No Baggage by Clara Bensen

Author:Clara Bensen
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780762457250
Publisher: Running Press

CHAPTER 9 | Know Thyself

“Would y’all point us in the direction of the Eiffel Tower?” said Jeff. He said it with a deadpan southern twang, like he had a wad of chewing tobacco tucked in the corner of his mouth. Without waiting for an answer, he unfolded a wadded map of Athens across the car rental counter. “We’ve already been to the Acropolis, but that damned tower is nowhere to be seen.”

The middle-aged rental clerk was flummoxed. He cleared his throat, straightened his jacket, and peered deeply into his computer screen. “Sir, I regret to inform you that the Eiffel Tower is . . . in Paris, which is 2,953 kilometers away. Perhaps you might be interested in a longer rental period?”

“Well, dag nab it,” said Jeff. “I coulda sworn it was around here somewhere.” He looked at me. “Darlin’, will your heart be broke if we save Italy for another trip?”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine with me, honey.” He took a special pleasure in channeling geographically challenged Americans, but I was tired and not much in the mood to play along.

The clerk hid an appalled smile in the arm of his jacket and pretended to cough. “Excuse me. Very good, sir. Please follow me.” He led us out of the air-conditioned office and into the late afternoon heat, where he handed Jeff a key to a dark silver Citroen hatchback. Have a nice trip, sir.

Jeff tipped his hat as I settled into the passenger seat and tugged my seat belt tightly across my chest. “I would give you shit for messing with innocent bystanders, but why bother if we’re going to join the great beyond as soon as we pull out of the parking lot?”

Athenian traffic was legendary. Traffic lanes were decorative suggestions, street signs were often obscured (if they were present at all), and fellow drivers often seemed to be reenacting a racing scene from The Fast and the Furious.

Jeff knew the facts but was unperturbed. “Don’t worry, baby. This is gonna be fun.” His eyes lit up as he switched on the ignition, slammed the gearshift in reverse, and rapidly backed the car right to the edge of a congested six-lane artery.

My knuckles were white from gripping the map. “No offense, but do you actually know what you’re doing?”

“Well, darlin’, I guess we’re about to find out,” he said. “Now, which way to Delphi?”

. . .

The ruins of Delphi on the Aegean Coast were the historical home of the Oracle of Delphi. Jeff had mentioned the Oracle to me in one of our initial OkCupid emails. She was a mysterious prophetess whose divine auguries wielded great power in ancient Greece. After studying her history I’d felt strongly drawn to her archetype—and her home, Delphi, a mountain city the ancient Greeks considered the center of the universe. Jeff felt the same way. We couldn’t go so far as to plan a side trip out of Athens, but the underwear debacle at the Acropolis was a good enough reason as any to splurge on the cost of a rental car and skip out of town for a night.

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