THE SANCTUARY (12 page)

“You did shine tonight, Miss Julia,” Liz agreed, hugging her friend.

Julia beamed with delight. “I felt so alive and great,” she confessed. “I wish John could have seen me. He won’t believe me when I tell him.”

“That’s okay. I got pictures,” Sonya said, holding up her digital camera to show Julia.

“Let me see,” Grace said. “I’d love to know what happened tonight.”

“I want copies of all those pictures,” Julia said.

“I think we all want copies of those pictures,” Lydia said. They burst out laughing and began singing, “
I love you ba-by”
as they rolled along the highway.

Ten

BIG NEWS

“I’
m starving,” Sonya announced.

“Just be patient. We’ll be there in a few minutes, and it’ll be worth the wait,” Lydia promised.

In less than twenty minutes, the RV passed a fifty-ton, eighty-foot-long dinosaur.

“This is it,” Lydia said as she pulled into the vast parking lot for Wall Drug located in Wall, South Dakota. The group sat dumbfounded for a few minutes, trying to take it all in.

“Come on,” Lydia finally said.

They got out of the vehicle and walked over to the placards. The signs told the history of Wall Drug. A Nebraska native, Ted Hustead, moved to Wall in 1931 and opened a little drug store. The store had little business, even after five years. Ted’s wife, Dorothy, suggested her husband put up a sign on the edge of town advertising free ice water at Wall Drug. She thought the travelers were probably thirsty and would stop to take advantage of the free water. Her husband thought it was a ridiculous idea but finally agreed. He went to put the sign up and by the time he got back, thirsty tourists were already lined up in front of his store for their free ice water.

Over the years, the store and amusements have grown to encompass several city blocks. A million visitors stop at Wall Drug every year, according to the placard. No wonder! The giant store sold almost anything a tourist could want, from hundreds of postcards to thousands of cowboy boots.

They bought lots of funny souvenirs, like the two T-shirts Liz got that said, “I can go from 0 to Bitch in 60 seconds” and “Waiting for Mr. Right.” Under the words was a picture of a skeleton bride sitting on a bench with a dried-up flower bouquet. Grace and Sonya bought cowboy hats. Julia bought three bags worth of toys and other gifts for her kids.

The Carolina Girls and Grace (whom they made a CGF in-training) spent two hours dining, shopping, and taking photos of each other in silly poses before reluctantly getting back on the road. The last photo was of all of them gathered around the life-sized animated chuck wagon quartet. An elderly man from Nevada took their picture when Sonya asked him. When he found out they had come all the way from South Carolina, he said that he was sure they had some good stories about their cross-country road trip. They assured him they did, “…but what happens in the Beast, stays in the Beast,” Sonya joked when he handed the camera back to her.

They had finally crossed most of the state of South Dakota and entered the Black Hills and Badlands at about 4:00 p.m. It was a serene place filled with big ponderosa pines that soared up into the sky, skinny spruce and aspen trees, tall granite peaks, and lots of wildlife, such as elk and pronghorn antelope. Coyotes, wolves, cougars, and grizzly bears also made their home in these hills, although most visitors weren’t likely to ever see these elusive creatures. They had seen a roadrunner. It was even more ridiculous-looking than the famous cartoon caricature. This desert bird, which preferred walking to flying, had crossed the highway in front of them just a few hours ago. It was amazing to think that this tiny animal, only ten inches tall and weighing just eight to twenty-four ounces, could actually eat a rattlesnake.

It was so nice to just look at the unfamiliar landscape that no one spoke for a long time. The group silently took in the spectacular scenery, including incredible wildflowers, which Julia’s guidebook (bought at Wall Drug Store) said were prairie blazingstars, lavender hyssops, and ox-eye sunflowers. The topography was so different from the Lowcountry that they couldn’t get over it. And everything seemed to extend as far as the eye could see. It was strange not to see palmetto trees, tidal flats, low-laying salt marshes filled with thick plough mud, alligators, and egrets. Nor were there any causeways, inlets, marinas, or lighthouses. For some reason, Lydia felt oddly comforted by this foreign terrain. In her current state of mind, getting away from all things familiar was a good thing.

