Chapter 26: Road Trip to Peace and Forgiveness

Two hours later riding through what I considered heavy traffic for a Saturday I approached Kenosha, Wisconsin. Most of the afternoon my route paralleled Lake Michigan and I was able to take in an occasional view of Lake Michigan. Once I got past the Wisconsin Illinois border traffic thinned out and I felt less stress worrying about the traffic. I began to enjoy my ride. I was beginning to become fatigued and being tired is not something one should do riding. North of Kenosha I was able to secure a room for the night right on the lake with an excellent view from the guests’ patio. There was a small diner close by and I was able to walk to it. After eating I walked back to the motel and sat outside looking at the lake until the mosquitoes got too bad. When I had enough torment from the little pests I called it a night and went in. I was dog boned tired and I was asleep in no time.

I was up the next morning almost before sunup. I took a shower, got dressed and was on my bike before 6 AM. Breakfast was at the same diner as before and had an inexpensive breakfast that was quite good for what I paid for it. The for the next couple of hours I kept riding north paralleling the lake. Passing through the cities of Milwaukee and Sheboygan on my way north. Believe it or not I was always told you can smell the yeasty smell of beer outside of a brewery and its true you can. Just before noon I came to the town of Manitowoc. I stopped here for lunch and a brief rest stop. Here I refueled, got lunch at a fast food place. Not knowing how far gas stations were apart up here I thought it wise to keep the tank topped off.

After leaving Manitowoc I headed for Green Bay I wanted to pick up US41 and take it to US Rt 2. In Green Bay I stopped at a Sears store and picked up some additional clothes for my trip and a smaller gas can that I could strap to the carrier behind me. I wanted to get a set of panniers too but decided that would come later. From Green Bay I continued north crossing into Upper Peninsula of Michigan and stropped there for the night in the town of Iron Mountain. The next morning I planned on picking up US Rt 2 and heading west to Seattle.

Up to now I had been blessed with sunny blue skies. The next morning I woke to a thunder storm and with more on the way. I decided I would stay an extra day in Iron Mountain and wait it out. The next day was Tuesday and once again the skies were blue and sunny, so I headed west towards Duluth, Minnesota. Passing through Duluth I finished the day in Bemidji Minnesota. Only once did I have to break in to reserve gas strapped to my bike and that was in Michigan in the middle of a huge forested area. Other than that instance I was able to stop and buy fuel along my route. It was a beautiful route only problem riding I faced was dealing with log trucks. They had a tendency to pull out of side roads with out looking. I had a couple close calls. Other than those few times the ride wasn’t bad. I tried a local dish that I heard of and had never tried. It was a meat pie called a pasties favored by Welsh miners in the 19th century brought over with them when they came to mine the iron in the upper peninsula. I had a beef filled one and found it very tasty.

The next morning once again I was up early and headed west. The ride was like old home week cause I was once again out on the Great Plains. My route that I chose would take me through Minot. I didn’t plan on staying in town I wanted to instead call my former landlady and tell her how sorry I am and find out how Karen was doing. Late afternoon, I pulled into Minot and stopped at the college I use to teach at. I parked my bike in front of the building where my office was once in and hoped one of my former associates was in. The only person from my old department was the department secretary. She was glad to see me and wanted to know how the new job was. We made small talk for a bit and then I asked if I could use the phone to make a local call. She gave me permission and I called my former landlady.

When she answered and I responded there was a moment of silence and then the line went dead. I was surprised momentarily by the hang up by her. I decided to give it one more try. I redialed the number and waited. She answered again and before she could hang up I asked her to please let me explain why I called things off. I told her I was sorry I disappointed her and wanted to know how she and Karen were doing. I got an earful about I was not the man she thought I was and that I was not to call again and that she was sorry to have ever introduced me to Karen. She then said that Karen was taking the rejection badly and was keeping to herself in the apartment. She didn’t go to the townhouse to reclaim her things but asked Agent Foster to retrieve them for her. I made a note to call Foster and ask if he was able to do as I had ask him to do. I told her that if she or Karen wanted to contact me in the future they could and that I was truly sorry I had disappointed her. I made sure she knew that I still had feelings for Karen but I was not in love with her. I was told not to call again and to leave Karen alone.

