Road Trip with a Benefit

The next morning I was awakened by Ann slipping out from the bed, and when she noticed that I was awake and watching her beautiful body in the light of the morning, she asked if I'd like to join her in a shower. "Heck, yeah!"

After showering and dressing Ann stepped back over to my room and this time knocking on the door, entered and asked me if I was going to buy her breakfast before she had to leave town. I knew the diner down in town, located out on the pier, had a dynamite breakfast so I suggested we head on down. Ann had already packed her car, so she offered to follow me down into town so she could leave right after eating to begin her long drive.

As I got into my truck I noticed an envelope on the seat that was labeled simply, "open at breakfast" and I figured it was some cute note or Ann's contact info or something of the such. I pulled out of the lot and watched Ann in my mirror fall in behind my truck. On the way to the diner Ann fell a little ways behind me and some traffic had slipped in between us. No problem, she knew where the diner was anyway. When I pulled in and parked I sat there for a few moments waiting on Ann to pull in, but after several long moments she hadn't shown. I reached down and took the envelope, eyed the label again, and slid my finger to open the flap. Inside there was a folded piece of paper with a note:

"I'm so grateful for the wonderful time you've shown me these past few days. It has meant the world to me. I only hope that you've enjoyed our time together as much as I have. I'm not good at good-byes, or explanations. Please don't try to find me, but I know how to find you and I'll write when I can, and let's just see what the future brings. Ann."

Great. I was lost. I didn't know whether to be mad or sad. Guess I felt betrayed as well as sad, mostly. And, throw in some worry. My mind wandered to her being married and I was just a fling on a whim, to her being on her last breaths before death, to whatever. I never even tasted breakfast, and decided to just start making my way back home.

Several months had passed since my trip to the northern coast of California, and I was fortunate enough to get a few images that I had actually sold. I was settled into my routine comfortable and had even begun to think about another road trip, though it wouldn't be back to the north coast area. I don't get much traffic out by my cabin so when a car comes down the driveway it's always a surprise. This time when I saw the black sedan pull up in front of the cabin I was sure it was someone lost. When a gentleman in a black business suit stepped out I knew he was lost. I stepped out onto the porch to greet him but was shocked when he spoke first, calling me by name.

When the man began to ask about whether I'd visited the coast a few months ago, with specific dates and places, I began to get suspicious, thinking I was about to be dragged into some lawsuit in a domestic battle between Ann and her husband. She had never mentioned her husband, and for that matter I didn't even know her last name or where she lived. Just as I was getting pretty darn uncomfortable the suited man asked if I knew Ann. I replied that I did, and asked, "Is she OK?"

The man went on to explain that he was on Ann's staff, that she was an exceedingly capable woman of considerable means, that she was not married and that this visit was not pursuant to any legal action but was instead a mission to ask a favor. When I asked him what kind of favor and why couldn't Ann just ask it herself, Mr. Suit explained that much of Ann's life is followed by "society" and that she didn't want to bring undue light to me, so she sent him to bring the message. With that I invited Mr. Suit in for something cool to drink and to see where this went.

What I found out over the course of the next hour or so was that Ann was extraordinarily wealthy, had a full life divided between her philantrophic, societial, and corporate functions, with someone almost always watching who she ate with, what she did, what she was wearing, how much money she gave here or there, and how much money she was making in some endeavor. What she wanted was someone genuine, someone not after her money, and someone she could trust to share some time with. In fact, she wanted to go camping, the old fashioned way with a tent and campfire.

Wow, this was a huge revelation for me, considering how I'd known Ann. Several times I asked Mr. Suit if he was sure he and I were talking about the same woman!

I agreed to see Ann, and to take her camping or anywhere else she wanted, and with that Mr. Suit took a cell phone from his brief case. He explained it was for me to use without it being traced back to me, and that Ann's personal cell phone number was already programmed in. He also gave me her personal email address, set up securely just to hear from me and visible to no one else. He then also gave me his business card with his contact numbers and told me if I ever needed anything to call him. I didn't know what to say. I just stood there dumbfounded.

As Mr. Suit was about to leave he turned with one more offer. He told me that Ann had put her personal jet at my disposal, and handed me a credit card, telling me that Ann was looking forward to pictures from anywhere I felt like going. All I could say was, "Why?"

Mr. Suit looked at me for a few moments, then he told me he had asked Ann the same thing when given the assignment, and her answer was, "He was good, true and honest to me, just for me and knowing nothing more than me."

Later that year two people were very much enjoying themselves by a crackling campfire, purely for the joy of each other.