Honeymoon for Three

CHAPTER 13

Getting them down the trail wasn’t as difficult as Gary had been afraid it might be. He had Penny go first, then Alfred. He stayed close behind Alfred, hoping to be able to catch him if his slippery shoes betrayed him on the damp rocks. That was probably wishful thinking, and he certainly couldn’t prevent the klutz from getting wet feet. His shoes weren’t waterproof, and they had to wade through shallow streams.

Last night had been a pain, but it could have been worse. Gary and Penny had slept in most of their clothes under many blankets. Their sex life would have been restricted even if Alfred hadn’t been in the room, and they were all so tired they had gone to sleep rather quickly. In a little while they would see the last of him.

They went slowly, which required a lot of patience on Gary’s part. Their muscles were all sore from the ascent, but it was clear that Alfred had the biggest problems. He walked stiff-legged and had trouble stepping down, which is what they had to do for almost seven miles. His calves must be screaming. In addition, it was obvious that his knee bothered him at first, but it appeared to loosen up, and after a while, he stopped limping. But he had to rest frequently.

They arrived at the parking lot about noon and decided to eat their trail lunches in the meadow, ignoring the bees. Because they were concentrating on their steps on the way down, they hadn’t talked about anything else. Now Penny asked Alfred what his plans were.

Alfred swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “This place is so beautiful. Since I’ve come this far, I’d like to see a little more of it. Perhaps drive through the park today.”

“That’s what we’re going to do,” Penny said.

“You two have done so much for me, already. I hate to impose any more, but, uh, I don’t think I can drive today.”

Gary stared at him. Not drive? If he could walk, he could drive.

“The backs of my legs are so sore.” Alfred touched one of his calves and winced in pain. “And my knee is too. I’m afraid that I wouldn’t be able to put the brake on hard, and this road has so many hills and curves. If I can’t use the brakes…” His voice trailed off.

“What you should do is drive slowly back to the Kalispell area,” Penny said. “The road is easier going in that direction. Then rest for a day or so until you’re not so sore.”

The corners of Alfred’s mouth turned up. “If I had all the time in the world, I could do that. I have to get back to work in a few days. What I was thinking-and I know it’s a terrible imposition-well, since we’re going in the same direction, perhaps Penny could drive my car and follow Gary.”

Gary couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had to tread carefully because Penny appeared to be sympathetic to Alfred’s problems. “What kind of a car do you have?”

“It’s that Ford over there.”

Gary followed Alfred’s pointing finger and with a shock recognized the car. Where had he seen it? “Did you stop at Grand Coulee Dam two days ago?”

“Why yes.”

“We were there at the same time,” Penny said. “We saw your car. I remember it because it looks just like my car. I didn’t know it was yours.”

“Really? Where’s your car?” Alfred looked around the parking area.

“We didn’t bring it,” Penny said. “We brought Gary’s car.”

“What kind of a car do you have?” Alfred asked Gary.

“The green Beetle.” Gary indicated his car, parked thirty feet from Alfred’s.

“I remember your car,” Alfred said, beaming. “VW’s are so…cozy. As I recall, it was raining hard at the dam.”

“Speaking of the car, I need to get something from it.” Gary nodded to Penny to accompany him.

When they were out of earshot of Alfred, Gary said, “How much longer are we going to have to put up with this guy?” He was scowling, but he couldn’t help himself.

“He is becoming a pain. I tell you what. We’ll help him out today, and that’s it. Tomorrow he’s on his own. I’ll drive his car because I’m used to driving an automatic. You’re better with the VW in the mountains. This road is really tricky.”

“Where is Alfred going to ride?”

“I can tell by your tone of voice that you don’t want him riding with you. He can ride with me. It’s okay. He’s harmless.”

“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about being separated from you. After all, this is only the seventh day we’ve been married.”

“You’re so sweet.” Penny gave him a hug. “We’ll be together at all the viewpoints. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

When Penny talked like that, he would do anything for her. One day shouldn’t make that much difference out of a lifetime.

Penny drove the Ford from the parking lot onto the road behind Gary. He had promised to drive slowly in the mountains, so that she wouldn’t have any trouble keeping up with him. They would be stopping often.

The jagged peaks were gray on top, except for pockets of white snow. Lower down, blankets of green covered the hillsides where the evergreen trees ruled. Everything looked so sharp and fresh and clean. You could eat off the landscape. They headed uphill and would be going over the continental divide.

