Argosy Junction

by Chautona Havig

  To: lanesywoolsey@letterbox.com

  From: mattrushby@letterbox.com

  Subject: Bliss

  Dear Lane,

  You’re coming! I can’t believe you’re coming. Your itinerary looks good, but there are a few things I’d recommend before you leave.

  The hotel you chose is amazing, but you can get a place just as nice a little farther uptown closer to some of the things you want to do.

  If you want to see one of the afternoon matinees at the RAC or attend a night performance of the opera or ballet, I’d get online at www.RAC.rockland.com and see what’s available now because they’ll sell out just as quickly. I think RAC has a formal dress code so you might want to bring something semi-formal or formal.

  I want you to know that my mom will want to invite you guys over for dinner or something, and I don’t want you to feel obligated. So, if you meet her and she invites you, feel free to say you’re busy with something else; I won’t be offended.

  I can’t wait to see all of you. But I truly wish Martha and the boys were coming as well. I would love to see them all.

  Looking forward to showing you “my pasture,”

  Matt

  Eight

  The stairs seemed extra-long that Thursday night. It’d been two days since Lane and Patience had left Argosy Junction. Tad’s email sent the night before said they’d arrived in Minneapolis safely and were heading southeast from there today. They’d either arrive late tonight, or they’d stop along the way and arrive in the morning.

  He wasn’t hungry. Normally famished after work, Matt felt a nervous sickness in his stomach that churned at the idea of food. There was no chance of a quirky little email from Patience or one of Lane’s funny missives that teased him and kept him abreast of the happenings around the ranch. They didn’t have a laptop, and she’d have no way to write.

  His mom waved at him with her spatula as he kicked off his boots into the coat closet and stripped his shirt into the waiting laundry basket. “I’ll bring my pants out in a minute, Mom.”

  “I got a call from your girls. They said they’d probably be in around ten or so and might call you for directions if they get lost. That little girl is such a chatterbox.”

  While his mom rhapsodized over Patience’s conversation, Matt slipped into his room to change his clothes. Mom must be trying to get her work done hoping to have Saturday free for guests. He started to slip on his old, comfortable, threadbare gym shorts, but his mom’s words echoed through his mind. Call for directions. If they did that, he might try to drive and meet them at the rest stop outside the city near Fairbury.

  He found the printout of Lane’s itinerary and took it to the kitchen. Carefully, Matt punched the numbers into the phone and waved the paper at his mom as he wandered back to his room as she called out, “Your mail is on your dresser. I made the bed after I washed the sheets, so I had to move it.”

  Matt nodded, still concentrating on the ringing phone in his ear. “Hello? Patience? This is Matt. Hi. Hey, listen. Tell Lane that there is a rest stop about midway between Fairbury and Rockland. So have her call me, or you call me when you get to Fairbury. We can meet there, and I’ll just lead you guys into the city, okay? Everyone feeling okay? Having fun? Well, good. I’ll talk to you later.”

  In the kitchen, Matt’s mom overheard Matt’s side of the conversation and translated it into motherese. Her son was worried about a young woman and her little sister. Her son wanted to get them safely to their hotel. Her son had friends driving to meet them from almost two thousand miles away. Her son had a girlfriend for the first time in five years or more, and he didn’t seem to know it.

  Matt shuffled out of his room and hung up the phone. He snatched a fried onion from the can she sprinkled over her casserole and dodged Carol’s half-hearted kick. “You leave that alone. Dinner’ll be done in about half an hour.”

  “I’ve got time. Say, will Dad mind if I use the car, or should I call Pete?”

  Assured that Jake had no need for the car, Matt ambled back to his room to grab a change of clothes and take a shower. The stack of mail on his dresser caught his attention though. A letter from Lane seemed like the cherry on the top of a sundae.

  “Dear Matt,” Matt’s eyes widened at the formal greeting. Lane always started her letters with a mocking term or just plain Matt. He hoped the switch to a more formal opening wasn’t indicative of her being upset with his last letter.

