Chapter 4
They were both up early and it was off to Stanton, Iowa.
"I'm losing track of what we're seeing next," Tim admitted as they headed out.
"Stanton...that's the coffee pot, isn't it?"
Tim laughed. "That's a bad sign. Neither of us know what we're seeing next."
He pulled out the atlas and checked their route.
"Yep. It's the coffee pot and mug. Then, it's a long drive to the Badlands. We'll probably want to wait and go there tomorrow." Tim looked up. "Do you want to stay in Wall again?"
Tony didn't. He didn't want Tim to start thinking about that again...but it wasn't like there was much else to see. Still...
"There's got to be someplace else. We don't want to repeat."
"We're going to have to repeat some things," Tim said. "We'll be driving on the same road across South Dakota both ways...unless you want to take a chance on the smaller roads."
"See what you can find that's different."
"Okay." Tim started searching. "There are some hotels right off the interstate in Kadoka. That's pretty close to the Badlands and we wouldn't have to backtrack to get there."
"Sounds good."
"All righty."
Tony gave a sideways glance as Tim looked through the options in Kadoka. Then, he looked up.
"Well, I think we can choose when we get there. That's worked well enough so far."
Tony nodded and began the drive to Stanton. It took nearly five hours to get there and they were tired, but they had another eight hours to go just that day. So they drove to a good vantage point to see the two water towers. While they took pictures, one of the locals told them that they were lucky to see both of them. The coffee pot water tower was going to be taken down in the fall because it didn't work any longer. The coffee cup, on the other hand, was newer and it would stay in place.
After that, they drove back toward Red Oak to get something to eat. Then, Tim took over the driving as they began the eight-hour drive to the Badlands.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Tim was glad for the millionth time that he could do some of the driving on this trip. He still hated that Tony had been forced to do so much just to keep him from self-destructing.
He also started fretting that maybe he wasn't doing enough. Maybe he should be saying something more, addressing the problem that Tony had...but he didn't know if he should. So he said nothing about it. Tony seemed to be having fun, and when he didn't stress about things, Tim had fun, too. All in all, maybe he was making too much of this. Abby had said he was.
"You want to trade off, Tim?" Tony asked.
Tim jumped a little.
"No. I'm fine."
"You can take a break, you know," Tony said. "I don't mind."
"I'm fine. It's only been a few hours."
"Okay. If you're sure."
"I'll tell you," Tim said and then smiled. "I don't want to get us in an accident."
"Neither do I."
Tim laughed and refocused on the road.
It was quiet for a few miles and then, Tony broke the silence.
"So...how did you and Delilah meet?" Tony asked. "You mentioned her back before...everything imploded, but you really weren't open about it."
Tim swallowed and chickened out in addressing the implosion itself.
"Given how Abby reacted when she actually met her...I think I was right to be closed."
Tony laughed. "Awkward?"
"You have no idea. And you know, it really made no sense because it's not like Abby and I have dated in ten years."
"That doesn't matter. Abby gets possessive. When she decides that Delilah is okay, she'll smother her, but until then, she might as well be the enemy. But you avoided telling me how you met her."
"Oh...well, it's not exciting, if that's what you're expecting," Tim said.
"Then, why are you avoiding telling me?" Tony asked with a grin.
"Because your mind is going to supply something that will make you more and more excited and suspicious until I disappoint you completely by telling you the truth."
Tony laughed loudly. "Okay, Probie. Tell me."
"She spilled her coffee on me and so I bought her a new coffee and got her number."
"Really? That's it?"
Tim chuckled and glanced at Tony.
"Yeah. That's it."
"And it worked?"
"Crazy, huh?"
"That's so...boring. That's not even a gaming story. Or paint ball or any of the other weird hobbies you have. Coffee?"
"I know. I'm surprised that it worked, really. I'm glad it did, but I didn't think it would."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a nerd, Tony," Tim said. "And my track record isn't all that great as far as girlfriends are concerned. I'm just glad that Delilah hasn't tried to kill me. Yet."
"Oh, come on."
"I'm serious," Tim said. "The last woman I took a chance on turned out to be a mercenary who almost killed me. I'm taking my time with Delilah."
"And she doesn't mind that?"
"Nope. She doesn't. If she did I'm sure she would have said something or dropped me like a hot potato. She hasn't so far."
"You know, you aren't really very...demonstrative. You'd hardly know you two were dating."
Tim glanced at Tony, briefly. "My private life stays private, Tony. I'm not an exhibitionist."
