“I do. Maybe we can compare notes—I’ve got airborne training in May. Deal?” Matt polished off his last bite of ham.

“Deal.” Jorden smiled and gobbled down her muffin, hungry after all. Matt went up and paid the bill. He left a good tip.

The waitress smiled and pocketed the money. “Thank you. You might try the hardware store down the street for rain slickers. They’re the only place you’ll find them in Headland. They’re cheap and will help with the coming rain.”

“Thanks. We’ll try them. Which direction?”

“To the right.”

Matt and Jorden left and sure enough they went right.

“You’re going to look for the slickers?”

“You bet I am. Probably will work like a champ—like my poncho in the Georgia swamps.”

“What if it doesn’t rain?”

“We’ll use them another day.”

They bought two sets of bright yellow slickers, rain boots, and hats. Matt laughed. “We’ll look like characters from the Beatles song “Yellow Submarine.”’

Matt amazed her. He had suddenly turned her mood 180 degrees—from anxious to jubilant. In hindsight, she didn’t think she’d ever mentioned parachuting to Alex. In fact, she knew she hadn’t.

Chapter 52: March 1970

Chapter 52

March 1970

The clouds darkened the further south Matt drove. Raindrops hit the windshield with increasing speed.

“It looks like the weather forecast was right.”

“Can’t stop us. We’ve got rain gear,” Matt replied, squeezing Jorden’s hand.

“How much longer? Seems like you’ve been driving forever.” Jorden squirmed in her seat.

“We should be there by one thirty. The last town we passed was Highland City, so we’re still in Alabama, but we’ll soon be in Florida.”

Jorden wondered where they would stay. She hoped it wouldn’t be a dilapidated place like the Chelsea Retreat Motel where she, Alex, and Tom had stayed. She remembered the three of them sharing one bed. It still made her smile. Thinking of Alex, she twisted his bracelet around her wrist. What was she doing? It wasn’t right. She had to keep the two sides of her life separate. Alex, her future husband, in one compartment and Matt, her friend, in another compartment—never touching.

Matt drove up to a traffic light in Panama City. “We made it. We’re in Florida!”

“At last!” Jorden exclaimed.

“We need to find a place to stay. What’s your preference? Beach front or further back?”

“On the beach. I’ll share the cost,” Jorden declared.