Mary and Alvin

The Road Trip

Alvin stashed the last suitcase into the back of the minivan. Damn good thing there's not another, he thought, don't know if I could squeeze it in.

Hannah sat on the porch, watching him.

"That sure doesn't look like something you'd drive," she said, shaking her head, "it's like a suburban mom car."

"Well, I had to rent something big enough for all your mother's crap, that's the main thing."

"I heard that," Mary called through the kitchen window.

Alvin chuckled, then gestured to Hannah, "Come here, sweetie."

She walked over to him and he draped his arm over her shoulder, guiding her a few step down the driveway, further away from the house.

"We've got a lot of faith in you, we know you're a good girl and won't get in any trouble while we are gone..."

"Daddy, I'm sixteen, and Jen and Danni are, like, a hundred feet away."

"Well, closer to a hundred yards, but that's not the point. Sometimes trouble comes looking for you. But you know that you can call us, anytime, day or night, right?"

"Uh, sure Daddy. If something comes up and Jen and Danni aren't around, and I can't get ahold of Theo or Andy or Jessica or Uncle Tim or Aunt Molly or Yusef or the police or the fire department, I'll give you a call."

"Good girl." He reached in his pocket and pulled out five twenty dollar bills. "Here, take this, just in case."

She rolled her eyes, but took the money.

"Don't tell your mom."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, sweetheart." They turned back toward the house. "So, Jessica is going to pick you up for work, right?"

"Daddy, stop fussing."

Alvin was very proud of the young woman that Hannah was becoming. In a way, she combined some of the best traits of her older sisters. She was an excellent natural student, as was Charlotte, and like her, a voracious reader. But she also had Jennifer's drive and work ethic. He had been very pleased when she came home near the end of the school year and told them that Jessica had offered her a part time summer job at the bakery.

Mary came out of the house, carrying her purse and a grocery bag.

"I've got all our road snacks, I think we ought to get going."

"Alright," Alvin said, "Before we leave town I want to..."

"Stop and check in at the wharf," Mary finished for him. "Of course you do."

"I just want to make sure everything's alright."

Mary hugged Hannah. "I'm going to miss you, sweet girl."

"It's only two weeks, Mom, what are you going to do when I go to college?"

"Call you every day?" Mary said, brushing her daughter's hair back from her face.

"Yeah, I don't doubt that," Hannah said. Mary kissed her cheek, then said, "Let's go, before I cry" and got in the minivan.

"You gonna be okay?" Alvin asked Mary as he pulled out on to Puddledock Road.

"I'm fine," she said with a sniff.

"Yes, ma'am, it sure sounds like it."

They arrived at the wharf and Alvin turned in, parking in front of the boathouse. Bonita was talking to a pair of women by the kayak rack. Alvin got out of the minivan, waved to her, then went into the boathouse.

Mary watched as Bonita helped the women take a pair of kayaks off the rack. She walked over, listening as Bonita gave them a few safety instructions.

Bonita looked up at Mary and smiled. She raised one finger to her, then hollered over her shoulder, "Mike, Julio, come help get these kayaks in the water."

Mary grinned as the yard helpers, both of whom were older than Bonita, jumped to obey her command. They each took one end of a kayak, while the customers took the others, and walked them down to the launch ramp.

"I figured Papa would have to check in one last time before you left," Bonita said, hugging Mary.

"Of course he did," Mary laughed.

"Honest to god," Bonita said, rolling her eyes, "Laura's going to be here, and I'm not doing anything I haven't done for years."

"It's not about you, honey, it's about him."

"Yeah, I get that."

Mary looked at the rack of green and red kayaks and grinned. "Let me ask you something, Bonita."

"Sure."

"If I were to come up to you right now, and you didn't know me, and I told you I had never been in a kayak but wanted to rent one, what would you say?"

"I'd say that it's ten bucks an hour, forty for the whole day."

"You wouldn't say it wasn't safe?"

"Oh, fuck no, why would I say that?"

Mary laughed. "Never mind, sweetie."

Alvin came out of the boathouse and approached them.

"Alright then," he said to Bonita, "I just wanted to go over a few things with Laura before we go."

"Papa, relax. I got your back."

"You can't sign checks."

"I can do everything else. Go on your vacation. Trust me."

Alvin stared at her for a minute. "Nita, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be going."

