Heartbreak Highway 1

by Harper Whitmore

  Marshall didn’t see him. He opened his arms as he got close and Simone ran into them. She spotted Eva over Marshall’s shoulder, and smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. It was more of a smug, “Look out Eva, here I am,” kind of smile. Eva smiled back. She hoped it didn’t look as much like a crocodile as she imagined it did. She pictured herself, opening wide like a crocodile does and snapping Simone’s pretty head right off her shoulders. She would of course have to spit it out right away so as not to taint her own system. It was a silly but satisfying image.

  Eva stepped up next to them just as Marshall said,

  “How did you get here, babe?” Eva was dying to see Marshall’s face when he found out.

  “I rented a car and drove to Florence. I had to turn the car in there and they said they’d have another available for me today. But I happened to meet this really nice guy…where did he go? Justin! Come out and meet Marshall.”

  Justin stepped out of the RV. The reluctant look on his face was obvious, the pissed off look on Marshall’s face was more fun to watch though. Eva had to smile as recognition crossed Marshall’s face and he said,

  “What the hell are you doing with this pervert?”

  Simone’s eyes grew to the size of silver dollars as she said, “What do you mean? You two know each other?” Justin walked up next to Simone with a mixture of nervousness and mild amusement on his face. He probably thought Marshall was going to punch him out, but at the same time he found the situation as amusing as Eva did.

  “We’ve met, yeah,” Marshall said, still glaring at Justin. Justin, who seemed to have lost any sense of concern for his own safety turned to Eva, grinned from ear to ear and said,

  “Hey Eva, how’s it hangin?” Eva couldn’t help herself, she lost it. She busted up laughing while Simone and Marshall looked at her like she was crazy and Justin looked like he just wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. He finally said,

  “Oh Dude! This was the chick you were on the phone with the other night when Eva and I were getting hot and heavy on the dance floor.”

  Marshall took a step forward, Eva, who had tears streaming down her face from laughing automatically put a hand on his chest. Simone, who still didn’t know what the hell was going on, but knew that she didn’t want Eva touching her man shot out a glare that may have stopped the devil in his tracks. Eva moved her hand and said,

  “I’m hungry. Let’s get some breakfast.”

  “Right on,” Justin said.

  “You’re not invited,” Marshall told him.

  “What happened between the two of you?” Simone said. It was like a comedy of errors and Eva guiltily loved it.

  Somehow they made it to the little restaurant at the front of the complex without anyone punching anyone in the face. Eva had to use the restroom and before she left she whispered to Marshall,

  “Please behave. I don’t want to have to bail you out of jail in order to finish our trip.”

  Marshall nodded, but his face didn’t seem to be making any promises. Eva wasn’t sure if Justin was stupid or stoned or both but he seemed oblivious to how close he was to getting his ass beat. He acted like he thought he was part of the group.

  When Eva got to the bathroom, she took her phone out. She couldn’t wait to post the photos she’d taken of her and Marshall and the gorgeous scenery on their hot air balloon ride on Facebook. She was sure, now that Simone had arrived that she wouldn’t have much chance to get a selfie of the two of them again. She uploaded the photos and by the time she finished her business, Helen had already liked and commented on them,

  “What a grand adventure! The two of you make such a handsome couple.” Eva thought it was funny how she talked like an old woman. Her photo only looked like she was about thirty-five years old.

  She private messaged her back saying, “Simone just showed up, so those might be the last of Marshall and me together.”

  Helen didn’t respond right away. Eva was almost back to the table when her phone beeped. She looked at it and Helen had said,

  “Don’t let her discourage you.”

  “From what?” Eva asked back.

  “From getting what you want and deserve.”

  “Eva?” She looked up and Marshall was giving her a quizzical look. “Who ya talking to?”

  “Um, just my mom. Where’d RV guy go?”

