Chapter 7

"And what brings you fine folks to Mexico tonight?" The border patrol guard was young and way too cheerful for this late hour. Bella and I had made good time, only stopping once for gas, but it was after nine by the time we'd reached Mexicali.

"Just visiting."

The guard looked over my bike and asked us to dismount. "Are you carrying in any fruits or vegetables?"

"Nope."

"Weapons?"

"Of course not!" Bella sounded genuinely appalled at the suggestion that I might have a gun tucked into my sock, under my boot and jeans. She actually was a pretty good actress.

"Mind if I look in here?" The guard tapped the pannier. I popped it open, and he made a cursory search of the contents. We'd deliberately put a bag of Bella's new things on top, lots of lacy underwear and a string bikini. Bella did an excellent job of looking mortified. The guard didn't search for very long.

"Okay, you can close it." He sounded a little abashed. "Where you folks headed?"

"My new bride wants to honeymoon on the beach." I smiled at Bella and put an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened a little but covered it by glancing at the guard, giving him a shy smile as if I was embarrassing her. "Right, sweetheart?"

She nodded up at me. "I've never seen the ocean," she said quietly with the perfect note of wistfulness.

I kissed the top of her head and let her go. I could see her visibly relax but luckily the guard was looking at me. "Congratulations. Newlyweds?"

"Vegas." I winked at Bella, and God help me, she actually blushed. "We've been on the road ever since. I promised my baby a honeymoon in Mexico."

The guard smiled. "Very romantic. I'll let you get on your way as soon as I check your IDs."

I pulled out my wallet and handed him one of my fake driver's licenses. He took it, glanced quickly at my face for confirmation, and gave it back. "And yours?" He turned his attention to Bella.

Bella reached for her back pocket, her expression changing to one of dismay. "Oh no. I forgot it."

"You forgot it?"

"I must have left it at the hotel." She turned to me. "I told you I needed more time to get ready. This is what happens when I'm rushed – I forget things." Her tone of voice had turned a little accusatory.

"How could you forget your wallet?" I let a little exasperation creep into mine.

"You were in such a rush! You gave me less than five minutes to pack!"

"I wanted to get down here before dark. If it'd been up to you, we'd probably still be packing."

She narrowed her eyes at me and put her hands on her hips. "So this is my fault?"

I had to look down at the ground for a second to keep from laughing. "No. Come on, don't get mad at me." The way her eyes were flashing reminded me of the first night I'd met her. I'd hate to face her real wrath. "I'm sorry if I rushed you."

Her fake anger relented, and she smiled, taking my hand. "That's okay. But what are we going to do? Go back and get it?"

I shrugged. "I guess we'll have to, but we're going to lose a day. It might not be worthwhile to come back down here. We could just go to San Diego."

"I don't want to go to California. That's where my dad was killed. I can't honeymoon there. I told you that." The accusing tone was back.

I pulled her back a little but not far enough that the guard couldn't still hear us. He looked away, a little embarrassed to be witnessing what was supposedly our first argument.

"We just don't have that much time." I raised my eyebrows a little, wishing we'd planned this better. I didn't have a clue why we would be pressed for time.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head. "You don't have to report for duty until the middle of the week. That gives us time, doesn't it?"

Ah, good thinking.I gave her a little smile of appreciation. "It would be a lot easier to just go to San Diego. That's where the Naval base is."

She glanced at the guard and apparently decided to go all in. "My parents honeymooned in Mexico. After Dad died, Mom started drinking. All she ever talked about were the beaches in Mexico. She made me promise I'd honeymoon there too." Bella looked up at me and sniffled. "I promised her, Tony. I promised her."

"I know you did, baby," I said sadly, hoping she wasn't overdoing it.

The guard cleared his throat, and we pretended to be surprised he was still there. "All right. I don't see any reason why you two can't cross."

"Really? You'll let us through?" Bella sounded overjoyed.

The guard nodded. "But it's going to be trickier getting back in. We're supposed to be checking passports now. You should get the hotel to overnight your wallet to you, and you," he turned to me, "you should be all right with your military ID. Navy, huh?"

