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,