The flight from Arkansas to Oregon seemed to drag on forever. Eleanor had pulled out her laptop on the plane with the hopes of trying to do some writing. She found that she was too distracted to even form a coherent sentence. She ended up reading one of the magazines that had been stuffed into the pouch on the back of the seat in front of her. It was some kind of a travel magazine advertising flights and deals for places to visit.
In true Jackson fashion, he sat down in his seat, put his head back and slept through take off and the landing. Eleanor couldn’t wrap her head on his ability to sleep almost anywhere. He had slept so soundly that her didn’t even stir once. And Eleanor had to wake him when passengers began to exit the plane.
They stepped off the plane and walked together through the airport. Jackson commented about how quick the flight had been, and how he had slept like a baby. Eleanor wanted to hit him out of sheer jealousy.
Eleanor could feel worry and unease growing in the pit of her stomach. She was still unable to shake the feeling that this week was not going to go as smoothly as everyone expected it to. Eleanor was worried that they had made a huge mistake in coming here.
They stood at the luggage carousel for almost fifteen minutes before their luggage descended. Jackson easily hoisted his suitcase and Eleanor reached for hers.
“Okay, where do we go to meet the driver?” Eleanor asked.
“Supposed to be the closest exit to this terminal. We’re supposed to head toward the passenger pick up and drop off signs.” Jackson explained. He had spent the cab ride to the airport studying the instructions that had come from Corrine.
“Alright. Lead on.” Eleanor said, unable to keep the soft sigh from her voice.
She followed Jackson through the terminal, towing her suitcase along behind her. Jackson towed his bag behind him, looking around at all of the signs and people as they passed. The two of them descended down a long escalator to the pick up area, and stepped out into the cool fall air.
“How do we know which car is ours?” Eleanor asked, coming to a stop next to Jackson.
“It’s supposed to be obvious.” Jackson said. He glanced to the left before slowly turning his head and looking to the right. “There, Ellie. Come on.”
He started walking down the sidewalk, pulling his suitcase. Eleanor followed, still squinting through the people who were milling around. People were hailing cabs and getting into cars all over the place. It was complete chaos. Eleanor couldn’t see what Jackson had seen. But she stuck close to him anyway.
Finally someone came into view. A middle aged man with a tuft of silver in his hair was standing with a white sheet of paper. Written neatly on the piece of paper was “Mr. And Mrs. Walsh.”
Jackson turned to Eleanor and grinned. “How cool is that? A sign with our names on it. Just like in the movies!”
The man was standing stone faced with a pair of aviator sunglasses. He was wearing a white dress shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His shirt was neatly tucked into his black pants. There was a black tie knotted at his neck.
“Hi, I’m Jackson Walsh, and this is my wife Eleanor Walsh. I believe you’re our driver?” Jackson said.
The driver nodded. “Yes. Right this way.” He took a couple of steps and opened the back door to a large, looming black SUV. “Please get it. I’ll handle your bags.”
Jackson turned to Eleanor and grinned. “After you.” He said.
Eleanor let go of her suitcase, but kept a tight hold on her carry on. There was no way she was trusting a stranger with her laptop, it had too many important writing documents on it. Including her unfinished novel.
The driver held the door, standing perfectly still while Eleanor climbed into the back seat. She easily slid across the leather bench seat to the opposite side of the car. This put her directly behind the driver. Eleanor glanced around at the fancy car, admiring the leather seats, tinted windows and sunroof.
Jackson climbed into the car, and the door shut behind him. He let out a low whistle. “Wow, pretty swanky.” He mused, running his hand along the clean leather seat.
The back hatch opened and the driver carefully and wordlessly loaded their luggage into the trunk. The trunk closed and after a moment, the driver climbed into the driver’s seat. He started the car. “Let me know if the temperature is okay, I can adjust it. Or if you’d like to make any brief stops.”
“Thanks, Jeeves.” Jackson smirked.
Eleanor stared at Jackson wide-eyed and back-handed the side of his thigh to let him know that is sarcasm wasn’t appropriate.
The driver chuckled in earnest. “It’s actually Kennedy, but I’ve been called worse. Call me Jeeves if you wish.”
Jackson grinned, turning to smirk at Eleanor. She rolled her eyes.
“How long of a drive is it until we get to the accommodations?” Eleanor asked, leaning forward to peer out the windshield.
