Shores of Truth

Ch. 2, The Extended Holiday

 Travis

Travis Harrison was exhausted. Still curled up in his downy sleeping bag, Travis pretended there was still the darkness of night. He was used to his days being full of intensive training. Being exhausted wasn’t anything new. In theory fixing up a house shouldn’t be as difficult. Except he was used to picking up dinner and falling into soft sheets. There wasn't any place close enough to do either in this empty no-where town. Heated soup and a sleeping bag would have to do for a few more weeks. Not to mention he would have to do laundry soon. Getting appliances after the wiring was corrected will be a godsend. Travis yawned. Pulling on some dark worn jeans and white V-neck, he went to make some breakfast tea. Opening up a window, the crisp air rushed in. Travis pulled on a green jumper. Ruffling his copper hair, he remembered why he was here.

It wasn't the first time Travis regretted taking an extended holiday. At least he should have gone to Bali or Puerto Vallarta. Some tropical luxury resort would have been nice. Officially Travis told the press he was spending time with family. The smog filled streets of London with his brother's rather large hoard of kids wasn't what he needed. His mother would whine about how he was always abroad, and how he needed to find a nice girl and settle down into a normal life. His family had never supported his career. It had never bothered him before. Now that he was annoyed with his job, the last thing he wanted was I told you so.

Travis wasn't sure when it got out of control. After finishing Oxford School of Drama, he did a few independent films, stage productions, and extra roles. After a successful TV series, Travis was cast in bigger Hollywood movies. Travis never stopped loving his career. He enjoyed every aspect. Except when it got to the point that there was no off switch. The press had a field day every time he did anything remotely interesting which didn’t happen that often. Really wearing sweats to get coffee is news? That is when Travis decided on taking a Holiday. He asked his people to find him a fixer upper out of the way. This shack was more than he asked for. Walking onto his porch he inspected the work that was left on the shingles. As he looked over the vastness of Lake Michigan from his porch he thought perhaps this down to earth remoteness was what he needed to get him out of his funk.

"MAX!" Someone called in the distance. A large dog ran towards him. Travis was not a fan of dogs. Especially wet dogs trailing sand over his freshly painted deck.

As the golden retriever slobbered on his hand, he called out, "He is over here!" His owner jogged over to them. Dogs tend to look like their owners and this was no expectation. She was an athletic blonde with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Wearing running clothes, she walked with confidence to rival a diplomat and an apologetic smile of an angel. Although she didn't wear make-up, Travis couldn't help noticing she was rather pretty. Not an exotic or exceptional beauty, but a comfortable pretty. He shook his head from that train of thought. The goal was to keep to himself. He had to avoid complications.