Leaving the building and heading to my bike I thought back about Ginny B’s jealousy, her rage, and her controlling. Then I thought about the situation with Sadie, Karen and their grandmother. The grand mother and both girls initiated every aspect of our relationships. The grandmother made the initial contact and then the girls direction that our relationship went. Sadie soon got tired of me cause I wasn’t as free spirited as she wanted. She soon got bored with me and moved on to someone else. Karen called the shots in our relationship she was the one that decided we would get married and all I had to do was pay for it and show up on time. I realized then why I felt like I did. I was not in control of my life and hadn’t been for a long time and this road trip I was on was to regain that control. If Karen and I later on reconnected it would have to be on an equal footing. Neither of us could dominate it would have to be on equal terms or the relationship would fail. That was something I would rather not happen.

Riding out of town I had come to terms with my how I reacted days earlier when I called off the wedding. I was no longer feeling that turmoil I had felt earlier. I was at peace I had made the right decision canceling the marriage. Now for the rest of my trip I was looking forward in seeing the Pacific Ocean once again and seeing the Space Needle in Seattle. Along with sight seeing excursions this trip was a business one. A company in Seattle was interested in my developed algorithm and wanted to license it to use with their specialty software for predictions generated by polling. If we could hammer out a deal I stood to make a great deal of money from them.

I overnighted in a community west of Minot. People out here were definitely more laid back than their counterparts in Chicago. Motel owner was just call me “Ted” friendly and helpful. With in 10 minutes I felt like a member of the community and lived here all my life. No matter where I walked in town I was greeted as if I was a friend or a distant relative. At the restaurant I chose to eat dinner at didn’t have a menu. Your choices were on a chalkboard if it wasn’t on there they didn’t have it. While the selection was limited it was extremely good and reasonable in price. Too bad Chicago wasn’t like this. I would have loved it and not just tolerate it.

When I got back to the motel there was a sheriff’s car parked beside my motorcycle with the deputy giving it close scrutiny. Now what I thought to myself, am I going to end up on the county chain gang picking up trash along the roadside. The deputy was down on his knee examining the engine as I walked up.

He stood up and said, “That’s a classic bike, I use to have one similar to it when I was younger. How far have you ridden it?”

“From Chicago north to Wisconsin and into Michigan where I picked US Rt 2. Been on it ever since.” I answered. “Originally I bought it in Minot when I taught at the college there.”

“So you are a local back for a visit then?” he asked.

“Nope, I am originally from back east and moved to Minot to teach. That is until I got a better offer from a big university in Chicago.” I responded. “Though now I wish I had stayed here. Chicago is not the same.”

“Ain’t that the truth, well I wish you a safe trip young fellow,” the deputy said. “Come back and when you get a chance. We can always use more smart people in the community.”

With that he got in his patrol vehicle and drove off.

More smart people? There has to be a story behind that statement. I wanted to get up early in the morning and get more miles behind me. The road ahead of me according to the map, the towns are fewer and farther apart and I didn’t want to run out of gas at night and be stuck along the roadside. So I was in bed with the chickens so I could be up before dawn. Breakfast was at the same restaurant and with the same few selections on the chalkboard. I had the special of two eggs, bacon, a single pancake and toast. I was so stuffed you could have rolled me back to the motel and had that uncomfortable feeling that came with an over filled stomach. I neglected to top off the bike last night and was angry with myself for forgetting to do it. I knew US Rt 2 was major east west travel route and I was gambling on the fact there would a gas station open along the route this early in the morning. On the far west side of town I was fortunate to spot a seedy looking truck stop. It was open so I topped off the tank and paid for my purchase. As I was walking back to the bike imagine who I ran into, the deputy from last night.

