Chapter 18a: Coastal Arrival

On day two of their three-day journey, they awoke at precisely 06:00, both of their alarm clocks going off simultaneously. Megan reached out an outstretched hand and tapped the screen with her hand, reaching far to do so. It was an old trick she’d learned during college that the quickest way to wake up and stay awake instead of hitting the snooze button and potentially missing a class or practice, was to place the alarm far enough away that you had to physically move to get it, yet close enough to hear it go off.

Her eyes snapped open, and she saw that it was still dark outside, the hotel lights still glowing faintly from outside their room window. She heard Kennedy stirring on his side of the bed and saw the faint glow coming from his phone as he was apparently checking something important.

“M-morining.” Megan said through a yawn she had not meant to let escape her lips as she reached upward. She had tossed and turned during the night and had a kink in her mid-back because of it. She looked down and saw that the extra blanket that served as her top sheet was twisted around her torso.

“Morning. Sleep well?” He asked, taking his eyes off the phone screen and looking at her.

“I’ve had better, but I slept like the dead. How about you?” She asked, turning to look at him, his face partially cast in shadow. She reached for the table lamp next to the bed and his face came into sharp relief.

He shielded his eyes for a fraction of a second as the harsh bright light hit them both.

“Same.”

Megan got up and smoothed her bedclothes. Her shirt had ridden up through the night and the temperature of the room hit her exposed flesh. Similarly, she righted her bottoms, which were twisted sideways. Comfort reestablished, and eyes adjusting, she allowed her feet to lead her to the window. Pulling back a curtain, she noted that the morning sky was an iron grey. Storm clouds had rolled in somewhere during the night and a faint drizzle had now covered every car in the parking lot.

“Looks like rain.” She said, stifling another yawn.

“Let me see what’s headed our way or if this is just a local blip.” He said, thumbing through his phone.

Megan nodded and reached for her own phone. She sent a few text replies from messages send after she had gone to bed. She sent a few to her family, letting them know the days itinerary and smiled at a funny message Cassidy had sent her, complete with a follow up nude.

“What’s so funny?” Said Kennedy, who was now sitting up in bed, his back straight against the headboard.

"Oh, just a funny text from a friend.” She said, noting that he had read the bemused look on her face. “What’s the weather status?” She added, hastily changing the subject and closing the app. She fixed her face neutral, but still had the image of Cassidy’s soft torso in profile cupping one very large breast burned in her brain.

“Looks like the first few hours are hit and miss with rain. More hit.” He said with a slight frown.

Megan nodded and glanced at the side table where a clock was positioned. “We are early for the continental breakfast, so what say you and I do a little calisthenic workout to get our bodies warmed up for the final leg of the trip?” She had had this idea in her head since last night just before going to bed.

In part, she’d felt a little soft since her final few days of lounging with Cassidy and noted she wanted to get into the mental headspace of training like an athlete again. She knew the bootcamp portion of her training that was to come would be brutal. So, why not get mentally dialed in now?

“I like your thinking.” He said, putting his phone down and throwing the sheets off himself. After making the bed (she noticed with a smile). He walked towards the door and turned on the overhead light, throwing the room into relief.

They had agreed that he should lead the workout, as he had more training with cadence drills and conditioning through his schooling through the Naval Academy. Megan put her hair high into a ponytail and awaited instruction.

“Right.” He said, rubbing his hands together so that the bulges of his upper arms flexed with muscle. They both put on their sneakers and moved the coffee table out of the way.

They began by standing a few feet apart, preserving their exercise space as Megan copied him in doing arm circles, head circles, shoulder rolls, side to side lunges, hip and ankle circles and some toe touches.

Megan could feel her muscles beginning to soften and become responsive during the warm-up, blood filling them and she could feel that mid-back knot begin to ease up.
Kennedy began to go through a challenging routine that involved count aloud reps of squats, lunges, sit ups, hip bridges, leg lifts, push ups and planks.

In just over thirty minutes, he had them both breathing heavily, sweating and feeling nearly every muscle of their bodies burn from exertion. Megan followed his instructions to the letter and welcomed every twinge and burn of her aching muscles. She needed this. She missed this. She was determined to succeed and not only just for herself, but for those counting on her back at home, too.

She felt additionally spurned on as, during a movement called ‘high knees’, where you are pumping your knees as quickly and as high as possible with your arms outstretched, Megan felt her abdomen jiggle and it annoyed her. She mentally envisioned that little addition of belly fat she had put on over the last few days as an anomaly that would be reduced through hard exercise and dieting during her training in Rhode Island.

“And time!” Said Kennedy as he finished the final cadence of 30, slow and agonizing push-ups.

He rolled onto his back, hands across his chest as breathed deeply. Similarly, Megan was face down, her face turned to the side. After a moment, she brushed a loose strand of hair out from her eyes and got up on all fours. Kennedy let them in a cool down routine that left both their muscles feeling engaged, refreshed and ready for the day’s journey.

They took turns showering. Megan went first while Kennedy checked them out of the hotel. Next, Megan loaded up the car while he showered. They met in the hotel breakfast area where sleepy diners busied themselves with the local faire. Boiled eggs, toast, bagels, boxed cereal, oatmeal, hashbrowns, bacon, sausage patties, pre-made omelets, yogurt, various pieces of fruit and to drink coffee, tea, juices, milk and chocolate milk.