"So get out of here and let me work."

"Fair enough." He kissed the top of her head and turned toward the minivan. Mary hugged Bonita.

"Don't let him drive you crazy," Bonita told her.

"You know he's incredibly proud of you, don't you?" Mary asked her.

"Yeah, I do."

Mary kissed her and followed Alvin to the minivan and got in the passenger seat.

"Just one more thing..." he said as he pulled out of the boatyard.

"We should stop at Dunkies and get coffee," Mary said.

"Jeezum crow," Alvin sighed. "I bet I don't complete a sentence before we get to..."

"California," Mary blurted.

"I was going to say Vermont."

"Optimist."

***

The highway to Augusta was familiar to Mary; they had travelled it many times over the years, to Portland or occasionally to Boston. She remembered driving it in the other direction, almost twenty years earlier, on her way to her new life in Londonderry. It hasn't changed much, she mused.

She flipped down the visor and opened the mirror.

"Are you fussing about your hair again?" Alvin asked.

Mary brushed at her temples with her fingers. "I'm just, I don't know, thinking about what my Mom is going to think when she sees these gray streaks."

"They ain't gray," Alvin said, "They are silver. And they ain't streaks, they are a few flecks."

Mary rolled her eyes. "That's a very nice way to put it, but gray is gray."

"It's a few hairs, Mary. Look at me, I'm a lot grayer than you."

A lot older too, she thought, but she said, "You look very distinguished. It's different for women."

Alvin shrugged. "You look as good as ever to me."

"Thank you, baby, but I look at Hannah growing up and I feel old. I can imagine what it would feel like to see her turning gray."

"I'd feel glad that I was around to see it."

Mary closed the mirror and looked out the window at the passing scenery.

They reached Augusta and continued traveling west. This landscape was new to Mary, but it was still familiar; the hills rolling by, some topped with dairy farms, others with tall stands of pine, the villages that consisted of little more than a store, a post office and a library, the solitary double wides ringed with children's toys. It was the New England she had learned to love.

Soon though, the hills grew larger and the villages farther apart. They crossed the state line into New Hampshire. Alvin pulled off the road into a scenic overlook that offered a spectacular view of the Presidential Mountains. Despite the clear weather, the highest peaks were shrouded in clouds.

"They are beautiful," Mary said as she climbed out of the car.

"Yep," Alvin nodded, "but deadly in bad weather. Mount Washington has the highest winds ever recorded on Earth."

"That just makes them seem more fantastic."

Mary fetched a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches and bottles of ice tea from the cooler, and they sat in the grass and ate lunch.

"Been a long time since it was just us," Alvin said when he finished his sandwich.

Mary nodded. "I know. But it feels just like it did back then." At least this part does, she silently said to herself.

Alvin moved closer and put his arm around her waist. "I like the silver," he whispered, kissing the side of her head.

Mary kissed him back, then got to her feet. "Just don't make it all turn gray before we reach Los Angeles," she told him.

They crossed New Hampshire and entered Vermont. Just before they reached Marshfield, they saw a bull moose on the shoulder of the road. Alvin slowed, but it turned and trotted into the woods. They bought ice cream cones from a roadside stand in Montpelier and ice coffees on the outskirts of Burlington, because Alvin insisted they stop at the last Dunkin Donuts before they left New England.

Just south of Burlington they reached the ferry terminal in the tiny village of Charlotte in time to make the six o'clock ferry.

"Well, my first born has a town and half a sailboat named for her," Alvin joked.

He carefully steered on to the deck of the ferry. They got out of the car and went to the rail to look out over the still waters of Lake Champlain. Mary leaned against the rail and Alvin stood behind her, his arms around her waist. The ferry's motor hummed and they began the crossing to the New York shore. A flock of geese scattered before them, honking and splashing. Mary laughed at them, and Alvin squeezed her tighter. Her laughter was still his favorite sound in the world.

Mary had made reservations for dinner and a room at the Essex Inn. It was a beautifully restored old building in the middle of a quaint historical hamlet, just down the street from the ferry dock. The dining room was both rustic and elegant, with polished plank walls and a large stone fireplace. Alvin dined on prime rib while Mary ate chicken with wild mushrooms.

After supper, they went up to their room. It was small, but cozy.

