superficial.
He was breaking a record with this one. They had been dating for three months now. This was a serious relationship for him. He shook his head, thinking he was getting in kind of deep. He would be picking out curtains next, trading in his man-card for shopping trips, cuddling, and buying her…
That’s it, he thought. He was going to have to put some thought into how far he wanted this relationship to go. He did not have time in his life for anything serious. He had a career to think about. There was a lot more fun to be had. He did like Kate, and he did not want to hurt her, but maybe it was time to take a couple of steps back and just breathe for a minute. There was no harm in that.
Unfortunately, Toby knew Kate would not take it too well. She was getting a lot more serious, which meant this was a perfect time to back off. The longer he waited the more it would hurt.
As the miles went on and on, Toby’s thoughts drifted to his job. Work was his favorite subject, his life. He was climbing the corporate ladder. He knew he would be running the company someday. He was intelligent, resourceful, and ambitious. I deserve to be on top. Toby knew he was the most qualified person in that company to be in charge.
He thought about Aaron, a coworker and former friend. Aaron had been with the company for about a year when Toby started. Aaron had showed him the ropes, and the two had become friends. They had worked together on projects, and partied together on weekends – that is, when they weren’t working weekends.
The friendship had ended when Toby had jumped at a chance for a promotion Aaron thought he deserved. Toby didn’t see what he had done wrong. It was up for grabs. Aaron would have done the same thing. He was appalled that Aaron had taken it the way he did, but hey, if Aaron was going to be immature about it, he didn’t have time for him anyway. This is a dog eat dog world, and Aaron needed to learn that fast if he planned to go anywhere.
Toby shifted in his seat. How much longer is this turnpike? Toby thought he just might die from boredom. There were still patches of forest every now and then, but mostly it was dull nothingness, splattered with mesquite trees and brush, mountains in the distance.
Toby didn’t get what people thought was so great about spending time in the country. There was nothing out here. Nothing to look at except land that could be developed and make some money. Of course, half the land out here was protected by the government for wildlife and such.
Toby rubbed his eyes. He needed some caffeine. This never-ending stretch of wasteland was getting to him. He was getting sleepy and the lines on the road were starting to run together. As soon as he could find a gas station he would stop for coffee. There had not been a gas station since he got on the turnpike. It had been hours. He had underestimated the distance when he routed his trip. This really was too much.
“Finally!” Up ahead, Toby could see a green sign. He hoped it would tell him something about how much longer he would be on this road. As he neared the sign, he could make out the words, “Turnpike Ends – 2 Miles”. Yes! He was finally going to get off this road.
There was another green sign - “Toll Booth Ahead - $5.00”.
“What? Are you serious?” Toby stared at the sign as he passed it. That is ridiculous. But finally, he was going to get off this mind-numbing road. He spied the toll booth ahead and shifted in his seat again, hoping to get some circulation to his butt.
Toby fumbled with the change in the console. Not enough. As he approached the toll booth, he looked at the lanes for the pay later option. Two lanes had machines to take your money, and were blocked by orange and white striped guard rails. To the far right, the road split into another lane, with an attendant in a kiosk. He did not see the open lane most toll roads have for pass holders and Bill-Me-Later. Surely one of these machines would give you the option for that. He pulled into the far left lane. He looked at the options listed on the machine. There was the drop slot for change. There was the dollar bill slot. There was the return change slot. There was nothing for Toll Pass, Bill-Me-Later, or even a debit card.
“Are you serious?” he grumbled, throwing his car into reverse while looking at the gate blocking the road. This is insane, he thought. This is supposed to be a new toll road. What’s the deal?
He looked over his shoulder, backed out of the toll booth, then jerked his steering wheel to the right and drove over to the far, right lane. A large, middle aged woman with gray streaked black hair pulled into a tight ponytail stared back at him through the window of her little booth.
“Five dollars,” she said in a bored, husky voice.
Toby let out an impatient breath. “Where is the Bill-Me-Later lane? You know the one with the camera that records your license plate and sends you a bill in the mail.”
