Chapter 5

Well for the rest of that year I worked hard to line things up for a fun surprise for both the girls. I had a plan to do some traveling in the RV and recreate what Fran and I had done for Bobby. It was during this time I was given a rather big surprise. A national construction company came to me and made me an offer to turn my company into one of their regional branches. The offer was in the millions and I was very tempted. I took the offer to my people. I asked everyone to come to the main compound for a very important company meeting. I told them that it was mandatory if they wanted to keep working so there was no last minute sick calls.

Now understand I had over a hundred people working for me at this time and that is just the main guy and gals who were on my regular payroll. We all assembled and I had to break out a bullhorn to be heard. I told them that I had had an offer to sell out to a national company and wanted their input. Leave it to one of the older guys to cut through a lot of it. “Why are you asking us Sam? You built all this, you can do what you damn well please.” I nodded and looked at all the guys standing around. “I ask because we are a family. How many times have we had barbeques together? How many times have we helped each other out? How many of you are wearing stickers to show Fran that you love and care about her?” That got a lot of shrugs and “oh garsh” looks.

“Some of you guys were with me when all I had was two trucks and an ass load of hope. This may be my company, but you helped me build it just like we have always built everything else. Now, I have decided to semi-retire and start spending some time with my family. So for me it’s damn appealing. But this isn’t just my business, it’s yours too. Yeah, you were damn well paid over the years, but you are as much a part of my success as I am.” I looked out and was a little surprised to see a lot of smiles on those grizzled faces. One of my oldest workers came over and took the bullhorn from me. He took a few steps off, looked around and then pointed the horn at me. “Sell the damn company and go get a life you sentimental fool.” The crowd cheered and I got the hint.

When I and my lawyer met with the national heads to create the terms I was a hard ass. I wanted to make sure my people were going to be taken care of. There were legal assurances made but when the CFO looked at me from across the table he gave me the best one. “Sam, we know what you made is a lot more than contacts and equipment. You built this things on the labor of all the guys who work for you. If we tossed them out the door we would be losing the most valuable part of the whole deal. You spent years finding the best people and that is one reason we want your company. We don’t have to spend the money to find the best because they will already be working for us.” That made it a whole lot easier.

So when summer break finally arrived I found myself free for the first time in my life. I had sold my company for what I considered an obscene amount of money and wondered what I was going to do with myself now that I retired at the age of forty six. I had a big surprise when I went to Rene and told her that she was in for a big windfall. I told her that I had sold the business and that she was entitled to a big part and she glared at me. “I need to work Sam. It gives me direction and to tell the truth if I let you give that to me I would lose any reason to get out of bed. Put it in a trust for Fran or something and let’s pretend we never had this conversation.” After that I did put it in a trust, but it was in both Fran and Rene’s name. One day she might need it and I felt I owed her something for putting up with my shit for so long.

So I took my fortune and between long term investments, and a hole in the ground, I didn’t make too many changes in my life. The girls knew I was selling the company and left it at that. When summer arrived we all piled into the RV and began our exploration of what the world had to offer us. The only part that made it sneaky was that I had planned to go to parks that were close to college towns. I had an even more devious side to this in that unlike last time we did this I decided to head to the southwest part of the US. There some great towns with good universities near fantastic camping. It also meant that I would never have to freeze my butt off like had all those years of living in the north.

I never really gave any of the things Bobby said that night much of a thought until now. While I wasn’t all that big on becoming some kind of sheik with a harem of girls to have sex with, maybe by simply getting away from the urban world and giving these girls a different world to live in it would help them to leave the nest and create a different life for themselves. Maybe seeing the world would give them a new perspective.

Well I soon learned that going to central Arizona in the summer is like going to Alaska during the winter. It is as close to hell as I think anyone could find in the continental US but a place that must be really nice in December. The Grand Canyon was as magnificent as advertised and I have to say northern Arizona was high on my list. We toured New Mexico and found it charming from top to bottom even if the people were so laid back many could almost be considered comatose. Texas was like a different world and the girls liked it but didn’t seem that much in favor of the overall feeling. As we headed homewards Colorado really appealed to us and the experience was both fun and educational.

