Heartbreak Highway 1 (3 page)

On Facebook as in real life, Eva didn’t have a lot of friends. She’d stayed in touch with a few girls from when they lived in the city, but she hadn’t seen them face to face in fifteen years, so technically they were probably acquaintances. She had Marshall, of course and some of the staff she’d gotten to know well who worked for Henry and a small handful of people she’d gone to school with here on Kure Beach, but all totaled, she still had less than fifty “friends.” She thought about Henry again. He was always after her to “go out” and “cut loose” and “be young, make friends.” She hit accept on Helen’s request and smiled. Anyone that Henry recommended had to be a good person. He was an amazing man with an amazing ability to see through the facades that people wore throughout their lives.

She got back up to finish her packing with tears in her eyes. What her mother had said crossed her mind and she got angry all over again. Yes, Henry was loaded. He had money because he had worked for it and then he had invested it. He’d started out as a United States Marine. When he came out of the service, he went to work building airplanes. He told Eva once that when he was about thirty five and he was already feeling old and tired, he’d decided he’d had enough of this day to day drudgery that working for someone else involved. He attended a seminar about how to invest your money, and then another and another…he eventually ran up on one that Warren Buffet was guest speaking at and he’d been spell bound by everything the man had said. Buffet was only a millionaire back then, but by the time Granddad was telling his story to Eva he was a multi-billionaire.

Granddad said that after talking to Annie and being given her “full blessing,” he took all of their savings and bought a struggling aircraft parts business. From Buffet he’d learn to “Buy cheap compared to the companies intrinsic value.” He knew airlines were only going to get bigger and in order for airlines to expand, they would need airplanes. Airplane builders would need parts. Henry made that business a success, saving it from bankruptcy and saving a lot of people’s jobs in the process.

Henry followed those principles the rest of his life, investing more, buying more, and making more. Henry had taught those principles to his son. He would eventually teach them to his grandson and Marshall who lost his parents in a tragic fire when he was just a baby would go on to be wealthy in his own right. Eva wasn’t sure how much Henry was worth when he died, but Marshall shared most everything with her and he’d told her that he was worth tens of millions at only twenty-five. Eva hated to say it, but it was a huge part of why Simone was with Marshall and it seemed everyone could see that except him.

Her phone beeped again, snapping her back to the present. It was another Facebook message from Helen. It simply said, “I wish you and Marshall the best and safest of trips.”

Eva smiled and sent a message back that said, “Thank you. It will probably be me and Marshall and Simone.”

“Oh dear,” Helen’s message said, “Henry said Simone is a….well, I’m too much of a lady to repeat it.”

Eva laughed and then wrote, “LOL, Henry was right…about most everything. But, Marshall likes her so what can I do?”

“Nothing dear,” Helen sent back. “I believe Henry is watching out over you from Heaven. Maybe he’ll talk God into sending her in another direction.”

“We can hope,” Eva sent back, “Thanks, Helen.”

“Go with love,” Helen sent back. It was likely proof that she was a good friend of Granddad’s. That was one of his favorite sayings.

Eva finally finished her packing and began dragging her heavy bags out into the living room. Her mother still sat at the table, texting madly. She looked up and saw Eva with her bags and said,

“You’re leaving?”

Eva realized that even her mother knew she had taken it too far. “I’m not leaving for good, Mother.” Eva went to her purse and took out two hundred dollars cash. She thought about the money Henry had left her and she took out a hundred more. She went over and gave the money to her mother. “Here is the rent, plus a little extra, Mama. Please try to pay some of the bills with it.”

Her mother jumped up and hugged her again. Eva stiffened, but she didn’t pull away this time. When her mother was finished she said, “Thank you, sweetie! You’re a peach!”

Eva smiled and rolled her eyes, “Thanks Mom. I’m going on a road trip with Marshall to California. I’ll be back in about two weeks.”

“Marshall! Way to go girl!”

Eva only sighed and shook her head again. “I’ll see you in a couple weeks, Mama. I love you.” Her mother was already back to her texting. She didn’t look up as she said,

“Love you too, baby.”