Julia finally announced, “According to this map, we should be at the lodge by around 6:00 p.m.”

“And then what?” Liz asked.

“And then we check in and get the lay of the land,” Lydia said grimly.

Liz had been on the phone and computer for the better part of the last two days obtaining information on Chris Miller. The CGFs didn’t dare ask how she had secured his address and Liz didn’t offer. “Got to protect my sources,” she said cryptically. She found out that Miller owned a lodge near Mount Rushmore. It was listed as his home and business address, so that’s where they were headed. They punched the address into the GPS system and followed the coordinates.

When they pulled into Palmer Gulch Lodge, they were surprised at how big it was.

Liz had finally found a website for the lodge, but the homepage said that it was under construction, so they assumed that it was a little place with a few rooms and a rustic campground tucked away in the mountains.
No way.
It was a full-scale resort. There were stables to the right and on the other side of the stables were lots of little buildings that had been made to resemble an old prairie or gold mining town. These structures housed an ice cream shop advertising giant banana splits, a candy shop that sold several varieties of homemade fudge and souvenirs, and a pizzeria. There were wooden benches and a handful of tables outside. To the left was the Ponderosa Restaurant, which was built to look like a large log cabin.

At the bottom of the hill was the RV park and scattered over a mile or two were dozens of cabins ranging from tiny to large. Just to the left at the bottom of the hill was the Palmer Gulch RV Park check-in and general store for the campground. Around to the left and up the hill was the lodge itself.

Palmer Gulch Lodge was a sixty-two-room nestled at the foot of Harney Peak, which is the highest point in America east of the Rocky Mountains. A two-ton carved bear greeted them when they entered the lobby. It looked right at home in the post and beam lodge and next to the huge, two-story granite fireplace. There was some kind of major construction project underway, which appeared to be some kind of addition to the lodge, but it was hard to tell since the construction was concealed by plywood and plastic tarps.

“This brochure says that the resort has hot tubs, saunas, waterslide, horseback riding, and satellite television,” Sonya said.

“Whoever this guy is, he’s doing all right,” Liz commented.

“Sshhh,” Julia said, poking Liz in the ribs.

“I’m just saying that this is more than I expected,” Liz explained.

“Maybe David invested in this place?” Julia suggested.

“But how does David know Chris Miller? Why would he invest in this place? And why the secrecy?” Lydia asked.

All good questions to which no one had any good answers.

Even though they could have stayed in the RV park, they thought they’d learn more if they were in the lodge. Besides, they all had about all they could take of the close quarters, not to mention five females sharing one tiny bathroom.

“Okay, Liz and Grace are in Room 302 and the three of us are in 308, which is a suite,” Lydia said as she handed out the keys. They had been told that the owner was gone for the night but would be back in the morning. They went upstairs and found the rooms near the end of the hallway. The plan was to get settled, freshen up, and meet downstairs in a half hour. Sonya had read a brochure describing a famous restaurant in nearby Hill City. The front desk clerk had told them that Alpine Inn didn’t take reservations and was extremely popular. He also said it was reportedly haunted, which made Julia squeal with delight.

At one time, Hill City was nicknamed “One Mile of Hell” because it had a church on each end of town and more than fifteen bars in between. Main Street had seen more bar room brawls, rowdiness, prostitution, and gunfights than anywhere besides Deadwood.

“How lovely,” Julia said as Lydia parked the rental car. The lodge had rental cars available for those who didn’t want to disconnect their RV hook-ups or maneuver their campers through the steep Black Hills. Lydia had gone down to the general store to arrange the car rental while the others freshened up. She was too hyper to worry about washing her face or changing clothes. It was great to spend time with her best friends, and they had had many memorable road adventures, but the real reason for the trip was finally here.

They had to wait nearly a half hour for their table. The others took advantage of the time to call home. Cell phone reception at the lodge was almost non-existent but was good here. Sonya called Mike and Julia called John. Liz called someone and spoke at length but didn’t say whom she spoke with. Grace called her best friend to give her the latest update on her exciting road trip across America. Lydia sat alone on the porch unhappily rocking in an oversized rocker. She had no one to call and the realization made her melancholy.

