Riding the River Read online

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  Former Governor Henry Hughes was astonished -- His eyes widened, his mouth dropped open. He and Sarah were standing in the center of campaign headquarters with staff bustling all around them. Phones rang, placards fell and were picked up, people were talking and laughing, political slogans hung on the walls…

  “Sarah, you want to take off for a week now? The new gubernatorial campaign is starting and you know that I need you… both you and Ben. I’m advising the incumbent governor on how best to win this upcoming race. It’s going to be incredibly close with the challenger in the primary… How can you possibly think about leaving now?”

  Henry Hughes was an imposing figure. Over six feet tall with a full head of silver hair, much like his son’s, Hughes was impressive. He commanded respect and got it, although he had a real soft spot for his only granddaughter and loved her to distraction. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her, but she needed to help him too, when necessary. This was one of those times…

  Sarah gulped looking up at him. He didn’t mean to intimidate her, but she knew he meant business.

  “Grandfather, I haven’t had a vacation in two years and I really need one. Couldn’t you get someone else this time?” She thought her voice sounded whiny.

  He looked at her sternly, but lovingly. Henry took her hands in his.

  “Sweetie, I know that you need time off, but this isn’t the time. You are invaluable to me with all your social and business skills. It’ll only be for about five weeks and then you can take off. Please?”

  How could she refuse her grandfather? She loved him more than life…

  Sarah swallowed hard. “Okay, whatever you say. I’ll wait a while longer.”

  Walking out to her car, Robert called. “The Governor just called me. What’s this about going on vacation?” Sarah shook her head. Why did he insist on calling his father ‘the Governor’?

  All this effort was beginning to weigh her down – And she hadn’t even approached her boss yet…

  “… Dad…”

  “Honey, if you want to quit and come work for me, I’ll start you in a few months, so you can help your grandfather. Would that help you out?”

  “It would help out with the job, but not the vacation. I really need some time away, Dad…”

  “I understand, but this is probably the worst time ever to be taking off. Please think it over and call me tonight. I have a staff meeting starting in five minutes and need to go… Love you, honey…” And he hung up.

  Sarah opened her car door and sat down, looking through her windshield, but not seeing. All she needed now was a call from the absentee boyfriend reminding her of family duty and obligation. She didn’t have to wait long… Her phone rang.

  “Hello, Ben.”

  “Sarah, what’s this about you leaving on vacation? Your grandfather just told me. I can’t believe you’d abandon your family obligations at such a crucial time…”

  “Good grief, Ben. Grandfather’s not running, it’s the current governor. Grandfather is just advisory…”

  “It makes no difference. Your duty is helping out like you always do. You must stay dependable and reliable. Can’t we count on you?”

  Sarah was appalled. He didn’t sound so much like a loving boyfriend, as he did Joe the Tyrant. Maybe a more sugarcoated bully…

  “Don’t say anything, Sarah. I’ll pick you up for dinner tonight at seven and we’ll discuss the role your grandfather wants you to perform this time. The campaign will be slightly different than last time, due to the strength of the opposing challenger. The primary is going to be hot and heated…”

  “… Ben…”

  “I’ll see you at seven.” And he hung up leaving Sarah’s mouth open at his brusqueness. She put down her phone on the passenger seat and continued staring out the windshield of her car. When was the last time he’d held her or kissed her… When was the last time they’d made love or looked into each other’s eyes. Did he really love her? She knew she’d stopped loving him some time ago, if she ever had. She was going to have to talk to him tonight when they had dinner. The end of her rope was within sight.

  And then she called Abby to reluctantly tell her that the vacation was going to be delayed indefinitely. She couldn’t fight them all…

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The next afternoon, Abby received another call from Sarah. She was back at the hospital… Could she please come down?

  Abby went to Emergency and inquired at the reception desk. She was shown back to where Sarah was sitting on an examining table in one of the patient rooms, taking deep breaths, trying to calm down.

  “What’s the matter?” Abby walked up to Sarah and took a good look at her.

  “The doctor said I had a panic attack.”

  “Oh, my God… Are you all right?”

  “Yes… getting there.”

  “Have you ever had one before?”

  “… I don’t think so, but some of the symptoms were familiar.”

  “Like what?”

  “Shortness of breath, feeling dizzy, my heart starts pounding and I tremble…”

  “Sarah…” They looked at each other for a long minute, then Abby sat down on a chair next to the bed.

  “What brought this on? We had fun looking through the brochures the other night. I thought your mind was made up.”

  “So did I…”

  “What happened since then?”

  “… Do you have some time?”

  “Yes, but let’s get you home first and then I’ll interrogate you…”

  Sarah smiled slightly and Abby rose to help her off the table. After checking out, Abby drove Sarah back to her apartment.

  “Where’s your car?”

  “Still at work. Marcia drove me down here, shaking her finger at me all the way…”

  “I want to hear this…”

  Arriving at the apartment, Abby got Sarah situated on her couch, and slipped off her shoes. Abby got her a glass of water and another pillow.

