Morning Bus Rides

9th Stop-Where Your Heart Is

The next day was a Sunday. Leo and Dana met up at the same coffee shop where they had coffee before. It wasn't their usual date. They have a mission: to find the whereabouts of Leo's wife, Marlene. Dana volunteered to look for her, much to Leo's reluctance. But the girl was pushy enough to convince him to say yes. Dana wanted to bring Marlene to Leo, despite the possibility that Marlene might throw a fit if she finds out that Dana was almost Leo's lover. Well, they were almost a step away from that.

Leo had Marlene's planner, which he found in one of her dresser drawers. He pore through it as Dana looked on beside him. They scanned all the addresses and phone numbers that they could find. Maybe the planner had some clues as to where Marlene could be found.

"Dr. Cartwright, the flower shop, her friend Molly, and the pizza delivery. Seems like there's nothing much of interest here," Leo mused as he thumbed through the pages.

"Have you checked her weekly entries?" Dana asked as she sipped her coffee. "Maybe she wrote some number or place in there."

"I haven't thought of it," Leo said. All he scanned was the address book part. He leafed through the weekly portion of the planner. Most entries were about socials, thoughts on daily TV shows, and a cryptic line that says, "I'm sick of this." Leo gulped at the sight of it, knowing very well that Marlene thought of him as she wrote it. Her was her husband that never made his presence felt with her.

"Nothing much in here." Leo finally closed the planner. Dana gently took it from him and said, "I do believe there is. Let me search instead."

Dana went through every page in a careful and thorough fashion. It took her a while, then she became fixated on one page of the planner.

"I'm finding my heart again... Sweet home Alabama," Dana read.

"Sweet home Alabama?" Leo asked, frowning.

"This sounds like a clue," Dana said. "This was dated four weeks ago."

"Let me see," Leo requested. Dana handed him the planner and Leo eyed the page intently. Four weeks ago. The week Marlene left after their last fight. True enough, the line was dated on the day Leo drank by his lonesome in the living room. 

"Alabama... Alabama," he mouthed.

Then it hit him. "I know what this means!" he exclaimed. He turned to Dana excitedly. "She's at her parents' farm in Alabama!"

"That's great!" Dana smiled. "Should I go after her now?" she offered.

"Why does it have to be you?" Leo asked sadly.

Silence fell over them. 

"Because, I feel that she has to know the truth about us," Dana answered seriously after quite some time. "I feel the need to apologize."

"Dana..." Leo placed a hand on her shoulder. "You might cause some more damaged than expected," he warned her.

"That's a possibility. But I think it's more of my fault," Leo broodingly stated. "After what happened, I realized that she's still important to me."

"Maybe we should go together instead," Dana suggested.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip started on Friday the next week, in the late afternoon. Leo and Dana rode a bus to Alabama, where Marlene's childhood hometown was located. To be sure, Dana was seated an aisle away from Leo. Both chose window seats. The trip lasted late into the night. Sometimes, Leo would steal glances at Dana, who fell asleep fast. The love he had for her was still there, but he realized that Marlene weighed more. He can't simply throw away the years they spent together, ending just like that. Dana was still young, and Leo knew she deserves better when it comes to love.