Their meandering road continued on.
They took tours of underground caverns filled with glinting mineral stalactites, their poorly smothered giggles echoing off the walls and traveling down the dark tunnels, each one thinking of course of the Underground - which was, presumably, underneath this underground. They garnered odd sidelong glances from the tour guide and others in the party, as no one could find any reason for humor in limestone drippings.
The drive through enormous forests with trees bigger than Sarah thought possible, that seemed to stretch into infinity and roots that reached deeper than anything else. They exuded a sense of serenity unlike any other place, and they took frequent stops here to sit and breathe and be. Gentle mists and fog rolled through and gave the distinct impression that perhaps they were the only people left on earth, and that perhaps that was ok too.
Rain pelted the window of the small restaurant that boasted the best clam chowder in the state, steam rising from the creamy bowls as they stirred them and talked at length about their childhoods. After the soup they stood on the dock of a ship, wearing light plastic ponchos against the still falling rain and strained their eyes across the water to see the fins and tails of the large whales dipping across the surf.
Neon lit roller rinks with rental skates that had somewhat suspect stains inside filled another night, spending the evening and into the early morning surrounded by music from decades ago and the smell of pizza and Sprite.
Sunrises on the beach with the sound of the surf and the early morning rays glinting off the freshly washed up shells, seagulls calling lazily in the distance before anyone else had woken up yet.
Hot afternoons mildly irritated with each other's choice of map - Jareth insisting the paper map was fine, there was nothing wrong with it, and Sarah exasperatedly showing him the same map, only updated with the current road names, on her phone with gps. Small fights over dumb things, the kind brought on by being out in the sun too long or not drinking enough water or by misguided irritation at the fact that the only station the radio would pick up had played the same song three times in that hour alone - and the kind that were forgotten and forgiven by the time the night rolled around and the hotel concierge regretfully informed them that the only rooms left were two twin beds, and somehow Jareth ended up in Sarah's bed even though there was barely room and they were both in danger of falling smack on the floor should one of them move even slightly during the night.
Laying out on a blanket surrounded by desert and rocks and cactus, staring up at stars more numerous than she ever imagined.
The full blast of the air conditioner on roads that seemed never ending.
The chilly breeze that rolled in off the sea, combatted by the gas flames springing up from piles of rock crystal, the ferris wheel on the pier in the distance completing its continuous twinkling turns in the dusk and the gentle echoes of the roller coaster on its creaking metal track punctuated by cheerful shouts.
Rolling hills in beach towns, national monuments in the chilly sun, and Jareth always there beside her.
Days turned into weeks into months. And somewhere along the lines, something changed.
She blinked herself awake in the faded interior of the motel room, secondhand smoke from the neighboring room still lingering. The ac unit rumbled on under the window, ruffling the yellowed lace curtain and casting dancing shadows on the faded pink ceramic of the lamp that was in her line of view. She sighed and closed her eyes again, leaning back into the warmth of her husband's arms wrapped around her - a perfect picture of stillness. But inside her mind there was a familiar yet long missed buzzing - she wanted to write. Not only did she want to write, but she knew what she wanted to write.
A smile formed on face as she recognized this feeling. She rolled over and kissed Jareth awake.
They talked over her ideas as she weaved in and out of traffic that day, ideas piling on top of ideas and concepts taking labyrinthine turns into worlds she hadn't yet imagined. After a day of sightseeing they curled up on the bed, Jareth flipping through the television channels and Sarah with her fingers flying over her once abandoned laptop, steadily filling out text documents.
Over the next months she amazed herself at how easily she fell back into writing. It wasn't only the newfound fountain of ideas and motivation, it was her ability to forge ahead in the midst of such chaos. If anyone had asked her just a year ago, she would have sworn up and down that the major factor in her being able to write - and write well - was stability. She'd need entire days of not going out to keep from getting distracted and to focus. But now, she had never been in such a state of constant upheaval and she never ceased to marvel at what she was accomplishing. It was as if the story had come alive with breath of its own.