Eva dragged her bags outside and waited for Marshall out front. He was there right on time and helped load up her bags. Eva was deliriously happy to see that Simone wasn’t with him. She waited until they were on the road and then she said,

“Where’s Simone?”

“She has work, a photo shoot tomorrow that she can’t miss. She’s going to meet up with us day after tomorrow.”

“Oh…good,” she said, sarcastically. Marshall didn’t even seem to pick up on the tone. He went on talking. He said,

“I found the map Granddad left for us. You’re not going to believe it.”

Eva laughed and said, “Knowing Henry, I just might. Where is it?”

“It’s back in the glove box,” he told her. Eva opened the big glove box and pulled out the map. It was leather bound and it appeared to have been specially made. The front was inscribed in gold lettering: Marshall and Eva’s Road Trip to Self-Discovery. Eva laughed at that and Marshall said, “Trust me, that’s only the beginning.”

Chapter 4

E
va opened the leather binding and looked inside. The title page said:

Wilmington North Carolina to California.

The next page was titled:
What to expect.
Eva laughed again,

“Wow, he put a lot of thought into this,” she said.

“You think?” Marshall asked with a grin. “Leave it to Granddad to leave the most elaborate road map ever made to tell us where to spread his ashes.”

She turned the page and read aloud:

“You’ll visit the largest family home in America, you’ll be tempted to climb the Appalachians, you’ll learn what you should have learned in school about the Manhattan Project and then you’ll visit and be awed by a Presidential Library. This map will guide you through many points of interest that will chronicle the development of this fine nation. You’ll get to experience places and peoples who were here long before the arrival of the “white man.” I’ll show you a volcano and a meteor, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs. I’ll take you to frontier forts and you’ll be able to see both native and pioneer artifacts. As you drive through the desert, don’t just glance out the window and see dirt and cacti and sagebrush, see the beauty there. Stop at a casino when you get to Vegas, or better even along the Mississippi, lady luck is on your side.”

“Wow,” Eva said, with another laugh. “This is…wow! I wondered how it would possibly cost us three thousand dollars each to take a two week road trip.”

“Yeah, we might need to stop in Vegas and try to double it.”

Eva sat the map book down and said, “My brain needs a break. Is there even a real map in there?”

Marshall nodded and grinned. “Yeah, I had to really look for it, but it’s there. When we get to Wilmington, we’re going to head North to Raleigh on I-40 or East to Charlotte on US=74.”

“Either, or?”

Marshall smiled again, “My Granddad made the map, remember? He says that both routes will take us to Asheville where we’re supposed to spend our first night, and then get up in the morning and visit the Biltmore Estate before we get back on the road.”

“The largest family residence he was talking about.” Eva had spent most of her life living in a two bedroom, one bathroom house with a hallway that you almost had to walk sideways to get down. She would love to see that estate. Unless she saw it with her own eyes, she’d never even be able to imagine it.

“Yeah, he has a history in there about it being built by the Vanderbilt’s in the late 1800’s or early 1900’s…History isn’t really my thing. Anyways he says the house had 255 rooms. It should be quite the lengthy tour. I’m not really sure how we’re going to do all of this in two weeks.”

“Oh well, I’m not in a hurry, are you?”

“Not really. I’m sure Simone will have to get back for work though.”

Now Eva really hoped it would take longer. She couldn’t help herself though, she had to ask, “Do you really think this trip is her cup of tea?”

He laughed, “I doubt it. Take your first stop, a tour of a house….unless I was buying it for her it would bore her to death.”

“Then why ask her to come along? I’m not trying to be mean, but she wasn’t really Granddad’s favorite person.”

He shrugged. “No, they didn’t ever really see eye to eye. I think she feels bad that he died though. When I told her she gave me her condolences and seemed very sincere. As far as this trip, I didn’t really ask her. I was thinking like you were, that it probably wouldn’t appeal to her, but when I told her that you and I were going she said,

“I’ll meet you in Asheville,”

“What was I supposed to say?”

“What did you say?”

“I said okay.” he told her.

“Oh,” Eva said.

Marshall glanced over at her and then put his eyes back on the road,

“Oh what?”

