was a silly but satisfying image.

Eva stepped up next to them just as Marshall said,

“How did you get here, babe?” Eva was dying to see Marshall’s face when he found out.

“I rented a car and drove to Florence. I had to turn the car in there and they said they’d have another available for me today. But I happened to meet this really nice guy…where did he go? Justin! Come out and meet Marshall.”

Justin stepped out of the RV. The reluctant look on his face was obvious, the pissed off look on Marshall’s face was more fun to watch though. Eva had to smile as recognition crossed Marshall’s face and he said,

“What the hell are you doing with this pervert?”

Simone’s eyes grew to the size of silver dollars as she said, “What do you mean? You two know each other?” Justin walked up next to Simone with a mixture of nervousness and mild amusement on his face. He probably thought Marshall was going to punch him out, but at the same time he found the situation as amusing as Eva did.

“We’ve met, yeah,” Marshall said, still glaring at Justin. Justin, who seemed to have lost any sense of concern for his own safety turned to Eva, grinned from ear to ear and said,

“Hey Eva, how’s it hangin?” Eva couldn’t help herself, she lost it. She busted up laughing while Simone and Marshall looked at her like she was crazy and Justin looked like he just wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. He finally said,

“Oh Dude! This was the chick you were on the phone with the other night when Eva and I were getting hot and heavy on the dance floor.”

Marshall took a step forward, Eva, who had tears streaming down her face from laughing automatically put a hand on his chest. Simone, who still didn’t know what the hell was going on, but knew that she didn’t want Eva touching her man shot out a glare that may have stopped the devil in his tracks. Eva moved her hand and said,

“I’m hungry. Let’s get some breakfast.”

“Right on,” Justin said.

“You’re not invited,” Marshall told him.

“What happened between the two of you?” Simone said. It was like a comedy of errors and Eva guiltily loved it.

Somehow they made it to the little restaurant at the front of the complex without anyone punching anyone in the face. Eva had to use the restroom and before she left she whispered to Marshall,

“Please behave. I don’t want to have to bail you out of jail in order to finish our trip.”

Marshall nodded, but his face didn’t seem to be making any promises. Eva wasn’t sure if Justin was stupid or stoned or both but he seemed oblivious to how close he was to getting his ass beat. He acted like he thought he was part of the group.

When Eva got to the bathroom, she took her phone out. She couldn’t wait to post the photos she’d taken of her and Marshall and the gorgeous scenery on their hot air balloon ride on Facebook. She was sure, now that Simone had arrived that she wouldn’t have much chance to get a selfie of the two of them again. She uploaded the photos and by the time she finished her business, Helen had already liked and commented on them,

“What a grand adventure! The two of you make such a handsome couple.”
Eva thought it was funny how she talked like an old woman. Her photo only looked like she was about thirty-five years old.

She private messaged her back saying, “Simone just showed up, so those might be the last of Marshall and me together.”

Helen didn’t respond right away. Eva was almost back to the table when her phone beeped. She looked at it and Helen had said,

“Don’t let her discourage you.”

“From what?”
Eva asked back.

“From getting what you want and deserve.”

“Eva?” She looked up and Marshall was giving her a quizzical look. “Who ya talking to?”

“Um, just my mom. Where’d RV guy go?”

“He had to run,” Marshall said with a grin. Eva slid in across from him and of course Simone who was practically sitting in his lap. “I ordered your coffee,” he said.

“Thank you,” Eva told him. Simone was giving her a strange look. She smiled suddenly, another unpleasant one and she said,

“The two of you are so cute, like an old married couple or something.” It was obvious from her tone that she thought they were anything but cute.

“Thirteen years is a long time, Simone. People get to know just about everything there is to know about one another in that amount of time,” Eva was surprised to hear the words come out of her own mouth. She usually didn’t respond to Simone’s sniping, but she was so aggravated that she’d crashed their road trip. She was really going to have to keep her tongue in check. Luckily, the waitress brought their drinks before she had a chance to say anything else.

They ordered their breakfast, Marshall and Eva ordered regular things like eggs and pancakes while Simone of course got the low fat cottage cheese and fruit plate.

“So where are we going from here?” Simone asked, halfway through the meal.

“Well,” Marshall said, glancing at Eva… “We’re not leaving Asheville until tomorrow.”

“Cool, Justin was telling me about some great clubs….”

“Okay,” Marshall interrupted her, “But first we’re going to do the Biltmore tour….two of them, actually.”

“Oh please say you’re kidding! I went on one of those tours once with my grandparents; it was the single most boring day of my life. “

“Sorry, not kidding,” Marshall told her.

“But why, Marshall? There have to be million more exciting things to do in this town.” Simone had resorted to a whine and a pout. Eva continued to eat her breakfast with a neutral expression but inside her head, she was sighing and rolling her eyes.

“It’s on the itinerary,” Marshall told her.

“It’s on the what?”

“The itinerary that Granddad left us. He wants us to go.”

“He’s dead!” she blurted out, before realizing how it sounded. When both Eva and Marshall’s head’s snapped up, she quickly tried to back pedal saying, “And I’m so sorry about that, Marshall…I really am. But honey, you have to move on with your life. You can’t just keep holding on to old things because they remind you of him,” Simone blatantly glanced in Eva’s direction when she said that, “And you can’t let him dictate your life to you from the grave. Besides, it’s just….morbid.”

“Simone,” Marshall said, taking a deep breath. Eva knew him well enough to know that he was trying hard to remain patient with her. She often wondered why he bothered trying. All she really had to do was look at Simone to answer that question. “Granddad is dead, yes. But, he made this plan for us while he was still alive. Following through with his wishes now is going to make us feel like we’re doing this one last thing for him….it’ll help Eva and I get through the grief process.”

Simone looked like she was going to argue more, but suddenly taking a deep breath she said, “Okay honey, of course you need to grieve in your own way. Whatever I can do to help….”

Marshall put his arm around her and pulled her in close. “Thank you, baby,” he told her. “Your support means a lot to me.”
As fake as it may be,
Eva thought.

After breakfast as Eva followed the two of them out to the car, she wondered how much of this “third wheel” thing she was going to be able to handle. Marshall and Simone walked hand in hand and Eva trailed behind. Justin’s RV was still parked out front and as they reached the Caddy, Eva saw him waving out the back window. Shaking her head, she waved back. Marshall glanced at him and he dropped the curtain quickly, then he looked at Eva and said,

“Do you remember what I told you about that guy the other night?”

“The events of that night are…foggy,” she said with a grin. Simone narrowed her eyes, obviously wondering what they were talking about. Marshall went on to say,

“You’re too good for a guy like that, Eva. Don’t settle for less than you deserve, ever.”

“Okay, let’s go!” Simone said, stopping the conversation there. Marshall pulled open the passenger door and Simone jumped in the front seat. A look passed between Eva and Marshall that didn’t need words as she climbed into the back seat. When Marshall got in the driver’s seat, Simone slid over so that their thighs were touching. She picked up the itinerary off the dash and reading the cover with a curl of her lip she said, “What’s this?”

“The map and the itinerary,” Marshall told her as they pulled out of the parking lot. Eva wanted to snatch it from Simone’s hands, but she restrained herself and sat back in the seat. Simone opened the book and flipped through a few pages. When she got to the part where they left Asheville and headed towards Tennessee she threw up her hands and said,