Christmas Travel Advisory, page 2
“It must be nice. I can’t remember the last time I took a trip that wasn’t work-related, and my work trips are a lot less exciting than yours sound.”
The idea of planning an adventure trip for Tim was appealing, but that would mean losing the bet they’d made, and helping Tim keep his promise to his daughter was far more important. “They certainly have their moments, although some of them have been more fun than others. I could’ve done without the mosquitoes the size of my hand when we did the Amazon riverboat excursion.”
“I’d trade killer mosquitoes for whiny CFOs who can’t make a decision but want to trash every one of my suggestions,” Tim said around a yawn. “Excuse me. It’s been a long day on top of a long week.”
On top of a long year, Zach suspected. “No apologies necessary, man. Take a nap if you can. We’ve got a good twenty-four hours before we get where we’re going.”
“If you don’t mind, I might.” Tim stifled another yawn. “Wake me up if you want to get dinner at some point, okay?” He closed his eyes and settled a little lower in his seat. Within ten minutes his breathing evened out, and within fifteen he’d leaned over in his seat, his head falling against Zach’s shoulder.
Zach shifted enough to get Tim’s head resting comfortably on his shoulder instead of right against the joint, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and scrolled through the reservations options for the dining car. He might be on a train heading to Chicago instead of on a plane on his way to Baja, but that didn’t mean he had to settle for prepackaged sandwiches. Unsurprisingly, the options were limited to very early or very late. Looking at Tim sound asleep next to him, he opted for late. If Tim woke up hungry before then, they could discuss what to do. That done, he cued up his current audiobook and settled in to pass the time in rural Scotland, listening to the detective in his latest cozy mystery solve the murder. And if he had to resist the urge to glance over at Tim regularly to make sure he was still sleeping comfortably, nobody had to know but Zach himself.
Tim slept until the alarm on Zach’s phone sounded several hours later. Zach felt guilty nudging him awake, but it was probably better than having him wake up hungry in a few more hours, when the dining car was closed and the only options were the far less appetizing selections from the café car.
“Feel like eating?” he asked as Tim ran his hands over his face.
“Was I… sleeping on you?” Tim asked with a cringe in his voice. “I’m really sorry. You should have just pushed me off. It’s bad enough I all but kidnapped you without invading your personal space on top of it.”
“You looked far too comfortable to disturb,” Zach said. “I got reservations for us in the dining car so we don’t have to make do with snack food, but we should go that way so we don’t miss our seating time. They were pretty full, and I’d hate to lose our spot.”
“We don’t have to dress for dinner, do we?” Tim asked, standing. “My only familiarity with train dining comes from watching Murder on the Orient Express.”
“We’d be in trouble if we did,” Zach answered, “since the only clothes I brought with me are surf shorts and T-shirts.” Tim stepped into the aisle to let him out, and Zach couldn’t help but brush against him. He was deliciously warm after the chill coming through the train’s large window.
“Lead the way, then.” Tim gestured with a flourish.
They navigated their way through the intervening cars until they reached the dining car. The steward seated them right away and left them with menus and the promise to return with water and a complimentary adult beverage.
“A three-course meal and a drink?” Tim said. “You don’t get that kind of service on a plane unless you’re in first class, and even then, it’s hit-or-miss.”
“It’s complimentary if you’re in a private compartment. They’ll even serve it to you in your room if you ask. We’ll have to pay since we’re in coach seats, but trust me, it’s worth it.” He glanced at the menu. “I think the lobster crab cake, steak and baked potato, and carrot cake for dessert.”
Tim shook his head. “Maybe you can work it off, adventure boy, but some of us are stuck behind a desk all day. I’ll go with the grilled salmon, though the green chile cheese tamale appetizer is really tempting. I like things with a little kick to them.”
“You’re on vacation,” Zach reminded him. “If you can’t splurge while you’re on vacation, what’s the point? Get the tamales.”