“Usually, these kind of spreads make me sad, but today I’m looking forward to breakfast.” Said Megan as she and Kennedy got up from the table she had reserved (not that she needed have worried for the place was nearly vacant) and got in line.

For Kennedy, he selected two cups of yogurt, a few pieces of fruit, sealed apple juice as well as a few omelets, hashbrowns and a triple stack of toast.

Megan whispered, “Hey, we didn’t exercise that hard.”

He turned back to face her. “It’s not for now. For the car trip later when we get hungry.” Megan could have kicked herself. Of course! She would have to go back for a second pass, for she only got a few hard-boiled eggs, the oatmeal and a bagel.

They sat down and Kennedy went to get them coffees. Megan went back to load up on yogurt, juice and fruit.
Kennedy held up his own juice bottle and twirled it, “these also make for great receptacles when bathrooms are hard to come by.”

Megan feigned disgust. “Eww, gross. Besides, the openings too small…” She reddened and took that moment to take a hasty bite of her bagel. He too reddened, and looked away, taking a gulp of coffee too quick and winced from the heat. Each of them tried to ignore the bathroom incident of when they first met.

Just then distraction came in the form of a toddler who bumped into their table, spilling his tray of cereal that, blissfully had not had the milk added yet. Little carby circled O’s rolled all around their table as Megan made to help the little boy who began to cry.

“Hey, it’s okay little buddy. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure your parents will get you another bowl.”

The kid straightened up and wiped a tear before a tired looking mother came up to apologize. Megan waived her off with an understanding and sympathetic hand and she returned to their breakfast while the mother chivvied her child over to another table.

Her eggs were rubbery, but the salt and pepper enhanced their flavor. Similarly, she forwent packaged maple syrup in favor of peanut butter. She had already laden her bagel with cream cheese, her favorite.

“How’s yours?” She said, looking at Kennedy’s nearly empty plate.

“Better than most.” He said, pushing the last piece of folded toast into his mouth and washing it down with another mouthful of coffee.

Under the cover of throwing away their now emptied breakfast plates, Megan stowed their additional travel food in her day bag while Kennedy refilled their coffees. He spied a staff member working the breakfast detail and handed them a twenty with thanks as they exited the hotel and got into the car.
Megan stowed their extra food things while Kennedy got the GPS and music playlist readied.

“Ready for Day Two?” He said, throwing the car into drive and holding up two fingers. The automatic windshield wipers busied themselves as the rental car exited the parking lot. Kennedy merged into heavier traffic before bringing the car back to speed along the interstate that would take them to their final destination in Newport, Rhode Island: Officer Training Command.

++++++

The second day of driving passed much like the first with each of them taking turns driving while the other either read or slept. Thankfully, Megan did not have a repeat of her dreams.

She found herself during the quiet parts of the trip either when it was nothing but open roads, or else when Kennedy needed to concentrate if they hit road traffic or a reroute; that she would read and re-read some of the blogs she had saved on her phone that described the experience she was about to have in Rhode Island on her way to becoming a Naval fighter pilot.
She suspected that her physical training throughout her volleyball career, as well as attention to her strength training routine (albeit not recently) would be enough to pass her physical testing. But what about the psychological?

She had read many a blog that said they treated it much the same as bootcamp, weeding out those who were mentally weak or physically unprepared. Would she be one of the washouts? And if so, how would that look to her family, who had said all of those wonderful and inspiring things to her before she left. She reached into her day bag and ran her fingers along the winged edge of the Wings of Gold her Uncle Topher had given her. It gave her physical comfort as well as spiritual comfort to feel that not only he, but her father was with her on this journey also.
Megan continued to pontificate on these musings and more as they continued to drive.

++++++

They stopped for lunch at another interstate rest stop and this time, avoided the greasy restaurant chains. Instead, they both opted to get prepared sandwiches and some granola from the kiosk that additionally served both merchandise (‘Welcome to ‘Here’’ shirts, mugs, hats and keychains) as well as magazines. After they had paid, they fueled up and this time, it was Megan’s turn behind the wheel.

The drive was slick with rain for most of their trip so far, with Kennedy giving weather updates whenever she’d asked.

“More of the same.” He would say, showing her the radar screen that was literally a large blue blob of wide-spread rain.

Megan felt herself concentrating more as she stared out of the windscreen, the wipers dutifully clearing the spatter of rain. She had instinctually hit the lever that made the wipers swish back and forth a little faster than the setting that Kennedy had them on.

“You okay? The rain’s not that bad.” He had said few times, looking over in her direction.

“Just a habit I picked up, kind of hard to break.” She said, the lie coming to her easily. She did not want to admit to him that she was actually having a little trouble adjusting to the change in weather. The glare coming off the road as well as reflection from opposing traffic headlights was getting to her a little and she felt the burr of a headache beginning to grow over her right eye. She was careful to conceal her squinting through the windscreen and was hopefully passing it off as just concentrating hard. Kennedy did not seem to notice this and she was inwardly thankful that she had filled out the prescription her doctor had recommended after she had her eye surgery.