“A little over two hours, depending on traffic.” The driver responded, looking back in the rear view mirror.
Eleanor drew in a deep breath. She hadn’t eaten anything more than a couple slices of toast at breakfast, and she could really use a cup of coffee.
“What are the chances of us hitting a drive through?” Jackson asked.
The driver smiled. “Sure, we can stop. Where would you like to go?”
Jackson looked over at Eleanor.
“I really just need a coffee. I could eat a muffin or a bagel or something, though.” She suggested.
“A coffee shop suits me.” Jackson said to the driver.
“Okay. First one I see we’ll stop.” The driver nodded.
Eleanor looked out the window. She watched as the city soared by the window. A sudden bright idea occurred to her. She reached into her carry on bag and produced a spiral note pad and a pen.
“So, Kennedy.” Eleanor began, her pen poised and ready. “How long have you been working for L.M. Quinn?”
Jackson shot her a worried look. “Really?” He mouthed. “Now?”
She shrugged and leaned forward in her seat to hear the driver’s answers more clearly.
“Uh, I haven’t been working for her long. Only about two and a half years.” He answered. “It’s a pretty sweet job. I like it.”
“So then you’ve met L.M. Quinn then?” Eleanor pressed, scribbling the driver’s name and how long he had worked for the author on the ruled lines of her notebook.
The driver smiled. “Yes. She is a real person, I can assure you. I’ve seen her in the flesh, more than once.” The driver chuckled at his own joke. He pulled the SUV to a red light and pressed the brake carefully to bring the car to a gradual and easy stop. “I spoke with Corrine, she said that you were still having a lot of doubts.”
“Uh, yes.” Eleanor cleared her throat.
“There are bottles of water in the center console back there if you’re thirsty.” The driver supplied unnecessarily.
“Thanks.” Jackson said, reaching with his good arm for a bottle. He held the bottle with his knees and untwisted the cap.
“So is she a good person to work for?” Eleanor pressed.
“I don’t have any complaints.” Kennedy answered with a shrugged. He carefully surveyed the intersection before making a right turn. “She’s a good boss. She’s fair.”
Eleanor tapped her pen impatiently against her notepad. She knew that the driver was choosing his words carefully. She had seen it a million times before when someone who was being questioned didn’t want to say what was truly on his or her mind.
“Can you describe her? What is she like? What does she look like?” Eleanor asked.
The driver smiled. “I’m afraid that I can’t tell you. You’ll have to find out on your own. I can tell you that she’s real and she’s a good person. Last year for Christmas she sent my family and I to Mexico. My little girl loved that she could play on the beach at Christmas time. She talked about it for months afterward.”
Eleanor wrote that down in her notebook, but crossed it out. It wasn’t anything she could use in an article. She looked over at Jackson, who was sipping his bottle of water, and glancing around at the interior of the car.
“What kind of car is this, Jeeves?” Jackson asked.
“It’s a Cadillac. An Escalade, I believe.” The driver answered.
“How is for driving?” Jackson asked.
“Good. It’s a smooth ride, and handles through almost everything.”
“There’s a ton of space back here.” Jackson mused. “It must have all of the bells and whistles.”
“I believe so, I don’t usually have much time to play around with it. I’m sure the car does things that I haven’t figured out yet.” The driver smirked.
Jackson nodded. Eleanor nudged his thigh, and mouthed for him to shut up so she count continue asking. Jackson shrugged helplessly with his one good arm.
“Do you drive for L.M. Quinn often?” Eleanor asked.
“As often as she needs me to.” The driver answered.
“So are you on call or are you on permanent staff?” Eleanor pressed.
The driver frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re asking. I guess I’m permanent staff. But she usually has her time planned out pretty well in advance. Corrine usually contacts me and goes over her week with me, and lets me know which days I’m needed…”
Eleanor made a note of this. “Are you paid by the trip or are you paid a salary?”
“I can’t answer that. All of the staff sign a confidentiality agreement. That’s a question I can’t answer.” The driver explained.
Eleanor scribbled a quick note. “Does she ever call you in the middle of the night and ask you to drive her places?”
“No, no. Nothing like that. I mean, she does have a car if she needs to go someplace… but I think she prefers to have a driver.” The driver shrugged.
Before Eleanor could ask any more questions, the driver pulled the car into a drive thru lane. “What does everyone want?” He asked. “It’s on the house.”