Chapter 13.7: Straits -- Road to Austin
"Are you sure you don't want to take Julia's car?"
"Mom, it's really yours, and you need it tomorrow." Julia gave her mother a hug and a kiss.
"Bien, bien." She sighed, letting Julia loose with some reservation. "Drive carefully, and call us when you get there or if you have problems."
"Prometemos." I gave her a hug and a kiss to both cheeks.
"En tus manos."
"We'll pray before we go."
Julia's dad gave me a hug and a hand-clasp, and a stern look, with a "Vaya con Dios," before giving his daughter her hug and kiss.
At my house, we got in a half hour of exercises and and showers, and then we packed the computers and road food, said a quick prayer, and headed to school.
After our last classes for the morning, we met the rest of the Friday group in the parking lot.
They had decided to pool in Suzanne's Impala, so there would be only her car and mine to keep track of. Campus security had been notified about the trip, and we had the okay to leave other cars in the parking lot over the weekend.
I suggested a prayer before we leave, and no one objected. Julia suggested I be voice for the group, and I offered a prayer for our safety, and that the trip would have good results for all. I think everyone in our small group responded with "Amen" although I thought I heard Mike's voice a fraction behind.
Mike, Pat, and George had prepared a bit of their own favorite foods and drinks for the road down, but we had room in the cooler for what needed cooling. We had all packed light, planning on making grocery store raids in Austin for Saturday and the return trip. We left most of the space in the station wagon bed open for whatever we might be bringing back.
The plan was for me to drop by Denny's place on the way to Motorola, their apartment being within three miles of the Motorola building I needed to go to. Then Julia and the others could visit with Denny and Denise, go shopping, and maybe go see the campground where the rest of the Friday group were parking themselves.
Of course things never really go according to plan, even when they go according to plan.
Suzanne didn't stay anywhere close to the double-nickel speed limit. We lost sight of them within a minute of hitting the Interstate, even though I kicked the speed up to 62.
"There's the turn-off to the airport." I kept trying to get conversation started, but it kept dying before it started. Julia squeezed my hand again on the gearshift lever. I'm not sure it reassured me, but I wasn't complaining.
"Are you okay, back there, Pat? The middle of that seat is not comfortable, I know."
"I'm okay." I was sure she was being stoic.
"Beautiful scenery, huh?"
George laughed, at least.
"It has its own beauty," Julia commented, but no one in the rear seat took the bait.
"Peanut butter and cheese sandwich?" Julia asked me, and I nodded.
Pat fished the bread, cheese, and peanut butter from the cooler, handing them to Julia with a grimace, and then she and George and Mike dug into the bologna, pressed pork and other fixings in the cooler.
"Can you pass me the lettuce and tomatoes, too?"
"Ah. Sure. Trade you for the bread and cheese." Pat handed the tupperware of lettuce and tomatoes forward, and food changed hands.
"Are you making your own?" I asked.
Julia nodded with a sly look and a grin and took a bite of my sandwich, frowning as she handed it to me. "Needs something. Mayonnaise?"
I took a bite and nodded. "Sounds good." I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see Mike's reaction. He was busy with his food.
Pat handed her the jar of Mayonnaise. "Joe has perverted your taste buds, Julia."
"Yep."
That got chuckles from everyone.
Julia mixed grape and lemon-lime soda in a cup.
"Where'd you get that from?" George complained.
"Not from Joe."
"No?"
"From his dad."
"Oh."
She shared her cup with me, too, trading it for the sandwich and taking a bite while I was taking a sip, so I would have a hand to keep on the wheel. I glanced at Mike again, but he was looking out the window absently while he chewed on his sandwich.
*****
"Turn-off for Garden City." I handed the peanut butter and banana sandwich in my gear-shifting hand to Julia, signaled, moved to the exit ramp, and slowed down for the intersection. We turned right. "This always feels like I'm turning south, but we're actually turning more east than south. We've been going north-east."
"Can I drive from Garden City?" Julia asked as we left the Interstate behind.
"I don't know why not."
She handed me her cup, this time with just water, and took a bite of the sandwich.
*****
"There's Suzanne," Pat announced.
The whole group was out of the car, sitting at a road-side table. They waved as we pulled up.
George, Mike, and Pat extracted themselves from the back seat, and Julia and I got out of the front, and we exchanged status with the other group before they climbed in and started off again ahead of us.
"Take a short jog?" Julia suggested.
"Mmm. Yeah."
All five of us jogged about a half minute back the way we had come, then walked back to the car. Julia took the driver's seat.
"I'm riding shotgun!" Pat called out, claiming the passenger-side front seat.
I looked at Mike and George. "I think that's fair, if we're up to this?"
They both nodded, so I got in first and moved to the middle.
"With five of us, she's not going to be as responsive as when it's just you and me," I coached from my backseat position.
"I know." Julia started the engine and babied the clutch maybe just a little too much, but got us going smoothly down the highway.
"Much better scenery here," Pat commented.
"Should get greener as we go to San Angelo," George added absently.
"Somewhere along here, my church used to try to farm pecans," I said. "I think they only got a couple of years of good crop before the climate or insects got to the trees."
"Too bad," Mike said. "I like pecans."