He shouted out of the car window as I walked towards my bike, “I recognized your bike, young fellow. I watched your bike for you. Chances are it wouldn’t have been here when you returned. This is the seedy part of town and most of my calls come from here.”

I answered him back, “Thanks deputy. Its pays to have friends in high places looking out for your well being.”

He laughed and pulled out heading back in to town. I started the bike up and went out on the highway the opposite direction heading west. I still had almost 1800 miles to Seattle and figured it would take me 3 more days at least to get to Seattle. I stopped for the night in eastern part of Montana. I could see why Montana is known as big sky country. The land seemed to go forever. The motel in town was pretty bad yet it was cheap. Supper that night was a soft drink, microwave popcorn and beef jerky. Not much else was available. I decided at the next big town with a discount store I was going to purchase a sleeping bag and pad with a backpacking tent. This would give me an alternative to staying in a fleabag motel. In a tent I could pull off the side of the road and camp for the evening and be comfortable.

After a rather sleepless night in a filthy motel room I got up and dressed to leave as quick as possible. I hoped that I didn’t get bitten by bedbugs, so far no itching and I didn’t see any hitchhikers on any my possessions. I didn’t trust the towels and washcloths. There was no soap and when I turned on the water to brush my teeth it came out in a nice shade of brown. So no brushing of teeth either. I could see why it was so cheap plus it was the only place in the small town. Next time I will insist on seeing the room before I commit on staying. Breakfast that morning was a canned soda and a prepackaged snack cake I purchased at the filling station when I topped off my bike. I again vowed to myself I was going to stop at the next large town with a Kmart or discount store and purchase camping gear. No more sleazebag motels for me.

After riding two more hours I came to the town of Kalispell, Montana. I wanted to fill up there as well and if I could find a decent place to get a late morning breakfast. I asked the station attendant about both a good place to eat and Kmart. I lucked out both were on my route ahead and less than a mile away. I hopped on the bike and headed out. After a nice breakfast of pancakes and link sausage I headed over to the Kmart for my camping equipment needs. Thirty minutes later and my wallet two hundred dollars lighter I walked out of the store with a tent, sleeping bag and sleep pad and various accessories to keep me warm, safe and dry for a night. I even bought a messkit and camping stove to use along the route. Now all I needed to purchase would be food that I could heat up quickly and not be difficult to clean up.

The rest of the day the bike ride was spectacular, I was now riding through mountain country. I saw snow topped mountains and this was in July no less. The towns were further apart as the maps had shown and in distance I had to stop and use my fuel reserve. Even with that I limped into Spokane Washington on fumes. By that time I was getting nervous that I would have to get off and push. I spent the night in a far more classier motel than the nightmpreviously. Supper though was at a fast food place and I treated myself to a deluxe burger and fries. Again I went to bed with the chickens.

In the morning I had planned on riding from Spokane all the way to Seattle. It was a five hour ride through very scenic mountain highway miles. I was looking forward to the ride. After packing up and checking out of the motel I headed to the restaurant the front desk clerk recommended. He was spot on with the food. I had a big breakfast and wasn’t planning on stopping for lunch. It would only be for fuel and rest breaks. I was anxious to get to Seattle and see what the company was going to offer me to license my work. I didn’t plan to be greedy and at the same time they weren’t going to get the license for pennies.

As had many before me have said Washington is a state with many different climates. For most of the morning I rode through a semi-desert climate. I could feel how the dry the air was causing my lips and mouth feel dry. I stopped ever so often to drink some water to stay hydrated. The half liter bottle I had with me was empty very early on and I made stops in several towns to refill it. What was supposed to be a 5 hour ride turned into a seven hour for all the extra stops I made to keep hydrated. Once across the mountain range that separated the coastal area from the rest of the state it was an entirely different climate. Here it was cooler and the air felt more humid. The plants were not the dried out stuff I had ridden past for hours. These were lush and green. I once heard it described as a rain forest just not tropical.