"The bed takes up three quarters of the room," Mary laughed.

"Well, back in the day, all bedrooms were was just that, bed rooms. People didn't do much else in them but sleep."

Mary grinned and leaned against him. She reached down and squeezed the front of his pants. "Oh, I don't think that's true," she giggled. Grabbing him by his belt, she backpedalled to the bed and sat down on its edge.

"Oh wow, this is soft," she said, sinking deeply into the mattress. She unzipped his pants and reached inside. "And so is this," she frowned.

"Well, it's been a long day," he said, "I'm pretty tuckered."

"Seems like you're tuckered a lot lately," she said, withdrawing her hand and moving back on the bed.

"Well, we got our whole vacation ahead of us." He leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head. He kissed her on the cheek, then went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Mary undressed, then crawled under the covers. She waited for Alvin, trying to hold in her anger. She had looked forward to their trip for a long time, and she did not want to have a fight on the first night, but neither did she want any bad feelings to linger as they travelled together.

Alvin returned, turned off the light and got into bed. He leaned over Mary and kissed her. When she did not respond, he asked, "Mary, you mad at me? I'm just tired, honey."

Mary laid on her back with her arms crossed over her chest. "I remember when you would work all day long and come home and want me," she said.

"I wasn't sixty five years old then."

"So you don't want me now?"

"I didn't say that, you twisted my words."

She sat up. "Well, if you want me, and I want you, what's the problem? Why has our sex life died out?"

"Honey, I can't perform at the level I used to."

"Okay, but you were a wonderful lover. If you're just pretty good now, I'll take that."

"I'd like to think I can still do better than pretty good."

"Well, then why don't you?" she said with more edge in her voice than she had intended.

Alvin stroked her back. "I love you, baby, and I still think you are the most beautiful, sexiest woman I've ever seen."

She laid back down next to him, leaning on one elbow. "So, talk to me like I'm your loving, very understanding wife. What's going on?"

Alvin stared away into the dark for a minute before responding. "I'm afraid that if I can't perform, or can't perform as well as I used to, that I will disappoint you."

"Oh, honey, do you think that would make me feel worse than I feel when I think you don't want me anymore?"

"Well, no..."

Mary slid her hand down his torso and cupped his genitals through the fabric of his shorts. "Tell you what I'm going to do, big boy, I'm going to play with your dick until it gets hard, then I'm going to climb on it and ride until I come."

She slipped her hand inside his shorts and wrapped it around his cock. "See, it's already getting bigger." She nibbled at his ear as she stroked him. "Baby, I knew when I married you that our age difference could become an issue in our sex life. But I also knew that when it did, we'd work it out..."

She pulled his cock free from his shorts.

"...because we love each other..."

His cock was fully engorged. She circled the head with her thumb.

"...and because I will do whatever it takes to keep you interested..."

She slid lower on the bed and kissed the head of his cock.

"...I will dress up sexy for you, I will suck your cock, I will let you fuck me in the butt..."

Alvin moaned. His cock twitched in her hand.

"...and if I have to, I will force feed you Viagra..."

She rose and straddled him. Still gripping his cock, she positioned it between her legs and slowly sank down upon it. Alvin held her hips while she slowly moved on top of him in a slow, undulating rhythm that seemed to pull him deeper and deeper into her. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the sensation and not let anxiety distract him from the pleasure.

Mary ran her hands over his chest. "Baby, you are as good as you ever were," she whispered, "You're still my wonderful, sexy man."

Alvin began to move beneath her, rising to meet each of her downward motions.

"That's it, baby," Mary purred, "fuck your woman."

Alvin rose to a sitting position and wrapped his arms around her waist. Mary kissed him, slipping her tongue into his mouth and pressing her lips to his as hard as she could. Moving carefully, keeping his cock inside her, he guided her on to her back. She hooked her legs over his hips as he pumped into her.

"Come for me, baby," she moaned.

Alvin was breathing hard. "I want you to come first," he panted.

"Don't worry about that, baby, just go for it."

He thrust into her, again and again. He felt lightheaded, nearly exhausted from the exertion, but he kept going, until he came in a long, intense spasm and collapsed on top of her, all energy spent.

Mary stroked his head and cooed. "That was so good, my love, so good." He rolled off of her and she turned on to her side. She rained little kisses all over his face.