Conversation was less strained after Garden City.
We met Suzanne's group again at a rest stop just before San Angelo. Again, they went ahead as we took a break to stretch, jog, and walk.
"Can I take the wheel next?" Mike asked.
I looked at Julia and she shrugged and smiled. "That means you and I get to ride in back."
George gave Mike a look of consolation and Mike shrugged.
Pat's tilted head ceded temporary defeat.
"I'll take navigator." George took the passenger-side front seat, and I got in the back, moving to the middle again. Julia climbed in beside me.
"Ryō-te ni hana," I grinned, patting the empty seat as Pat hesitated on the other side of the car.
"Huh?" George raised an eyebrow. "Benihana? Japanese?"
"No. Yeah. Ryō-te ni hana. Flower in each hand. But not literally in hand, or even meta-literally. It's what a guy can say when he gets to sit between two beautiful women."
"Maybe Julia should sit in the middle?" Pat was not climbing in.
"Joe's just joking," Julia explained. "It's the kind of joke his dad would make, too. Neither of them would ever presume anything."
"Are you sure?"
"Sorry. I was just recalling a Japanese phrase that seemed to fit. I didn't think it would be offensive."
Mike started the engine. "Pat, it is a compliment, you know."
Pat bent down and gave him a sharp look through the window.
"I'll sit in the middle," Julia sighed and started to climb out.
"Why can't you sit in the front?" Pat asked Julia, wheedling.
"Pat!" Julia said with more than a bit of exasperation.
"Okay, okay, I'll sit in the navigator's seat." I moved to the side.
"No!" Pat and Julia exclaimed in unison.
George laughed, and climbed out. "I think that's the best idea for now."
I climbed out of the back and got in the front.
Pat sighed, but gave in, again taking the center because she was the smallest.
Mike had no problems getting the car moving, and we drove in silence for the first few minutes.
Then Pat spoke up. "I guess I was being silly."
"You were," Mike confirmed with a wry grin. "Let me fight my own battles."
I reached over for a fist bump, and this time he responded in kind.
"Rivals," he said, and I nodded.
"Rivals."
Julia looked a little put-out, but not angry.
By the time we put San Angelo behind us heading south-east, fishing had become a topic of conversation, discussing the best lakes in central Texas for different kinds of fish and such. I mostly listened, not having much experience.
We took another rest stop at Eden, and Pat took a turn at the wheel. Julia sat between Mike and me in the back.
"You know," I said. "When I was a kid and we drove through here, I put Garden City and Eden together, and thought we were going to the Garden of Eden."
Julia snorted, and the rest got a chuckle out of it.
"I think we camped that year at Brady Creek Reservoir, and I think it was two or three years before I quit believing the reservoir was the garden. I was kind of young."
"Never been there, fishing or camping," George said. "Pat?"
"Not that I remember."
Mike just shrugged.
Julia commented absently, "It can be a nice place to camp. I think I prefer Balmorhea Lake."
"I like Balmorhea," I said.
Mike caught my eye and nodded. "Great place to stop on the way to Davis Mountains."
There was general agreement on that.
Shortly, conversation turned to sports and school.
George took the wheel at Brady, and this time Mike took the navigator seat, and Pat let me sit between her and Julia. I mostly enjoyed listening to Julia and her friends reconnecting, talking about things they had done together and about plans for the future. I guessed that her breakup with Mike had been the cause of some distancing between her and Pat and George, as well.
"Your mom couldn't lend you her car for this?" Pat idly asked Julia when other topics had subsided for a bit.
"She wanted us to take it, but she needs it tomorrow. Even if she didn't, bucket seats are a bit less conducive to romance on the road."
I grinned and unobtrusively kissed her cheek. We both turned away when our lips got too close.
When I glanced at Mike, he rolled his eyes, but nodded. He was beginning to understand.
Oddly, Pat made no comment.
At Llano, Suzanne's group waited for us to finish our quick rest stop so that I could take the lead, down through the Barton Creek area into Austin. I took the wheel, with Mike riding navigator and Julia sitting behind me, Pat in the middle again, between Julia and George.
Julia rested her hand on my shoulder, and when my shifting hand was free, we held hands.
"Both hands on the wheel!" Mike grinned to let me know he was joking, and we bumped fists again. Pat looked disappointed and perplexed, but seemed to have given up being angry at me.
It was about five thirty in the evening when we pulled into Denny and Denise's apartment complex, parking in front of their apartment. We made quick introductions, and Suzanne and her group turned to head for her car before any neighbors complained about too many cars.
Denny explained, "There are a couple of recruiters waiting at Motorola to talk with anyone who wants to listen and talk. I can help you find a good campsite after."
We looked at each other.
"I understand there'll be pizza, too."
"Ah, well, yeah."
"Sure."
"Let's do it."
"Well, except -- Julia, the people who want to talk with Joe also want to talk with the person who has been taking notes for him."
"Me?"
I caught her eye. "Makes sense."
After some quick discussion, we followed Denny to Motorola, and Pat, George, and Mike joined Suzanne's group to listen to the recruiters' spiel.
[Backed up at https://joel-rees-economics.blogspot.com/2020/08/bk-33209-straits-road-to-austin.html.]
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