  I’m on the top of the hill that overlooks the pasture where we first met. I’ve just read your latest letter and the sun is almost down, so I’ll probably finish this inside later. I thought you’d like to see that scene again, even if just on paper.

  The lambs are almost ready for market. The ones that are leaving will be shipped out at the end of this week, and then next week Dad goes to Rockland for the convention. I think he’s planning on seeing you, and I think we’re all a little envious. Try to give him a glimpse of that smile so he can take a picture of it. We miss it.

  The sunset is gorgeous. The sky seems endless and is streaked with salmon and lavender and occasionally chocolate. I think I already see signs of Venus. You denied me that pleasure once, if you remember.

  I’m home now. At dinner, we discussed a call I made to my father, and I’m coming to Rockland ahead of him. We’ll be there for two weeks, but I don’t know why I’m telling you this; Patience has probably already written you.

  Your letter, Matt. There are parts that I don’t understand and parts that I’ve reread several times already because I think I do understand. There is so much I want to ask or say, but since we’re coming, I’ll wait. Perhaps when I see you there some things will make more sense to me.

  Nearly on my way,

  Lane

  Nothing else was unusual about the style of the letter, but Matt felt a change that went beyond the stilted opening. His mind whirled to explain it, but instead, he grabbed his clean clothes and raced for the bathroom. He needed to clean up, force some dinner down him somehow, fill the car with gas, and then maybe he’d just head on out to the rest stop. He excused his eagerness with thoughts of traffic delays and the lack of safety in sitting around a rest stop alone.

  Forty-five minutes later, he zipped around the Rockland loop looking for the Fairbury exit. In no time, he pulled into the rest stop, locked his car, bought a Coke from the vending machine, and made himself comfortable at a picnic table near the entrance. No one would drive in without him seeing them arrive.

  He tried reading the L’Amour book he’d brought, but he couldn’t concentrate. Seeing the dandelion-infested grass around him gave Matt an idea, and for the next few minutes, he carefully picked as many dandelions as he could hold in one hand. It grew dark and still he sat on the picnic bench holding his bunch of dandelions. A few cars drove in, one or two with squealing children who raced to the bathrooms followed by exasperated fathers or disheveled mothers.

  When it seemed they’d never come, a car pulled in and parked a few feet away from him. Matt hardly gave it a second glance until he heard Patience’s voice scream, “Matt!” as the doors opened.

  The little girl streaked across the grassy area around the table and hurled herself at here. “We’re here! You were fast! We forgot to call until a few minutes ago, and your mom said you’d meet us here.”

  As Lane exited their Lincoln Town car, Matt realized that he’d forgotten how tall she was. Patience’s chatter brought him back to his senses. “Oh, I picked you some dandelions. I thought you’d have fun blowing them under the light over there.”

  Patience streaked off to try his suggestion, sending the seeds scattering everywhere on her way. Lane strode across the grass toward him, but Matt didn’t move. He wanted to meet her in the middle, but something stopped him. Instead, he moved his book from beside him on the bench and motioned for her to take a seat.

  “Have a good trip today?” Matt felt like an idiot.

  Lane nodded. “Yep. Pretty uneventful until about now.”


  Matt gave her a sidelong glance and a slight smile. “You saying getting here is an event?”

  “I’m saying that seeing you is event worthy.” He heard what she didn’t say. She’d broken the ice but that was as far as she would go.

  Patience raced to the restrooms shouting her intentions as she went. Matt jumped to his feet to follow. He held out his hand to Lane as he did. “Come on. You don’t want her in there alone.”

  Lane took his hand and let him pull her to her feet again. She looked exhausted. Matt suspected that her internal clock was still on Montana time, and an early bedtime at that. Additionally, she probably wasn’t accustomed to driving so much or through large cities with intensive traffic. If only he could drive the rest of the way for her.

  Matt didn’t release her hand until they reached the entrance to the bathroom. “I’ll be right here.”

