Chapter 9

They traveled for several hours, through small cities and even smaller towns and villages, over mountains, through forested and farming areas before Buck finally stopped for lunch and gave Wilma her first taste of fast food, which she thoroughly enjoyed. Soon afterward they were back on the highway. Wilma was just finishing her hamburger when she saw a highway sign that made her glance at Buck.

"Washington D.C.? Isn't that your capital?"

Buck simply nodded.

"Can we stop?"

He glimpsed his watch and did a quick calculation in his head. "Sure. It's only about forty-five miles out of the way. We should have enough time to spend a couple hours there. We should get there about three or four o'clock. Then we can find a motel in Alexandria or somewhere around there."

The closer they got to Washington, the slower and more congested traffic became. By the time they got downtown, traffic had nearly slowed to a stop. Buck found a place to park and then led Wilma by the hand down the streets. Wilma walked with her eyes as wide as possible, as if she were trying to take everything in at once. She moved her head as if on a swivel, trying to see everything. They stepped into an open area and Wilma simply stopped in her tracks.

"Oh my," her voice trailed off.

Buck nodded solemnly. "I get the same feeling every time I come here too."

She took one more step forward and stopped again. "I… I've seen vids of this… I've even flown over this in my starfighter… but the area was always in ruins. To see it… like this… is… overwhelming!"

Buck gazed down the long path leading to the Washington Monument. He gently nudged her. "Come on. Let's get closer. There's something else you have to see."

They walked slowly, reverently down the long path. Speechless, Wilma simply continued to stare. As they neared the monument, she once again found her voice.

"This is the Washington Monument, right?"

Buck nodded. "Yep. It was built to honor the first president of the United States. George Washington led us in our war for independence." He placed his hands on her shoulders and grinned. "Turn around."

Slowly she turned. Again she gasped.

"Have you ever seen a better view of the Capitol Building?"

"I wish I had a camera with me," she breathed.

He gently grasped her hand. "There's something else. This way."

He slowly led her past the Washington Monument toward another structure. When they were half way, she stopped and looked at Buck. "Is that…?"

He simply nodded and nudged her to keep walking. "This is the Lincoln Memorial. He was our sixteenth president. When our country was falling apart, he brought us back together. He freed the slaves and united the north and south back into one country. He is generally considered the second best president we ever had, after Washington."

Slowly they entered the Memorial. They stopped and looked at the massive sculpture of Lincoln sitting in his seat. Buck gently rested his arm around Wilma's shoulder.

"Now you understand why I have to stop the holocaust… if I can."

She looked deeply into Buck's eyes and nodded once. "I'll help you."

They turned and began the long trek back toward the Capitol Building. Buck led her on a quick tour of Grant's Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court building, and finally Union Station before heading back to the car. Once back inside the Mustang, Wilma closed her eyes in an attempt to permanently remember all the sights she had seen.

"There's one thing I don't understand," she said softly.

"What's that?"

She took a deep breath and slowly released it. "How people can so carelessly destroy such beauty and majesty. I've seen broken images of some of these places, but never really understood the importance of their meaning. Seeing them in person in whole… makes me wonder how someone could have destroyed them."

Buck nodded. "Not all people are like that. Just a select few."

"What could have happened to make them want to destroy the world? What… arrogance to ignore the consequences of their actions!"

"That's just like human history," Buck explained. "Our history is one of warfare for as far as our history is recorded and before. There's always been war."

"But to destroy… everything?"

Buck started the car and eased out into the street. "It's human nature to ignore or neglect or take for granted the things we have and cherish until we no longer have them. I'm just as much to blame as anyone else."

"How so?"

He sighed heavily. "I was always so busy at school, or at work, or at whatever… I didn't spend the time I should have with my mom or dad…, or Jennifer. She literally begged me to slow down…, to start a family. She wanted so much to get married, have kids, a life together. But there was always one more job to do, one more mission to accomplish, one more thing to get done." He sighed again. "Never time to slow down and smell the roses… or watch the sunset. It's funny what you miss the most… when everything's gone.

"It's like that song: 'As I hung up the phone it occurred to me. My boy was just like me. My boy was just like me. The cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon. Little Boy Blue and the Man in the Moon. When you coming home, Son. I don't know when. But we'll have a good time then. We're gonna have a good time then."

Wilma nodded once, but didn't reply. She simply turned to look out the window as Buck drove slowly down the streets and back to the Interstate. They drove in silence for another hour until it got dark. After a quick dinner, they found a motel.

"Does this motel have that music station?" Wilma asked.

Buck turned on the television and scrolled through the channels until he found MTV. She leaned back in her bed and watched in silence as Buck went into the bathroom for a shower. When he came back out, he glanced at Wilma who was fast asleep. He carefully maneuvered her underneath the blankets.

Slowly he crawled into his bed. He turned his head to look at the nightstand. He pulled the phone and dialed a number.

"Front desk? I'd like to make a long distance phone call. Chicago. No, just bill it to my room. I'll pay for it when I check out tomorrow. Thank you."

He hung up and then followed the directions the clerk had given him. He dialed the number that had for so long been ingrained into his brain. The phone rang twice before a woman picked up.
"Hello Mom! This is Buck! No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to call and talk for a while. It's been so long since I've heard your voice. I know… but to me it seems like it's been forever."