In The Black

Chapter Two - Denver

2

Denver

My night with J.R. was uneventful, except for the fact that we made out like two horny teenagers in the uber ride home and again outside my apartment door but before we could round second base, he was called away by a client who was overseas and needed his immediate attention. 

Another failed attempt. 

So, it wasn’t a complete shocker when I found myself alone in the shower relieving the mounting presser that was building between my thighs.  To keep my mind off my building s****l frustration and my confusion on where J.R. and I stood in our relationship, I focused on packing for the remainder of the night.  Throwing in a mixture of two-piece bikinis, maxi dresses and couple pair of jeans and light sweaters for cool nights, I laughed at the idea of possibly meeting a single man on the beach to fill this void that I’d been carrying.  A void that my fingers and trusty vibrator was no longer fulfilling but shrugged it off deciding that my life wasn’t an erotic romance novel, and the chances of me finding a sexy single man to straddle for a few days, no strings attached, was highly unlikely and for that reason alone, I threw my vibrator into my suitcase.  Just in case.  At least that is what I told myself.  Besides, who needs a man when all you needed was a nice bottle of wine and a great pair of double A batteries.  Hauling my oversized luggage towards my front door, I stretched my arms above my head, the week of hard work finally getting to me, I pushed away all questions and concerns deciding to put them away until I’d gotten back and climbed into bed.  I was gone before my head even hit the pillow.

***

            “Please prepare for an emergency landing.”

            Were the only words I’d heard the pilot say over the PA. The fasten your seatbelt sign blinked a couple of times as the faint sounds of metal clicking against metal sounded through the aircraft.  I clutched the healthy cup of vodka and orange juice in my hand, my mind going wild.  This cannot be f*****g happening.  Despite the seatbelt warning, and the hurried look on the stewardess faces, I pressed the call button above my seat, needing answers and needing them now.  One of the younger stewardesses approached my seat with caution, I guess my look of anger and confusion was reason enough for her.

                        “What is going on?” I’m sure if I’d been listening a few minutes ago I’d have my answers, except I wasn’t.  I sat trying to make sense of the fact that my long-awaited vacation was being interrupted.

                        “I’m sorry ma’am, but due to some technical difficulties with the hydraulics we have to make an unscheduled emergency landing for the safety of everyone on board.”  I wasn’t sure how long I sat staring at her, trying to think of a plan B because this couldn’t possibly be the end of the road, she chimed in again her voice even more cheery than before.

                        “I’m sure, the customer service attendants would be able to assist you once we reach the terminal.”  I nodded my head and finished the remaining vodka and OJ in two large gulps.  The slow burn sliding down my throat calmed me a little, but not enough to stop the growing pit in my stomach.  Ok, maybe this wasn’t the end of the road.  I could just hop on the next available flight to Key West and be there in no time.  I’d be checking into my resort later than scheduled but it was better than turning around and heading back to D.C.

                        “I can take that for you.”  She said reaching out to take the clear empty cup from my hand.  I handed it over wishing I were able to order another and stared out the window. 

***

            “Are you kidding me?  Please tell me that this is a damn joke.” I asked through clenched teeth.  The scrawny, pimpled face twenty-something year old ticket handler stood with his arms folded across his chest, his face beet red as he listened to me b***h about my so far terrible day.

            “I’m sorry ma’am but there’s nothing we can do. There – “Interrupting him, I snatched my sunglasses off my face and slammed them down on the counter.

            “Denver, the name is Denver or Ms. Black.  Do not call me ma’am.”  I demanded, letting all my frustrations out on this poor kid.  Subconsciously I knew it wasn’t his fault that there were issues with my airplane, or that there were no connecting flights to Key West Florida until tomorrow, yet he was the only person available to blame.  I mean it wasn’t like I could yell at the planes hydraulics for failing but I was annoyed and desperate.

            “We truly apologize for the inconvenience; however, we are willing to refund your current airline cost and offer you a free airline ticket with us to anywhere in the world in the future.  We will also accommodate a night stay at the nearest hotel for the night, until your flight tomorrow afternoon.”

            But what about my vacation?

            A look of satisfaction tugged at the corners of his lips.  It was apparent that he’d dealt with hysterical passengers like me daily, but I wasn’t satisfied with his answer.  There was no way in hell that I was going to stay in – I turned my head from side to side, finally landing on the large window in front of me as I watched an airplane take off in the distance and that’s when it hit me.  I had no f*****g idea where I was.  I had no clue where we’d abruptly landed seeing as though I paid no attention to much of anything after hearing the words “emergency landing”. 

            “Another option is to drive.  If you’re on a time crunch, you could be in Key West by the morning.” 

            “Where the hell am I?”

            “Atlanta Georgia, Welcome to the peach state.”  He answered, his southern accent hanging in the air.  I was shocked that I hadn’t picked up on the fact that I was somewhere south, but the two vodka and OJ’s, along with the fact that I was now considering driving from Atlanta to Key West I wasn’t on my game.

            “How far is the drive?”

            “A little over twelve hours.  It will be a stretch, but we will also throw in a rental car, complimentary of course, if you’re interested.”  I must have been more desperate than I thought, especially since the idea of driving from Atlanta to Key West sounded better than waiting till morning.  I wasn’t that big on driving, which is why I chose to live in the city.  I was within walking distance from everything and just a cab ride away from the things that weren’t, but as I said I was desperate.

