Chapter 1

"Why the hell didn't we fly instead of drive?" Eric asked Alysia, his voice laden with his anger and frustration.

She couldn't help but feel bad. He was a salesman for a large software company so he was on the road a lot. With work he drove daily to cover his regional area and she knew he hated traffic. It was her fault that they drove and she knew it. It was obvious that he was annoyed at the deadlock that they found themselves in, in the middle of nowhere, and she felt guilty. They had passed the nearest city forty-five minutes earlier so the traffic was unexpected. "It isn't even rush hour," he added.

Alysia knew that her job on these trips was to keep him awake and calm. She appreciated the fact that he took on the burden of driving, since she hated staring at the road ahead. For some reason her eyelids got heavy within twenty minutes, regardless of the time of day. It was appreciated even more so since he did it on a daily basis.

"I know it's frustrating, honey, but it'll clear soon. Don't worry." Her voice was soft and comforting and she lightly touched his arm hoping the contact would further calm him.

He grunted and she knew that he didn't fully agree but seemed to appreciate the soothing tone in her voice and optimistic viewpoint. Eric was a sweet guy usually, but traffic was his nemesis. He was terribly romantic, always thoughtful and usually put her needs before his own, which was why they were not flying. Flying terrified her and he knew it. He flew often but rarely pushed the issue with her. So he obliged her by agreeing to drive for this vacation.

They had just finished a week's vacation in Atlanta and had been on the road for almost nine hours already. She didn't want to agree with him, that they should have flown in the first place, until after they got home. By the time they would reach home, the drive should have taken them twelve hours but that's without the delay they found themselves in. They were anxious to get home, and get comfortable, but they had a long way to travel yet. It was still warm outside, even at six in the evening, so they opened their windows and turned the air off. The gagging stench of exhaust fumes wafted through the open windows. They were assaulted by the plethora of loud music pouring from the other vehicles in the long line of cars. It was an eclectic mix of country, rap and other music. It all got lost in the jumble so much that soon Alysia's ears couldn't decipher any individual style of music that was actually playing.

"I can't see an end to this shit!" he exclaimed.

"Maybe there was an accident ahead," she replied. It was her way of offering a reason for the kink in the traffic flow. "I just hope that if there was, that no one was seriously hurt."

"Yeah," he grumbled. "I don't hear any sirens." After a short, silent pause he added, "I bet someone is just changing their tire alongside the road and every asshole who drives by feels compelled to slow down and look at them, damned rubber-neckers!"

"Oh stop it. Our house isn't going anywhere. We'll be out of this in no time."

"Easy enough for you to say, you don't have to drive."

That comment shut her up, as he meant it to. She wasn't sure she believed that they would be out of the traffic soon but was at least trying to be optimistic. Finally, when she realized that her hurt feelings couldn't be ignored, she replied, "There's no need to take your frustration out on me. I'm not responsible for the traffic."

He huffed, appearing to realize that he was needlessly lashing out at her. "I shouldn't yell at you, honey. This traffic isn't your fault. I'm sorry."

"It's all right, this time," she said with a smirk. "But don't think you can get away with barking at me like that on a regular basis, buddy." She winked at him playfully and her eyes twinkled. The thing she could do best of all with Eric was arouse him with just a look. She was banking on doing it often on this trip home, as a promise of repayment for the torturously long time he would have ultimately driven.

He laughed and seemed to relax more, which made her happy.

It had taken them forty-five minutes to travel only eight miles. She kept craning her neck while she looked out the window, hoping, and praying, that the bend just ahead would be where the traffic would end and the road would open up. Finally they made it to the bend and, just as she had hoped, the road cleared and the cars began to move faster until they were moving at the speed-limit again. There was no accident or any other reason, which they could see, for the slow down but they were out of it. They turned their attention to reading the map to see if there were any junctions to keep watch for, in the near future.

They had driven another hour when the cola that Alysia had consumed, while they inched their way through the traffic, announced its presence. She longed for a rest stop and before she reached the point where she couldn't stand it any longer said, "I hate to tell you this, honey, since we're moving so well, but I need you to stop at the next rest stop. I drank too much cola."