Chapter 1 - Arrival
Jill tucked the unruly strand of blonde hair behind her ear for what seemed like the millionth time and frowned as she peered into the rear-view mirror of her car. The frown wasn't for the light grey roots that were showing in many places in her otherwise stunning head of blonde hair, it was the reflection of her daughter's friend Tabitha sprawled out in the back seat of her SUV as she had been since they left, that was the source of her scorn.
Her eyes flicked back to the road as she drove her large black truck through the back roads, then over to Claire, who was obliviously scrolling through her phone, as Jill let out an almost inaudible sigh. The three of them had been on the road for hours and only a few perfunctionary words had been spoken between them.
It wasn't that Jill disliked Tabitha, quite the opposite, the small asian woman was a more than competent anesthesiologist and a great friend to Claire as well. Tabitha and Claire had attended medical school together and graduated just last year, with both of them joining Jill's practice afterwards for their internships.
No, Jill was upset at her presence because this trip was supposed to be an excuse to bond with her daughter now that she was an adult and, hopefully, had outgrown her childish resentments towards her mother.
Jill mentally corrected herself, they weren't childish, they were valid even if Jill didn't like to admit it. Having Claire so young had been a mistake, a high school indiscretion that had resulted in Jill becoming a single mother well before she understood what that entailed.
When her father had bailed shortly after Claire's birth, realizing how much responsibility a small child was, it had left Jill in an even worse position. The only saving grace were her grandparents, who she'd lived with since she was a small child when her drug-addicted parents had left for the west coast and never returned.
Her family had come from old money, and their name was well known in all the right circles. So while her grandparents and a gaggle of nannies had raised Claire, Jill had been free to finish high school and go to medical school as well. Unfortunately, this left little time for Jill to properly bond with Claire and a chasm had formed between them.
In all honesty, Jill had been surprised when Claire had followed in her footsteps and applied to medical school, and Jill had even tried to steer her away from it because of the long hours and hard work. But that only seemed to solidify Claire's desire, and like Jill, had cruised through the MCATs and graduated medical school near the top of her class.
Jill had thought that this trip would be a good way to try and start repairing the damage their relationship had suffered over the years. Even after graduating medical school, Jill had spent nearly all her time and energy on starting her own practice.
Which had been another point of contention with her daughter, while Claire understood why plastic surgery was needed, she seemed... disappointed, that Jill had decided to specialize in clientele that had work done for purely aesthetic reasons. Well, that wasn't entirely correct, after all, Claire had followed in her footsteps as well, but she still held on to a naive belief that she'd only do operations on those that needed it for medical reasons, like reconstruction and such.
Jill had never been that naive, she was happy to supply whatever plastic surgery choices she could to her clients, as long as they weren't abusing them, and built her practice on catering to the wealthy and famous.
Which brought in advantages of its own. Like being able to influence some of the most powerful people in the country simply by knowing the "right" people. And this was reason for the trip she was on at the moment with Claire and Tabitha.
When Jill had opened her practice, she knew she couldn't do it in the rural state that she had grown up in, instead she had moved three states away to one of the largest cities on the east coast where she could find clients easily. This move had brought more than just clients to Jill though, it had brought new ideas as well... especially with respect to abortion.
Something she had never even considered when she had been pregnant with Claire, Jill now knew access to safe and convenient medical abortions was key to liberating women all across the country, and all around the world. As such, she'd been quietly campaigning on the issue in the background for years, but with the new senator in her home state making noise about voting for a federal ban on abortions once more, it was time to be more forward.
She'd had to fight hard and call in several favours to get the appointment with Senator Dunnest, and it was farther out than she had wanted, but in the end she had it, and that was the most important thing. It was only after going over her schedule leading up to the meeting that she realized she had some spare time beforehand as the surgical suite at the clinic was undergoing upgrades, and the idea of a road trip with Claire had popped into her head.
Claire had eagerly agreed to come along, after all, it was exactly the kind of thing she wanted to fight for as well, and so it had been agreed. It was only the next day when Clair had popped back in to see if Tabitha could come along as well.
Jill had considered it for only a second, balancing the pros and cons, trying to think of an easy way to say no, but the look on Claire's face told her that this point wasn't negotiable and so she'd agreed.
If they had just driven directly to the Senator's office, it would only have been a 10 or 12-hour drive, but instead Jill had planned out a sweeping arc, covering half of the Midwest, that would take them the full two weeks to arrive.
