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I was sad about it, but I understood. Regular people like Jenny didn’t have trust funds to fall back on like I did. I was privileged, and I fully recognized that.
After dinner I took a shower and when I came back out, Jenny was watching the same show I’d watched last night, The Big Bang Theory. They seemed to play several episodes of the show every night.
“This is what I love about hotels,” she said. “I rarely watch TV unless I’m hanging out with my Pops or another friend, but for some reason, whenever I’m in a hotel, I can’t get enough of these old reruns.”
We watched the show until we both fell asleep.
When I woke up in the morning Jenny was freshly showered and doing something on her phone. It was weird how easily I’d slept with her in the next bed. I’d always struggled to sleep if anyone else was in the room, like when I had one of my girlfriends sleep over. That didn’t happen very often though, not with my crazy parents acting like anyone who spent time with me was planning to chop me into little pieces and hide me in their freezer.
“How did you sleep?” I asked, my voice heavy with slumber.
“Better than usual. You?”
“Good. Give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”
“You’re the boss.”
I winced, but Jenny was staring at her phone, so she didn’t see me. I wondered if it was an off-hand comment or if she was trying to remind me of our places in this relationship.
“I liked sharing a room,” I told her as we pulled away from the gas station where we’d filled the tank and bought terrible coffee and stale donuts. Sadly there weren’t any fancy coffee shops around here.
“Yeah, it was kind of fun.” Her tone was neutral, making me wonder if she was just being polite.
As we drove into South Dakota I couldn’t believe the scenery. We passed into the Black Hills, the jagged rock formations giving us a view that was achingly beautiful.
By the time we parked at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and were walking along the Avenue of Flags I was giddy with excitement. In the distance I could see the four presidents carved into the rocks. It was an incredible sight, those carved faces staring out from the rocks with the rows of flags waving in the wind. The air smelled fresh and clean in a way that was different from Washington.
“Turn around, I’ll get a picture of you with the flags and the monument,” Jenny said.
I vogued for the camera then insisted that she come closer so we could get a selfie. Jenny stood behind me and bent her knees a bit so she could press her cheek against mine, snapping several pictures.
“Let me see,” I demanded when she was done.
We looked good together, I thought. Both of us were smiling, our hair blowing in the wind, the picture of a carefree couple on vacation that the part of my brain that still succumbed to fantasies wanted us to be.
“Have you been here before?” I asked.
“Never.”
“Then we’re both Mount Rushmore virgins,” I said, linking my arm with hers. “Let’s explore.”
After walking around for a while we were both hungry, so we headed to the café on site. It was warm enough that we were able to sit outside on the patio where there was a great view of Mount Rushmore. When I saw the menu, I got even more excited.
“Oh my God, we can have a bison burger!”
“You like bison?” Jenny asked, looking amused.
“I have to admit I’m not totally sure what a bison is, but I’m going to try it.”
She laughed out loud then and for a second I was mesmerized by the sound. I had the sense that she didn’t laugh very often, although I couldn’t say why.
“It’s similar to a buffalo I think.”
We both ended up ordering bison burgers with fries, and I insisted that we try the huckleberry ice cream when we were finished. Those were all good choices because everything was delicious.
“If we head out now we should be able to find a place outside of Mitchell and see the Corn Palace in the morning,” Jenny said after we took another trip to the viewing platform.
“We have to go to the gift shop first,” I told her. “No way are we leaving here without tee shirts and postcards. Ooh! We can get matching shirts!”