"Don't think I can do that every night," he said, when he had finally caught his breath.

"Honey, you couldn't do that every night twenty years ago."

"That's true."

"Okay, let's get some sleep now, we have a long drive tomorrow."

They snuggled under the covers. Within minutes, they were asleep in each other's arms.

***

Mary took the first turn behind the wheel when they left Essex in the morning. A light rain was falling and continued as they climbed into the Adirondacks. She found a classical music channel on the satellite radio. It seemed right for the dreary mood of the morning.

"So who is this?" Alvin asked. He unwrapped a cheese danish from the Essex's continental breakfast buffet, tore it in two and handed half to Mary.

"Mahler," she said, between bites of the danish.

"Sounds like movie soundtrack music."

Mary listened for a minute. "Yeah, I suppose it does."

"I don't mean that in a bad way, I kind of like it. I don't know beans about classical music."

Mary enjoyed the rare opportunities when she could teach Alvin about something, and they talked about classical music as the miles rolled by.

"Well, I don't expect to ever be able to tell Haydn from Handel," he said, "but I did like a lot of that music when we took those dance classes."

"Maybe we ought to take another one," Mary said, squeezing his thigh, "It will help keep you young."

Alvin pondered for a minute, then said, "I think I spend too much time on old memories, and not enough on making new ones."

"Well, baby, that's what we are doing now."

The rain picked up and Mary was disappointed that they were missing much of the scenery, yet the gloomy landscape possessed a somber beauty.

"We have to come back here some time, maybe rent a cabin or something," she suggested.

"I'm starting to like the idea that we can get away on our own more often now."

"So you aren't going to spend the trip fretting about how things are going at the wharf?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

They stopped at a diner in Watertown and ate club sandwiches, then Alvin drove as they got on the interstate. By the time they reached the New York Thruway at Syracuse, patches of blue were appearing in the sky.

A portion of the Erie Canal ran parallel to the Thruway and Alvin thought about all the people who had left New England and settled the west. What was it, he wondered, that made his folks all stay?

"You know something you've never told me?" he asked Mary.

"What's that, love?"

"Where did your people come from? Before they went to California."

"Well, my Dad's family was from North Carolina. On my Mom's side, it's more complicated, but most of them were from Michigan."

"A lot of the folks who settled Michigan came right down this canal. Lots of them were from New England. I bet you've got a little New England in you."

"I got a little in me last night," she said with a wicked grin.

"This is like a second honeymoon, ain't it?"

"Yes, it is, love." She leaned over in her seat and kissed his cheek. "Hey...how far out of our way is Niagara Falls?"

"We go through Buffalo, it ain't far from there."

"Well, if this is our second honeymoon..."

By the time they passed Rochester, Mary had googled directions and made reservations at the Niagara Sheraton. "If we get there before six we can go on the boat ride," she told Alvin.

They checked in at the hotel and dropped off their bags in plenty of time. It was only a few blocks to the ticket office for the Maid of the Mist tour boat. As they walked toward the river, they could hear the roar of the falls. They passed an Indian restaurant and Mary suggested they have supper there after their boat ride.

They bought their tickets and took the walkway down to the boat. The air grew chilly and Mary wished she had thought to bring a sweater. As they boarded the boat, they were given blue plastic ponchos.

"How close are we going to get?" Mary asked.

"Close enough to get wet, anyway," Alvin said.

The boat began to pull away from the dock and they made their way to the upper deck and found an open spot along the rail, between a gang of squealing teenage girls and an elderly couple wearing matching Toronto Maple Leafs caps.

The sound of falling water grew as the Maid of the Mist made its way into the river. Alvin put his arm around Mary's waist and held her tightly as they turned and entered the great curved bowl beneath Horseshoe Falls. Mary looked up in awe. The cascading water seemed to be falling from the sky before disappearing into a cloud of mist. She wondered how much water was pouring over the falls. Millions of gallons every minute, she supposed. The boat creeped closer and she felt the wet spray on her face. She was at once terrified and exhilarated by the incredible show of nature's power. She wanted to flee from it, but in equal measure, she was almost hypnotically drawn to its majestic power.

The boat began to turn and the passengers shifted to the opposite rail. Alvin held Mary's hand as they moved to their new position. "You alright, there, sweetheart?" he asked, "You look a little dazed."