And so, here they were, hours in and driving down a back road in the middle of nowhere, expecting to see a farmer in overalls and a straw hat riding an old tractor down the road at any moment. Well, at least Jill would have seen him, Claire and Tabitha still had their noses buried in their phones.
"Hey, I've got no signal!" Claire said as she finally looked up from her phone and towards Jill, only to frown and then turn to Tabitha, Claire's long blonde hair showing no signs of grey whatsoever.
"Yeah, me too." Tabitha replied as she pushed her glasses up her nose, and much like Jill had a few minutes ago, pushed some of her long, loose black hair over an ear.
Jill rolled her eyes, they were both 27 years old and still couldn't take their eyes off of their toys for even a moment.
"Well don't worry, we should be at the Bed and Breakfast I booked us in to for 2 days any moment now and I'm sure they'll have wifi... in fact..." Jill said and the other two looked forward and Jill pointed over her steering wheel towards the large sign that read:
Bucks Ferry Bed and Breakfast
Upscale dining and lodging
Chapter 2 - Check-In
Claire just glared at the man for a moment and raised an eyebrow, then in a voice dripping with venom said, "What do you mean you *don't* have wifi?"
The old man chuckled as he stood in the well-appointed main dining room which doubled as the B&B's reception area.
"I'm sorry Miss, we're a little backwards around here about such things. We prefer a more traditional experience here in Buck's Ferry." he said, pulling down the vest of his three piece suit with a little tug.
Claire just stared at... Dave? Was that the name he'd given them? Yes, she was sure it was Dave, though he didn't look like a Dave to her. More like a Cecile or Eugene if she was honest, some name from long ago, certainly not something as simple as... Dave.
"Shit! I still can't get any signal!" Tabitha spat out as she shook her phone in disgust.
"I am sorry about that as well, but there's just something about the surrounding area that interferes with cell phones, high-speed internet, and just about any other modern contraption." he said, holding his hands up beside him and shrugging his shoulders, undoing his tug on his vest in one swift motion.
Jill on the other hand had a smile across her face from ear to ear. Claire rolled her eyes knowing exactly what that smile was for, no more hiding from conversations by burying her head in her phone. Claire let out an almost inaudible sigh before forcing a smile onto her face and turning to her mother, "Well Jill, I guess we're going to have a nice couple of days here!"
Claire tried to not let sarcasm seep into her voice, but she doubted her mother had missed the tinge that must have been there. It was the barely noticed wince at the sound of her name though that Claire knew was far worse.
She and her mother had never been close, and Jill seemed to think that was a bad thing now. She hadn't for the dozen years and more she'd spent going to school, interning, practising and eventually setting up her own practice. But now that Claire had graduated, Jill had changed her mind and had been trying desperately to get into Claire's good graces.
It wasn't working, and honestly Claire had no need for it. As much as Jill had ignored her throughout her formative years, in the end, Claire was very happy with how things had turned out. Jill had taught her important lessons through those years and she had applied them to her life, if slightly differently than Jill had.
Claire was always sociable with her mother, never bad-mouthing her or outright denying her a relationship, it was just a nice easy relationship that floated along the surface, never dipping beneath into the depths.
In a strange way, Claire did look up to Jill in many ways. Jill was smart, determined, independent, successful, and had a vision of what she wanted to do.
Claire too had these things, it was only the destination the two women chose that were different.
Jill wanted to change the world by changing the laws that governed everyone, Claire just wanted to change the lives of individuals for the better.
Both were commendable, but they did leave a big divide between the two of them. When Jill had suggested the road trip, her first reaction had been to say no, which she had successfully hidden from Jill. Once Jill explained the *why* of the trip, well, she couldn't refuse and had excitedly agreed to it.
She had chided herself a few hours after saying yes for not being fast enough to insert Tabitha into the trip, but well, Claire wasn't perfect and it was an easy enough conversation the next day.
Tabitha had been a different story though, with Claire having to literally get down on her knees and beg Tabitha to agree to the trip. The two of them had been friends since university, and like Claire, Tabitha wasn't a "road trip kinda girl" as she had put it. Eventually though she gave in and the plans were set.
"If you'd like to follow me I can show you to your rooms..." Dave said as he waved his hand towards the ornate staircase by the front door and the three doctors walked in front of him and up the stairs.
* * *
Tabitha jumped up onto the four-post bed and fell back on the soft comforter and smiled. Sure there was no Internet, but by god this place was amazing for being in the middle of nowhere!
Upscale lodging indeed!