  “He had to run,” Marshall said with a grin. Eva slid in across from him and of course Simone who was practically sitting in his lap. “I ordered your coffee,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Eva told him. Simone was giving her a strange look. She smiled suddenly, another unpleasant one and she said,

  “The two of you are so cute, like an old married couple or something.” It was obvious from her tone that she thought they were anything but cute.

  “Thirteen years is a long time, Simone. People get to know just about everything there is to know about one another in that amount of time,” Eva was surprised to hear the words come out of her own mouth. She usually didn’t respond to Simone’s sniping, but she was so aggravated that she’d crashed their road trip. She was really going to have to keep her tongue in check. Luckily, the waitress brought their drinks before she had a chance to say anything else.

  They ordered their breakfast, Marshall and Eva ordered regular things like eggs and pancakes while Simone of course got the low fat cottage cheese and fruit plate.

  “So where are we going from here?” Simone asked, halfway through the meal.

  “Well,” Marshall said, glancing at Eva… “We’re not leaving Asheville until tomorrow.”

  “Cool, Justin was telling me about some great clubs….”

  “Okay,” Marshall interrupted her, “But first we’re going to do the Biltmore tour….two of them, actually.”

  “Oh please say you’re kidding! I went on one of those tours once with my grandparents; it was the single most boring day of my life. “

  “Sorry, not kidding,” Marshall told her.

  “But why, Marshall? There have to be million more exciting things to do in this town.” Simone had resorted to a whine and a pout. Eva continued to eat her breakfast with a neutral expression but inside her head, she was sighing and rolling her eyes.

  “It’s on the itinerary,” Marshall told her.

  “It’s on the what?”

  “The itinerary that Granddad left us. He wants us to go.”

  “He’s dead!” she blurted out, before realizing how it sounded. When both Eva and Marshall’s head’s snapped up, she quickly tried to back pedal saying, “And I’m so sorry about that, Marshall…I really am. But honey, you have to move on with your life. You can’t just keep holding on to old things because they remind you of him,” Simone blatantly glanced in Eva’s direction when she said that, “And you can’t let him dictate your life to you from the grave. Besides, it’s just….morbid.”

  “Simone,” Marshall said, taking a deep breath. Eva knew him well enough to know that he was trying hard to remain patient with her. She often wondered why he bothered trying. All she really had to do was look at Simone to answer that question. “Granddad is dead, yes. But, he made this plan for us while he was still alive. Following through with his wishes now is going to make us feel like we’re doing this one last thing for him….it’ll help Eva and I get through the grief process.”

  Simone looked like she was going to argue more, but suddenly taking a deep breath she said, “Okay honey, of course you need to grieve in your own way. Whatever I can do to help….”

  Marshall put his arm around her and pulled her in close. “Thank you, baby,” he told her. “Your support means a lot to me.” As fake as it may be, Eva thought.

  After breakfast as Eva followed the two of them out to the car, she wondered how much of this “third wheel” thing she was going to be able to handle. Marshall and Simone walked hand in hand and Eva trailed behind. Justin’s RV was still parked out front and as they reached the Caddy, Eva saw him waving out the back window. Shaking her hea
d, she waved back. Marshall glanced at him and he dropped the curtain quickly, then he looked at Eva and said,

  “Do you remember what I told you about that guy the other night?”

  “The events of that night are…foggy,” she said with a grin. Simone narrowed her eyes, obviously wondering what they were talking about. Marshall went on to say,

  “You’re too good for a guy like that, Eva. Don’t settle for less than you deserve, ever.”

  “Okay, let’s go!” Simone said, stopping the conversation there. Marshall pulled open the passenger door and Simone jumped in the front seat. A look passed between Eva and Marshall that didn’t need words as she climbed into the back seat. When Marshall got in the driver’s seat, Simone slid over so that their thighs were touching. She picked up the itinerary off the dash and reading the cover with a curl of her lip she said, “What’s this?”

