96. Driving Again
I wake up and realize what I have to do.
I need to see Iris.
I need to get answers from her.
I trust this woman. There’s something different about her. Something authentic and real. Something hopeful. And whatever mumbo jumbo she might end up sharing with me doesn’t matter because I’ll take anything. Anything that offers a glimmer of light, even if it’s barely visible through the tiny peephole.
It’s Sunday morning and … yeah, I don’t even need to say it. I’m awake and Mom’s asleep and she has no idea I’m taking her keys and I have every idea why she’s still sleeping. Enough said.
The car that I feel like I just got out of is covered in dew. I start it and turn on the windshield wipers and let them go for a few moments, listening to the steady beat in a trance.
I head up the road on this cloudy gray morning when I see something in front of me and swerve into a ditch.
When I look back up, I see Jared walking up to me. It takes a second to roll down the window.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he asks.
“What are you doing?”
“I was coming to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s time. Back up and let me in.”
It takes me a couple of tries to get the car back onto the dirt road. Jared climbs inside and studies me.
“You’re driving a lot these days, aren’t you?”
I nod.
“Get your license or something?”
“No.”
“Well—guess it doesn’t really matter. Not around here.”
The car is still in neutral.
“Where you going?”
“I was heading to work.”
“On a Sunday? That’s the day of rest, right? You never work on Sundays.”
“I need to see Iris.”
“Why?”
I haven’t told him about his father working there.
“What is it, Chris?”
“Your father. He used to work at the Crag’s Inn. Just like I do.”
Jared waits for more information.
“He just disappeared on her.”
“And she knows nothing more?”
“That’s all she told me,” I say. “I have a feeling she knows a lot more. About Solitary. About me.”
“Drive then.”
I still remain parked on the side of the road.
“What is it?”
“I’m not supposed to bring anybody there.”
“Why? Because we’ll invade the woman’s privacy or something?”
“No, it’s just—it’s one of her rules. And I don’t want to do anything against her.”
“She’s an old lady who’s as nutty as Aunt Alice. She’s just more refined. That’s all. Same craziness in a different brand.”
“I promised.”
“What? You want me to get my car and follow you?”
“She can’t see that I brought you there.”
“It’s not like the Crag’s Inn is some secret. Everybody knows where it is.”
“I don’t know.”
“Chris—listen. You’re not the only one who wants answers. I have a right to know.”
I feel the heat finally start working in the car. I stare out the clearing windshield and shake my head. “Just stay in the car until I tell her you’re there,” I finally say.
“No problem.”