Stages of Grace - By Carey Heywood Page 0,60

and walk-dance to the door of the bathroom. I can hear Ryan on the other side, moving around. What is he doing? Giving up, I knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

"I, um, really have to, you know."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

He opens the door and moves past me. It is hard to not stop and stare at him, damp, towel wrapped around his waist. I have little choice, though, and dash inside. When I'm done, I notice he has laid out his clothes for the day on the sink counter, meaning he is probably waiting, by the door, in a towel. I hurry out, thanking him. He's standing in the center of the room, between the beds, remote in hand. He turns and smiles, telling me it's no bother. I try not to stare, I do, but he's right there. In a towel. He stops when he finds a news channel and goes back to the bathroom to get dressed.

I retrieve my outfit for the day from my duffle, and once he comes back out of the bathroom, go to take my shower. The motel has crappy water pressure. Considering how weak the stream is, I'm amazed I heard Ryan's shower at all. Because of it, I take a longer than normal shower, just in the hopes of rinsing all of my conditioner from my hair. After showering, I dress in a pair of slouchy jeans and a baseball-styled, long-sleeved t-shirt. I put moisturizer on my face and skip makeup, but since it's cold out, I use the dryer attached to the wall to blow dry my hair. Not sure what our breakfast plans are, I go ahead and brush my teeth before going back out into the room. Ryan is staring intently at his phone with a print out of our map next to him.

"Everything okay?"

"Looking for a detour. There was a pileup on the road we should be taking. They showed a picture of it on the news. Trailer truck spilled its load. Looks like it will be a mess to clean up. I think it'd be best to avoid it all together."

"Good thing you watched the news. Are there any good alternate routes?"

"I found a couple that look promising. Just trying to figure out which is best."

"I'll leave that to you, I'm directionally challenged."

He looks up at me and raises a brow "Not the person to trust the compass with then?"

"Nope. The compass will cease being operational in my hands."

He shakes his head. "You can't be that bad."

"Maybe. I haven’t really ventured outside of my normal routine in so long. But enough talk about that. What do you want to do for breakfast?"

"I saw a pancake place on the way in. Sound good?"

"Works for me."

I gather my things and double-check the bathroom before following Ryan out to the car. He's driving since he knows where we're going, I wait for him in the car while he goes to check out. At the restaurant, I order an omelet and Ryan a breakfast steak meal. When our food comes out, we both do a double take at the size of Ryan's plate. The amount of food on it can easily feed four people. He does his best but is about halfway when he gives up. Ryan pays for the meal since I paid for the motel room.

We're back on the road not long after. Ryan's alternate route takes us thirty minutes out of the way. Given the accident still has the other road blocked, it was a smart move. Even though I had slept so long the night before, the car and the uncongested highway lull me back to sleep. I jump when Ryan shakes my shoulder. Looking around, blinking rapidly, I realize we're at a rest stop.

"Thought it would be a good time for a stop. Sorry to wake you, but I wanted to see if you'd like to get out and stretch your legs"

"Oh, how long was I out?"

"About three hours."

"Really? I don’t get why I'm so tired."

"I've heard moving can be emotionally draining."

"That must be it."

"Did you want to get out?"

"Yes, thanks"

I unfold myself from the passenger seat. It feels wonderful to stretch. I slowly walk around to the back of the car and lean on the trunk, looking about. The rest stop is on the small side. It has a gas station with a built in deli and a bank of vending machines near the bathrooms. There is a grassy area with a couple of picnic benches for people