“That does sound better than I would have guessed,” Laurie said with a wry smile. “Let me ask you something. Does our going up there, if we do, have anything at all to do with basketball?”
“He floated the idea,” Jack admitted guiltily.
“I thought so,” Laurie said with a laugh. “And it’s not that I am against the idea. Actually, it sounds like it might be rather pleasant for a few days, and I am in a celebratory mood.”
“That was my thought from the get-go, especially with both children at camp. I think the timing is damn perfect. But even more important, I think it would be delightful for you and me just to getaway for a few days, especially now that you’ve achieved a breakthrough with your negotiations. The last time we had some time for ourselves was our honeymoon, and the Adirondacks sound gorgeous and rejuvenating. And considering the accommodations it sounds like we might have, we’ll be experiencing something of what it was like to be one of the titans of the Gilded Age.”
“Hmm…It’s certainly convenient George Fontworth is already filling in as chief, so we could leave anytime, even as early as tomorrow morning.” Laurie gave him a Cheshire cat smile.
“So are we on?” Jack asked with growing enthusiasm.
“We’re on,” Laurie said.
“Okay,” Jack said enthusiastically. “I’ll give Bob a quick call back and let him know. He’s going to be pleased.”
Chapter 7
Wednesday, July 23, 10:20a.m.
New York State Thruway
Catskill Mountains, New York
“We’re coming up on Exit Twenty,” Laurie said, pausing the podcast she and Jack had been listening to. They were in a bright red, four-wheel drive Grand Cherokee that they had rented for the week and which Jack had picked up that morning at the crack of dawn. The idea was that the vehicle would come in handy if they decided to do any back-road exploring in Hamilton County. At the same time it was also large enough to accommodate Jack’s bike in the back seat with its front wheel removed.
Although they had initially planned to get out of the city before rush hour traffic slowed their progress, it hadn’t been possible. George Fontworth had foiled that plan by telephoning bright and early to go over several issues at length in hopes of not having to bother Laurie for several days, so she had been caught on her phone. As a result, they hadn’t been able to get away until just before8:00a.m. Luckily at that time the outbound city traffic hadn’t been bad except for getting onto the George Washington Bridge, and even that wasn’t that terrible. Once on the New Jersey side, they’d taken the scenic Palisades Parkway to reenter New York State and hook up with the New York State Thruway heading north.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Laurie continued.
“I imagine I am,” Jack said. “We could stop and say hello to the kids. This is the exit if we were to do it.”
“It’s tempting, but I don’t think we should. Do you?”
“I don’t,” Jack said. “Especially not to Emma’s camp. To be honest, I’m surprised we haven’t gotten any calls from them, and we should let sleeping dogs lie. I couldn’t be more pleased for her. As for JJ, he’d probably tell us we were interrupting whatever he’s got going on.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Laurie said. “By the way, I’ve been so preoccupied with getting ready and dealing with George, now that we’re underway, I realize I never asked you exactly how your friend reacted when you called him back and told him we were coming. Did he sound pleased?”
“Bob couldn’t have seemed more delighted,” Jack said. “Truly, and he said we were going to be bowled over by Essex Falls in the summer. I didn’t have the heart to admit to not being much of an outdoorsman like he apparently is. As you know, I’ve never been into fishing and certainly not hunting.”
“Me neither,” Laurie added. “But I do appreciate unspoiled scenery, and like most people, I’m a sucker for a nice waterfall and a clear, unspoiled lake.”
“Me too,” Jack said, laughing. “Mostly I’m just happy for us to get out of the hot, bustling, intense city and relax. Bob also assured me he was going to get right on arranging accommodations, andsince he didn’t call back, I’m assuming there were no problems. He also gave me his office address and said to come directly there when we get to town.”
Both parents eyed Exit 20 as they passed. Although they recognized it was probably best not to bother their children, they missed them. Instead, Laurie restarted the podcast, and settling back, they continued their journey north.
A half hour later as they neared Albany, the New York State Thruway took almost a ninety-degree turn due west, which they followed for another twenty minutes. Finally exiting the highway, they again drove due north on progressively narrower back roads. The small towns they passed through also became steadily tinier. They were now in Hamilton County.
“We’re now entering what’s called the West Canada Lake Wilderness,” Laurie announced. She was following their progress on Google Maps.
“Aptly named,” Jack commented with a nod. The mountains had become higher, some with rocky crests, and the forests denser, and there had been longer stretches without signs of civilization. For both Jack and Laurie, who hadn’t been out of the city for years except for occasional day trips like taking the kids to camp, it seemed incredible that such dense and expansive woodlands existed just a little more than three hours by car from Manhattan. There were also lots of beautiful lakes, a few with no houses whatsoever visible on their shores.
“Finally we’re getting close,” Laurie announced after nearly another hour of driving. “In the next few minutes we should start to see the outskirts of Essex Falls.”
“It certainly is isolated,” Jack said.
Fifteen minutes later Jack and Laurie were shocked when theyrounded a bend and abruptly entered the town. There’d been no warning. Their first impression was that it was definitely larger than they had expected, with Main Street lined with impressive, two-story Victorian Gothic Revival brick buildings with commercial spaces on the ground floors and residential apartments above. At a glance, it was apparent the town was struggling economically, as half the shops were empty. Whether the apartments above were occupied wasn’t obvious.
Mesmerized and frankly charmed by the surprising scene, they drove in silence along Main Street, which was four blocks long heading east. The street itself was wide enough to afford angled parking on both sides. At that moment only about half the spots were occupied, and mostly with black pickup trucks with small American flags on tiny poles attached to their tailgates. They saw only about a dozen or so pedestrians. In the approximate middle of the town, facing each other on either side of the street, were two large Richardsonian Romanesque stone buildings. One was the Margery C. Malone Elementary School and the other was the Bennet Library.
