The Past Recedes

Chapter 33

"You look so cute in that hat, Nika. Dark blue suits you", said Kathleen.

Nika blushed. "Thank you, Mrs. Klinghoffer. Is everything ready for the trip?", she asked.

"One moment, guys. I just wanted to make sure I have all my tapes for the trip", said Josh.

He came downstairs with a shoebox full of cassette tapes. "It's my British cassette collection, all the Beatles and Britpop stuff", he explained.

"This is going to be the first real test of your new car", teased Steven.

"I know, but I have to start driving on the highway so that the engine gets used to higher speeds. Otherwise it'll die on me if goes on the freeway", said Josh.

Josh and Steven loaded the bags in the trunk of the Volvo before Josh got behind the wheel, Steven in the passenger seat and Kathleen and Nika in the back. He shoved a tape into the player as I Saw Her Standing There came over the speakers. "Gotta start at the beginning", he joked.

Josh was careful to avoid the worst of morning LA traffic so soon they were on Highway 101 heading north. "Once we get past the suburbs, the scenery is stunning. Keep your eyes open", said Steven.

Nika could see what he meant when the last of LA's suburban sprawl ended and the road snaked along the southern California coast. There were a few neat beach towns near the city but these thinned out and the beaches became deserted except for surfers. These beaches were more rugged than the sunny ones to the south, mostly rocky and filled with coarse-grained sand. The waves were bigger as well, taller with heavy white foam that teetered atop the dark water like a mass of whipped cream on top of an ice cream cone. Even the sky seemed darker, more gray with patches of blue poking through.

By noon they had arrived at their hotel in Big Sur. The lodge was on a cliff overlooking the ocean, a steep drop of jagged black rocks and a coarse-grained gray beach below. Huge waves pounded the shore which sent spray shooting upwards with a loud boom. "This is better than Holiday Inn, it has amazing views. Plus there's a path to the beach, but the surf is rough. Only surfers go in the water", said Kathleen.

The group checked into the hotel and found their room. The first thing Nika did was unpack her things and take out her books while Josh flopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV. "You're lazy", she chided.

"I know, I'm a lazy, um, butt. I did drive all the way here, though, and us Libras have to conserve our energy", he laughed.

"You deserve your rest, Josh, but you have to unpack", said Kathleen.

"I know, Mom", replied Josh, flipping through the channels. "Ah, I hope they beat the Giants", he said, watching the San Francisco Giants against their cross-bay rivals the Oakland A's.

"Who's that?", she asked.

"The San Francisco Giants, they're the Dodgers biggest rival. They've been rivals since both teams were in New York, the Oakland A's play across the bay. In 1989, both were in the World Series but it was interrupted by an earthquake", he explained.

"So you're supporting Oakland?", she asked.

"Yeah, plus the Dodgers beat them in the 1988 World Series. I'd just turned nine and I got to stay up and watch Gibson's home run", he replied.

"We're going downstairs, see you later", said Steven.

Josh nodded as he was engrossed in the game. "Do you want me to order lunch?", he asked during a commercial break.

"Okay, are your parents going to be all right?", she asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. There's a casino and bar downstairs, they knew I wanted to watch the game. Maybe tomorrow we can go to Monterey, after we go to the beach. You don't swim in the water, you can surf, though. I can only dog-paddle, so I'm not going in the water", said Josh with a chuckle.

Josh quickly made a call to room service before going back to the game. Nika sat up on the bed and watched the game, remembering the rules from the Dodgers game yesterday. "There's a lot to learn about baseball, there's so much strategy involved", he mused aloud.

Nika understood when a middle-aged coach went through a series of hand signals and the batter looked at him. Just then, the runner on first base suddenly ran towards second base just as the pitcher released the ball and the batter hit it through a hole in the infield. "That's a successful hit and run, the runner takes off and the batter hits the ball through the hole", he said approvingly.

"Is that what the coach was doing?", she asked.

"Yeah, he was giving the players signs. Only one of them is real, the others are decoys. Only the players know which one is real", said Josh.

"Ah, trickery. Odysseus was a very smart trickster, he might have liked baseball", she said.

"Yeah, except a Trojan Horse wouldn't fit through the stadium entrance. He might have made a really good manager, a Leo Durocher type", he agreed.

Half an hour later there was a knock on the door and Josh answered it to reveal a room service waiter. He tipped the waiter and lifted the lid to reveal a pizza as he poured them each a cup of Coke. "They make great pizza", he enthused.

"I've never had pizza", she said, looking dubiously at the gooey red and orange pizza.

"It's great, just take a slice and eat it", said Josh.

Nika watched as he pulled a slice away from the pie and took a big bite. The idea of eating such gooey food with her hands made her queasy so she used a fork to lift a slice onto a plate, then cut it into pieces with a fork and knife. Josh nodded in understanding and continued eating. Nika ate a piece. "It looks weird, but I've always done this. Only sandwiches I eat with my hands, because it's gross", she said.

"This is pretty good, but pizza from Little Italy in New York is best. It's made by old-school Italians, Pizza Hut and Domino's are good in a pinch but you should find a real Italian place", he said.

"Dad is Italian", she said.

"I know, and your grandma is a great cook. Too bad John can't eat much of his Mom's cooking, since he's on a macrobiotic diet", said Josh.

Nika finished eating and went to brush her teeth. Josh had finished the last slice and placed the box outside the door as he turned his attention to the game. "Candlestick must be the worst stadium in the big leagues, the wind is picking up", he said.

She looked at the screen and saw stray garbage picked up by the wind as it swirled around the field. "They built it in a spot with a lot of wind, I guess it was cheap", he mused aloud.