The rest of that week went quietly. There were no major incidents to be concerned with in Columbia Falls and Officer Barnes and I only had a few rather mundane calls to answer. And I soon found out that Officer Jenkins had told Officer Barnes about the wedding.
"So, I heard that the Leona woman's going to get married," he commented.
"Yes," I answered, "she's asked Molly to be a bridesmaid and that I attended."
"As the best man?" Officer Barnes quipped.
"No," I answered, "I think she only asked Molly to be a bridesmaid because most of the people she knew when she was human turned their backs on her when Changes manipulated her into becoming what she is and then "performing" so he could make money."
"Well, cats ought to stick together, I guess," Officer Barnes gave a teasing smirk, "so when is the lucky day?"
"The wedding is a week from today," I told him, "Molly and I tend to head out tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?!" Officer Barnes gasped.
"Yeah, tomorrow," I nodded, "we have to cross at least three states, and outside of a snack here or there, Molly and I will likely have to bring our own meat with us."
"I'm sure a lot of fast food restaurants would sell you two the patties for a fairly cheap price," Officer Barnes commented.
"They' sell the hamburger to us," I grumbled, "we'd have to throw away a good portion of the meal to eat the part of it that we can digest.... and between the two of us, it probably wouldn't be cheep enough with Molly's Uncle driving us."
He glanced over at me as we made our way into the station to clock out for the night. Obviously, he had to look up if he wa to look into my eyes.
"Oh yeah... you guys are the tallest people in the state," Officer Barnes nodded, "makes me wonder why people would want to take that serum considering all the difficulties you and your wife go through."
"I'm pretty sure they believe things will change as "humanity" changes," I sighed, "and their probably right there. Most companies won't cater to an animal person market when there's only a few dozen. The verdict though will insure that ultimately, the animal person population in this country, at least, will be much bigger..."
"And with more buyers, the market will change," Officer Barnes sighed, "Oh well. We can't change what's happened, and our duty is to enforce the law... and apparently the law is okay with it."
I nodded, "Have a good night."
"You too," Officer Barnes replied, "I'll see you in a week or so. Have a good time."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Bandhavgarh Cabin was full of hustle and bustle as I arrived. I could smell dinner cooking in the kitchen, and Molly was hurrying down the stairs with a couple of bags.
"So, I guess you've been busy today?" I asked quietly as Molly placed the bags by the door. She had taken the day off from the school to get things ready for the long drive beginning tomorrow.
"Yes," Molly nodded, "all our dirty clothes are now clean and packed, minus what we'll wear tomorrow. I've got enough body wash for the both of us for a few days packed, and our igloo is full of what we'll take with us on the road with some ice in it... I put it in the deep freeze to keep it cool, and we're eating the meat that allowed me to put the igloo in the deep freeze tonight."
"Did you ever stop to rest today, Molly?" I asked her.
"I managed to sit down for a little while at lunch," she shrugged, "as I've said before, this has me all shades of excited."
"To be a bridesmaid to a woman twice our age?" I questioned.
"The age doesn't matter," Molly retorted, "there's no rule that says we have to be friends with people our own age... and remember she's helped us a lot."
Her comment was fairly firm, and not wanting to fight her, I lay all joking aside.
"You know that I'm happy that you're happy," I told her, "I'm just having a little fun with you."
"Oh," Molly shrugged and gave me a slight hug, "you know there's nothing "little" about us."
I replied with a light chuckle and then lead Molly into the living room for a moment. As I got her to the couch she then began to try to wiggle away.
"George, dinner is still cooking!" Molly protested.
"And I'll take care of it," I said firmly, "You aren't the energizer bunny. You need to relax for a bit. Watch some TV... I'll get a CD from our collection to play... just relax for a little while."
"But..."
"No buts," I answered, "you've done a ton of laundry, packed everything but our last minute things, started dinner, along with some things you probably haven't told me. You're taking a break."
"My day wasn't as long as yours," Molly protested.
"Yes, but I spent most of my day laying on the car's backseat," I retorted, "and there wasn't much that went on today."
It was at this point that Molly gave up the argument. She relaxed on the couch and I moved to the kitchen to finish dinner.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dinner went well and Molly did relax. After eating a rather large amount of meat, even for us, I slowly lead Molly upstairs to bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. I wanted to chuckle, but I did have a long day and it didn't take me long to fall asleep either.
We woke up the alarm as it blared at its normal time. I sat up with a yawn and looked over to Molly who was stretching out her back.
"Well, todays the day," I commented.
"Yes," Molly nodded and stretched again, "best to get ready. Uncle Frank will be here fairly soon."
I nodded and got up. Knowing that I wouldn't going into work, I dressed myself in one of the outfits that had been specially made for me.
"Remember to call your dad or mom when we go," Molly advised as she pulled her own dress on.
I nodded as I heard the sound of an engine and wheels moving on dirt coming toward the cabin. I glanced over at Molly to see that she had heard it too.
"Your Uncle is here," I commented.
"And we haven't had breakfast yet!" Molly gasped and rushed past me to go down the stairs. I heard her greeting her uncle at the door a few minutes later.
While she handled that, I turned the phone and dialed my family's home number. My mother was the one who answered.
"Hello?" I heard my mother speak in a fairly groggy voice, clearly sounding annoyed that someone was calling so early in the morning, "Who is it?"
"It's me, mom," I spoke.
"George!" my Mother answered, "It's great to hear from you... it's a little early, but still great to hear from you."
"That's great, mom," I replied, "this is just a heads up for you and Dad. Molly's Uncle's just arrived to pick us up. We should be in Peoria in a few days."
"For Leona's wedding?" my Mother asked.
"Yes," I answered, "Molly and I figured we'd visit for a few days before the wedding."
"Wonderful," my Mother answered, "Call us when you stop for the night. Your dad may be working, but I'll be sure to be home."
"Thanks, mom," I told her, "I'll let you go back to bed."
"Bye, dear."
With that done, I collected things such as toothbrushes and toothpaste for Molly and I and put them in a small bag and then went downstairs to find Frank Rhoer seated quietly at the dinner table. I could hear Molly cooking a quick breakfast, though given the size of the dinner we had eaten the night before, I wasn't too hungry.
"Good morning, George," Frank Rhoer said to me, "I thought I'd have breakfast with you two before we head out."
"You'll love steak and eggs," I quipped with a smile.
"Yes," Frank Rhoer chuckled, "I also figured we could discuss the route to take."
"We'll need to stop in the Walmart in Kalispell for something," I told him, "but once that is done, we can go south to I-90, and take that all the way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. From there, we go south to Sioux City, Iowa and take I-29 until we get to I-680 and essentially go across Iowa. From Moline, it should be no problem to take I-74 into Peoria."
"No sight seeing?" Frank Rhoer asked.
I shook my head, "if we need to that we can just look around a town where we stop for food or something else... and that'd probably be to stretch our legs."
"And you two are okay with that?" Frank Rhoer wondered.
"We are on a bit of a schedule, Uncle," Molly spoke from the kitchen, "we don't want to get sidetracked and lose time with George's folks or with Leona."
"Okay, if that's the way you want to do it," Frank Rhoer replied, "I'm more then willing to go along with you."
As he accepted that, Molly came in with three plates of cooked eggs and medium rare steaks. It looked like just about every breakfast that Molly and I ate, but it was one being served at what would be the start of another, if only brief, adventure.