Bay Area Plans

“Here’s fine,” Ter tells me, gesturing towards the sidewalk, about a block from a bus stop. I can tell from the slightest hint of tension in her brow, only really noticeable to people paying close attention or used to reading the girl’s emotions, that she’s stressing about what she’s planning to do.

Pete looks back at our travelling companion, slightly worried. We aren’t exactly in town, yet, certainly not the parts of town where a kid should wander alone. I know why we’re stopping by this particular bus stop. I still remember my first conversation with Ter. But whether or not Pete gets to learn the reason is up to Ter. And, from her silence, I figure he will not be getting that information. “Alright,” I say, pulling up to the curb, “Tell ‘em you’ve almost made a positive acquaintance at college.”

Ter shrugs ever so slightly. “It would be rude to talk about Jason without his permission,” she says.

“Your sarcasm could use some work, but a good first try,” I joke, smirking. Ter rolls her eyes as she climbs out of the truck.

Pete waits until she’s out of the car and the door is closed to turn to me. “So, any idea why she’s getting off so far from the action?” he asks.

“Yeah, I could probably guess,” I reply honestly, “But I’d suggest talking with her about it. Now, we’ve got a couple hours to find a good place. Remember, we’re staying here two days.”

Pete nods. “Yeah, I remember. Because Therese knows people and is visiting with a bunch or whatever.” Then, as though he just had the most ingenious idea, Pete starts to smile and bounce in his seat, just a bit. “How about some wine tasting?”

“Tonight?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No,tomorrow during the day. You know, I’ve heard a lot of good things about the wine tours around here.”

I look over at this whole knew Pete, baffled by his new seemingly classy opinions. “Who are you? Where’s my friend who insisted it wasn’t a party if you didn’t buy and take molly during it?”

“He’s here, too,” Pete insists, “I just want to have some stories I can talk about. You know, without incriminating myself to our new advisor.”

I give him a look, but nod. “Sure. And it’s not at all about learning how to sound fancy for some girl back on the East Coast?”

Pete feigns looking offended, “You think I would take advantage of our summer road trip for personal benefit. For shame, Ike.”

“Why?” I reply, “I mean, I certainly would.”

Pete laughs. “In that case, yes, one hundred percent it’s about learning how to sound fancy-smart.”

“Well,” I joke, “It’s good to aim high. You still on for a blowout tonight?”

“Really? You have something planned?” Pete asks.

I shrug and sigh. “Not really. I was kind of hoping you did. Far as I could tell back when we started this thing, nothing big was happening around here today.”

Pete smiles as we drive further into town. “Well, aren’t you glad I’m here then? You find us a place to stay, I’ll find us a party.” He pulls out his phone and starts doing something. I’m not sure what exactly he does, but I’m also not going to question it. If he can find us a party for tonight, I’m down for whatever. More important right now is finding a place to stay the night for us two. I highly suspect we won’t see Ter again until right before we leave, so having an extra room isn’t the biggest deal, and if she does end up popping in, she can just use the trailer.

Pulling into a chain motel, I park and head into the front office. Knocking on the desk with my complete lack of rhythm, the manager turns around and asks, “Yes?”

“Got a room for me and my friend? Two beds for today.” I keep my voice pleasant.

The manager nods. “That’ll be $79,” she says without paying much attention, “And you’ll need to be checked out by eleven.”

I smile tight-lipped. That would be too soon. “How about today and tomorrow then?”

“$158, then,” she replies, typing that into the computer. “Name and credit card?”

I pull out my wallet and take out a wad of bills. “Isaac Casaubon. And I don’t trust credit card companies,” I say, counting out the money and putting it on the table.

She looks up, nods, and takes the money. Turning back around, she pulls out the keys and hands them to me. “You’ll be on the second floor, two doors down from the stairwell. Enjoy your stay, mister Casaubon.”

I smile at her. “I will. And please, call me Isaac.” Turning around and heading back out to the truck, I smack the passenger's side door, where Pete is still on his phone, and hold up the keys. He nods and climbs out, still focused on his phone. From the back, we each grab one of our bags before we head towards the motel.

“So,” Pete says staring at his phone and furiously typing, “Who are we today?”

I chuckle as I guide him to the stairwell. “You’re nobody. I’m one of the most learned men and greatest scholars in modern history.” I make sure to pronounce learned with its proper two syllables.

Pete finally looks up to give me a judgmental look. “How modern are we talking?” he asks, somewhat concerned.

“Oh, you know, late sixteenth century.” As Pete groans, I feel the need to defend myself. “What, I wanted to have my first name, and nobody knows the guy unless they’re super into early classical or theological scholarship. She certainly didn’t.”

Pete shakes his head and rolls his eyes. “Of course, it was a girl.”

“Are you implying something?” I ask him.

He states, very matter-of-factly, “Yes.”

“Alright, good,” I reply with a grin, “I was worried that I misread the sitch.”

