White Noise, Part II

WAIT. Have you read Part I? Do that first.

As Kate sat on their wrap-around porch, she couldn't help but wonder. Wonder if she was doing the right thing, wonder if Thomas would resent her for leaving, wonder if she packed everything she would need....

She clutched her bag closer to her chest, feeling through the thin fabric to make sure she had her wad of cash and the rectangular outline of her passport.

The last time Kate had needed a passport was when her and Sam went on their honeymoon ten years earlier. She had insisted that they go to Mexico immediately after their July 4th wedding. It was dreadfully hot and by the second afternoon they had both been sunburned beyond recognition. They spent the rest of their three days in their room watching TV and lathering up in aloe.

Kate scrunched up her nose at the thought. How had she let it get this far?

How had she let herself get married in a courthouse with no one but her mother-in-law to watch? How had she let herself move to Montana, to a cattle ranch, to the middle of effing nowhere?

Lost deep in thought and resentment, she hadn't seen the taxi coming up the long drive. He honked at her.

"Sh!!!" she tried to whisper, coming out of her trance, grabbing her jacket, and running to the car.

"Please be quiet!" she hissed as she slid open the back door, sliding into the back seat of the yellow mini van.

"Sorry, lady. I didn't think ya'd seen me sittin' here," he said, putting the van into drive and starting to turn around on the cement pad in front of the house.

"WAIT! HOLD ON!" Kate shouted as she frantically slammed open the sliding door and ran to the house.

She let herself in the garage; everything was always unlocked. She went the passenger side of Sam's old Ford and reached into the glove compartment. Hidden in the stack of oil change receipts, insurance cards, and registrations for the many trailers riddled around the farm, was an airplane ticket. In the glow of the dim compartment light, she read it one more time.

Jennifer Lakely. GTF-ATL. ATL-AMS.

Great Falls, MT to Atlanta, GA. Atlanta to Amsterdam.

Kate closed her eyes and took in a breath of relief, clutching the ticket in her jacket pocket with a shaky hand.

There next to her ticket in that stack of papers was a picture of Thomas and Sam, sitting on top of a tractor, smiling at the camera. She looked at it for a moment, then slid it back in the pile and shut the door. She headed back to the cab.

This trip had been in the works for a long time now. Two years? Yes. That sounded about right.

She had met Ferdinand online. I wasn't really looking to cheat, she often reasoned with herself during those two years. I was really just looking for someone to talk to. How was I supposed to know it would lead to this?

The chat room she had joined had come as a spam email with the subject line:

Married, but bored? We can help!

She was bored. So she did click.

They had talked every day since. Chatting only online at first, and only about platonic things: his job, her kid, the dull everyday stuff. But then, then he had requested to be her friend on Facebook. And Kate had seen what an exciting life he lived: traveling Europe with his band. Well, he was a stage hand. But it was still exciting.

It had only progressed from there, this hidden love affair.

Because of it, she convinced herself that her life in Montana was no longer good enough. Ferdinand had it much better, and he treated her so much better than Sam. He was romantic. And that wasn't even in person! Imagine what life would be like with him.

What did Sam ever do for her? Nothing.

Six months after they began down this dark path, Ferdinand asked her to come and join him in Positano. They would live together. They would, "make the much love and drink many espressos," was how he had put it.

He had told her that if she could figure out a way to come to Positano, he would take care of her like no one else could. So she started planning, scheming, distancing herself from her husband.

Each time she paid for something, she made sure to ask for $20 cash back. This would make it look like what she had bought was just a little more expensive, but not enough to draw attention to herself. Her stash piled up. That had been easy.

Finding a passport and new driver's license hadn't been as difficult as Kate had thought. There were some seedy people where she used to work. It may have taken a bit of her dignity and five grand, but it had been relatively painless.

"You sure you want the name Jennifer?" he had asked, staring down at the papers she had filled out.

"What's wrong with that name?" she stammered, embarrassed and still putting on layers of clothing.

"It's just so... normal."

She sat in the back of the cab now, watching the life she knew disappear behind her. Her heart raced and her palms were sweaty. Excitement and adrenaline, she told herself. It'll be good. This is the right decision.

They were at the airport by 7am. As Kate paid the exorbitant fare the driver tried to start a conversation.

"Say, you sure been quiet. What's your name?" he was trying to be friendly.

"My name is Ka..Jennifer," she responded, opening the door and starting to get out.

"You sad to be leaving home for a while or sumthin'?" he asked, looking back at her.

"Ya, something like that," she said, slamming the door shut and disappearing into the crowd.