Chapter 2

I suddenly came back to the present as I heard a car pull into the driveway outside. I actually ran to look out and saw that it was who I had been expecting. Thirty seconds later the two guys knocked on the door which I opened immediately. I invited them in just as my parents came into the room. Everyone said hello and then my parents started to ask a few things about the trip plans. I was suddenly afraid we'd be another hour talking and I was practically jumping up and down in my eagerness to get going. I think my dad must have noticed because in just a minute he said, "Well, we don't want to hold you up. I know Lauren is ready so you might as well get going."

I silently thanked him and reached to pick up my things. I grabbed my small duffle and hiking boots but before I could try to pick up my backpack Matt hefted it. I smiled my thanks to him and all five of us headed out to towards the car. It took only seconds to fit my stuff into the trunk and then with a final goodbye and well wishes from my parents we climbed in and started off.

Matt was driving and Tyler rode shotgun while I settled into the back seat. As we started down the road from my house I saw my parents, arms around each other, waving to us. It seems silly to say that I could tell what they were thinking from the way they were standing but I think I could. This was the first time I had ever gone on anything more than an overnight without them. I know I was aware of this. Aware but not afraid or anything. I knew I could handle it, but I think they also realized that. I believe they were feeling happy that they could have given me this opportunity and also that they, too, realized that I had grown up quite a bit and was ready to do things on my own.

We soon picked up I-70 west towards Indianapolis. We were planning on just heading west until we felt like stopping for the night. It was only a little after nine when we left so we got to the capital before lunch time and turned north on I-65 towards Chicago. Somewhere about forty miles after that we pulled into a McDonald's and got some lunch.

When we started out again Tyler said he wanted to sleep some and suggested I move to the front so he could spread out a little more in the back. I certainly had no problem with this. While I had been in the back it was a little difficult to talk and at least Matt and I wanted to talk a little about what we'd be doing. Tyler joined in the conversation also but he didn't seem as hyped about things as the two of us were. Now Tyler slumped into the corner and closed his eyes. Matt and I began our own conversation.

There was a GPS on the windshield but I've always liked maps so I was frequently looking at one, anticipating where we'd be going and looking for interesting things along the way. At Chicago we took the tri-state bypass and switched onto the Northwest Tollway towards Wisconsin. As we crossed the border out of Illinois I remarked that this was a new state for me. In fact I had never been this far west or even this far from home in any direction. Matt replied that Wisconsin was a new state for him also although he had been further from home even if never in this direction.

We seemed to be able to talk easily and all the while Tyler slept in the back seat. Personally I didn't mind that at all. I'm sure if he had been awake he would have said something that would put me down in some way. I don't mean to give the idea that Tyler is deliberately mean or anything. Actually we rarely argued at all and got along fairly well. It was just that he would probably say something without thinking how it would seem to me. For example, when I mentioned I had added a new state I'm sure he would have mentioned just how many of the fifty he had been to. It wasn't that he would try to put me down or be mean. Rather it was just that he was so full of himself sometimes that he couldn't help mentioning something like that.

Tyler slept all afternoon. We stopped at a rest area about four thirty and he did get out but when we got back in he settled into his corner once again and I think he was asleep before we had merged back onto the highway. He finally came back awake as we were crossing the Mississippi into Minnesota. We heard him stir and Matt glanced back and said, "Welcome back." Then he added with just a tiny bit of sarcasm in his voice, "Have a good rest?"

It went right over Tyler's head and he answered, "Yeah. Say, where are we anyway?"

"Just crossed Old Man River," I replied. "We're now officially in the West."

"Oh," was his only response. Then after a few seconds he added, "When were you guys planning on stopping?

Matt and I glanced at each other. The guys knew that my reservation at Yellowstone was two days off. We had planned to stop and see Mount Rushmore and probably stay somewhere near there at least one night, but with the distance we had already covered we'd have plenty of time. I shrugged and Matt finally said, "I suppose unless you have a different idea we might as well stop for the night in a half hour or so. That should give us time for supper and still get a good night's sleep so we can get an early start. How's that sound?"

"It's fine with me," I replied.

"Sure," Tyler said. "Wouldn't want you tired out tomorrow." It was his idea of a joke, I guess, but coming after he had slept the whole afternoon it didn't seem that funny to us. That's what I mean about Tyler's remarks.

In another forty miles we saw a number of motel adds for an upcoming exit. One was a big Remada and Tyler suggested that. I probably would have picked one of the less expensive ones but I certainly wasn't going to say anything, especially on the first night out. We pulled in and all three of us headed to the desk. The guys were going to share a room but I got a single for myself. We took our things up to the third floor and put them in our rooms and then headed down to the restaurant for some supper,

The restaurant had a separate entrance so we went back outside and started walking the thirty feet over to it. Just as we went out a red Mercedes convertible, a little two seat sports job, pulled in and a tall blonde girl got out. She was probably five ten or eleven, long blonde hair well down to the middle of her back and a skirt well up past the middle of her thighs. She was about our age or maybe a year or two older and of course both guys stared at her. I had to admit that she was strikingly beautiful. However, while Matt gave her a good once over, Tyler glued his eyes to her and let his gaze follow her around the car and into the reception area as if he had her on a leash. I'm sure he would have liked that, but when the door closed behind her he slowly turned back and we trooped on into the restaurant.

They seated the three of us at a table by the windows and after looking over the menus we ordered meals. I was going to have to watch my expenses if we were going to be eating like this very often, but with lunch at a fast food place, it didn't average out too badly. After they had taken our orders and were just bringing our drinks, the girl from the Mercedes walked into the restaurant and stopped at the desk to wait to be seated. Just at that time there didn't happen to be anyone right there and I guess that was all Tyler needed to act impulsively. He suddenly stood up and went over and spoke to her. I couldn't hear anything he said, but I will admit that Tyler can be very engaging when he wants to be. Whatever it was there were a few comments back and forth. She didn't slap him and in fact smiled and laughed at something he said. Just then the receptionist returned and Tyler spoke to her before leading the girl over to our table.