They continued on in much the same way as before, except now she'd pause every so often to write down little notes before turning back to what was in front of them. They drove, they sampled the local foods, they saw what there was to see and did things they wanted to do. And in between and at night, in the quiet moments in the passenger seat, she'd type and type and let it all flow out into the screen and paper.
It was a close call. She submitted her rough draft mere hours before the midnight deadline, the both of them sitting cross legged on the smooth white sheets of the hotel bed.
"Done!" she shouted as loud as she dared at the hour, slamming her pointer finger down on the mouse button clicking send, taking a deep drink from her wine glass while the swooshing noise of the email being sent out into cyberspace played.
"Well done, I think you mean." Jareth lifted his glass in small toast before similarly throwing his back as well.
"It was good, wasn't it?" she asked shyly.
She had always been at least a little self conscious of her work, never fully certain she had made the point she wanted to make, but even she had to admit that this was likely her best work to date.
"It was fabulous, darling." he pulled the cork out from another wine bottle. "And I'm not saying that just because I'm smashed and biased."
He frowned in great concentration as he tried to pour the bottle without spilling it.
She fell backwards on the bed and sighed, the now empty glass still in her hand. This moment was the pinnacle of all the moments that had led to it. It had seemed so impossible once upon a time, yet here she was now, basking in the very glow of it. She knew things wouldn't always be as rosy as they were right now. She knew she was going to wake up with a hangover like none before. She knew there were vague storms and troubles up ahead, unseen as of yet but still just around the corner. But none of those could take away the shine of this moment. In this moment, she would allow it to be - to just be. Tomorrow's worries were for tomorrow. Today, she was happy, and that was enough.
As expected, her head was pounding when she awoke the next morning. She covered her eyes with her hand and silently lamented her loss of youth before realizing how overdramatic she sounded in her own mind and giggled. The giggle was quickly followed by a groan. Too old to drink a bottle of wine in one sitting, too old to giggle. She settled for a sigh instead and reminded herself that she might not be as young as she was, but surely an entire bottle was too much for anyone regardless of age. Her secret vanity soothed once again, she got up to find Jareth was bringing her a glass of water, a tired frown on his own face. At least, she thought to herself, at least they could get old together. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought of how many decades it might have been since he began to feel too old to drink in excess anymore. She rested her forehead on his shoulder as he sat next to her.
"Let's take another hour or so to rest, then we can start looking at maps again." she murmured.
He nodded mutely, sipping his own water.
So far they had traveled through nearly half of all the states. She marked each one off of the map, and penciled down where she wanted to go next. He used the laptop to find attractions in each one. Her work done - for now - with her book, her attention was turned once more to their ambitious travels. She wanted to see everywhere.
The chaos of the trip became the new normal. She received glowing praise from her publisher, and worked on the second draft while in the midst of the road. Another six months flew by, filled to the brim with various locales with distinct sights and sounds and features. It was with a stroke of auspiciousness that she received a confirmation date of her book's being released on the same day they set foot in the last state not yet colored in on their travel map.
She joyfully informed Jareth of the news when she opened the email that evening as they sat in their hotel room - which also happened by chance to be in the style of a log cabin. Her thoughts drifted back to their first shared residence which seemed so far away now.
They spent the evening in, tired from the long drive that day. They had several notable places they wanted to visit in the coming week, but nothing had planned after that. She sat propped up against numerous pillows on the bed, flipping through the countless photos stored on the digital camera.
Mountain terrain to sandy beaches to windswept deserts, quaint little towns with farmland to bustling cities filled with skyscrapers. She smiled as she looked back on everything they had done together.
"Where to after this, Love?" Jareth asked as he glanced over the week's plans in the notebook. "We could go up north to Canada, or should we drop by South America first?"
Sarah paused before answering.
"I was thinking of someplace else, actually."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Europe, perhaps?"
"No." she shook her head. "Not yet, at least. It's someplace we've already been."
Her eyes were twinkling with stifled laughter, though Jareth was still trying to determine where she meant.
"Ah, has a place caught your eye during our travels? You've found somewhere you want to settle, for a little while at least?"
She turned off the camera and beamed up at him.
"I have."
