The Hub Of The Universe
Alvin bought two Fudgesicles from a vending machine in the Massachusetts Welcome Center. He stepped outside and saw Mary across the lawn, sitting on the top of a picnic table, swinging her legs.
"Told myself," he said as he approached her, "I'm going to walk out this door and give this ice cream to the prettiest girl in the parking lot."
"I was watching you," Mary replied with a laugh, "You didn't even look around."
"That's because I already knew who she was." He unwrapped the ice creams and handed one to her.
"Thank you, sweetheart," she said. She slowly licked it from the bottom to the top.
"Damn, you look good doing that," Alvin said.
Mary rolled her eyes. "A woman can't eat an ice cream or a banana without every man getting the same idea."
"Well shoot, they don't sell bananas here."
"I learned when I was about fourteen to break pieces of the banana off and eat them one by one if there were boys around."
"Did you even know what they were thinking?"
"Of course I did. I didn't grow up in the nineteen fifties." She wrapped her lips around the end of the ice cream and, looking Alvin in the eyes, sucked on it with a loud slurp.
"See? I've been practicing."
Alvin laughed and squeezed her thigh. "I'll have to check your work later."
"You'll get your chance, Mister Honeymooner."
Alvin finished his ice cream. "Ready to go, honey?"
Mary looked at her phone. "Not yet, hold on."
"Well, alright." He waited for her to say more, but she kept looking at the phone.
"Mary?"
"Hold on."
Finally, she dropped the phone in her bag. "Come here, baby," she said, raising her arms toward him. He stepped forward and she draped them over his shoulders. Smiling up at him, she said, "We have now been married for twenty four hours." She held his head and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss, then took her hands as she hopped off the table.
"You want to drive awhile?" He asked as they walked back to the car.
"Ooh, you're going to let the wife drive?"
"Hey, I didn't grow up in the nineteen fifties, either."
They climbed in the car and drove out of the rest area and on to the interstate.
"We aren't more than about an hour out of Boston, and you are more used to big city traffic than I am, anyway," Alvin said.
"It's that close? I can't get over how tiny these eastern states are. How long did it take to get through New Hampshire? I think I've had longer orgasms."
Alvin laughed. "That might be an exaggeration. It was about fifteen minutes."
"Well, I'm giving you a goal to shoot for, honey."
"Fair enough."
"Let me run something by you," Mary said. "How would you feel about a road trip to L.A. sometime?"
"Drive all the way to L.A.?"
"Baby, I did it to get to Maine. We could stop at all the sights. See the Rockies, the Grand Canyon, things like that."
"I think you just want to time how long it takes to get through Oklahoma or something."
They exited the interstate at Danvers and took Route One into the Boston suburbs. As the strip malls and car dealerships, the fast food restaurants and furniture stores multiplied, Mary felt almost like she was back in California. She had never been to Boston, but the sprawling urban landscape was very familiar. What did catch her notice was the familiarity of the names on so many road signs, names she remembered from school; Salem, Concord, Lexington.
The road made a long curve to the right and Mary saw tall buildings rise in the distance. The sight of them thrilled her. She loved her life in Maine, but she thought that a part of her would always want the excitement of a big city.
"That tallest one is the John Hancock," Alvin told her, "Well, was, they call it something else now. That one that looks like it's wearing a goofy hat is the Prudential Building."
"What's with the hat?"
"There's an observation deck. We can go up and take a look if you like."
"I'm not that crazy about heights."
"Should have told me that before I asked you to marry me on top of a mountain."
Traffic slowed to a crawl as they got closer to the city. Alvin grumbled, but Mary just laughed. "Oh honey, this doesn't even classify as heavy traffic in Los Angeles."
Alvin pointed out Bunker Hill as they passed it, and then they were climbing the ramp on to the Tobin Bridge, and drove by Boston Garden as they crossed to the other side.
"Oh, my brothers would be jeering and booing."
"Lakers fans," Alvin muttered, shaking his head.
They spiraled down the bridge's ramps and plunged into a long tunnel.
'Well, this isn't the best route for sight seeing," Mary laughed.
"We've got all week for sight seeing, sweetheart," Alvin replied.
"Oh," Mary said, reaching over and squeezing his crotch, "I didn't think you'd want to leave the room."
Alvin laughed. "Hands on the wheel, honey, you are about to come out of the tunnel. Turn left when you do."
Mary followed his directions. They emerged from the tunnel into bright sunlight, but as soon as she made her turn they entered the shadow of a massive stone building.
"This is it, pull over," Alvin said.
"This is our hotel?" she asked, "Wow, it's huge."
"Yep, pull up there by the door, they have valet parking."