Honeymoon for Three Read Online Free PDF Page B

playing blackjack. Then we drove on toward San
Francisco where we were meeting friends. So I’m a lifetime winner
in Reno.”
    “Did you actually see any wedding chapels
there?”
    “I think so. There are wedding chapels in
Las Vegas, so there must be some in Reno. It’s known as the divorce
capital of the U.S. Don’t weddings and divorces go together?”
    “Bite your tongue. Once we get married, it’s
going to be forever.”
    Gary hoped that was true. “Where a need
exists, somebody’s going to supply what is needed. Since there’s a
waiting period to get married in California, Nevada is filling the
gap, so to speak.”
    Penny was looking at the map. “It’s going to
be dark before we get to the campground.”
    “That’s all right. All we have to do is to
put up the tent and unroll the sleeping bag.”
    The double sleeping bag Penny and her two
girlfriends had slept in when they had driven across the country
two years before, fresh out of college. Gary liked the concept of a
double sleeping bag.
    ***
    How far were they going? Alfred hadn’t
reckoned with the necessity of following them in the dark.
Especially now that they had turned off 395 onto a smaller road
that was curving its way through the mountains toward Lake Tahoe.
He could see this from the signs, even though he could no longer
read his map.
    A while back they had entered Nevada on 395,
but if they continued in this direction they would reenter
California. That set Alfred’s mind at rest concerning one worry
that had been bugging him. Apparently they weren’t going to get
married tonight.
    He passed a sign announcing that they had
climbed to over 7,000 feet. Mountainous terrain. He hadn’t been
this high since he had driven over the Continental Divide on his
cross-country trip.
    Following them in the dark and the hills and
the curves was a much harder proposition than following them during
daylight. During the day, when they had stopped to eat or get gas,
he had stopped farther on, duplicating their activities, and
watched for them from the window of one of the many mom-and-pop
diners. He had gotten into a rhythm, sometimes driving behind them,
sometimes ahead of them, but always knowing exactly where they
were.
    Now he had to stay much closer to them to
make sure he was behind the correct set of taillights. The traffic
was sparse, but another danger was that they would turn off and he
would miss their turn because they were out of sight around a
curve. He might sail right on by them. This closeness made the
chances of them becoming suspicious of him much greater than it had
been.
    Alfred was right behind the VW when it
turned left onto Route 50, trusting in the darkness to keep them
from noticing his car. He dropped back a few yards and caught
glimpses of Lake Tahoe on the right by the light of the moon. They
drove through the resort city of South Lake Tahoe, mixing with
enough other traffic to keep him on high alert.
    The VW suddenly turned into what looked like
a driveway. Alfred couldn’t afford to take this turn, but he
strained to read a sign as he drove by. El Dorado Campground. He
drove on around a curve, parked, and used the car’s interior light
to read his watch. It was almost ten o’clock. It had been a long
day. He was having a hard time staying awake.
    As he waited five minutes to make sure they
had checked in and driven away from the entrance, Alfred put his
hand under his shirt and felt his bellybutton. His outie
bellybutton. If it had been an innie, his life might have turned
out differently. He might have been the person in the car with
Penny. He might be sleeping with her tonight. He might be….
    Rage expanded inside him, like steam from a
teakettle. His body vibrated. Life was unfair. He became wide
awake. He started the car and made a U-turn. The Ford had a wide
turning radius, and he didn’t judge the distance correctly. He had
to back up to complete the turn. When he was in reverse, a car came
around the curve,