A silent Martha was concerning.
Kathleen could almost hear her saying, You invited him to join us, so you can make the conversation.
She sighed. It seemed she was going to have to do all the work.
“What made you suddenly decide to make this dream a reality?”
“A number of things, but it culminated in a friend pointing out that I hadn’t taken a vacation in three years.”
“Three years? Why?”
“I was busy working. I put my career first.”
So he was a man able to show commitment, Kathleen thought. That wasn’t a bad quality to have, providing he was able to apply it to other situations across his life and not only work.
“Your boss didn’t encourage you to take time off?”
There was a pause. “He didn’t see the point of vacations. He was—focused.”
“What job do you do?”
“I work in tech. I’m a computer engineer.”
Kathleen had only a vague notion of what that involved. She certainly knew too little to feel confident engaging him in conversation on the specifics. “No doubt he was one of those driven types who set up a business from his bedroom at college.”
Josh laughed. “That’s exactly what he did.”
“And no doubt upset his parents by not graduating.”
“No, he did graduate. He had too much respect for his parents and the sacrifices they’d made to throw that away.”
“He can’t be all bad then.” Kathleen was smug that she was managing to converse despite her lamentable lack of knowledge. “But I’m sure someone like that would make a difficult boss. Probably expected everyone around him to have the same drive and commitment to growing the company.”
“He had a degree of tunnel vision, that’s for sure.”
“Ambitious?”
“Definitely.”
Kathleen made a clucking sound. “He sounds rather formidable. No doubt he ran a cold, macho-like culture and treated people like machines. Balance is so important in life.” Not that she’d had much balance when she was young. She’d worked too. She’d put her work above everything, including intimacy. But that was different. She’d had a bad experience. Work had been her safe place. “But here you are taking a vacation, so what happened? Did his company eventually go bust? Was he part of the tech bubble?”
“The company was successful. Beyond his wildest dreams.”
Kathleen studied his profile thoughtfully. Then she tried to see Martha’s face but being in the back put her at a disadvantage. “But he still didn’t feel his staff should embrace work-life balance? Well, I respect your decision to leave. That can’t have been easy. Perhaps that will make him think, although people like that don’t tend to care too much about staff. And now you’re taking some time out to decide what you’re going to do, and this road trip will give you the thinking time.”
“Something like that.”
Kathleen reached out and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding another job when you’re ready. My granddaughters tell me that tech is the place to be these days.”
He smiled. “Tell me about your granddaughters.”
The road from Devil’s Elbow passed through rolling hills, the landscape thick with trees.
“My daughter has twin girls. Alice and Caitlin. They’re teenagers and at a difficult age, which doesn’t make things easy.” Poor Liza. What was she doing at the moment? Probably cooking a meal for someone or ferrying them across town to some commitment or other. “They spend their lives glued to their phones, messaging friends. In my day we saw friends in person, but I accept that I’m from a different age. A few more years and they’ll put me in a museum.”
“You’re traveling Route 66 at the age of eighty. I don’t think you’re ready for a museum yet. Do you see a lot of your granddaughters?”
“Not as much as I used to. When they were very young they loved visiting. My home is near the sea, so they’d come with their buckets and spades and make castles and eat ice cream. As they grew older they were more reluctant to leave friends behind. These days it tends to be my daughter and her husband who visit.” And her concern about that had simmered in the back of her mind since that journey to the airport.
She felt a flutter of anxiety. “Martha, when we reach our next destination perhaps you would be kind enough to send another photo and message to my daughter. Perhaps even an email.”
Martha glanced in the mirror. “Of course. I’ve been sending her loads of photos. We’ve got a relationship going.”
It was the first thing she’d said since they’d left Devil’s Elbow. Kathleen was relieved to know she was at least alive, and not only because she was the one driving.
“I expect you know a great deal about social media, Josh? Martha here has started a social media account for us, cataloguing our adventures. It’s beyond me, of course, but it’s all rather fun. We’re photographing and videoing our trip across America. In my youth I presented a rather popular travel show called The Summer Seekers.”
“You did?” Josh turned, intrigued. “Tell me about it.”
And so she did, and it turned out that Josh was a remarkably good listener, something she’d always considered to be an important quality in a man. Hopefully Martha could see that.
Was she going to talk at all?
Josh was obviously wondering the same because he glanced at her. “How about you, Martha? Are you taking the summer off?”
“I am.”
With the exception of the early part where she was becoming accustomed to the car, Martha had talked nonstop since they’d started this trip but now, when Kathleen needed her to engage Josh in conversation, she was silent. “Martha is also taking some thinking time,” she said, “so the two of you have that in common. Josh, you seem like a well-connected young man. Perhaps you have some career tips for Martha. She’s looking for a change of direction.”
Martha kept her gaze fixed on the road. “Don’t need anyone’s help, thank you.” She slammed her foot on the brake as a car pulled out. “Fox!”
Josh looked confused, and Kathleen gave a weary sigh.
“Don’t ask.”
Josh obviously realized that Martha wasn’t going to engage, because he turned back to Kathleen.
“And how about you, Kathleen? This is an ambitious trip for—” He broke off and Kathleen waved a hand.