***

Desperately pressing the car automatic clicker to the luxury car I’d just rented, I loaded my two oversized suitcases into the trunk of the car and plopped into the front seat.  Starting the car, I peeled out of the parking lot and followed the driving directions of the GPS system.  Maybe the idea of driving wasn’t so bad, it would allow me enough time to think about the things I’d promised myself I’d leave at home, but what the hell was I supposed to do in a car, alone for twelve hours? 

Two hours later my phone buzzed on the passenger seat next to me, J.R.’s name flashed across the screen.  Pulling safely at a stop light, I opened the text message from J.R. 

J.R.: Safe travels beautiful.  Call me once you’re settled…I miss you already.

I checked the time on the dashboard, it would have been my check in time had my trip not gone to s**t.  J.R. wasn’t anything if he wasn’t consistent and right now, the only thing I needed in my day was consistency.  Consistency was safe, and what girl didn’t enjoy safe? Not to mention J.R. was smart, earning a degree from an HBCU and graduating top of his class.  He was reliable, sweet, handsome with dark masculine features that resembled a male supermodel and he wanted me.  I imagined us being D.C.’s top African American power couple, and even one day opening our own consulting firm after we married of course and growing our family.  However, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that everything with J.R. was forced.  I placed my phone on silent and chose not to reply to him just yet and instead I turned my attention to the road ahead of me.  Once I’d reached Key West, I’d have all my questions answered, but for now I needed to focus on getting to my destination safely.

***

Traffic was light, and Denver was in a daze.  Although her surroundings were unfamiliar, and she knew that the sun was going to set in just a few short hours, she continued to stay upbeat, turning the radio a little higher, she cruised down the empty highway driving the oversized luxury car with her mind free.  Glancing down at the clock she realized she’d been driving for five hours and her stomach was now making unforgiveable noises.   Not wanting to stop, and wishing she was able to ignore the hunger pangs, she knew that she was no closer to Florida, but didn’t want to waste time by stopping and dining at a restaurant.  Against her better judgment she decided on fast food; something else she didn’t do back home in D.C.  Being Particular about her food and what she put into her body, Denver was very health conscious and never ate anything served from a drive-thru window; but this was her vacation and a cheeseburger couldn’t hurt. 

            Three bites in and unsatisfied with her food, Denver threw her cheeseburger onto the passenger seat where it fell on the greased stained wax paper that it was once wrapped in.  It was way too much food for her, and the three bites simply did the job of curbing her appetite until she was able to get her hands around a salmon Caesar salad and a margarita.  Glancing back down at the clock she realized that at this point she’d been driving for no less than six hours and should have at least saw something that indicated she was getting closer to the Florida border line.  A mile marker, any sign of a beach, hell even a palm tree would have sufficed, but nothing.  She looked at her dashboard and suddenly realized that she had turn off her GPS system somehow, probably while she tried to balance the greasy cheese burger with one hand while trying to turn the radio station with her elbow in a haste to listen to anything but f*****g country music. 

“Oh no, Oh no… Please. Please.” She said to herself.   Turning on the GPS and plugging the directions to her beach side resort, she heard the words that any person in her position dreaded. 

                        “Take the next exit and make a U-turn.”

              Throwing her head back against the headrest and taking a deep breath to block out the robotic voice of her GPS, she didn’t want to deal with the reality of her driving in the wrong direction for the last hour and quickly considered putting an end this f*****g disaster of a vacation. Trying her very best to pull herself together, she looked at the GPS again and figured that and hour out of her way could be much worse.

She had several more hours of driving ahead of her, and she had no plans to f*****g stop.  None whatsoever.  All she knew was that she wanted to get out of Georgia and fast.  Nothing good has come from her being in Georgia and she wanted to be clear out of the state as soon as possible.   She drove peacefully for another hour, checking and double checking her GPS to make sure that she was headed in the right direction.  She was, and calmness began to take over.  Oddly enough, it had been the type of calmness she was looking for all along, except she wasn’t’ laying in a private cabana with a frosty glass of a freshly made mojito while she nibbled on shrimp cocktail and slurped back fresh oysters.  She had a little under six more hours of driving, which meant she would either need force herself to drive through the night or she was going to have to stop somewhere to rest her eyes for a bit.  Looking around at her surroundings she saw nothing but miles and miles of farm land.  Horses, cows and a few bulls now and then scattered the massive lands.  The greenery was breath taking and the flowers that bloomed along the long stretch of highway didn’t hurt.  The quietness of the south was necessary – for now anyway.  She enjoyed the city much more.  The hustle and bustle of everyone being in a hurry was something she’d grown accustomed to and couldn’t imagine giving it all up to live in a place where the nearest grocery store was an hour or so away.   

            Her car jolted and sputtered pulling her back to reality.  Denver looked at the dashboard to see If there were any telltale signs that something was wrong with the car?  She wasn’t a mechanic in the least bit, but she opted for a new model car and hoped that the newer model would flash a blinking light so that she didn’t have to pull over and pop the hood.  Not that she would know what to look for anyway.  Realization hit her like a ton of bricks once she’d saw the gas light blinking uncontrollably.  She’d never stopped for gas, she never once thought about putting f*****g gas in the car.  How stupid could she be?  Biting her bottom lip, she tried her best not to panic after all she was in the middle of f*****g no-where and the only living beings she saw was a cow and even that was forty-five minutes in the opposite direction.  She blew out a breath and saw the next upcoming exit route.  She glanced back at her dashboard and noted that she had exactly 5 miles left before her car betrayed her, she spotted an exit ramp that thankfully was an exit to a gas station.  The car sputtered again, and she began to say a silent prayer.  She didn’t know if the car would make it the few miles with its loud, angry sputtering, but she was damned if she didn’t give it a try.