Now the trip started out with me letting them both know that unless the two of them had made other plans we were going to go on an extended road trip. Fran’s eye lit up at the idea and Bobbie seemed confused but happy. So a few days after the last day of school we all loaded up into the RV and headed off down the road. Just as with our first trip I had made a loose itinerary and Fran took it into the back with her laptop to research where we were going.

Bobbie took the opportunity to sit with me and just enjoy the music and the view as we drove along. “Fran was telling me how your first road trip was when the two of you really got to know each other and fall in love.” I nodded. “Well my plans were to just to get to know each other, the falling in love was not in the original itinerary.” Bobbie giggled and I glanced over to see a broad smile on her face. “Isn’t that the best way to fall in love? To just fall into it unknowingly?” I agreed with her whole heartedly. “I mean I never thought I would find anyone who could or would love me, and then out of nowhere I find two people who really do love me.” I held up my hand and she looked over. “Two people who truly love and adore you. For me the night you walked in on Fran and I making love was terrifying. I thought it was the end for the two of us, and in a way it was. That was the last night that our love was only the two of us, since then it’s grown to include you and has become so much better.”

She was quiet for a little bit and I looked over to see her wiping at her face. “Are you ok?” I asked and she nodded. “You know, since I met you I cry more than ever, and every time it’s because I am happier than I have ever been. You can just say things off the top of your head and reduce me to a crying mess of love. I guess it’s because I’m not used to being loved, especially like this.” I kept looking forwards. “Well I hope you will get used to it. Otherwise we are going to be spending a fortune on Kleenex.” She laughed out loud and I could actually feel how happy she was.

We pulled into a nice little town, found the RV park, and were very lucky that the RV park was close to what the owners said was a great place to eat. They were right, it was good and the walk after dinner helped work off some of the tension that grows while on the road for so long. As we bedded down for the night I was treated to something new. The girls had me lay down on my belly and starting at my feet the two of them slowly massaged every bit of tension from my body. Four small hands kneaded my muscles into submission and before I realized it, I was asleep.

This was their contribution to the trip apparently. Every night I was back rubbed into unconsciousness only to wake between two lovely and loving girls. Tucson was the first major stop on our trip. I rented a car so we could spend a few days looking at the town and the college. Both of the girls thought the college was wonderful, but the heat ruined the idea of spending more than two days there. We headed west and onwards to our next destination. A little hint for traveling through the southwest. If you see a short cut on the map with a few wiggles on it depicting a mountain pass, don’t fucking believe it. The wiggly line should be labeled “Switch back roads for fifty miles. Hope you have your Dramamine.”

We pulled into our destination still feeling it. The girls had both become motion sick while trying to keep the doors and drawers from dumping their contents. I was trying to unbend my fingers from their cramped state after gripping the wheel so tight that I think I left finger prints. That night we just had soup and sandwiches from our limited stores rather than try to journey any farther from the bed than necessary. We all collapsed and prayed the motion of the trip would eventually die off.

We stayed in the small town for an extra day just to get away from the road and enjoyed it immensely. The people were unlike any we had ever met. People would nod at you walking down the street in simple recognition of your existence. I forgot people could still do that kind of thing. I must have said “hello” to their “howdy” at least a dozen times and it felt like I was in a different world. We received a few different suggestions of where to eat and the two we did try were like I remember eating out used to be. Good food, good service, and a feeling of actually being appreciated by staff. I began to wonder if I had slipped into the twilight zone.

Our next stop was at a rural college that I hadn’t held out too much hope for but it was on a list of colleges in or near national parks. The RV Park was nice and surround by large pines. The owners were jovial and strangely friendly, and even came over to help us hook up to the utilities. As we talked he told me where to restock our supplies, handed us a few local flyers for “things to do while visiting” put out by a local bank, and when he saw the bike rack on the back recommended a local bike shop if we needed anything. I was wondering if these people were working to emulate the Andy Griffith show or something. I kept expecting Barney Fife to come sauntering over and give us the once over.