“Just, oh,” Eva said. “No hidden meaning,” she lied. She was dying to tell him what a gold-digger she thought Simone was, and that from little things he’d told her that she didn’t think Simone was the faithful type. But, none of that was her place. She was too emotionally involved. She would run off any girl that got close to him, given the chance. She loved him and she thought he deserved so much more than these shallow women of his were willing to give him. Then trying to change the subject, she said,

“How long will it take to get to Asheville?”

“About four and a half hours, so settle in and get comfy.”

“Well then, it’s a good thing I brought my iPad because I’m not listening to this “Tear in my Beer” Country Crap all night.”

“It’s not country crap and no one is crying in their beer. It’s Country rock.” he said.

“Okay, country whatever,” she said with a grin.

“Country rock,” he told her. “Oh good, I was hoping to get to listen to Michael Jackson deny the kid was his tonight. It’s so heartwarming.”

“Shut up,” she said with a grin. “He’s one of the classics and you know it. It beats the heck out of “Red red red redneck…” she sang it so he returned the favor,

In a high-pitched voice he sang out,

“The kid is not my son,” then he said, “Yeah, classic something” with a laugh. “What else you got on there?”

“I’ve got some Aerosmith, Journey, ZZ Top, REO Speed wagon….Oh Prince…Little Red Corvette! You have to love that one.”

He was laughing hard now and he said, “I’m sorry, how old are you again? I didn’t know you grew up in the eighties. Did you play that hot girl in Flash Dance?”

She tried not to dwell on the fact that he’d referred to her as a “hot girl”, if she did, she would start tripping over her own tongue. Trying to stick with the teasing she said, “You’re just jealous of my impeccable taste in music,”

“Yeah, that’s it,” he said with a grin. “I’ll make a deal with you…one country, one old-fashioned, washed up, please tell me you ain’t still touring with your big lips and ass-less chaps rock song.”

“It’ll be a deal and I’ll even accept your jealous ranting’s about my excellent taste in music if you promise to stop half-way there so I can get some dinner. I’m starving.”

“I could eat too,” he said. “Just tell me if you notice a Denny’s or anything coming up.” They drove along for a while, not talking, just listening to the music. Eva was the navigator and she tried her best to be fair with the music, but sometimes she’d already started singing along before she remembered to change it so she had to give him two in a row then.

“Denny’s next exit,” she told him.

“Okay, I’m there,” he told her. “So, what are you thinking about doing now that Granddad isn’t here? Are you going to look into more private nursing, or are you thinking hospital or something?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Every time I try and think about it, my mind goes back to Henry not being here any longer. I start crying again and I lose the ability for rational thought.”

Marshall nodded as he moved over two lanes to get ready for the upcoming exit, “I can relate to that,” he said, “When I went back to the house to pack, I just lost it. I went in his room and lay down on his bed like a little kid and bawled.” This was what Eva loved about being Marshall’s friend, and why she’d never take a chance on screwing that up. The rest of the world never got to see his vulnerable side. She did, and it was just as sexy as all of his other sides.

“Granny was the first person I was close to that ever died. My chest still aches when I think about her three years later. Granddad was bigger than life, and as much as I loved Granny…it still didn’t compare to how I felt about him. I just wonder if my chest will ache forever, every time that I think of him.”

“I don’t know,” he said as he pulled into the restaurant lot and parked, “I hope not. I hope that someday we can look back on what a full life he had and think about the fact that he got to live with his soul mate for sixty-five years and just smile without tears.”

“Me too,” she said, “He would have hated making anyone miserable, especially us.”

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “I think that’s part of the purpose of this silly trip and this silly map,” he said.

They stepped out of the car and as they walked into the restaurant Eva said, “Maybe, but I think he also wanted us to have fun…you know, experience life more. He was always after me to do that.”

“That’s because you spent all of your time taking care of him,” Marshall told her as they sat down in their booth, “He loved you, but he hated that he needed to be taken care of. He felt like he was holding you back.”

“He wasn’t holding me back,” she said. “You know and he did too, I’m just not a social butterfly. I’m not good with people.” The waitress seated them and took their drink orders and left them with a menu. When she was gone, Marshall said,