Chapter 11

The weather had been kind to us as we left the town of Cherokee and I had kept the Aston’s roof down. The road was cutting through the hills and valleys; before winding its way through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. This was just what the Aston had been built for, and she purred around the bends and growled along the straights.

We’d stopped south of Cherokee for a late breakfast at a little family dinner. We sat side by side in a booth and ordered the breakfast special. They had a Wi-Fi connection, so we’d made a call on the iPad to Mila and Sally.

Mila was bouncing around the screen with her news. The hospital had agreed to let her start her year of unpaid leave at the end of the week. She was going to book a flight to Denver for the middle of the following week.

“I just can’t wait to see both of you, I want the pair of you to fuck me senseless,” she said. Thank god we were using headphones to talk. I really don’t think that the rest of the diners at Terry’s Diner needed to know about our girlfriend’s sexual need. Zoe choked on her drink, and I patted her on the back.

She whispered to me, “Is she always as blunt as that?” I nodded.

I got her travel plans from Mila and then spoke to Sally, “How long do you think it will be before you can join us?”

There was an anxious look on her face when she replied, “Things are going reasonably smoothly with Clive. We should have the paperwork signed and submitted to the courts by the end of next week. The solicitor expects that we should get the decree nisi after a couple of weeks. Clive is applying on the grounds of desertion, and I’ve moved out of the house and into Mila’s flat. Then we need to wait six weeks before he can apply for the decree absolute. I don’t need to be here for the decree absolute.”

“So what’s the issue, is there’s something you are not happy about?” I asked her.

“It’s not the divorce that is going as smoothly as I could hope. I’d hoped that the hospital would give me a leave of absence the same as Mila, but they are saying no. I’m going to have to resign, and that makes me sad. This is the only job I’ve ever had and I’m really going to miss it.”

Tears were trickling down her cheeks, and I tried to wipe them away on the screen. She held out her fingers to touch the screen and mirror my action, and we both had tears.

She took a deep breath and said, “I have set a date to be with you, in six weeks I will be by your side. Can I put my stuff in storage with yours, please?”

“Of course, so can Mila.”

“Oh, by the way, I’ve sent you some house details by email. There’s one in Buckinghamshire I really like, I know it’s a long way from here, but I think I’ve fallen in love with it.”

“Where in Buckinghamshire?” I asked.

“Hang on, let me get the papers ... it’s on the outskirts of a village called Brill. It’s to the east of Oxford.”

I thought for a moment, “I think I know it, Linda and I had a few holidays in that part of the country before the twins were born. Let me have a look, and I’ll get back to you.”

“Please do, I love you, and I can’t wait to see you.”

“I love you too, and you, Mila,” I said as Mila’s head appeared beside Sally’s. They both blew me kisses and said goodbye to Zoe, then we signed off.

I opened my email and found the links Sally had sent me. I had opened a couple before I found the one she was talking about. It was a lovely place set in two acres of mature gardens. The details said it had been built in the 1920s and had been thoroughly modernized ten years ago by the present owners. There were enough bedrooms for all of us and a guest suite, and it even had its own tennis court and swimming pool. I showed it to Zoe, and she poured over the details.

She said, “It’s lovely, where is it?

“It’s near Oxford in England. I think it’s where I’d like us to live when we go back to England after my two years are up.”

“We, does that include me?” She said softly.

“Of course you, that’s if you want to. All of us, you, me, Sally, and Mila.”

“But what about my MD, can I practice in the UK? I don’t want to waste all the time and effort I’ve put in.”

“I’d never ask you to. It should be possible. I think you’d need to take some exams when we get there. I can check for you. In any case, we are not talking about moving for at least two years.”

“I need to think about this, but it doesn’t mean I’m not interested. It would be an enormous step for me. I know I love you, and I’m sure you feel the same way about me. But until we are all together, I’m not sure of my place.”

“I’m sorry, and you are an idiot. Your place is with us for as long as you want.”