  “It seems like when I finally tried to do something of my own, all I’ve gotten is backlash. No one wants to see me change, but me…”

  Abby got comfortable in a chair opposite the couch. “Take it from the top, please.”

  Sarah sighed. “I went to bed so happy when you left.”

  “… And then what?”

  “I met Grandfather for lunch at headquarters the next day, and he said I couldn’t take a vacation just yet. He needs me…”

  Abby rolled her eyes. “Always…”

  “As soon as he was done with me, then Dad called saying the same thing. And just in case I didn’t get the message, Ben called after that reminding me of my family duty. He took me to dinner last night…”

  “Really? A Ben sighting?” She almost laughed.

  “And I got an hour of what I should be doing with my life, along with my steak dinner…”

  “Sounds like tons of fun…”

  “But Abby, I did strike a small blow for freedom.”

  “… What?”

  “I told Ben that I was ready to see other men.”

  “You didn’t…”

  “Yep…”

  “What did he say? Boy, I wish I’d been a mouse in the corner.”

  “He was taking a drink of his wine and started choking.” She smiled. “I had to pound him on the back. That felt good too…”

  “So did you break up with him?”

  “I think so, but Ben doesn’t. He told me he’d give me a week to think things over. He’s sure I’ll come to my senses by then.”

  They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sarah laughed so hard, she had to hold onto her stomach. It felt very good…

  Abby wiped a few tears away from her eyes. Some color had crept back to Sarah’s lovely face. “So what brought on the panic attack?”

  “You mean besides all the family pressure?”

  “Yes…”

  “I put in for a week’s vacation with my boss. He immediat
ely hit the ceiling and I mean that literally. He started throwing things up in the air – staplers, pens…”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake. That guy is a cartoon character. What’s the matter with him anyway?”

  Sarah looked at her and then turned away. “I know what’s wrong with him.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes…”

  “… Please tell me. This I’ve got to hear.” Abby sat back in her chair.

  “One day last year, I went up to his office and started to knock on the door. I noticed it was slightly ajar and I heard him talking on the phone.”

  “Who to?”

  “I gathered it was his wife…”

  “Okay…”

  “So it got embarrassing.”

  “What did?” Abby leaned forward now.

  “He was pleading with her. I could see him in his chair with tears rolling down his face.”

  “You’re kidding… Joe the Tyrant?”

  “Yes, apparently she was leaving him and he was distraught.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “He hung up the phone, wiped his face off and saw me at the door.”

  “What did he do?”

  “He told me to come in. When I did, he asked me never to speak to anyone about what I’d just seen and heard.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I told him that I hadn’t seen or heard anything much. From that day, he was better for a while.”

  “Better? After what he did last week and then today?”

  “Right… He’s slowly gotten worse again.”

  They both thought about that for a minute.

  “So what happened after he threw things up in the air? He was being a cartoon character…”

  “Totally, but I stuck to my guns and insisted. I reminded him that I haven’t had a vacation in two years and that a few more people quit yesterday.”

  “… Interesting… The rats are leaving the ship.”

  “Definitely and he can’t afford to lose me. Even Marcia said she has resumes out…”

  “So he gave in?”

  “No, he continued to bully me and all of a sudden, while looking at him, I felt light-headed. Something must have shown on my face because he yelled for Marcia to come into his office… She got me in a chair before I nearly passed out.”

  “… No…”

  “So he ordered Marcia to get me home and told me I could have a week’s vacation. Marcia took me to the ER instead…”

  “So you had to practically die in front of him to get time off…”

  “… Something like that.”

  Sarah stopped and took a long swallow of water. Abby continued to look at her and started shaking her head.

  “Sarah, you’re going to have a nervous breakdown. You know that, right?”

  “Yes…”

  “So… what are you going to do?”

  She lay down on the couch and put another pillow under her head. Taking a deep breath, she said with resolution, “I’m making a reservation at that guest ranch in Nevada.”

  “Good for you…” Abby thought a minute. “What about your family? Won’t they be upset?”

  “They’re going to have to get along without me for a week.”

  “Talk about striking a blow for freedom. Good for you, girl…” Sarah began to yawn and Abby got the message.

  “Do you want me to spend the night, Sarah? Or are you all right alone?”

  “… I’m okay. Thanks for picking me up.”

  “I’ll get you to your car tomorrow. When does your vacation start?”

  “Now… Monday to Monday is what Joe said he’d give me.”

  “When do will you leave for Nevada?”

  “Tomorrow, if at all possible.”

  Abby’s face shone. She stood up and clapped her hands.

  “Yay! Go have a blast in the Wild West…”

  “Thanks,” smiled Sarah. “I think I will…”

  CHAPTER SIX

  She’d brought a book to read on the plane, but couldn’t seem to concentrate on it… Even though it was a darling story about a young, female deputy sheriff in a small town in Nevada who kept butting into everyone’s business. Sarah finally put it away and closed her eyes, thinking about all the turmoil she had left behind in Baltimore.

  Her father and grandfather had found out about the panic attack somehow, and called Ben first. He didn’t know anything about it either, so then everyone called her – one at a time… Sarah wished she could have made it a conference call, to take care of all three of them at the same time. They all said different versions of practically the same things …

  “Sarah, why did you have a panic attack?”