Now imagine a small town shaped like a bowl. We were at the bottom and surrounded by higher hills. One hill was dominated by a university that looked like it belonged more in Southern California than rural southwestern town. We had a nice meal, once again far and away better than back home, and discovered that the “downtown” area was lit up by antique street lights and all the shops had windows filled with white Christmas lights. There was even a small theater with a nineteen forties style marquee out in front. The girls thought it was really cool but I was starting to get a little freaked out. I was waiting for little kids with glowing eyes and white hair to come walking out from the darkness.

We happened to arrive during the weekend and I had planned to hang out till we could look at the school on Monday. A large central park was near the RV park so we strolled over when we heard loud music playing. We found a local car club was hosting a car show and it seemed like half the town was present. Kids were running around and dodging around adults who just smiled and ignored them, yet I had the feeling if anyone so much as touched one, the whole crowd would drop on you like a ton of bricks. I know it seems strange to say but I felt safe for the first time in my life. I sniffed the air to find a whiff of weed in the air. I knew this wasn’t a recreational state, yet the police were walking around in shorts and talking with people without looking for the offenders.

Bobbie pulled me over to a popup tent where they were selling homemade burritos and sodas. I was wary but they seemed to be selling them hand over fist to everyone. Let me tell you not only were they inexpensive but I had to go back and get a few more for later. There were lowriders, classically restored gems, and a few custom jobs that were impressive. I saw white retired Florida types chatting with Latino guys covered in tattoos about what was under the hoods. I hate to admit it but I had not realized how jaded and anti-social I had become living in an urban setting for so long. I had forgotten what it was like to see others as just fellow members of a community.

That weekend we took in a movie, ate everything from Mexican food to Japanese (how did a Japanese family find its way here?) and loved the whole time. We eventually met with some people from the university and they gave us a tour. I don’t mean we joined a group, and we didn’t make arrangements. We went in asked for any kinds of admissions information and ended up having a student employee take us around the place for two hours. Our guide admitted that when she first arrived here she too was from the west coast. She had a hard time getting used to a place like this because of her own youth, but now was afraid to go home because it all seemed so cold and distant.

When we left on Tuesday the girls were more than a little reluctant. They had grown to like it here and it had definitely raised to the top of the heap of potential places in my eyes. Our next city seemed similar in many respects and this one was a state university. I say city because it was a large population center but compared to back home it was a large suburb. The population was less than a quarter of a million. We tried a few of the restaurants including one that was supposedly over two hundred years old. It was nice but very much for tourists. The University was nice, but we only walked away with the standard entry packet and were given a map if we wanted to look around.

Our next stop was a much larger city and the feelings we had collected from our little utopia were dashed away with the familiar sounds of sirens and the haze of pollution. We locked out bikes underneath the RV and as much as I hate to say it, the place felt a lot like home. The girls stayed close to me as usual, which for some reason now felt like a defensive maneuver than one of familiarity. We shopped at a local mall for a little while and I notice for the first time people actually walked in little bubbles. A stark contrast to those two little towns now so very far away.

I’ll skip Texas as by now we were more intersected in national monuments and parks than the local flavors. We even stopped going to schools because, as Fran put it, we can just get the same stuff through the mail. So we sat down and rearranged the trip to skip cities and just have fun. We toured caves, drove through some magnificent forests, and just enjoyed being a family.

We entered Colorado and traveled on an old fashioned steam train, went to see Royal Gorge bridge and get vertigo, and had to make a detour because of a massive forest fire that lit up the night for miles around. Then one night we were sitting in a camping area and a couple of people came by to talk for a while. They were a bit older than myself and entertained that I was taking my two girls on such a long trip.

“Barry here was so glad to get our kids out of the house and off to college that we decided to sell the house and finally travel.” The old guy laughed and shook his head. “Well that’s what I told them. I just wanted to sell out so they couldn’t move back in.” he joked and his wife smacked him on the arm while giggling with him. “So what brought you to Colorado?” I asked and Barry reached into a pocket and pulled out a vape pen. “This.” He said and wiggled it. “Now back in the sixties we all did a little weed to have fun and “open our minds” but when we got married it was time to grow up and live right. Well now that the kids are off on their own lives we decided that it was time we had a little fun again.”