Ben stood next to the vehicle he’d be driving on the next part of their vacation and felt a shiver trickle down his spine. Words to describe it? Brown… ish? Oddly shaped? A metal box with too much glass. Wait! He had it! A fish tank on wheels.
He never really pictured himself as a van person. Kidding aside, he liked the idea of ferrying kids to baseball games or even soccer but really saw himself doing that in a SUV.
He turned to look at Gabriella who was looking far too pleased with her selection. She looked at Ben and saw his dismay.
“Oh really Ben! It’s just a car! A very practical car for the next section of our trip!”
“I think you’d call this a van, not a car. At least I think it’s a van,” he finished in a mumble as he looked once more at the hideous thing.
“It will hold most of the luggage plus four people while we drive to our destinations and once we’re there we can all fit in it to do our day trips,” she explained. When his expression didn’t change she snorted and patted him on the arm. “Just wait! You’ll fall in love with this car by the end of the trip.” She walked back to the second vehicle they’d rented, a sporty little sedan, to speak with Catherine who would be driving that car with her daughters.
Ben walked over to the van and looked for the door handle. He located a recessed spot and discovered it was the handle. He sat in the driver’s seat, which was pretty comfortable he had to admit, and made himself familiar with the controls. He spotted a few small differences but they’d be easy to get used to. It had a manual transmission which he had no issue with once he figured out where they hid the reverse gear.
As he waited for Gabriella to finish giving Catherine and Sophia directions to their first destination he sat back and wondered if Tina and Lucy were already on the plane. They’d almost been late as something had delayed Gabriella from joining them on the curb outside the hotel this morning. When he asked she just shook her head at him with a frustrated look so he let it go.
Tina had been good when they parted at customs. He’d been worried that she would have a relapse of her anxiety but she kissed him sweetly, told him to enjoy himself, and told him to be careful.
Lucy pressed her body against his and also gave him a sweet kiss. Then she walked with Tina into the security zone.
Gabriella pulled him back to the present as she hopped into the front passenger seat.
“OK, we’re clear on our directions. We can keep in touch with our cell phones but if we get separated they know where we will meet up with them. Let’s go!” She smiled a Ben. He looked back to the middle seat and saw big grins on the faces of Miriam and Daniel.
Ben got them out of the rental lot and away from the airport. Soon they were on the A series highways and made their way around Paris to the A6 south as their final stop of the day would be Beaune. For the first little while Daniel kept tabs on Catherine’s car but she proved that she could easily keep the fish tank, as Ben had dubbed their van, in her sights.
As much as it pained him to admit it, the van drove really well. It was responsive and had power. It was a smooth and quiet ride. If only he didn’t feel so much like a goldfish in it. He glanced over at Gabriella and she had a small satisfied smile on her lips.
Her phone chirped and she glanced at it. “Sophia is asking us to stop at the next gas station for a bathroom break,” she said. Ben nodded.
Twenty minutes later he pulled off and guided the van into a mostly empty parking lot. He turned off the engine and got out to stretch. Three spots away was a very nice black SUV. He looked back at the fish tank with a frown then heard a bark of laughter.
“Yo! What the fuck is that?”
He looked over and saw a young man, maybe mid-twenties, dressed in the latest trendy casual wear with a big, expensive gold watch on his wrist. From the accent Ben pegged him as a New Yorker. He was standing, hands on hips next to the SUV staring back at the van with a huge grin on his face. He gestured to the others in the black vehicle to come out to take a look at the van. Three other similarly dressed men opened their doors and started to laugh. Loudly.
They saw Ben standing next to it and the first one held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry Bro but that’s one butt-ugly car!” His friends all laughed harder and Ben just frowned. He couldn’t argue with them but felt an odd compulsion to defend the van.
Gabriella walked around to his side and gave him a hug and pulled his face down to give him a kiss. That made him feel better. He smiled at her twinkling eyes and she walked away towards the building passing the SUV without so much as a glance in their direction. The men watched her pass and the laughter dimmed to chuckles. Miriam and Daniel raced by after her.
Catherine had parked on the far side of the van and walked around the front to stand by Ben. She gave him a deep kiss which lingered just a little. She grinned at him and followed Gabriella. The laughter stopped as the men watched the tall, beautiful blond walk past. Ben smiled as he watched the sway of her hips. She was putting on a little show for him.
He felt fingers gently turning his chin as Sophia leaned against him to give him a kiss. Short and sweet as was her smile and she followed her mother.
The bros gaped as Sophia elegantly walked past in silence.
Rachel stood before Ben looking at his lips hungrily. He smiled and leaned down to give her the sensual kiss she’d come to crave. She pulled back with eyes closed biting her lip and gave his chest a couple of gentle pats as tingles raced through her body. She turned and rushed after Sophia to catch up to her.
Megan gave Ben a kiss on the cheek and ran after her sisters.
The young men looked at Ben in silence as he leaned back against the van and gave it a happy little pat.
They all took a second look then climbed back into their big black SUV. They left the parking lot quietly.
A few minutes later Daniel raced back to Ben’s side and handed him a bottle of cold water. He had one too.
“Thanks!” Ben said.
“So did Mom and the others put them in their place?” Daniel asked.
Ben grinned figuring it had to be something like that. “Yes, she sank their Battle Ships.”
Daniel laughed and climbed back into the van.
Ben leaned back against the van with his eyes closed and let the morning rays of the sun sink into his skin to warm his body. He felt someone leaning against him and opened his eyes. Happy green eyes looked up at him. Gabriella felt good against him. “Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she responded.
“Ready to go?”
“Get a room you two!” Catherine quipped as she walked by with her smiling daughters.
Ben kissed Gabriella’s forehead as she pushed up from his chest. She smiled and went to her side of the van.
He got them back out onto the highway and they made their way towards the first stop on the journey, Fontenay Abbey which was near a town called Montbard. Daniel had his guide book out and read aloud that it was the oldest preserved Cistercian abbey in Europe. He gave them a history lesson on it. The drive was long so they made a stop in Auxerre for lunch and Daniel took some pictures of a huge church rising up above the roof tops of the surrounding village. He informed them it was named Abbey of Saint-Germain d’Auxerre. They still had a little more than an hour to drive to get to Fontenay Abbey so they had to skip going inside the huge building much to Daniel’s disappointment.
Once they pulled into the parking lot of Fontenay Abbey Daniel’s enthusiasm was back. They took a guided tour and Daniel captured some amazing images. He took a series of portraits of Catherine and her daughters individually and as a group standing by one of the beautiful window wells. The ornate glass made a lovely backdrop and the soft light coming through lit them beautifully. The architecture was also delightful and he got many shots of the unique touches in the buildings as well.
Their next stop was just half an hour away. The small village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain was featured in the movie Chocolat and the McGovern sisters were adamant that they visit the place where one of their favorite Hollywood hunks once roamed. It was a very pretty old village and Ben enjoyed walking its streets but there wasn’t much to see and the sisters had to squint to see its resemblance to the movie. Hollywood magic had done its work very well. Maybe too well. The ladies felt vaguely disappointed.
Miriam found a store that sold anise flavored candies which were once made by the monks who lived there. They all tried one and Ben was surprised to find a tiny anise seed in the center.
The day was getting away from them and they still had another hour to drive to get to the chateau they were staying in just outside of the small town of Beaune. They piled back into their vehicles and moved on.