Once I made it into the Seattle metropolitan area I stopped at the first decent looking motel I spotted. I lucked out and was able to secure a room for three nights at a reasonable price. The desk clerk happened to be a bike rider as well. He showed me where I could park my motorcycle and it would be secure. I was very appreciative of service and when I left I planned on rewarding him for his extra service. After checking in my first call was to the pollsters who were interested in my algorithm. They were definitely still interested and we scheduled a time for me to come there and we could negotiate the license agreement. I figured the negotiations would take up most of the day so the day after was when I planned to play tourist and part of the next day before I was planning on heading out and see more of the Washington Rain Forest and coast.

My second call was to my friend Lawrence Foster of the FBI. It was 8 PM his local time when I called. I was sure he would be home by then. He picked up on the third ring.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hi Lawrence, how are things? Is it safe for me to show my face back in Chicago?” I asked.

“Where are you?” he asked sounded concerned. “You took off and no one knew where you went.”

“That’s the way I wanted it to be. I am tired of constantly looking over my shoulder looking to see if Ginny B is sneaking up behind me. Plus I am tired of women making decisions about my life. For once I am in control not them.”

“Well my friend when you come back to town you are in for a fun time.” said Foster. “Karen is hoping that Ginny B contacts her. She is willing to team up with Ginny to get your sorry ass. That girl is very angry and very hurt. She hates you right now.”

“She has reason to feel that way. I stood her up on her wedding day and I humiliated her with her family and friends. What she feels is only logical.” I responded.

“Now did you do the two things I requested of you?” I asked. “The VW bug and the gun permit and the Concealed Carry license.

“The gun permit was the easy part you will have those waiting for you when you come back and I will personally train you to FBI standards,” he said. “Now about the VW that was interesting chain of events. Karen was infuriated you would offer her the car as compensation for her humiliation. I thought for sure I was a dead man when I saw her. She finally accepted the car and then promptly sold it to a fellow nurse who was in need of a ride.”

“Ouch, I loved that car. Oh well it was hers to do as she pleases. I can always buy another. Now what is her feelings about me. I am sure I know already. I talked to grandma the other day and I am to never call her again. So I figured Karen was in the same frame of mind.”

“I believe that Karen should see you any time soon, you would be getting a ride to the morgue.” Foster said. “By the way where are you?”

“I won’t tell you where I am but I will tell you where I was when I called my old landlady. I was in Minot. I called her from my old college department’s phone. But I left there and am now thousands of miles from there.”

“What are you doing? Playing where in the World is Carmen San Diego or Where’s Waldo?” Foster said frustrated.

“Sorry my friend but I want to stay healthy and not risk my location being shared with others Its not I don’t trust you its the others that I don’t.”

“When I get back I will share with you my whole trip.”

“OK if that is what you think is best. Stay safe and don’t get involved with another psychotic female. I don’t think I can handle the additional stress.” Lawrence said.

“Bye Lawrence you stay safe and make sure Camilla is the one for you.”

“Hah!”

I debated for fifteen minutes before I made my third phone call. It wasn’t one I looked forward to making but was a necessary one. The call to Karen apologizing and hopefully make it back in her good graces. I still cared deeply for her and hoped I would be able to get to the point where she once wanted me to be. I was losing her if I didn’t. I was losing a Nordic 6 foot beauty, a sweet personality, and someone who once upon a time had my complete trust. If it didn’t happen it was entirely my own fault.

The phone rang five times before it got picked up. My pulse was racing and I hoped I didn’t sound like I was just going through puberty when I did speak.

“Hello” was what I heard. It was definitely Karen though a somber one.

“Karen its me and before you hang up on me I want to explain my actions.” I said.

I thought she had already hung up on me before she finally answered me.

“You have a lot of gall to call me after you did what you did.” she said with an extremely emotional voice. She sounded like she was fighting back tears.

“You deeply hurt me. You embarrassed me in front of family, friends and coworkers. Why did you do this? Was it some sort of sick game you like to play? I should hang up on you and curse at you. But I am better than that. You got three minutes. Start explaining after that I will decide what I will do then.” she said.

