Chapter 1
The day was gray, the impatient wind encouraged the endless drizzle to show some personality, but stubbornly it continued its boringly dreary pace. It was as if the rain knew its season was long over, but it had no choice but to follow the whimsical travels of its master, the wind.
It should have been a sunnier day with just a slight breeze to cool the sun. A breeze that smelled of the sea and anticipation that filled the heart with hope, a feeling of love wishing to take form before your eyes. It should have felt that way because that's the way she wanted it to look and feel. It was a concept completely out of character for Susan, a successful business woman who had just turned 30.
In her office earlier in the morning, Susan looked in the full length mirror in the executive lounge, as she usually did to make sure everything was in line and sharp. She saw a trim body, athletic legs, muscles enhanced by the stretch of the high heels that she wore. Thick auburn hair waved at her shoulders. She studied her face for a moment, checking her make-up. It was an attractive face. Large, deep green eyes and full lips on an angular face, a hint of Mediterranean colored her skin with a golden tint. She had intelligent eyes and a no-nonsense aura to her stature. She was ready to go to work, and then, totally out of character, she walked up close to the mirror and looked into her own eyes, paying no attention to the liner or mascara.
"Thirty." she said to herself in the mirror. She forced a smile and looked at the laugh lines crinkle at the edge of her eyes. When she lost the smile, a hint of the lines remained. "Thirty." she said again to her mimicking image, "and I have no life." She stared at herself critically, "Your twenties have just left the building, Susan." She smiled at that, and then with the realization of its truth, her smile melted. "Oh - ", she said as it sunk into her mind and spread itself through her being.
She had planned to work for a couple of years after college, and travel Europe, sail the Pacific with her bronze sailor to exotic islands, but none of those things happened. She never went to Europe, never met her sailor, and never sailed to an island. She had gone to work and kept working, climbing the ladder until today, when she hit the gonging bell of 30.
Susan did not follow her whims, because she didn't have any. If one was to rise from within her, she would beat it to death with the weapons of logic and focus, which were the driving force behind her directive. Her job had subtly become her world until there were no other priorities in her life, and suddenly she realized it as if she had just woken from a long dream.
Without a word to anybody, she had left the building, gone home and changed her clothes, hopped into her Honda S-2000, and driven an hour from Sunnyvale to Santa Cruz. Turning off highway 17 at the Redwood Estates turn-off, she traveled the narrow, more scenic back roads that wound up to Old Santa Cruz highway. With a sigh she settled back as she wheeled her way up the winding road, enjoying the view of sun dappled shade that found its way through the canopy in rays of light.
"Without light, you cannot see beauty.", she thought pleased with herself for thinking of an insightful observation. She turned left at Summit Rd., hardly checking for traffic, as it was used only a little more than the road she had just left. There were no cars in sight, and she drove unhurried down the long straight road that crested the mountains.
A reflection of light caught her eye in the mirror, and she glanced up to see a green sports car baring down on her. It slowed as it came behind behind the Honda and settled in close behind her. She looked into the rear view mirror, which jiggled slightly in complaint against the roughness of the road. She could see it was a man behind her. Like her, he had his top down, long hair escaping a pony tail and catching in the wind. He appeared to smile and waved his hand. He was watching her in her own mirror.
A spark of fear flashed inside of her. Perhaps taking the back road wasn't such a good idea. She sped up a little, and the man sped up also, keeping pace with her. The fear rose in her another octave. She fumbled for her cell phone and flipped it open, only to find there was no signal. Of course. She was deep in the mountains. A signal would be spotty at best.
Suddenly the car pulled out and screamed passed her. She could see now that it was an Auston-Healey. The man turned his head and waved with a smile as he pulled back in front of her. She feared he might try to block her and bring her to a stop, but instead he sped on, disappearing over the next hill. She sighed with relief and realized that her hands were shaking a little.
She chastised herself for being paranoid, blaming it on never getting out - always working, going home and back to work again.
As she rounded a bend she could see the old mountain market on the left hand side of the road up ahead. God, that place has been there forever, she thought. Two rusted out pickup trucks and an old Volkswagen bus with a Peace sign on its side were parked in front. As she came up to the market she saw the Auston-Healey on the other side of the VW. The man who had waved at her stood near the rear of the car looking down the road at her. He looked like that character who modeled for covers on Harlequin romance novels. What was his name, she thought, something ridiculous. Oh yes, Fabio.
Fabio had a beer in his hand and raised it to her in salute as she drove passed. She ignored him and gassed the Honda.
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