Penny glanced at Alfred sitting in the seat beside her. He had changed from the pants with the torn knee into another pair. He looked very much the same as he had in high school, with his hair short and his head a little too large for his body. Ears and nose to match. He had unzipped his jacket, and Penny could see the bulge in his stomach. That hadn’t changed either.

“Fantastic scenery.” Penny tried to make light conversation.

“We don’t have much time,” Alfred said.

Time for what? They had plenty of time.

“Look.” Penny braked as a mother grizzly bear and two cubs loped across the road in front of them. The mother ran on three legs, holding the fourth aloft. They disappeared over the cliff at the side of the road.

“We don’t have much time,” Alfred repeated, “so I’ll make this quick. I want you to come with me.”

“Come with you where?”

“Leave Gary and come home with me.”

She must not have heard him correctly. “What did you say?”

“I want you to leave Gary and come home with me. Now. Today.”

He couldn’t be serious. He wasn’t smiling, but she decided to treat it as a joke. She laughed and said, “Alfred. I never knew you had such a sense of humor.”

“I mean it. Gary’s no good for you. I’ll take care of you.”

“All right, joke’s over. I don’t want to hear any more talk like that.”

Penny glanced at Alfred. He was looking at her with his mouth slightly open. After a pause he said, “I’ll protect you from Gary. You don’t have to be afraid of him.”

“I’m not afraid of Gary. Now will you get off this subject?” She was getting mad.

“We had an understanding.”

“What?”

“At the Space Needle. And dinner afterward. Gary is controlling you. With his so-called morals and his domineering nature. I saw it in your eyes. You were appealing to me to help you get away from him.”

“Alfred, you have completely lost what little mind you had. If you say one more word, I’m going to stop this car and dump you out.”

“It’s my car. But before you do anything rash, listen to this.” His voice had suddenly developed a hard edge that Penny had never heard before. “What do you think Gary will do when he finds out that I know you have a mole on your left breast?”

Penny turned to look at him and almost drove off the cliff. She jerked the wheel to turn the car away from the cliff and then had to slam on the brakes to prevent them from driving into the mountain on the other side of the road. She brought the car to a stop and sat there trembling.

“How do you know that?” She immediately realized that it was the wrong thing to say. She was admitting that he was right. How could he know? It must have been a wild guess. She could tell from his wolfish grin that he knew he had scored.

“Remember the party at Joan’s house when we were seniors in high school?”

She shook her head.

“Let me refresh your memory. Halloween night. Everybody went in costume. As I recall, your boyfriend of the moment was off somewhere. You put on quite a show.”

It was coming back. She had long forgotten about that night. Repressed it. She had gone as a cheerleader. Nothing unusual about that since she was a cheerleader at Fenwick High School. Underneath her cheerleader uniform she had worn sexy pink panties, instead of tights, and a pink bra.

It was her secret, and she didn’t really intend to show off her fancy underwear-at least that’s what she told herself-but when the Thunderbird wine started flowing, she became warm-from the wine, the bodies, and a fire in the fireplace. Somebody put marching music on the phonograph-the kind the school band played at football games. That’s when she started doing cheerleading routines. Which made her even warmer.

The boys, who had also been sucking up the wine, started shouting, “Take it off.” She used the heat to rationalize taking off her sweater, evoking more cries. So she took off her skirt. She remembered doing handstands and then going out in the yard and turning cartwheels. She wasn’t certain what happened after that. Alfred must have been at that party-she didn’t remember-but what did he know that she didn’t? How did he find out about the mole on her breast? Penny decided that silence was her best defense.

Horns blew behind her. She was stopped in a traffic lane on the narrow road. Cars were trying to get by. She drove forward, still trembling a little.

“You did a striptease,” Alfred said. “Then you passed out on the lawn.”

She must have passed out because her memory ended at that point. It was definitely out of character for her. It had cost her a boyfriend, although that had been a minor loss. There were plenty of boys aching to go out with her. But what about Gary? She had represented herself to him as an All-American girl. Would this bother him? After all, it had happened seven years ago. Youthful indiscretion.

What had occurred after she passed out? She was afraid to hear what Alfred was going to say next.

“Of course, I wasn’t drinking,” Alfred continued.

Ouch. Puritan Alfred.

“I was looking out for you. I and another guy carried you upstairs and put you on a bed in Joan’s spare room so you’d be safe.”

Uh oh. She definitely didn’t want to hear this. She spotted the green VW stopped at a turnout. She pulled in behind it. This should give her a reprieve for a moment. And time to collect her thoughts.