“Karen I love you but I am not in love with you. Do you understand the difference? You love your parents but you are not in love with them. That is how I feel about you. It doesn’t mean that I will never fall in love with you it just means I haven’t felt that level of love towards you yet. But it may happen. I didn’t want to marry you now and down the road fall completely out of love with you and want a divorce, to me that is the worst possibility. Am I making sense?”

“Continue” Karen said. “But why did you wait to the last moment to say anything?”

“Well it was something your mother said that made me realize what I felt.”

“What was it she said that triggered these feelings?” she asked with a rise in agitation.

“She said you were too good for me and she was right. I realized then that going ahead with the marriage was the biggest mistake the two of could have made and I didn’t want any marriage I am a party to end in divorce. That is why I called it off.”

“That witch, she had no right to interfere with my happiness. Just cause she is a miserable old lady, she doesn’t have to make me one.” Karen cried. “I wish I hadn’t invited her. Now she will be gloating on how she broke us up.”

“I am so sorry I did what I did. I do love you still but if you don’t want to hear from me again I understand. I am going to hang up now. You think about what you want to do about us. If you want nothing more to do with me I understand. I just didn’t want to do something that would ruin both of our lives. I already tried to talk to your grandmother and she told me to never call again. If you feel the same way I will respect your wishes. Goodbye Karen, I will always love you. Expect my call by this time next week.”

I hung up and didn’t feel so confident as I once had. Things were not as good as they had been earlier.

The next morning I got up early and took advantage of the motel’s breakfast. I had a bowl of cereal and a waffle with a side of runny powdered eggs. They weren’t the best but they were nourishment. After eating I went back to my room to get dressed for my meeting and headed out. There was a light rail access point near my motel and I used it to get downtown. Thirty minutes later I was in front of the building where the pollsters had their offices. I used the elevator to go up to the floor their offices were on. A receptionist greeted me when I was in their lobby. After I told her who I was and that I had a 10:30 meeting with the CEO and their technical guy. She escorted me to their conference room and told me the people I was to meet with would be there shortly.

I didn’t have to wait long the CEO and the Director of Information Systems came in three minutes later. Each of them had a jug sized mug of coffee and carrying several folders. I had a feeling these guys were wired to the max and they didn’t disappoint. Both of them were twitchy and animated in their mannerisms. I in turn I thought they saw me as slow like in short bus slow. The negotiations started off fast and from there it went into hyper drive. They showed me how they wanted to use my research as an extension in their proprietary software and to be honest it was a good fit. It complimented their polling software and made the analysis run 300% faster. In number crunching circles that was a significant increase in performance.

I agreed that they could use it and now the negotiations for my compensation for their licensing it and my further acting as a consultant began in all seriousness. They threw out a starting number and I choked at how huge it was. I put on the best poker face I could muster. I threw out my number which was significantly higher. They counter proposed a number only slightly higher than the previous offer. We played this silly financial tennis match for the next 5 minutes. Finally they wouldn’t go any higher and said that was their final offer. I remembered an old axiom that was put forth by one of econ profs and he said it proved to be true almost 100 percent of the time. The first one to flinch at an impasse lost. So I got up from the table and acted like I was getting ready to leave. They caved just as my college professor said they would. Guess they didn’t take the same class I had. They agreed to my numbers and as an added incentive they offered to pay the lease for a furnished apartment there in Seattle for my use when I would come out to consult for them. That was a nice perk. I wanted to get as much money as I could but I didn’t want to hold them up.

Once I agreed, they had their legal team come to make sure contracts were legal and clearly defined what each party brought into this business relationship. I signed the contract and then the CEO signed it. The document copies were then witnessed and notarized. They wanted to wire the entire amount of my compensation to me right away. I was going to love working with these guys. I gave them the name of the bank I used and their finance people successfully wired the entire amount directly into my account. With the money in hand I could afford to buy some expensive toys for myself. I decided I would ship my motorcycle back to my home in Chicago and while I was here I thought I would look for another yellow VW to replace the one I had gifted to Karen. If she didn’t want one I sure would like another.