“I’m just saying, if something goes wrong because-” he begins.

I cut him off. “Hey, we was just talking about this. You get to be your kind of selfish, I get to be mine.”

He rolls his eyes again, but rather than object, he simply sighs. “Fine,” he says, “But if anything goes wrong we get to blame you.” He turns back to his phone.

“Agreed,” I say, as I open up our motel room’s door. The room has a stale smell to it, but other than that, it’s about what I expected, “Now, dibs on the first shower.”

“Good idea,” Pete says as, without even looking around him, he slides past me and plops himself onto one of the two armchairs, “You stink.”

“Rude,” I tell him, “True, but rude.” I walk into our motel room, dropping my bag, and head for the bathroom. It’s about what I’m expecting. Clean-ish. Some crappy towels hanging. A small shower. Spinning the hot water on, I kick the door closed behind me. Locking it, I strip out of my sweaty, been-driving-all-day clothes and step into the scalding shower.

I relax my entire body as the roaring water washes over me. Leaning on a wall in the shower, water flowing down my back, is one of the most calming experiences in the world. As I stand there, slowly washing myself off, the rest of the world, all my worries, everything that isn’t in the moment, right then and there, falls away, leaving me in the present in a way little else is able to. Unfortunately, in the middle of me showering, Pete knocks on the bathroom door. “What?” I shout out.

“I was eating a quick snack and planning and I got to thinking, why’d you agree to this whole thing?” he asks loud enough to be heard over the roaring water.

“Agree? You do realize I planned this trip, right?” I reply, curious about where this line of questioning is heading.

“Most of it, sure,” he replies, “But you clearly didn’t have any plans for these next two days, and makes me wonder why you looped Therese’s plans into your own.”

I chuckle. I reply to his implied question with the most honest answer that tells him nothing. “Same could be said about looping you in.”

“Except I’ve got plans for us all during our day trip to the big easy. Therese didn’t loop you into her plans.”

I laugh as I step out of the shower and turn it off. “Yeah, don’t really think I want to be a part of Ter’s whole thing.” I grab a towel for myself and start drying off. “And anyways,” I add, “Ter’s been pretty great to have around on the rest of the trip.”

“Really?” Pete asks, then clarifies the befuddlement, “Because she’s been kinda on the side of most of the parties. Don’t get me wrong, she’s been great helping with the driving, but other than that, what else has she really done?”

Wrapping my lower body in the towel, I open up the bathroom door. “I mean, you do remember she got us the in up in Portland. And she’s the reason the dealer in Minneapolis didn’t overcharge.”

“Overcharging don’t matter much,” Pete replies, then concedes, “Though I’ll admit getting into that party was awesome. Maybe the best party we’ve been to so far.”

I smile as I slide past Pete, heading towards my bag, which holds a set of clothes. Behind me, before he enters the bathroom, I add, “And my money’s on things like that happening again. Also, she’s a good sounding board for me, I find. She thinks about things just differently, you know?”

Pete heads into the bathroom. “Honestly, I’m mostly surprised you didn't bring Natalya, I think.”

I sigh and shake my head as I pull out my outfit. “Nat and Ali are off having a time in Europe. I invited them, but they said no. Evidently, they’d planned their vacation back during winter break.”

“Of course they said no,” Pete joked as he shut the bathroom door and locked it, “Anybody would pick a private jet to fancy foreign places over five people moving between cheap motels in old cars. Alina’s probably got drivers for them while they’re over there.”

I drop my towel as I begin to dress myself. “It was a yacht, not a jet. And don’t be silly,” I say loudly, then add slightly more quietly, “They’re too busy driving around in a lambo.”

Pete laughs. “Of course they are,” he says, then turns on his shower, adding, “As I said, anybody would choose that vacay.”

I sigh. I mean, he isn’t wrong. And they invited me on their party boat. But this isn’t a vacation. Ter saw right through me before we’d even left. Luckily, Pete’s an idiot who’s obsession with enjoying himself blinded him to my planning. It isn’t so much that my plans involve him or could be hindered by him, but more that the more people who know what I’m doing, the more people who know my long-term plans, the higher risk of those plans getting out. Once set in motion, no one could stop my plans, but that doesn’t mean people couldn’t appropriate them for their own benefit. I trust Ter, because ever since I learned she is spying on everyone I’ve known she has her own plans. The only other person I trust would be Ali, because her path forward is set in stone by her family. Anyone else is a risk. Another reason Pete being here is a blessing. His presence is a distraction for anyone watching, and acting behind his back would be unthinkable to the Magisters. After all, he’s a year above Ter and myself.

Pushing thoughts of schemes out of my mind, I finish dressing myself. Once Pete finishes his shower and gets dressed, he’ll have a plan for the rest of the day. Until then, I’m just going to relax. These next two days are my only real vacation days this summer. Lying down on my bed, I close my eyes and take another deep breath. Almost immediately, I start to drift away into a much needed nap.