Zoe looked at me, and then a smile flitted across her face. “Kiss!” She demanded, holding her face up and parting her lips. I couldn’t resist my little Elfin girl, and my mouth joined hers in a sensual kiss that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.

I needed to make a call to the UK, so I got up and walked outside. I found the number I needed and called it. It was fifteen minutes before I rang off and walked back inside. Zoe looked at me questioningly, so I told her I’d been talking to my family solicitor.

The dappled sunlight flowed across the car, causing moving patterns over us as we drove along the winding road as it descended through stands of tall pines. It had taken us almost two hours to reach the highest point of the pass.

Zoe sat beside me, the little gusts of wind that crept around the windshield tousled her hair, molding her tee-shirt to her bra-less breasts. Her bare feet were propped up on the dashboard. I kept glancing down at the junction of her tanned legs and a hint of her white panties visible below the raised hem of her mini denim skirt. Her sunglasses-clad face was resting against the back of her seat, enjoying the sunlight and breeze.

The radio was tuned to an oldies rock station. I was contemplating the rather depressing fact that I’d seen almost all the bands they were playing in my youth. Pink Floyd at Wembley, Genesis, at the Dury Lane Theatre and the Eagles, to mention a few. I recalled that it was a similar warm sunny day that I’d seen Queen in Hyde Park. Who was the girl I’d gone with, Jackie, Jane, no Jo, that was it, pretty Jo. We’d both been drunk and got sunburnt that afternoon.

I was brought back to reality by the fingers of her left hand tracing lazy circles on the flesh of my leg below the confines of my shorts. The opening bars of Joe Cocker’s ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’ started playing, and I began to sing along with the Sheffield growler. Zoe grinned at me and pulled her top off. She stole the baseball cap I was wearing and put it on.

She said, “Am I the girl in the song?” And she arched her back pushing her breasts forward. The wind caused her nipples to harden. I almost drove off the side of the road as I couldn’t take my eyes off her perky breasts. I had to pull up on the side of the road, and she turned to face me.

I said, “I think this song could have been written for you.” She leaned over and kissed me. She started at the sound of a truck’s horn and we looked up to see a trucker waving from his cab as he passed us heading back in the direction of Cherokee. Zoe blushed an unusual shade of red and hurriedly pulled her top back on. I laughed at her embarrassment and she playfully punched my arm. She gasped as I ran my fingertip along the curve of her breast and pulled her in for another kiss.

She looked at me and said, “I understand just what Mila means when she says that your touch is electric. You touch me, and I’m wet.” She took my hand and pressed it to the crotch of her panties and I could feel the dampness.

There was a sign for a rest area a couple of hundred yards up the road, so I pulled back onto the road and turned into the rest area. There were a few tables scattered about under the trees. Only one was occupied by two couples who looked a few years younger than me. A pair of gleaming Harley Softail Classics stood near them. I pulled up near a table about fifty yards from them, and we acknowledge their greetings. The four stood up and wandered over in our direction.

The first held his hand out and said, “Hey, I’m Steve and that sir is a beautiful car, what model is it?”

“Thank you; it’s an Aston Martin Vanquish Volante. I’m Michael and this is Zoe.” I saw their eyebrows rise as they heard my accent.

I shook his hand and that of his companion, who introduced himself as David. Their wives moved around their husbands and we were introduced. Their names were Jacqueline (but call me Jackie) and Petra, and they were all in their early forties. We were invited to join them to eat so I pulled the car up closer as they all walked back to the table they’d occupied.

I got the insulated bag with the food and drink we’d picked up at the diner from the boot, and we sat down. I opened a bottle of white wine I’d picked up the night before and offered everyone a glass. We sat sipping the wine. Steve and David waxed lyrically about their bikes. They were on vacation, taking a road trip. They were both architects, partners at the same firm and the four of them had been close friends since college.

Jackie said, “You sound like you’re a long way from home Michael, are you here on vacation?”

I shook my head, “No, not really, we’re on our way to Denver, so I can take up a new post.”