"Yep. My fourth deployment starts in a few days."

"Well, then. I can understand why you're in a hurry to start your honeymoon." He winked at Bella and gestured for us get back on the bike. "You guys have a good time, but be careful. Stick to the tourist areas."

"We will." I smiled at him knowingly as we got back on the bike. "Thanks, buddy."

A minute later we were in Mexico.

"That was easy!" Bella yelled into my ear.

"I didn't even have to bribe him!" I yelled back.

I headed west toward the Baja Peninsula, and it wasn't long before I could sense that we'd left the desert behind us. The night was cooler, the air more fragrant, and even softer, if that was possible. Traffic thinned significantly the further we got from the border, and in the dark with our helmets on, we were completely unrecognizable.

I began to relax, and a few miles later, felt Bella rest her head against my back. I hadn't taken her up on her offer to drive, but she'd stayed alert the whole ride down here. She must finally be getting tired, I thought, as I reached down and gave one of her arms a little shake, trying to tell her not to fall asleep. She gave me a squeeze back, and I smiled, accelerating a few miles above the speed limit, wanting to get far enough from the border that I'd I feel it was safe to stop.

One disadvantage of riding together was that we couldn't talk to each other without yelling, but on the plus side, it gave me a lot of time to think. I'd spent most of the time, between Albuquerque and the border, worrying that maybe this was a mistake. Not leaving with Bella – that didn't feel wrong to me. I liked her, and I would have felt like an asshole if I'd left her to fend for herself. From the moment she'd agreed to come to Chicago with me, I'd begun to feel responsible for her. Pretending to be married and on our honeymoon wasn't alleviating that feeling. If anything, it was just increasing.

Now here we were in Mexico – only because I couldn't think of a better idea on the way down here. The guard's instructions about the ID we'd need to get back in the states was already worrying me. This was like last night at the bottom of the ravine. It'd been easy getting in, but it was going to be a lot harder getting out. Although I had a fake passport I could use in lieu of a military ID, Bella didn't have anything, not even a fucking library card.

I felt Bella lift her head and prop her chin on my shoulder. I smiled, suspecting that she wasn't letting herself rest as long as I was doing all the driving. I let out a long sigh. Worrying at this point wasn't going to do any good. We'd made it over the border, and we'd find a way to get back – once we were rested and thinking clearly. That had been the whole reason to come down here, after all.

At midnight, we rolled into Lorindo. We'd gotten three hours into Mexico, and it felt safe to stop. There was a restaurant still open on the main street, and I pulled into the parking lot, killing the engine.

Bella put her hands on my shoulders and groaned as she put her weight on me to lift herself off. "I don't know if I can stand up."

"Yeah, it can take a while to get your legs back. Just stretch and walk slow at first." I tried not to watch as she took off her helmet and shook out her hair, arching her back and rubbing her neck. Instead, I knocked down the kickstand and eased myself off. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

I chuckled as I put away our helmets. "You're always starving."

"Hey, I couldn't eat while I was at Juanita's. I'm making up for lost time."

"Lucky me." I gave her a smile so she'd know I was kidding. We hadn't eaten since leaving Albuquerque, and she had every right to be starving. I knew I was. "Come on, let's get you some dinner."

I put my arm over her shoulder as we started for the door, giving her a light squeeze. She didn't flinch or pull away; instead, she looked up at me as we walked. I wasn't sure what to make of her expression, but she paused at the door.

"I'm nervous about going in."

"No one's going to recognize you."

"No, I mean, just pulling this off. Looking believable."

I let go of her shoulder. Maybe I'd been making her uncomfortable. "Is that better?"

She nodded and slipped her hand into my elbow. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. At all. Just relax and be yourself. I'll do the talking"

After ordering a generous amount of food, I told the waiter we'd just eloped and were looking for a place to stay, but we wanted something local, not a big chain. Some place romantic. Bella looked down at the table, stealing a smile at me. The waiter nodded, seeming to understand most of what I'd said, then hollered something back to the cook. The two of them set into what sounded like a fierce argument, each championing their own cause in furious Spanish. The waiter apparently won.