  As Lane disappeared into the concrete restrooms, Matt stared at his hand. He hadn’t intended to hold it all the way across the lawn. He’d seen Lane was tired and just naturally offered to help her to her feet again. Once he had her hand though, he hadn’t wanted to let it go.

  Sounds of splashing water and Lane’s admonition to Patience to dry her hands echoed in the restrooms and drifted outside. Patience’s chatter was less discernible. He caught something about the dandelions and how much longer it’d be until they got “home.”

  As they reached their cars, Matt sighed. “If this was my car, I’d risk leaving it here and drive you in, but it’s my dad’s and I can’t. I’ll go slow and make sure I give you plenty of time to follow. You’ll be in bed in no time.”

  Matt led the way through the countryside, onto the Rockland loop, off the freeway, and into the city streets. It drove him crazy that he was missing Patience’s first impressions with his town and that he couldn’t show Lane places that were important or interesting to him. He told himself, “all in good time,” but it seemed like an urgent thing—as though he had to share it all as fast as possible or they’d never know.

  The Rockland Towers stood adjacent to the RAC Convention Annex. Though Matt had suggested a less expensive alternative, Warren Argosy liked staying where he didn’t have to drive through town to get to the convention. It was convenient, and since Warren would arrive in a couple of days, Lane and Patience stayed in the room adjoining the one Warren, and possibly Tad, would eventually occupy.

  Matt tried to help with their luggage, but a porter had placed it on a luggage rack and in the elevator almost before Matt knew what was happening. “Shall I go park your car?” Matt’s car was sitting next to a meter in the street, but Lane had driven under the porte-cochere and handed the keys to the porter as she entered the elevator.

  “That’s okay; the porter will let the valet take care of it. Daddy said to leave it all to them. I don’t think he wants me wandering around parking garages, trying to remember where I left my car.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Late that night, Matt rolled over and kicked the blankets off him again. He couldn’t sleep. Lane was less than five miles from his house, and she and Patience would be wandering the streets of Rockland in just a few hours. Would Patience remember to stay with Lane? Would both of them remember to watch for traffic as they crossed streets and hold onto their purses? Would they know to stay out of the seedier areas when he wasn’t with them?

  He made up his mind. Matt hadn’t called in sick but a handful of times in the ten years he’d worked for Rockland Metal Works, and never had he lied about it. He was calling in sick tomorrow, though, and he’d deal with the fallout later.

  ~*~*~*~

  “Brad? This is Matt. I’m not coming in today.” Matt listened to a few choice words fly out of his boss’ lips and continued. “How many hours of sick leave do I have on the books?”

  Brad punched keys on his computer and with a few clicks of the mouse came back with, “Looks like two fifty-four.”

  “I’m taking a sick day today.”

  Something in Matt’s tone told his boss that this was important enough for Matt to call in well. “Sick of work?”

  A relieved chuckle escaped Matt’s half-held breath. “Something like that. I’ve got guests from out of town, and I want to spend the day with them.”

  Silence hung on the line for a few moments, and then Brad cleared his throat. “I’ve got you off until Tuesday. Look, you gotta work Wednesday to avoid a doctor’s excuse, but Wednesday night I’ll put you in for Thursday and Friday if they’ll be here that long.”

  Shocked at Brad’s understanding, Matt murmured his thanks and hung up the phone. He dressed quickly and then went to fix a bowl of cereal. His mom stumbled from her room just as he rinsed his bowl. Her eyes grew wide.

  “You’ve missed your train! You’re gonna be late.”

  “I’m not going in. Brad gave me a few sick days off.”

  Her eyes bugged out even farther. “You lied?”

  “No, Mom. I told him I wanted to use some of the sick days on the books. He approved the use for visiting with friends, so I’m going to go down and show Lane and Patience around downtown.”

  He grabbed his wallet, subway pass, and keys. “I don’t know when I’ll be home.”

  His mother waited until he got to the sidewalk before she called down from their window, “Make sure you invite them over for Saturday. I wanna meet your girl.”

