Chapter 4: Some Guys Have All The Luck

I lay in bed that evening, my hands behind my head, my body stretched out using every inch of the queen size mattress’s length. I thought back over what had been one of the most interesting and pleasant evenings I’d ever had. Not just the excellent meal, but the company of a bright, beautiful woman. We talked. We talked about ourselves and about anything and everything from politics to religion. I know, those should have been taboo, especially on what was only our second formal date. But Gabrielle was fearless when it came to conversation. I just followed her lead.

As it turned out, we were both closet agnostics, brought up that way by our parents. We shared our distaste for the current state of political affairs in the country, wondering when someone from the wilderness would step forward and lead instead of trying to manage congress. She laughed when I likened our esteemed body of government to herding cats. She was more worldly than I expected, but I don’t know why I shouldn’t have anticipated it. She was, like me, curious about what was going on around her, and as I’d already recognized, very bright.

She thought she would go into the computer industry when she graduated, hence the major in mathematics. But along the way she realized it was a crowded field and she decided that since she didn’t want to be just another face in the multitude, she would move in another direction. She was delighted with her current job, and excited that she had been given the responsibility of implementing the statistical process control system in the new plants, along with the quality assurance and constant improvement procedures. She showed no signs that she was being overloaded with work. It was all too new and fascinating being involved with an explosive young company like Diamond Stream.

I wasn’t kidding myself that I didn’t lust after her. I recalled every detail of her appearance that evening. Her silken, pale-gold hair was gathered in a single braid that was often draped over her shoulder. It gave her a very European look, but why was that a surprise. Her heritage was French and I could see that in her pale blue eyes and patrician nose. She had the body of an athlete and the liquid moves of a seductress. There was nothing outrageous about her physical appearance, but as a whole, it was perfect. She could easily have graced the cover of a magazine.

Her suggestion that I accompany her to Tahoe and stay with the Smiths was both unexpected and slightly worrisome. There was no doubt she had already cleared it with Georgette Smith, but at this early stage of our relationship it came as a complete surprise. It would appear that Gabrielle had decided we were quite compatible and had conspired with Mrs. Smith to give us an opportunity to be together in a more private setting. I noticed at the Pleasanton car show that the two women were very comfortable with each other, so I shouldn’t have been too surprised.

Maybe I was reading too much into it, but the more I thought about it, the more I was leading myself to believe there was something more beyond boyfriend – girlfriend. This was all a new experience for me. It felt like I was being carried along on a wave and not sure when it would crest or on which shore it would land. Sure, I’d had girlfriends before ... some of whom were lovers too. But this was different ... or at least it felt different. She was a more confident and complete woman than those in my past. At twenty-five years old, it wasn’t as if I’d had a catalogue of female friends, but I wasn’t inexperienced. This, however, was unique. It took me quite a while to get to sleep that night.

I’d packed my clothes for the long weekend in Tahoe and along with my ski equipment, it all fit easily into the back of the Jeep. We’d agreed that I would meet her at her apartment at one o’clock, not wanting to be looking for their address in the dark. As it turned out, Gabrielle had a portable Garmin unit that would fit on my dash and plug into my 12volt outlet.

“Georgette informed me that the driveway to their place was hidden by some trees, so this will make it easier to find it,” she explained.

“Good. I don’t know the Tahoe area that well,” I admitted. “I usually ski Incline Village, so Squaw Valley is new to me.”

“I always keep the Garmin hidden when I’m not in the car,” she said as we set off. “I’ve already had one stolen. That was bad enough, but the thief broke my side window to get into the car. With five hundred deductible it wasn’t claimable. So aside from the GPS, it cost three hundred to get the window replaced.”

“Yikes! That would hurt. But good advice. Thanks for the heads-up.”

The Garmin estimated three hours to our destination, assuming no stops. Sunset was a little after four-thirty and we were pulling away from her apartment at one-fifteen.

“These calculations are usually a little conservative, Kyle,” she advised. “We should have plenty of time to get there before dark.”

I nodded and smiled. Her thinking was like reading my mind. Another example of just what was different about her. It wasn’t long before we joined up with the I-80 and headed east. There was more traffic than usual as it appeared that we weren’t the only ones starting the holiday weekend early. However, by the time we reached Fairfield, the traffic had lightened up and we were easily moving along at five or so over the limit. Even at that we were being passed by all manner of vehicles.