"You want to go to Alberto's."

"Alberto's?"

"Si, Alberto's. Only takes Americans. Very nice. Quiet." He smiled at Bella. "Very good for a honeymoon."

She smiled shyly at him. "Is it easy to find?"

"Si, si, señora." Bella once again enlisted help, getting directions to Alberto's hotel in slow but sure English. I had to admit I admired her method.

We were both so hungry that we didn't talk for at least fifteen minutes after being served. Bella was the one who thought to maintain our cover by reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze, leaning in as if to whisper an endearment. "Mala must have the phone by now."

I nodded and put my hand over hers, entwining our fingers. "Yep."

"What do you think?"

"I think he should have paid me by now. I'll check when we get to the hotel."

"Why can't you check here?"

The restaurant was about half-full, and I'd begun to suspect the waiter was telling his other customers that we'd just eloped. Maybe I was getting paranoid in my fatigue, but it seemed like people were smiling at us. "That wouldn't be very romantic, would it? If I ignored you and got busy on my phone?"

"No," she laughed, her smile reaching her eyes. "It wouldn't. Not at all."

We followed the directions the waiter had insisted on giving us again before we left. Alberto's place looked like a normal house, the only giveaway a small neon sign near the driveway. I pulled in and cut the engine. "Wait here."

"Okay."

I wanted to check it out alone before committing to stay. The lobby was small, a modified living room not unlike Juanita's.

"Hola?" I called out, no one visible.

"I'm coming." I heard a voice from upstairs and a minute later a middle-aged man trotted downstairs. "How can I help you?"

"I'd like a room, if you have one." Thank God we could do this in English. I was way too tired to try to fumble my way through in Spanish. I didn't even know the word for room.

"Very good. American?"

"Yes."

"Bueno." He pulled out his ledger. "How many nights?"

"I don't know yet."

"Si. One night is eighty dollars or a thousand pesos. You can pay either way.

"Okay."

"Okay. You fill this out." He pushed a registration card toward me. "Check out is at noon, or you can stay again, just let me know."

"That's it?"

"Si." He smiled up me.

"Are you Alberto?" I returned his smile.

"Si."

He was about a foot shorter than me, and looked surprisingly alert given the late hour. He was dressed in a suit and tie and wore his hair neatly slicked back. His appearance boded well for the state of his hotel. "You were recommended at the restaurant tonight."

"That's nice, good to keep business local."

"That's what I thought, too. I have a companion. Is that extra?" I was going to go with staying here and started filling out the card.

"No, señor. No extra, but no putas. That's my only rule."

"She's my wife."

"Of course she is," he said without missing a beat, his smile returning.

I liked this guy. "I'll go get her then."

"Si." He busied himself with a pegboard of keys while I went back outside to get Bella and our bag.

She got off the bike when she saw me coming and stretched, taking off her helmet and running her hands through her hair. "This place is okay?"

"It's perfect."

"Good. I'm exhausted."

Suddenly I was too. We'd been on the road for almost twenty-four hours, and the realization that we could finally sleep was overwhelming. "Let's go in." I took her hand.

Alberto gave us the key to our room and offered to carry our luggage, but we didn't have anything other than our bag. I told him we'd see him tomorrow and we headed upstairs.

Our room was surprisingly nice, but all I could really see was the bed. Bella sat down on it, looking the bad kind of tired.

"Go to sleep, Bella."

"Are you going to?"

"I just want to check my balance, then I will." I pulled out my phone and brought up my account. "Nothing."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

"So he didn't buy it?"

"I don't know. All I know is he hasn't paid me yet."

"What else could it mean?"

"Maybe he hasn't found the phone. Maybe it broke when I threw it over the gate." I was almost too tired to answer her and quickly stripped down to my underwear. I got under the covers and sank into the pillow.

"What are we going to do?" Bella sounded scared.

"Sleep."

"And tomorrow?"

"Honeymoon." I wasn't sure I even the finished the word before I let the blessed darkness take me under.