Petra asked, “Are the two of you married?’ I shook my head. I didn’t think now would be a good time to explain the rather convoluted relationships that existed.

Zoe smiled at me and said, “I’m working on him, but at the moment he’s my knight in shining armor who looks after me and can put me back together when I’m hurt.” She held her bandaged arm up momentarily.

“Oh, are you a doctor?” Jackie said.

Zoe said proudly, “Michael is the professor emeritus for radiology at the University Hospital in Denver.”

“But it doesn’t sound like you are American, are you Australian?” David pointed out.

“Nope, I’m British, but I’ve taught over here before, and this is just a two-year guest teaching post when you boil it down.”

Zoe leaned back against me sipping her wine and enjoying the sun on her face. I wrapped my arm around her and she sighed contentedly.

Jackie and Petra looked at us and wanted to know how we met. So as they snacked on the food, Zoe gave them a quick synopsis on how we met. While she was talking, I took the opportunity to have a look at the bikes.

I’d ridden a few bikes when I was much younger but nothing as powerful as these. I was sort of thinking it might be nice to own one. Zoe saw the gleam in my eyes and turned to Jackie and Petra.

“What’s the betting he’s the proud owner of one of these in a couple of months,” she said.

“So, where are you guys heading to?” I asked.

Steve said, “East for another day, maybe as far as Charlotte. Then a loop to the south and back home to New Orleans. What about you two?”

“We are heading west; I’m hoping to find somewhere to stay in Nashville.

Petra said, “Then we know the perfect place for you to stay at. We stayed there last night. It’s called The Inn at Fontanel; it’s just north of the city. Dave, honey, have you still got their number?”

He did, and I called them and as luck would have it, they had a suite available for tonight, so I gave them my name and credit card details and reserved it.

I checked, and it looked like it would take about three to four hours to get there so we needed to get back on the road. We said our goodbyes and the girls exchanged numbers. As we were packing the bags away, the guys were getting their bikes ready and I noticed that they weren’t wearing helmets.

I walked over to them and said, “I know it’s not really my business, but do you know what all emergency departments call bikes and their riders? Donors and donor machines. Do me, your families, and yourselves a favor; please wear a helmet.”

They looked at me for a few moments, then they shrugged their shoulders and put their helmets on.

As I walked back the car, Jackie ran over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you; we’ve been asking them to wear the damn things the whole trip.”

Back at the car, we pulled out of the rest area and headed off in the direction of Nashville

A little over three hours later, we were pulling up to the entrance of the Inn. If it hadn’t been for the signs, I would have sworn I was approaching the front of someone’s house. A small group of one and two-storied buildings were set around the main two-storied colonial-style building. The whole place looked so peaceful and relaxing. I parked in one of the designated spaces and we were met by a porter who took our bags through to the reception.

The receptionist greeted us with a warm smile, “Welcome to the Inn at Fontanel Professor Fitzpatrick, my name is Ann, and I hope you will enjoy your stay.” I raised my eyes at the use of my name and title.

The receptionist saw my surprise and said, “You are the last of our guests to check-in, so it had to be you. We only have the six suites here. You are in the Grand Southern suite; you were lucky we had a last-minute cancelation.”

She looked at me speculatively, “The original reservation was for two nights, will you be only staying the one night?”

I looked at Zoe, and she looked hopefully at me. “Tell you what, let’s extend the stay for the extra night,” I said. “We should be able to make Denver in two days if we push it.” The receptionist nodded in agreement

“This place is fantastic,” I said as I looked around the entrance hall. I registered us, and Ann didn’t even flicker at our different surnames. Very professional I thought and made a mental note to increase the gratuities I was contemplating.

“Would you like us to reserve a table for you for dinner,” she asked. I glanced at Zoe, and she nodded.

I checked my watch, and it was five-thirty, “Yes, that would be nice, say seven-thirty?”

“That will be fine; the restaurant is in the building through those doors. Simon will take your bags to your room if you would like to follow him.”