Chapter 200: on the Road Again

After I said my goodbyes, I tried to hide out till the call came from the company's travel agent. I might have managed it, had Jen not called, "Are you really going to sell the apartments?" she demanded.

"Yes I am. I didn't have nearly as much fun here as I expected." I replied.

"Honey, I know Cheryl broke your heart, but trust me you will find someone, someday," Jen said reassuringly.

"Yeah, but if I do, you will probably sleep with him," I said it with a laugh.

"True, so you want me to have an appraisal done on the place?"

"Yes and sell it to her at that price, no more no less. If she doesn't want it, turn it over to a Realtor."

"Sure, so when are you leaving?" she asked.

"I'm just waiting for my travel agent to get it setup," I said. I omitted that the agent was the CIA, so yes it was a small lie.

"Call me before you go," she said.

"I will," I replied honestly. After Jen hung up the phone, I loaded all my dirty clothes into the cruiser. I found my Vietnamese mother and daughter at the laundromat. Of course, by that time they owned it, and probably two more I didn't know about.

"Miss Maxine, you have big load today," the daughter said.

"Yes, I'm going on a trip so I will be gone for a while. I might get back in one more time, but I'm not sure when I leave yet," I explained.

"Can have them today. You come back at four," she said.

"Fair enough, see you then." From the laundromat I went to lunch at the Doghouse. I figured I would hit all the unique places in town before I headed off to foreign lands.

"Maxine, how you doing?" the owner asked.

"I'm fine Hon, how are you?" I asked as a reply.

"I'm real good. I had you on my mind last week. I knew it was about time for you to be in again. Do you know who stopped in a couple of weeks ago?"

"I have no idea," I replied smiling.

"Chris, the gunny's kid," he replied.

"What in the world was she doing in town?" I asked.

"Damned if I know. She just said that her dad had said such good things about the place, she had to try a hot dog," he said.

"Well, I wonder why she didn't call me?" Of course I knew why, I would have been a reminder that someone had replaced both her and her mom in the Gunny's heart.

"Beats me, so what you gonna have?" he asked.

"Give me two dogs southern style," I said. The doghouse had, over the last year, begun to serve hot dogs with a larger variety of topping choices. I still liked mine the same as when I was a kid. Mustard, Chili, slaw and onions was my preference. It was designated southern style at the doghouse.

I carried the dogs out to the car. I headed for the marina with a stop for a canned Coke on the way. I ate the dogs and watched the sail boats for about an hour before I headed home.

When I got home, I did something that I almost never do, I took a nap. When I woke two hours later, I was sure that I wouldn't sleep worth a damn that night. Then the phone rang and I just knew it was the travel arraignments.

"Ms Stone, the is Asst Deputy Director Smith's office," the young woman's voice informed me.

"Yes Ma'am, what can I do for you?" I asked.

"I have your travel arrangements set," she said.

"Oh good, when do I leave?" I asked.

"Ten in the morning your time from Tryon International Airport. You will fly to New York. You have a layover of approximately eight hours there. You fly out of of JFK at 8pm for London. You will be met New York for a briefing. Your tickets are being held at the counter at Tryon International Airport." She said it all very businesslike. There were no pleasantries at all.

"Why is the layover so long in New York?" I asked.

"As I said before you will be met there for a briefing. It's all very routine," she promised me.

As I expected I had a terrible time sleeping that night. I didn't bother to pack before I tried to sleep, I knew that I would have plenty of time in the morning. Since I had everything laid out for my trip, it wouldn't be hard to pack. Mostly it was panties, bras, tee shirts, pull over sweaters and jeans. I figured I would buy anything else I needed as we went along. I did pack an extra pair of canvas shoes, but no fancy leather ones. If I had to go somewhere fancy, I would be doing a lot of shopping anyway. I hate shopping, so I certainly hoped I wouldn't be required to dress robochick.

When I awoke, I noted from the online version of the Tryon newspaper that it was Friday the 2nd of June. I also noted from the computer's clock that it was 6AM. As I had expected I had plenty of time to shower, wash and dry my hair, pack and even stop for breakfast. Since I had already said my goodbyes, I decided to go to Hardee's for biscuits and some healthy old fart conversation. I just knew, if anyone recognized me, the first question would be where is your buddy with the big tits.

Sure enough an old man asked about Cheryl. Okay he wasn't as crude as me, but he did make it clear that he would rather have seen her at breakfast than me. I laughed since I was used to it.

"Cheryl moved to Raleigh," I explained. "She is big in prison reform these days."

"Oh really?" he asked.

"Yep," I replied not going into her motivations with the stranger. After a quick biscuit with everything I could think of on it, I returned to my car for the return drive to my apartments. After making sure everything was turned off I called a cab. Even with all the gyrations, I arrived at the airport an hour early.

They say that is a good thing to arrive at least that early and whoever they are they were right. I stayed busy with check in, and I was very busy waiting for the boarding process to begin. The security procedure was slow and barely adequate in my opinion.