"A little peck on the cheek or holding hands isn't being an exhibitionist."
"You pursue relationships your way, and I'll do it my way," Tim said, feeling a little defensive. "I don't display my life for others to gawk at. That's not me."
"Okay, okay. Don't get so touchy. ...are you worried about it?"
Tim shrugged.
"No, come on, Tim. Are you worried?"
"I...I really like her, Tony. She's...everything I've ever wanted to have, and...and she doesn't require that I change who I am to suit her. I suit her already. Nothing she's learned about me has disappointed her. Who I am is enough. I don't...want to lose that by being stupid...but at the same time...what if I'm wrong?"
"Can't you just have fun?"
Tim laughed a little. "Usually...except when people start grilling me about her... Then, I start getting nervous...which is one of the reasons I didn't tell you guys about her before."
Tony lifted his hands. "Touche. Point taken."
Silence fell again, and without the distraction, Tim could admit that he was starting to get tired of driving. Not that he couldn't keep driving, he'd done all-day drives before, but there was no point to driving himself to exhaustion.
"Okay, Tony. Next fill up, I'm ready to switch."
"How much is left in the tank?"
"About half. We'll probably want to fill up when we get the chance."
"Okay."
Another 30 miles, and they found a gas station. Tim pulled off and filled the tank. Then, Tony started driving.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Tony smiled as a billboard approached.
"Wall Drug," he said and pointed. "I love these signs."
Tim had apparently been drowsing a little bit because he didn't respond right away.
"Tim!"
Tim jumped and looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"You sleeping, Probie?"
"No. I was awake."
"Uh-huh. What did I say?"
Tim smiled. "I wasn't paying attention. Sorry."
"Well, too bad for you. You missed one of the Wall Drug signs. Here comes another one. I love these."
Tim looked out the windshield and smiled at the Free Ice Water sign.
"Since I've actually been there, I think these signs are a bit much. Sure, it was fun, but...it's just a glorified tourist trap."
"That's what makes it so great. There's even a Wall Drug sign in London...or there used to be. That's over 5,000 miles away from here!"
Tim grinned. "So you're going to go to London just to see it, right?"
"I'm considering it. You can come."
"I'll keep that in mind. I liked the little historical part better."
"You would."
Tim laughed.
They continued to talk about Wall Drug and the signs along I-90. It was nearing nine p.m. by the time they got to Kadoka. They pulled off and went to a motel. There was a room available and so they could think about getting something to eat...the only problem being that they didn't know where anything was. They got a recommendation to try the restaurant across the parking lot called Jiggers. Having nothing else in mind, they decided to go. They got there just before the place was about to close, but the woman who greeted them was as welcoming as a grandmother and she insisted that they have a seat and she'd make sure they got a square meal.
It wasn't fast, but it was very tasty and they promised to come back in the morning for breakfast.
Then, it was back to the motel. It was very basic, but it was clean. Tim yawned and stretched and then grabbed his stuff and vanished into the bathroom without comment. Tony sat down on the bed. They'd come really close to addressing both of the serious topics they were avoiding. He actually didn't know what Tim was thinking about, but he was wondering if he should just bite the bullet and say something.
At the same time, he didn't want to. If only he could just forget about all that...but it was becoming more and more clear to him that he couldn't. It loomed too large over him.
But was this really the time to deal with it?
He was excited to go back to the Badlands tomorrow. It was the only real repetition from their first road trip, and he was happy to see it when he wasn't worrying about Tim's well-being. This road trip was far and away better than the first one, but he didn't feel like he could say that to Tim because he'd only feel bad about it.
The bathroom door opened and Tim walked over to his bed.
"Man, that was a long day," he said. "Maybe tomorrow we could just do the Badlands and Mount Rushmore and not try to make it to Darwin. I think I need a day."
Tony chuckled. "Come on! Are you telling me that you're too tired to drive another nine hours tomorrow?"
"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."
"Okay, okay. Actually, I could use the day, too."
"Good. Now, I'm going to sleep. If you want to talk to me, you'll have to talk over my snoring...and don't wake me up."
Then, Tim smiled and lay down. His eyes closed and Tony could tell that he fell asleep pretty quickly.
Actually, Tony was glad that Tim was tired and fell asleep. It was a definite improvement over his previous state last year. It was nice to have that not be a worry. Finally, Tony stirred himself to get ready for bed. He was tired.
Tomorrow, they'd finally go back to the Badlands and they'd get to see a lot more than they had before.