  “The map and the itinerary,” Marshall told her as they pulled out of the parking lot. Eva wanted to snatch it from Simone’s hands, but she restrained herself and sat back in the seat. Simone opened the book and flipped through a few pages. When she got to the part where they left Asheville and headed towards Tennessee she threw up her hands and said,

  “I’m sorry Marshall, but your grandfather was crazy.” Eva and Marshall had both said those same words about Granddad, but somehow, coming from the lips of someone who didn’t love him they sounded hateful and insulting.

  “Don’t talk about him like that!” Eva told her. Simone dismissed her with a roll of her eyes and toss of her long, dark hair as she said,

  “Did you read this all the way through?” she asked Marshall.

  “No, we were just kind of winging it. That was supposed to be the point of the trip.”

  “He has you going through the Appalachian’s and then to Dollywood! Are you freaking kidding me? Dollywood? Really?”

  Eva could see Marshall’s face in the rearview mirror. She saw his lips quirk in an upward slope as he said, “I like Dolly Parton.”

  Simone let out a low growl and said, “Your silly obsession with listening to country music is one thing, but a theme park named after a big-haired, big busted bottle blonde is going too far. It’s in Pigeon Forge Tennessee for crying out loud, how hillbilly is that?”

  Marshall kept his eyes on the road as he said, “If it’s on the itinerary, we’re doing it. I think it’ll be fun.”

  Simone sat back in the seat and folded her arms in a huff. Eva’s pleasant smile from earlier that day found its way back to her face.

  Chapter 9

  They arrived at the Biltmore Estate just before noon. The drive up to the estate was paved along the original carriage route that served the property in the old days and the road was flanked by trees and bushes in early stages of transforming into their gorgeous fall colors.

  “Oh my goodness, look, it’s a deer!” Eva cried out when she spotted a small doe looking out at them from behind one of the trees. Marshall looked at it and smiled, Simone didn’t seem the least bit impressed. A few minutes later Eva squealed again…. “It’s a turkey!”

  That time Simone sighed loudly. Eva opened her mouth to say something to her, but closed it again. She wasn’t going to let the other woman’s negative attitude ruin this for her. The three and a half mile ride was gorgeous and if Simone didn’t see the beauty and wonder in any of it, then Eva thought that was sadly, her loss.

  When they got to the ticket booth they were given pamphlets to help them through the self-guided main house tour. There was no timeline for the walk-through, but they were told to allow themselves at least two hours in order to be able to see it all thoroughly.

  They started on the main floor, Eva wanted to look at everything and Simone tried to hurry them along. Poor Marshall seemed torn between the two of them and although Eva wasn’t seeking his attention, he seemed interested in the same things in the house that she was. Unfortunately, every time the two of them tried to look more closely at something together, Simone would grab Marshall by the arm and lure him away somehow.

  They worked their way all the way up to the fourth floor. It was a great work-out, but the only complaint that Eva had was that they weren’t allowed to take pictures inside. There were so many beautiful things that she’d love to have photos of. She told herself that she’d just have to take a snapshot of it all in her mind. She would have to edit Simone out of all the shots thought; she couldn’t seem to get a good picture in her head without the raven haired nymph photo-bombing it.

  When they finished the house, almost two hours later, they headed out to the stables where there was a restaurant and shopping. Eva would have loved to spend more time inside the house, but Simone had started her incessant whining about an hour into the tour and neither Eva nor Marshall could take it any longer. When she heard there was shopping in the stables, her entire demeanor changed.

  The Stable Café had large, comfortable booths that were made from the former horse stalls. George Vanderbilt had spared no expense on his horses and the roomy stables and tack house allowed plenty of room for a beautiful, comfortable restaurant and chic little shops. The booths in the restaurants were former horse stalls and when Eva remarked about how cool she thought that was, Simone said,

  “It’s just a restaurant.”

  Eva was about to comment when Marshall suddenly said,

  “You have to look deeper, Simone.” Surprised and delighted, Eva grinned and hid behind her menu as she listened to what happened next.

