Faithfully

I told my parents what she wanted, and although they were as against it as I was, no one could resist Estella. She got her way, of course. She showed me the map. We would start in Akin, moving down to Yreka, then Clear Creek, to Orleans and then to Blue Lake, over to Eureka, down to Fortuna, Rio Dell, Honeydew, White Horn, Fort Bragg, Elk, Point Arena, to Cloverdale, Windsor, Santa Rosa, San Rafael, San Francisco, Redwood City, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, Marina, Greenfield, down to Santa Barbara, then Los Angeles, Anaheim, and ending up in San Diego. Most of the cities were tiny, and we would pass through them in a few hours, but others she wanted to stay in for awhile. She really had put thought into this, our route mapped out on the little map she had found, connected from city to city in bright red marker.

We packed our bags, and after several promises to call them from every city, my parents hugged us each goodbye, making me swear to take care of her and making her swear to take care of herself. Finally, we were in the car and on our way down California.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked her for the thousandth time, pulling out of my driveway slowly.

“I have told you time and time again, Jack, I want to do this. I am not backing out. Please stop worrying. I want to do this.” She said, looking over at me with such confidence that I believed her.

“Alright. If you’re sure.”

“I am sure. Now, come on. If you waste anymore time, we aren’t going to make it down to the bottom.” She said, giving me a teasing smile. I smiled back, but turned to the road so she wouldn’t read the anger in my eyes. I hated the fact that if we did waste time, she wouldn’t live to see the end of our trip. I took in a few deep breaths to calm down; there was no need to be so upset around Estella.

We pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, and we were on our way. There was no turning back now. My parents had loaded my bank account with as much money as we could afford, and Estella had convinced her dad to put money into her bank account as well. She would also be using some of her money that was going to go to college, which I knew bothered her. It wasn’t the fact that she was using the money, but the fact that she had to use it because it wasn’t going to go to her school anymore.

The first few hours of the ride were no different. It was like we were taking a trip to the grocery store, not going all the way down to San Diego. We chatted about everything and anything, whatever came to mind, it was discussed. Eventually we got on the topic of our families.

“My mom was the best. I’m horribly afraid of thunderstorms, you see, and back in New York we used to get them a lot. Every time it would thunder, she would come into my room with a cup of chamomile tea and a warm blanket. She would sit next to me on the bed and wrap the blanket around me, and give me the cup of tea. She would sing songs from whatever play I was obsessed with at the moment, and she would make me forget that it was raining outside. It was like a ritual we had. She even did it when she was sick, but she was always extremely careful. I miss her, Jack.” She told me, staring out at the road in front of us, her voice going soft.

“I used to sit in her room after she was gone and cover myself with a warm blanket and drink chamomile tea, and hope that maybe she would start singing again, but she never did. I suppose it was silly, now that I think back on it, but I honestly believed that for a moment, she would sing again.” She stayed silent for a few moments, and then laughed quietly, glancing up at me.

“I’m sorry. This must be a bit heavy. I shouldn’t have dumped this on you so early in our trip.” Estella smiled, smiling apologetically, tears threatening in the corner of her eyes. I shook my head, reaching over and taking her hand, squeezing it gently.

“Don’t apologize.” I said quietly, keeping my eyes on the road. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile slightly, squeezing my hand again as she kept her eyes on the road as well.
We made it to Yreka within a few hours, and we pulled into a small diner to grab a bite to eat before leaving again, on the road. We were making good time, thanks to Estella’s map and my driving skills. We cruised through most of the tiny towns in California, talking some more about her family and mine.

Soon enough, it was 1 in the morning and I was starting to fall asleep at the wheel.

“Jack, perhaps we should check into a motel. We can’t crash now.” Estella said, shaking me awake for the tenth time. I nodded sleepily, doing as she said. I pulled into the nearest Motel 6, parking and stumbling into the lobby. I quickly paid for a room, not really paying attention to what I had just paid for. I memorized the room number and took the card from the guy behind the counter. I walked sleepily back to Estella and helped her out of the car, grabbing our bags and locking the doors and moving to the room. I slid the card in and opened the door, moving into the room like I was drunk. I heard Estella’s laugh from behind me as she closed the door, and then we both noticed the room.

It was clean but small, with a tiny kitchenette on one side and a bathroom next to it. In the middle of the room was one queen-sized bed. This might have made me feel uncomfortable if I wasn’t traveling with Estella and more tired than I had ever been before.

Barely able to kick off my shoes, I crawled into the bed, moving underneath the covers, my eyes already closed. I felt her move into the bed, silently slipping underneath the sheets.

“Sweet dreams, Jack.” She said softly, humming quietly as I drifted back into sleep. Right before I lost consciousness, I could have sworn I felt her lightly kiss my forehead. It was too much for my tired mind to comprehend, so I chalked it up to wishful thinking and promptly fell asleep.

The next morning I rolled over in the bed, surprised when I rolled into another body. Estella squeaked, waking up startled.

“Jack, no need to smother me. I’ll wake up on my own good time, thank you.” She said through her sleepiness, her eyes fluttering closed again. I chuckled quietly, rolling back to my side of the bed and rubbing my eyes sleepily.

“C’mon, Estella, we should wake up,” I said half-heartedly, not really wanting to get up but knowing I had to. I heard her groan in protest.

“I don’t want to,” She mumbled. “I still need a few more hours of sleep. What time is it?”

I glanced over to the clock sitting on the bedside table. The little red numbers read 1:34. I blinked, rubbing my eyes again. Either we had only slept for thirty minutes, or we had slept for twelve hours.

“One thirty-four,” I told Estella, sitting up. She sat up quickly, looking at the clock.

“We’ve slept through half of the day! Jack, we have to get up, we have to go! Get out of bed, you lazy bum!” She exclaimed, getting out of bed extremely fast and flying around the room, putting our shoes by the door, grabbing clothes from her bag and zipping into the bathroom all within a matter of seconds. I blinked twice when the bathroom door slammed shut, and slowly got out of bed, yawning and stretching.

I moved over to my bag, grabbing a pair of comfortable jeans and a worn out t-shirt, quickly changing out of the clothes I had fallen asleep in. I slipped on my shoes, waiting for Estella to come out of the bathroom. I wasn’t sure what she was doing in there, probably some weird girl ritual or whatever it was they do in the morning.

I was sitting on the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV when she finally came out, dressed in fresh clothes. I glanced up at her, grinning.

“About time,” I teased, getting off the bed and moving to the bathroom, ruffling her hair as I passed. She pouted, grumbling something incoherent as I went to the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and running my fingers through my hair, sort of combing it. I walked back out to see her standing by the door, her bag slung over her shoulder, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

“We’re wasting time! C’mon, Jack, you’re walking too slowly!” She chirped, turning on her heels and walking out the door. I laughed quietly, grabbing my bag and the room key, walking back to the lobby and checking out before getting back into the truck, greeted by Estella’s beaming and impatient face.

I chuckled quietly, starting the truck and pulling out of the parking lot, heading back towards the highway.