The steward returned with their water and to take their orders before retreating again to get their drinks. Zach took an appreciative sip of his bourbon and looked out the window at the snow blowing across the open expanse of plains. “I tend to take the weather forecast with a grain of salt because it seems like every new storm is the ‘storm of the century,’ but they might actually be right about this one. Look at those drifts.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s easing up any, either.” Tim toasted Zach with his wineglass. “This is definitely the way to travel. Thank you again for getting us here.” His knees bumped against Zach’s, though it wasn’t surprising given the relatively narrow width of the dining table, and he slid his legs to one side.
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad there were seats available. I didn’t expect the coaches to be full, but you never know at this time of year,” Zach replied. He shifted in his seat when the steward brought their first courses, and their knees bumped again. “Sorry about that. These tables weren’t made for two people our height, apparently.” He took a bite of his crab cake and watched while Tim tried the tamales. From the smile on his face, Zach guessed he was enjoying them.
“It’s a good thing I don’t have you around to tempt me all the time, but these were definitely worth the splurge,” Tim said. Their knees bumped again, and with a wry smile, Tim shifted his legs to bracket Zach’s. “I was on a flight to New York with a pro basketball player once. Even in first class, he couldn’t put down the tray table without banging his knees. So I guess I can put up with a little bit of close table space.”
If circumstances had been different, if they’d met socially and were having dinner together, Zach would think Tim was flirting with him, what with the way he’d positioned their legs, but Tim had been married and had a daughter. And yes, bisexuality was a thing, but Tim hadn’t given any indication of it so far. But most of all, they hadn’t met socially and this wasn’t a date or even anything close to it. This was him trying to help out a dad trying to get home to his daughter for Christmas, nothing more.
Even if he were beginning to wish it could be.
TIM HADN’T expected to enjoy dining on a train as much as he did. The food was surprisingly good, and Zach was an engaging companion. He shared stories about several of the trips he’d coordinated, including some “rookie mistakes,” as he described them, that somehow ended up working out. By the end of the meal, Tim was seriously considering booking a trip through him, even if he wouldn’t have Zach personally accompanying him next time.
The lights were dimmed shortly after they returned to their seats, and though Tim made an effort to stay awake, the gentle sway and rhythmic hum of the rails lulled him back to sleep. He didn’t know how much time had passed before he awoke with a start to the realization that the train had stopped moving. It was dark all around them, so they weren’t at a station, and a glance out the window showed the snow still swirling as fiercely as ever. He checked his watch, surprised to see it was almost five.
“Do you know where we are?” he asked Zach, who might know if he’d been paying more attention to the stops than Tim had.
“Somewhere in Arkansas, or maybe Missouri by now,” Zach answered. “The last station was Walnut Ridge. We’ve been stopped for a couple of hours. I think there may be something blocking the tracks, though they haven’t made any announcements yet.”
“A couple of hours?” Tim supposed he should be glad he’d slept through it, because his insides were starting to churn. “Shouldn’t they have done something by now, or at least let us know what’s happening?”
“We still have plenty of time,” Zach reassured him. “I don’t expect it will be much longer.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” a passenger sitting across the aisle from them chimed in gloomily. “I’ve heard there was once a sixteen-hour delay on this line. If my wife wasn’t afraid to fly”—he nodded at the woman sleeping next to him—“we’d have been on a plane before this storm hit.”
“Sixteen hours!” Tim couldn’t keep the panic from his voice.
“Just relax.” Zach squeezed Tim’s hand. Tim was tempted to grab on to Zach and cling to him. “I’m sure they’ll tell us something before long.”
Train delays, Tim discovered, weren’t any easier to accept than airport delays. At least he was waiting in more comfort, though that didn’t do anything to calm his jangling nerves. More than another hour passed before an announcement finally came over the speakers.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we regret the delay. Unfortunately, we are dealing with a frozen switch ahead, which is preventing us from moving onto the correct track to continue.” A chorus of groans sounded throughout the car. “Because of the current weather conditions, we cannot predict how long it will take to resolve the situation. As a result, we are arranging for buses to transport all passengers to the nearest town, Poplar Bluff, where alternative travel arrangements will be made.”