Before I left at the conclusion of our mutually acceptable negotiations I asked if any of them knew of a VW bug aficionado. I was lucky on this trip the lawyer who was assigned to look after my best interest happened to be a bug nut as well. I asked where the best place to look for an old style VW bug in the Seattle area. With this town being full of hipsters I figured there were at least several bugs for sale. He knew exactly where to go and after we were done here he would accompany me there.

My new friend and I used the monorail and then transferred to a light rail connection that took us north to Everett. We got off in Everett and walked a few blocks to this warehouse just off of the main thoroughfare of town. He opened the door and we walked in. This was a VW beetle restoration business and there were several beetles there that appeared to be in showroom condition. My lawyer friend went over to talk to one of the people who were up to their belts inside a VW Beetle body shell replacing the floor pan. If I got one of these it would be as if I had bought one new off of the showroom floor. After trying out several VW bugs and other VW vehicles we left there with my newly filled bank account almost thirty thousand lighter. I had purchased a really hot 1976 Super Beetle in canary yellow and a thoroughly restored VW Camper Van. The van I planned on driving the rest of my trip and have the beetle shipped home along with my motorcycle. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. Things were so much better than what they had been even 24 hours earlier.

I left my new friend back at his office and used the Seattle transit system back to my motel. I was to day after tomorrow ride my bike to the VW restorer’s location and he would have the car and motorcycle shipped back for me. Everything was working out nicely. Then I got a crazy idea and decided what the heck I was on a roll maybe it would continue.

After I got back to the motel I called Karen once again. The phone rang three times and it was picked up.

“Hello,” she said rather groggy.

“Hey Karen I called you early cause I have something to ask you,” I said.

“What?” she answered more awake this time.

“If I was to leave a ticket for you at O’Hare would you fly to Seattle no questions asked?” I said in a more cheerful tone.

“What are you up to?” she asked suspiciously

“Nothing, I asked you a simple question. Would you fly to Seattle if I leave a ticket in your name at O’Hare? Nothing more than that. If you don’t want to than just say so and I won’t bother you again. I will take it that you have no interest in our possible relationship going forward and I will never bother you again.”

“Good bye Karen” I said sadly.

“Wait wait don’t hang up. I will fly to Seattle as you asked.”

“OK Karen I will call you back in a few minutes with all the details. Make sure you write everything down as I am not the type that repeats myself. OK. Call you in a few.” I said and then hung up.

I called my new friends at the pollsters and asked if they could arrange what I had requested for Karen. They had no problems doing it and I got a call back with all the details. After a few moments I called Karen back and gave Karen the same information that I had gotten earlier almost verbatim. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. I would check out of my motel room, ride my bike to the restorer’s location. They would have the bus ready for my inspection and if acceptable I could have it to drive around Seattle. After I dropped off the bike and test drove the bus I was to meet with my attorney friend and go select an apartment that suited me. The next day Karen’s flight would be in the early evening. I would meet her at the airport and then the two of us would take the public trans system from the airport back to the apartment. After supper and getting reacquainted that night the next morning we would go on a tour of Seattle. The day following we would leave Seattle in the bus head for the coast and then start heading back east. I had slightly less than two weeks before I had to be back in Chicago for my job.

I made sure I got to bed early that night cause I was going to have a busy day. The next morning I waited until rush hour was pretty much over before I checked out. The street route wasn’t too bad. If one can ride in Chicago one can ride almost anywhere. An hour after I left the motel I reached the restorer’s location and parked the bike. There is something about a classic bike that brings everyone over to look and admire a gem as my bike was. I had been lucky to have purchased it. I stored my road gear in the VW bus and went to sign the papers I needed to sign. The restorer handed me the keys to the bus and I was off to go find my new Seattle digs.