  Matt threw a half-wave in his mother’s direction and sauntered toward the subway station a few blocks away, trying to ignore the rising sense of embarrassment. The subway let him off around the corner from Lane’s hotel and as he entered the lobby, the realization that his Lane and Patience were just a few floors above him, slammed into his consciousness. This was really happening!

  He glanced at his watch and groaned; surely, they were still sleeping. He mentally kicked himself for not arranging something the night before and then went to the registration desk. Maybe they could help.

  A perky blonde tossed her hair and smiled welcomingly at him. “Welcome to Rockland Towers.”

  “Is there a way to tell if a guest is awake without calling their room? Friends just got in late last night and I don’t want to wake them up, so I didn’t call, but I don’t want to sit in the lobby all day—”

  She hesitated before beginning the standard response to similar questions. “I’m sorry, but the privacy of our guests is of utmost importance to us at the Towers. I’m afraid I cannot help you with that information. I hope you understand.”

  Matt shuffled awkwardly. Of course, they couldn’t hand out random information about guests. He wouldn’t want her to let someone else know if the Argosys were in their room or not. “I’m sorry. You’re right; I just didn’t think. I’ll wait over there. If they come to the desk and you remember, can you tell them Matt is here?”

  The young woman hesitated and something changed in her expression. “Oh well, what room? Maybe they’ve requested room service or something this morning and that’d show up on their account.”

  Matt gave her the room number and watched as her fingers flew effortless across the keyboard as she eyed the screen intently. “Well there isn’t any room service requested, but the key was swiped about three minutes ago, so someone has been in and out of the room.” She looked up at him once more and whispered, “Please don’t tell anyone I did that. I could get fired for it.”

  “Of course I won’t.” He pointed to a lobby phone. “Can I call the room from—never mind. Thanks.”

  Matt crossed the lobby quickly and stood behind Lane and Patience as they waited for a table in the Breakfast Room. The hostess smiled at the group and said, “Table for three?”

  Lane and Patience hardly glanced behind themselves shaking their heads no, but Matt just nodded with a look of amusement on his face. “Yes. Thank you. Three.”

  Patience whirled and hugged him. “Matt! I thought you had to work today!”

  He steered the bouncing little girl ahead of him as they followed the hostess to their table. “My boss let me us
e a few of my sick days while you’re here.”

  Patience’s eyes grew wide with surprise and dismay. “You lied!”

  “At my work, if the boss says it’s okay, you can use sick days as personal days. I’ll have to work Wednesday, though. So what is on the agenda for this morning? I don’t want to take over your day or anything, but I wanted to be available if you needed a navigator.”

  Eyes twinkling, Lane winked at Patience and said, “Well we have to go shopping first. We only have ranch clothes, and they’re not exactly appropriate for the big city.” Lane steered Matt’s attention to Patience’s calico jumper with her eyes.

  They debated store options over breakfast until Matt finally suggested that he go try to call someone for recommendations. Even as he said it, he realized he didn’t have anyone to call. Shrugging his shoulders, he excused himself and went to ask the young woman at the registration desk.

  “Did you find your party, sir?” The perky blonde’s tag identified her as Marci.

  “Yes, thank you for your help. I have another question. My friends need to do some clothes shopping, and I don’t know where to suggest that they go. They’re from Montana and—” He pointed to their table across the lobby. “Well, see that cute little girl in the restaurant with the dark brown braids wearing the purple dress? They’re looking for something that won’t stick out quite so much.”

  Marci nodded eagerly. “I know what they need. I’ll write down a few stores and the streets they’re on. I don’t know addresses, but I can give you an approximate cross street, and a cab might be able to find it.”

  “I can find it. Anything you can suggest will help. I really appreciate it.”

  While she wrote, Matt debated whether he should try to tip her for her assistance or not. He knew about bellhops and housekeeping, but wasn’t sure about the rest of the hotel staff. As she slid the paper across the desk, he decided to ask directly.

  “Um, can I—” He fumbled for his wallet, but Marci shook her head.