Lovecraft

Vacation 1 - Driving in the Snow

"When will you tell me?" Nines asked curiously as Gavin hummed along to the music, idly tapping his hands on the steering wheel. He didn't answer besides giving him an almost secretive smirk, clearly pleased with himself at being able to keep such a secret for so long. Nines felt he'd cheated somewhat. Gavin had asked to be allowed to plan their next date, which then turned into a long weekend. Since their first date had been less than successful, Nines had agreed to leave it in Gavin's more experienced hands. For the past two weeks, he'd been sneaking around with Tina and Chris, telling him he wasn't allowed to snoop.

Nines had been good and patient, letting Gavin head off with Tina for a few evenings to plan. He definitely hadn't hacked their phones, which had been left in Tina's car. He also didn't know the IP address of her computer, so he couldn't simply hack in. Not that he would. He'd promised Gavin to be good. Whatever he had planned, Gavin was smart enough to do everything on Tina's computer, in her house, and have her pay. There were transactions showing that Gavin had sent a sizeable sum to her account, but he had no idea what Tina had spent it on. They never mentioned anything in their emails or personal messages, so even when Nines did glance over them, there were no hints about the trip.

"Curious?" Gavin teased, keeping his eyes on the road. Had he looked, he would have seen Nines' LED spinning yellow in the opposite window. He'd been trying to work it out since they got on the road. They'd left Detroit for Canada and seemed to be heading into the mountains around Lake Erie. Due to the time of year, Gavin had to be careful as they drove through the snow. Flakes were falling in flurries, but the roads were still clear where the morning salt had melted the ice. It was still fairly early. Gavin had insisted on leaving his apartment at four o'clock, so they made it to their destination in the afternoon and got to enjoy the day there.

"Extremely." There were many places they might go besides the lake. Canada was vast, and they had a whole three days. Perhaps he intended to go sightseeing, or fishing, or they might visit one of the larger cities. The only clue he had was that it would take perhaps eight hours to get there, possibly more when taking the weather into consideration.

"Good!" Gavin chortled happily as he shuffled in his seat, leaning a little lower over the wheel to peer through the falling snow. With all the clouds, it wasn't very bright, and the flurries blended in with the surrounding white blankets, making it hard to see. Nines would have been more comfortable driving, only he didn't know where they were going and Gavin had insisted. The most he could do was watch the road in multiple spectrums and ensure Gavin knew about any upcoming obstacles. His blue on black eyes blinked one set at a time, the highest set squinting a little as he frowned.

They only made one stop in a small town that looked deserted from the road. Gavin pulled in at the service station to use the bathroom and get directions to the lodge. He couldn't wait for Nines to see it. They got it for a steal, too! No one wanted to go to the lakes during the winter, especially when it was snowing like this. The resort wasn't for skiing, and a lot of the surrounding places were closed for the season. It was perfect! The lady who owned it had been sweet and helpful over the phone, too. Since most places were closed, she'd offered to stock it with any food and drink they needed. She'd been surprised at the request for thirium, but with androids now free to travel, a lot of places on the border had started stocking it for just such an occasion.

After getting a few directions from the guy at the service station, Gavin drove further into the small town, which was really more of a village. Though brimming with curiosity, Nines agreed to stay in the car as Gavin pulled up outside an unassuming house. He watched curiously as Gavin trudged up to the door, shivering in his leather jacket, to be greeted by an old woman. Not so old that she looked feeble, but old enough that her hair had turned grey. She seemed warm and welcoming as she hovered in the doorway speaking to him, smiling and handing over a set of keys and an envelope.