  “Look deeper?” Simone said, sarcastically. “What does that even mean?”

  “Just what I said. This used to be a huge stable, filled with horses and carriages and tack rooms and farm offices. Think about all of the people who worked here, the horses that were born and died here…it’s so much more than just a restaurant.”

  Simone rolled her eyes and looked at Eva. “I think the two of you have gone as crazy as the old man.”

  “Stop talking about him that way,” Marshall told her.

  “I’m not saying anything that you yourself wouldn’t say….or Eva for that matter.”

  “It’s different,” he told Simone, again delighting Eva.

  “How?”

  It was as if he’d read Eva’s mind earlier in the day when he said, “Because Eva and I loved him. When we say it, it’s with endearment. When you say it….well, it’s just mean.”

  Simone was quiet after that through lunch, only coming alive when they finished and made it to the shops where of course she talked Marshall into spending a ton of money on her. She didn’t seem offended that the jewelry shops were located in a barn. She was even willing to accept a pair of diamond stud earrings that Marshall bought for her, after she pointed them out, of course.

  Their next tour was of the Historic Farm Village. The village had been the center of life for the estate workers in the earlier history of the estate. Simone dragged Marshall off to the shops the village sported now as Eva spent her time watching blacksmiths, woodworkers and other craftsmen demonstrate their skills. She walked through the corn bale maze and the petting zoo even though she seemed to be the only adult there without children. She looked at the display of old farm equipment and sampled frozen treats at the creamery. When Marshall and Simone found her, she was in line for the hay ride.

  Marshall tried to lead Simone into the line but she held back saying,

  “No way! I paid a hundred and forty dollars for these jeans. I’m not sitting on a clapboard trailer covered in hay in them.”

  Marshall once again looked torn. As he was trying to decide what to do, Simone sidled up next to him and slipped her arms around him. Stepping up on her toes, she pressed her mouth to his. Eva saw Marshall look at her before she turned her head away. Simone got her way and when Eva got back from her hayride with a phone full of pictures, they were waiting on one of the metal benches for her.

  “Finally!” Simone said when she saw her. Marshall shot Simone a look and asked Eva,

  “Was it fun?”
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  “It was,” she said with a smile. “There were more deer along the trail and wild turkeys. The landscape is incredible. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

  “The landscaping is pretty. Maybe we could copy some of it along the backside of Granddad’s estate,” he told her as they walked towards the tram that would take them back to their car.

  “I’m sure now that Henry is gone, Eva will find more interesting things to do than hang around that stuffy old house,” Simone said. “Besides, if you’re going to make upgrades, the inside is what needs updating.”

  “I love the interior of the house. Granny did it all herself. She had a great eye for that sort of thing,” Eva said.

  “Yes, If you’re a seventy year old southern woman, it’s fine,” Simone told her. Then she hooked her arm through Marshall’s and said, “You know, it would probably cost about the same to tear it down and build a new, modern one as it would to fix that old house up.”

  Marshall stopped walking and looked hard at her. “That house was my home for my entire life, Simone. I would never think about tearing it down. Besides, you’re getting way ahead of us here. We haven’t gone to the reading of the will yet. He may have left the house to Eva.” They were stepping off the tram as he said that and Simone looked appalled. She took the hand he held out to her and stepped off into the dirt. She made a face about that too and shook off her designer shoes before saying,

  “That would be terrible if Henry did that. After all, you just said it was your home. No offense Eva, but even though Henry felt bad for the way….well, you know….your mother and all of that….blood should run a lot deeper.”

  Marshall stopped walking again. “Simone, knock it off, please.”

  “What? I said, ‘No offense’.”

  Marshall laughed, but it wasn’t a happy laugh. It was like he was frustrated about trying to make her see things like a normal person should as he said, “You can’t just say, “no offense” and then say whatever you want to. People still get offended if you say ugly things.”