Roadtrips give someone time to think. All there is on long road trips is the road, a wide lane, and soft music in the background. There's no traffic, no mess, no speed change, no worry. Just a car, the open road, and a lot of quiet. I had a lot of time to think, and I thought a lot about my life.
Most relationships are selfish. World population is nestled near 6.7 billion, with the U.S. alone taking up 307 million of those. Assuming an equal male-female ratio, and the proper amount of sexual-preference equality, that means any given person has about 3.35 billion persons that they could potentially be in a relationship with at any given point. Even discounting a third of the world's population for age differences, and another for in long-term relationships, that's still over 1.2 billion. A staggering number of availability. Thinking honestly, it makes absolutely no sense to dwell on a single, solitary monogamous relationship.
So why couldn't I get Neese out of my head?
"Because humans are selfish." I said to myself over the radio, with Veru looking up from the pile of kitten on the passenger seat, mrowling his displeasure at my gall. To interrupt his nap, how crass. "Always wanting every little thing we want. Adaptable, sure, but irritating as hell about it." Kitten looked up at me, frowning. I stammered a quick apology, "Sorry kitty, I'll stop talking."
She meowed her approval, and went back to sleep.
It doesn't seem to make sense, this whole "love" thing. It almost seems like a nebulous fiction that humans made up for the sake of... For the sake of... Uh... What exactly? Just seems so bizarre that humans need to attach emotional to physical. Or is it physical to emotional?
Repeated thumps brought me out of my mind and back to the road, where the car was falling into the shoulder. I blinked, and swished the car back into the lane. The cats looked up, and growled at me. I assured them that it wasn't my fault. Kitten curled back to sleep, Veru looked at me skeptically. I frowned at him, and he shook his head and went back to sleep. "Must be nice..." I muttered.
A vacation was probably would was best. A day out of the city, spend some time out in the country. Fresh air, maybe even clear my head a bit. Seemed pretty reasonable, so I vowed to myself to stop dwelling so much on the bad and get myself in a good mood.
I made a call, and found out none of my family members would be in town, which meant I had the summer cottage to myself for the weekend. I could hopefully get a good reservation at the local bed and breakfast. I decided I could call ahead, but frowned when I realized I didn't have the number handy. Damn.
The rest of the trip was dull and tiring, like most car trips. Interstates are pretty useful, being straight lines allow for the most efficient travel path, plus being more lenient on speed laws due to the lack of turns. The only problem is they're very boring. Very, very boring.
Either way, when I got to the cabin, I checked the mail for any pressing needs. Nothing looked pivotal, so I screened anything addressed to me, and left the rest in a basket on the counter. I grabbed the phonebook, and dialed the number for the inn. They said they had no openings on reservation, but since I was dining alone, I could eat at the bar. It beat eating my own cooking, so I settled the cats in, hopped back in the Jag, and turned down the road and headed off for dinner.
Driving on side roads is nothing like driving on the interstate. Interstates are straight, settled for the shortest path and the lowest chance for catastrophic crashing due to handling, and they're always paved solid, with the most work done to them to remain relatively smooth. Side roads, on the other hand, twist and turn, are comprised of every known material from gravel, to smooth concrete, to dirt.
The Jaguar S-Type had a 3.0 L V6, producing 240 horsepower, had a lot of roar when I let it loose. Not the fastest of the S-type, by a long shot, but it produced a respectable amount of horsepower. Although the suspension was made for more luxury than sport, it still hugged the roads. And something else about the country that would be more relaxing than the city, no traffic.
The V6 roared as I powered around the counter, feeling the tires lose traction briefly before catching and spitting gravel onto my wheel well. The engine roared, and I leaned into another turn. The car felt natural powering into the turn, and I was enjoying myself far more than I had in months. Eventually, though, the drive came to an end as I neared the small town and slowed. The Jag pulled into the parking lot, and I got up and headed toward the front door.
When I got inside, I gawked. Before I could have made my way to the bar, I noticed Aeryn sitting at a table nearby. I walked over to her, and cleared my throat.
"Nuke!" She replied, jumping up and hugging me. "I've heard such awful things have happened, and I would've visited you but I was afraid you were still with that girl."
"Woman." I corrected.
"But you're here!"
"Yes, I needed some time away from the city and stress." And women. "But the country's doing me well so far."
"My date's nicked off and left me with a bill," Aer said, "join me?"
I sat down, and smiled. "I suppose I can."
We spent the evening talking and joking, and I was surprised to find myself still having fun for the evening. Something else I learned was that Aeryn's date was also the driver, and she didn't have a ride back to her hotel room. "Hotel room? How many nights do you have left to stay?"
"I need to be out tomorrow at noon?"
Might as well... "Want to stay for the weekend?"
"I can't afford any more."
"Lodging's on me. We've got a cottage here, and plenty of rooms to spare."
"We?"
"My family. I'm there by myself."
She was silent for a while, "That sounds fun."
"Alright, need a lift to grab some clothes?"
"Won't be necessary."
I flabbergasted, "What?"
"Oh Nuke, you're too easy to tease. Yes, let's go get some clothes for me."
I paid the bill on the dinner, loaded the pair of us into the car, and headed off to her hotel. The lobby was much like I expect of hotels, and waited impatiently for her to come back down. I found my way to the business room, and checked my e-mail while I waited. Nothing interesting or important. She returned with a surprisingly large bag for such a short trip. I had it in the trunk, and we went on the way back to the cottage.
In light of having another passenger in the car, I turned off my want to drive aggressively and took to a smooth riding experience. Unlike my last car, the Jaguar was also pretty capable of a smooth ride, especially since the V6 was quieter than the V8, and made for a much smoother ride than the previous one. Less fun, to be sure, but most certainly more smooth.
We got back to the cottage, a quiet little house with two bedrooms, a sitting room, and a beautiful kitchen that was understocked. I made a note to make a grocery run in the morning, and set out to settle in for bed. Aer had made her way into her room, and was likely preparing for bed. I spent the evening playing with the cats instead. Kitten was especially more playful than Veru, and ran me around the cottage end-to-end looking to entertain her.
Finally, I settled down in bed. Sleep came quickly, and I was asleep before I knew it.