“I knew it,” Tim groaned. “I’m never going to make it to Chicago in time.”
“Give me a couple of minutes to look at options,” Zach said confidently. As he’d done in the airport, he tapped away at his phone for a few minutes. “Okay, the closest Greyhound stop is in Matthews, about fifty miles away, so that’s not an ideal solution, though it may be the best option Amtrak can offer. But there are five car rental places near the station. And a Walmart where we can stock up on snacks for the road.”
“Assuming we can get a rental car,” Tim said glumly as he looked around at all the other passengers undoubtedly hoping to do the same thing.
“Well, I wouldn’t recommend Greyhound in any case, especially not under these conditions. It’s not nearly as comfortable as the train. But that doesn’t mean we’re out of options.” He keyed away for another moment. “Aha! There’s a Jeep dealer in Poplar Bluff.”
“And that helps us how?” Tim asked.
“Most people don’t know it, but many car dealerships offer short- and medium-term rentals.” Zach checked a few more screens and nodded. “In this weather, we’d definitely be safer in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Which, assuming the rental car agencies have any at all, will probably be the first ones gone. If we can rent one from the dealership, we can take US 60 out of Poplar Bluff to I-55. The interstates will definitely be the clearest roads, and from there it’s a straight shot up to Chicago.”
Tim looked dubiously out the window, but sitting on his ass in Poplar Bluff held even less appeal than attempting the roads. “How long a drive are we talking?”
“Four hundred fifty miles, roughly,” Zach said. “How long that takes will depend on the road conditions, but we should make it most of the way there today, even if we have to finish the drive on Christmas Eve. Either way, it’ll get you there in plenty of time for Christmas.”
“Sounds like a plan, then.” Tim shook his head. “It’s a good thing you decided to come along to protect your bet. I’d be spending Christmas freezing my ass off at some backroad Greyhound stop if it weren’t for your Google fu.”
Zach laughed. “Instead I’m freezing my ass off in warm-weather clothes in the middle of a blizzard. But it’ll be worth it to get you to Chicago in time.”
“We’ll have to get you some warmer clothes before we hit the road,” Tim said. “It would be a shame to let anything to happen to your ass.” Oh fuck, did I actually say that? “Since you probably need it for your work, I mean.” He buried his face in his hands. “Can we just forget I said anything? Clearly that one glass of wine messed with my brain.”
“We’ll call it travel fatigue,” Zach said with a conspiratorial smile.
Thankfully Zach didn’t try for any further conversation until a convoy of buses arrived. The twenty miles or so it took to get to Poplar Bluff were enough to convince Tim that almost five hundred miles on a Greyhound bus was definitely not an option he wanted to consider.
It was still too early for the Jeep dealership to be open when they arrived, so they picked up some breakfast biscuits from a twenty-four-hour fast-food restaurant and lingered until Zach could confirm by phone that renting a Jeep was a possibility. The dealership even sent a car to pick them up so they didn’t have to trudge the half mile or so, which Tim greatly appreciated. The snow had let up, but the wind was still blowing fiercely and the temperature was dropping.
Zach made short work of arranging to rent a Grand Cherokee for the next ten days. “That way you can spend some time with your daughter and not have to hurry right back to return the car.” As they were transferring their luggage into the back, Tim noticed the rainbow address tag on Zach’s duffel bag. His cheeks flared, and he hoped that if Zach noticed, he’d attribute it to the cold wind. He must have thought that wisecrack about his ass was the most inept pickup line ever, Tim thought. Fortunately he didn’t seem to be offended (or even interested, the same voice commented snidely).
Once their luggage was settled, Zach tossed Tim the keys. “Do you mind taking the first shift? I think you got more sleep on the train than I did. I’ll be fine to switch after an hour or so.”
“No problem, but we’re stopping at Walmart first. Snacks and warm clothes, remember?”