“I couldn’t get hold of Mike. He’s not at the store, and I tried the house and his cell phone, but no luck,” Sonya said miserably. She had finally gotten a hold of the doctor and had her test results. This was the first chance she’d had when she could be alone while she talked, had cell phone reception, and the time difference didn’t make it too late or too early. She was still shocked by the bombshell delivered by her physician. She wanted to tell the CGFs but felt she should tell her husband first. Besides, she was still mentally processing the news.

“John had to hire someone to help with the kids,” Julia said. “He said that he couldn’t handle them alone and has a new appreciation for what I do every day. He says that he never realized how time consuming and exhausting taking care of all of us was. He says we should hire someone full-time to help me, like a housekeeper or nanny. I was too ashamed to talk about it, but John left me a few days ago. He didn’t say it, but I think he was fed up with me, and he doesn’t like working for my dad. I told him that I’m fed up with me, too. I’m going to start taking better care of myself. I told him that I’ve already bought some new clothes and gotten a new hairdo and was going to start exercising and eating right when I get home. He’s willing to work on our marriage if we make some changes, like him quitting his job and me seeing a therapist. I don’t know if we’re going to make it, but I’m going to give it my best shot. This trip may be the best thing to ever happen to me. Oh God, I’m sorry, Liddie,” she added when she saw her face. “That was a stupid thing to say.”

“It’s okay. I know what you meant, and I’m glad that John’s finally realized just how demanding it is taking care of all those kids and him and your pets and that big house. I just want you to know that I’ll always be grateful for this time that we probably never would have spent together if not for the reason for this trip,” Lydia said. “You gals are the only family I’ve got now. Y’all may have wondered why David and I never had children. Most people assume we didn’t want children or couldn’t have any, but that’s not true. As you know, my little brother died of leukemia when he was nine years old. It was awful seeing him battle the disease for so long. What you probably don’t know is that leukemia can run in families, it’s called genetic predisposition. There’s a much higher risk of that happening if one or more immediate family members are diagnosed with leukemia. After Tommy, I knew I couldn’t take that chance. I couldn’t bear to watch a child go through what Tommy did. He was sick most of his short life. I think there’s a test they can do nowadays, but ten or fifteen years ago you just didn’t know. We both wanted children so badly but felt it wasn’t worth the risk. We considered adoption—I thought it was a great alternative—but David wanted his own offspring, so…” Lydia said, her voice trailing off.

No one knew how to respond, so they just sat quietly in the oversized rockers overlooking the town’s main street. A loudspeaker interrupted the awkward silence by announcing, “Carolina, party of five.” Grace appeared, tucking her phone into her pocket as the hostess guided them to their table.

There was no need to look at a menu, even if one had been available. Instead, the choices were written on a blackboard that hung on the wall. The selections were simple. A six-ounce or nine-ounce filet mignon (cooked rare or medium rare), baked potato (plain, butter only, or butter and sour cream), Texas toast, and a lettuce wedge with blue cheese dressing. Credit cards were not accepted according to the sign posted behind the hostess stand.

“What’s with this part of the country and credit cards?” Liz mused.

“Not such a bad idea to pay for what you buy rather than charge it,” Sonya said. “It really forces you to stop and think before you buy.”

The women had gotten cash out of the ATMs at Wall Drug, so they were flush once again. There would be no dancing and singing for tips tonight.

As soon as the food was served, Sonya made a wretched sound, clamped her hand over her mouth, and dashed off to the bathroom.

“Do you think she’s all right?” Julia asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out,” Lydia said as she got up and left the table.

Julia and Liz followed her to the ladies restroom. “Wait here,” Liz told Grace.

As they walked in, they heard Sonya throwing up.

“Oh my God,” Julia said.

“That doesn’t sound all right,” Liz said.

“Sonj, are you okay?” Lydia asked, gently rapping on the stall door.

The toilet flushed and Sonya emerged, looking pale and distraught.

She splashed cold water on her face before answering. “Sorry about that. I’m fine. To tell you the truth, I’m better than fine. I’m pregnant!”