Far

This is a continuation of The Truth Hurts Lying Down, a short story.

...part one of this story is called Run...

The GPS system on Jon's 2008 Limited Edition Lynx Yellow Saab convertible was telling him he was far from his destination. Fifty three miles, to be exact. Since the destination was a special bakery for wedding cakes, right across the street from his house, he decided it was wrong. Maybe he mistyped it, but it didn't matter. He only entered in coordinates for fun. The car was his new toy.

There were only 140 of these Swedish cars allowed to be sold in the U.S. and now he owned one. Had just picked it up from the dealership, pleased that the stereo and GPS were modified to say "Hello Jon" when he turned them on. It was the least they could do for $50,000. His new car offered a perfect world and an escape from day to day bullshit.

It had been three weeks since that last night with Zoe. He missed her. Since she stopped taking his calls, he was back to the usual grind. Karen, the baby, being sent to the bakery for wedding cakes. It was something he started to dread. Being with Zoe gave him light. She inspired him with her beauty and intelligence.

He wouldn't have stayed married if he didn't love Karen, but their life was so ordinary. Months earlier, they fought about money, and he grabbed The Guide, an entertainment publication published by The Press-Enterprise every Friday, to find something to do without her. The more extravagant, the better. Who did she think she was ordering him around?

He came across Zoe's play, "Run Far Away." The synopsis enticed him. It likened it to the plot of "Pulp Fiction," which was one of Jon's favorite movies, and was a series of inter-locking stories. It wasn't until he was inside reading the program that he realized these were love stories and that the playwright was his former classmate, Zoe. Her picture was buried in the back by an advertisement.

He didn't know what had happened to her so it made him happy to see her name.

The play was good. Both sexy and frightening. Every character was in a life or death situation when they met their lovers. There was also a really hot lesbian scene, which Jon would be lying if he didn't say turned him on, with live actors to boot!

He approached Zoe as she was shaking hands with patrons. She acted humble, like she hadn't even written the thing, like she was the janitor or something, and she had this glow. It was the same look a woman gets when she's pregnant. Karen had it those first few months, but it went away.

He wanted her instantly, he was so turned on by those plays coming from her mind (who would have thought that'd be so sexy?), so he stepped up his game. Zoe wasn't like other girls. He remembered that much from high school. After some crap nostalgia, he told her she had "really nice eyes" and that she needed to "visit him sometime."

Within days, they met up for dinner. He told Karen he was playing poker at his brother's. It was all so casual at first that he didn't know what to make of her interest. So he played it cool and made up even more things about his life after high school. She didn't ask a lot of questions which made it easy.

In the parking lot of the bakery, Jon parked his car, making sure to put the top up before going inside. Karen sent him to place an order for her sister's wedding. It was the job of the bride's family to make arrangements and by default, Jon was utilized.

He stood in line behind an attractive Mexican woman holding a baby girl in a puffy pink blanket. The baby was sleeping, her tiny head resting on her mother's shoulder. Her eyes were delicate slits accented by those flushed baby cheeks. She reminded him of his daughter, Ramona, who always slept when she held her. He could instantly calm her down.

Karen picked the name. It was her favorite children's book character, Ramona Quimby. Jon had gotten used to taking a backseat in those decisions. Karen had complete control. That was why the affair with Zoe was such a vital supplement to his ego. Just talking to Zo put a spring in his step. Her phone calls fed the flame. He knew she liked him. He knew she would do anything he asked.

Anything.

There were times he felt guilty. Those Internet chats late at night, when Karen was asleep. Zo had this icon that was a closeup shot of her eye and Jon's was just a picture of a Victorian beach at sunset. It was taken near a cottage in Australia where they vacationed last year. Her parents owned it, but Jon told Zoe he found the picture online. Didn't lie about the location though.

"I've always wanted to go to Australia," Zoe typed. "Wouldn't it be nice to make love on that beach?"

He made love to Karen in that cottage, then she went went dry for six months. It was a bitter tug of war. Now, by not taking his calls, Zoe was playing the same game; gaining control by bargaining the one thing that gave her power.

What did she want from him? To leave his wife? To come running to her? It was crazy. He knew she wanted him thinking about her fit little body and that night of the broken bottle. It was the same trick Karen used years ago, after their make out fest on a Ferris Wheel. The day he married her, he felt relief, like he conquered a secret level on Super Mario Bros. They'd fight and he'd hear Nintendo music in his head.

Guys take game strategy seriously. That was why that night haunted him. But Zoe laughed when he broke that bottle, right? He wouldn't have hurt her, but he was crazy then. Her interest gave him his manhood and made him high. Only briefly.

Because just as quickly as it came, he forgot about his needs. He looked into her eyes and lost control. That morning with her, he gave himself a migraine making Zo climax. She told him it was true what they say about women in their 30s and he enjoyed every minute. Would have suffered all over again.

The paper with Karen's instructions was folded in his pocket. This line was hardly moving. He knew he'd be here awhile, missing Zoe and thinking about their sex. There was egg on his face from the whole thing. He felt stupid. Having watched "The Way We Were," even emailing her a poem he wrote to express his feelings, but she didn't reply. He hadn't seen her online either.

He was a rat bastard, just like Robert Redford in that movie. Do all guys cheat on their wives? Jon didn't know, but he figured it was the curse of being a guy who will do anything for sex. Zoe wasn't the first girl he'd lusted after since marriage and she wouldn't be the last. She was, however, the only one who got under his skin with just a few words. In fact, he'd give anything, anything, to make love to her in the backseat of his new Saab, just to hear what she'd have to say about the experience.

Or, so she could see Australia, they could do it at sunset on a Victorian beach. She wanted to visit so bad, but he knew it wouldn't happen with him. Zoe was so far away in LA. Might as well be on another planet.

He had thrown his boxers from that night in the trunk of his car. Typical behavior from someone having an affair. He kept them there until he could do laundry alone, which had yet to occur. They were one of the few important things, like insurance documents, he remembered to transfer to the Saab before the trade in. Opening the trunk that morning, he caught a whiff of her musk.

Feeling helpless in line, Jon gripped his cell phone, holding it close to his crotch. Yup, he'd give anything.

U2 - Stay (Far Away, So Close)