Zach smiled but didn’t comment, which Tim took as a win. They picked up some bottled water, a few bags of chips, and some diced cheese cubes from the grocery half of the store. In the clothing section, Zach selected a pair of jeans, some warm socks, a blue sweater, and a rust-colored sweatshirt with a graphic of the Poplar Bluff High School Mules. When they passed a display of hats and scarves, Zach tossed a rainbow-striped set into the cart, glancing at Tim as if to gauge his reaction. Since the middle of Walmart wasn’t where he’d choose to have that discussion, Tim just pointed toward a rack of fleece-lined gloves. “You’ll want a pair of those too.”
At the last minute, Zach detoured to the pet aisle and loaded a large bag of kitty litter onto the bottom of the cart.
“Are we adopting a cat before we leave?” Tim asked with a grin.
“No, but it’s supposed to be good for traction if we hit an icy patch.”
“Supposed to be?” Tim hoped Zach knew he was just giving him a hard time.
By the way Zach’s eyes twinkled as he answered, he’d decided to play along.
“I’m a Southern boy. I don’t have a lot of experience driving in snowy weather, but I know enough to be prepared.” He steered them to the automotive section and added a heavy-duty snow brush and a bottle of spray deicer to their pile of purchases.
“You were a Boy Scout, weren’t you?” Tim observed.
“All the way to Eagle.” Zach confirmed. “You?”
Tim shook his head. “Violin lessons. I was able to play Brahms’s lullaby for Megan if she was fussy when I was home. Not much other practical application, unfortunately.”
“Life isn’t always about practicality,” Zach replied. “We need art too, to provide beauty and emotion. Otherwise all we’d do is trudge through an endless barren landscape.” He blushed a fetching shade of pink and shook his head. “Travel fatigue. It makes me philosophical.”
Tim thought it was adorable, though again, middle of Walmart. He steered the cart toward the registers. “You can sleep in the car.”
There was a momentary struggle when they both pulled out their wallets. “No way,” Tim insisted, handing his credit card to the clerk.
“It’s mostly my clothes,” Zach protested.
“Which you wouldn’t have had to buy if you weren’t helping me,” Tim countered. He pocketed the receipt and pushed the cart out to the parking lot. In just the short time they’d been in the store, the Jeep was already covered in snow. “Good call on the snow brush.”
“It seemed like a thing we should have,” Zach said. “Anything else we need to do before we get on the road?”
“I don’t think so,” Tim said. “You’re the travel agent.”
Zach smiled. “It’s 450 miles to Chicago, we’ve got a full tank of gas, a bag of snacks, it’s the middle of a blizzard, and I’m still wearing shorts.”
Tim grinned back and pointed toward the windshield. “Hit it!” When their laughter died down, he added, “You can go back inside and change into jeans if you want.”
“I’ll be warm enough once the heater kicks in. Let’s get moving.”
Tim pulled carefully out of the parking lot and followed Zach’s directions onto US 60. To his relief, it was a two-lane divided highway that had been plowed at least once, if not recently—though as rapidly as the snow was falling again, it was hard to judge. There wasn’t much traffic, packed ruts of snow where other cars had obviously driven, but not enough to clear the slush down to the road itself. The posted speed limit might have been 65, but Tim was doing well to drive 30. He only hoped it got better once they got to the interstate or they wouldn’t make it very far very fast.
The beginning of the drive was a bit hilly, and Tim took the opportunity to refamiliarize himself with downshifting to control the Jeep’s traction. After an hour or so, the terrain flattened out, though the wind blowing snow from across the open fields on either side wasn’t much of an improvement.
Zach had dozed off, and Tim wondered if he’d gotten any sleep on the train. He couldn’t imagine where he’d be if Zach hadn’t taken it on himself to rescue him. No, he knew exactly where he’d be—sitting in his apartment in Dallas cursing the weather. He’d have to think of some way to repay Zach for all his help. The least he could do was let him catch up on his sleep now.