We ran into slower traffic at the I-5 and Capital City interchanges near Sacramento, but soon enough we were back up to speed and heading toward Donner Pass. This was all familiar territory to me as I’d driven this route many times in my days living in Davis. A quick check of the mileage to Truckee told us that we were pretty much on schedule, if not a little ahead. It’s good to have a mathematician as your navigator. I could almost hear the wheels and gears and cogs meshing as she mentally calculated the time and distance. You’d think we were in a rally.

There was no sign of any cloud east of the Bay Area, so we would get the benefit of maximum daylight for the entire trip. The Garmin was faultless, leading us to within a few feet of the entrance to the driveway of our destination. As we drove up the long paved way, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. This was no little cabin in the woods. It was a massive log and stone lodge, perched on the brow of the promontory. I’m sure my mouth was open as I gasped at the sight before me. Gabrielle, however, didn’t seem surprised. In fact, she appeared to be suppressing a giggle as we approached.

“Park in the shed, Kyle,” she instructed me.

I saw an open shed with three stalls, one of which was already occupied by a dark colored BMW sedan.

“Wow!” I finally managed as I took in just what I was seeing. “This is incredible. It’s darn near the size of a hotel.”

“Not quite,” she chuckled.

“You’ve been here before?” I asked, turning to her.

“Yes. I think you’ll find all the comforts of home here.”

I could just imagine. We got out of the Jeep just in time to see John and Georgette coming toward us.

“Hi ... welcome to Tahoe,” John called as he approached, his hand extended.

“Thank you,” I said, returning the gesture. “This is amazing,” I said, referring to the house.

“It is quite something,” John agreed.

“It’s been in our family for a while,” Georgette added. We use it in summer and winter.

“I can see why,” I nodded.

“Here, let me help you with your bags,” John said. “You can put the ski gear inside the back door for now. We’ll be using it tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” I said. “And thank you for inviting us. I was contemplating spending Thanksgiving on my own again. This is a wonderful alternative.”

“You’re welcome, Kyle,” Georgette said, with a knowing glance at Gabrielle.

I began to wonder what the two women had plotted together. Whatever, it didn’t seem to be anything but good.

I was still rubber-necking as I walked into the big home. The mud room was almost as big as my apartment bedroom, and beyond that was a huge kitchen, leading into an even bigger great room with a massive window wall looking out over the north end of Lake Tahoe. A side wall featured a huge river-stone fireplace, while in the rear of the room were a pair of staircases leading up to a balcony with what I assumed were bedrooms. I couldn’t begin to guess how many square feet were under the roof.

“I’ll leave it to you to sort out the sleeping arrangements,” Georgette said with a sly smile.

“Gabrielle will let me know where I belong,” I grinned.

My new girlfriend shot back with a smirk, “That’s right ... and don’t you forget it.”

That set the two women to laughing at my red face. I raised an eyebrow in the direction of John, but got nothing but a resigned shrug from him. He must have been used to this behavior when the two women got together.

I lugged our bags up the stairs and Gabrielle pointed to a door second from the end.

“Put my bag in here, please,” she said, opening the door. “You’ll be right at the end of the balcony.”

“I opened the door she indicated and saw a very nicely appointed bedroom and an adjoining bathroom.

“We’ll share this bathroom,” she announced, pointing to another door into her bedroom.

“This is great,” I said. “I don’t stay in hotels this nice. Thank you for this, Gabrielle. I know it’s going to be a very nice Thanksgiving being here with you and our hosts.”

I got a nice smile and a surprise. She stepped toward me, put her hands on my shoulders ... and kissed me. Not some peck on the cheek, but a nice, soft, warm kiss on the lips.

“I think we’re going to have a very nice time this holiday,” she said with a warm smile.

I couldn’t have agreed more. She left to unpack and I did the same. The shared bathroom had twin sinks, so I set my shaving and toothbrush kit by the one closest to my room. I looked around and found not only a nice tub, but a spacious shower cabinet with several heads. I must have been staring at it for a few moments when I heard Gabrielle.

“Lots of room in there, isn’t there,” she said.

“More than enough,” I agreed. I wondered if her mind reading abilities could tell what I was thinking at that moment.

“I wonder if water conservation is a problem up here?” she mused, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

“I wonder,” I nodded. “Well, if it is, there’s certainly enough room for more than one in the shower.”