  “Why are you leaving tomorrow for Nevada, of all places?”

  “When you return, you’ll have twice the work to do that you have now…”

  “Are you going to quit that job? That jerk should be sued.”

  “But you don’t know anyone in Nevada…”

  Everyone had an opinion… Everyone knew what she should do. She wanted to step back a few paces and take a good look at her life. Some changes were definitely called for, but she wanted to get away first and learn how to breathe again. Her breathing had become so shallow that her lungs weren’t filling… She was having trouble catching her breath. Not good…

  But it was to be a seven-hour flight, which was just fine. No companies to instruct, no boss to endure, no family to placate and no absentee boyfriend. It was just Sarah, all by herself for the first time in… how long? Maybe forever. Time to do something all on her own… Sarah took that first deep breath. Even though it was airplane air, it was still smelled a bit like freedom.

  It was a quick flight actually since Sarah had no one to please but herself.

  She’d passed some of the time by trying to figure out which states she flew across. Sometimes the pilot would come on the intercom and announce the newest state… West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois went by underneath the plane as she watched a movie and read her book. When the pilot announced that they were flying over Kansas, she took a look. At 35,000 feet up, she was eating a late lunch and casually looked out her little window. She could see swirly lines of contrasting colors – greens and browns – farmland, maybe, as the plane also flew over towns and rivers that looked like specks.

  The plane hit a pocket of turbulence that made Sarah’s stomach jump and clench, when the pilot announced they were flying over Colorado. The plane descended in altitude then, probably to avoid further turbulence. A look down showed larger rivers, deep gorges and mountains shrouded in white mist. She was napping when the pilot came on to announce that they were flying over Utah. Again, she saw far-away cities surrounded by snow-capped mountains, but there was also a reddish tint from time to time. Lots of canyons there, she knew…

  Also, Sarah thought about a great old Western that had been filmed in Utah, ‘The Searchers’ with another of her favorite Western actors, John Wayne. The beautiful red rock areas and Monument Valley had hosted such movies as ‘Stagecoach’, ‘How the West Was Won’, and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’. Sarah smiled just thinking of those great, iconic movies. The woman sitting next to her caught her smile.

  “Hi… I’m Michelle. I’m being nosy and was just wondering what you were thinking about… It’s that’s not too personal a question.”

  “No, it isn’t. So many great movies have been made in Utah. I was thinking about a few of them. I’m Sarah, by the way.”

  “Don’t you just love movies? I’m a movie nut myself. What ones were you remembering?”

  “Oh…’Butch Cassidy’, ‘Stagecoach’…

  Michelle’s face came alive. “’Stagecoach’… What a great one! One of John Wayne’s first roles.”

  “And the director John Ford’s too. He had been a silent film director and this was the first of a string of hits for him.”

  The man next to Michelle decided to weigh in. “Yeah, Ford did ‘Young Mr. Lincoln’ afte
r that…”

  “With Henry Fonda,” added Sarah.

  “Then there was ‘Drums Along the Mohawk’…” said Michelle.

  “And ‘Grapes of Wrath’…”

  “…Again with Henry Fonda,” smiled Sarah.

  The man turned to the women. “Hi, I’m Tom. Nice to meet more movie nuts.” They all smiled at one another.

  “Okay,” said Michelle. “What is your all-time favorite Western movie?”

  “…Ever?”

  “Yep…”

  Everyone thought about that for a while.

  “I enjoyed ‘High Noon’ with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly,” said Tom.

  “…One of the best…”

  “… You know, ‘Open Range’ with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall was pretty darned good. Although, I think it was filmed in Canada,” commented Michelle.

  Sarah nodded. “Oh, that was a good one, you’re right.”

  “What’s your favorite, Sarah?”

  She smiled. “My top favorite is ‘Big Country’ with…”

  “… Gregory Peck…” finished Michelle. “Isn’t he incredibly handsome in that movie?” They both sighed… Tom rolled his eyes.

  A lady in front of Tom peeked around her seat. “I really liked ‘Dances With Wolves’…”

  The man across from Tom leaned over, “No, ‘Unforgiven’ with Clint Eastwood is one of the best Westerns.”

  In front of Sarah, a woman raised up, “No, ‘The Horse Whisperer’ with Robert Redford is the best.” She sighed and added, “I’d watch Redford brush his teeth…”

  People listening in the middle of the plane laughed at that comment, and then everyone was putting in their two cents about what the best Western of all time could be. Sarah and Michelle looked around them, smiled and shook their heads.

  “What have we started here?”

  “I don’t know, but I haven’t been this relaxed in years,” said Sarah.

  “That just goes to show what a good movie can do for you.”

  For the next hour, Western-movie fever apparently spread throughout the entire plane and people started moving about the cabin, discussing their favorites with someone else. Sarah laughed that so many people had seen so many Westerns. She marveled that her most pleasing pastime seemed to be a hit with others as well… Although two men up front decided it was necessary to argue over who was the better Western actor: John Wayne or Clint Eastwood. There were clearly no winners.