The woman set her hands on the counter and leaned forward. Toby nearly recoiled at the sight of her bulging, hairy arms. Those things looked like they belonged on a man, or more specifically, a lumberjack.
“We don’t send bills in the mail,” the woman said. “You want to pass, you pay the toll.”
“What? Seriously?” Toby didn’t bother to hide his growing aggravation. “Every modern toll road has a lane for people with Toll Passes to drive through, and people without can get a bill in the mail. This is a brand new road. How are you going to tell me this road is so outdated?”
A warning flashed in the woman’s eyes. A moment ago they were dark, dull, and empty – eerily like the man at the last booth. Now Toby could see anger spark – and he didn’t care. “Five dollars to pass,” she said, speaking slowly and clearly in case he could not understand.
“I don’t have any more money. This road has too many pay stations and the toll is too freaking high. There is not as much as a gas station, much less an ATM for hours. Therefore, I ran out of money. I can pay with a card or check –“
“Cash only! You cannot pass without paying toll!”
“Wh-“Toby took a deep breath, looked at the gate blocking his way, then back at the woman. “You can’t just keep me on this road. I will be glad to pay your toll, but I only have 65 cents with me. If you will let me go to an ATM, I will bring the money back-” Did that woman just growl?
“You will not go to ATM, you will not get bill in mail, you will not pass until you pay toll!” Each word was spoken slowly, the woman’s voice growing huskier, lower, almost menacing.
Toby just stared at her. She reached for a phone receiver. Who was she calling? The cops? A bouncer? “Alright, alright, I’ll go back,” he said.
Toby again put his car in reverse, backed out of the booth and when clear, did a u-turn, and headed back in the direction from which he came.
What is going on here? This place is so outdated. And that woman was seriously freaky. If it weren’t for the fact that a woman could not scare him, he might be. Maybe she did freak him out just a little, though. Just great. The sun is setting, I need to get home, and now I’m stuck on this stupid turnpike!
He thought if he could go back to the last pay station, there would be someone with some common sense he could talk to and get this situation handled. The problem was that pay station was a couple hours away. He pulled out his cell phone. He would call Kate. Maybe she would bail him out of this little situation, bring him money, wire money, whatever. He hit “send” to dial. No signal. “Wonderful! Anything else want to go wrong?”
OK, think. Maybe if he drove back a little further he would get a signal. He checked again – no bars. “Stupid!” He hit the gas.
Toby’s mother had always accused him of having a bad temper. Maybe she was right to some degree, but Toby didn’t think it was as bad as she made it sound. It’s not like he went around beating people up. Besides, if he was angry, there was obviously a good reason, and how was he supposed to straighten things out if he didn’t take charge and get things going the right direction. Toby felt setting things straight was one of his talents.
Toby thought today was one of those days, someone or something needed to be set straight. Obviously the wom
an at the booth didn’t have enough sense to understand what he was trying to tell her. Today he would worry about getting off this road. Tomorrow, he would call in a complaint to the state. Some people might lose their jobs by the time he was done. No, he didn’t go around beating people up, but Toby McIntyre was not someone people wanted to mess with.
Every few minutes, Toby checked the signal on his phone again. Still nothing. He threw the phone down into the passenger seat. It bounced, hit the door, and landed in the seat.
“This is such bull!” Toby wondered if he had enough gas to make it back to the last pay station and still get to a gas station. He was sure he remembered an exit back there. He took a breath and shifted in his seat again.
After another ten minutes, Toby saw a sign for an exit. He didn’t remember seeing another road when he came through this way from the other direction. This is great, he thought. Maybe he could finally get off this stupid road.
As he approached the exit, Toby’s heart sank as he saw another toll booth. “Toll $5.00.” He rubbed his temples with his thumb and ring finger. His head was starting to throb.
The road didn’t look like much – looked pretty small, and he couldn’t see anything beyond it. He assumed this road led to a residential area. That was alright. Where there were residences, there were