Seek The Road

By Craig Hermann

 War and a divorce left Steve Kimball with only two things to focus on – his daughter and his employees.  Finally she convinces him to sell his successful business and take some time to figure out the rest of his life.  He will find adventure and lots of action - stretching his courage around every turn of his motorcycle.  But will he find peace - or even love again?  Both must be out there somewhere so he heads out on a journey looking for answers.  What he discovers will reveal much about how he intends to live the rest of his life.  The twists in the story mirror the turns in the roads that lie ahead.  Come along with Steve and some unforgettable characters you will meet along the way.....and in the process learn more about yourself in your own journey.  As a Vietnam veteran he thought he had seen it all in his day.  The losses in his life dragged like an anchor behind him in spite of spending his life serving others.  Is he really ready for the unknown?  He married his high-school sweetheart before going to Vietnam.  Sarah was born soon after Steve got back and he focused on building his motorcycle shop business to provide for his family.  During the seven-year itch his wife had an affair with a wealthy married man - so two marriages were broken.  After the divorce Steve poured his heart and soul into loving their daughter.  He swore off dating until she was in college.....and that didn't go so well even then.  He had too many demons creating anger and bitterness.  Later in life Sarah convinces him to build up his mental and emotional state and that time is now.  It's Steve's turn as he sells his business and sets out on a long motorcycle trip through some dark times - but also through some beautiful scenery in Europe - with the goal of changing his outlook on life and relationships.  Steve is inspired by the people in towns along the way - and tested to the limits.  Yet his own history keeps getting in the way of progress.   This novel is approximately 382 e-pages in length.  I hope you enjoy riding along with Steve!   Author:  Craig Hermann   Publisher:  Right Road Publishing (self-published)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Right Road Publishing
• Release date: Apr 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393721994

Craig Hermann

Craig Hermann was raised in Seattle, Washington in the 50's and 60's and received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Washington.  He and his wife, Diane, have two married children and two grandchildren.  In addition to writing he enjoys being at the beach or on a golf course.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

A Time To Be Born And A Time to Die

SHE HEARD HIS FOOTSTEPS getting closer - barefoot and without the usual stumbling - but faster than normal.  That meant he was even more dangerous because he probably wouldn't pass out from the beer he drank.  Ashley pretended to be asleep - not that it would make a difference.  She dreaded this time - a few days after her period.  What she dreaded even more was that he would start on Sasha as well since she had just started having her periods.  Ashley could hear his labored breathing as he passed her sister's room.  Her stepfather opened the door and closed it quietly so as not to wake up Sasha.  He pulled back the bedspread.  When he was done, he didn't say anything and didn't zip up his pants - just walked out of her room.  Ashley looked at her cell phone.  It was 9:46pm.  That's it! thought Ashley.  We're leaving in the morning.  When she heard him turn on the telly to watch the news, she set her alarm on vibrate. 

At 5:30am Ashley hit the stop button and went into Sasha's room and pulled her blonde hair back to whisper in her ear.  Sasha - wake up!  We're leaving as soon as you can get dressed.  Sasha grabbed the duffle bag she had already put under her bed and added more underwear and socks.  She grabbed her jacket from the chair and followed Ashley into her room.  Ashley quickly threw some clothes into her duffle along with her small leather pouch containing the money.  They both used the bathroom but did not flush and they tip-toed out of the house a little before 6am and quietly closed the front door. 

It was drizzling a little and it was windy as they walked down the porch steps.  The wind chime on the porch! Ashley cringed at the tinkling.  Why didn't I think of that?  The York train station was about four blocks away and they ran as fast as they could.  Ashley wished they had both put wool caps on.  Isaac Noora was roused out of his sleep by the ringing of the wind chimes his last girlfriend had bought for him.  He figured he might as well get up because the noise would prevent him from sleeping the last half-hour he was hoping for anyway.  He might as well get ready for work.  He walked toward the bathroom and saw the light was on.  Both the girl's doors were open, and he looked inside Sasha's room.  She was gone.  He quickly moved to Ashley's room, but they were not there either.  He ran toward the kitchen but he could see it was dark, so he ran back to Ashley's room and turned on the light.  On the nightstand was a note with a London address and another number.  They're running away!  They've gone to the station! he realized.  He grabbed his jacket and ran to his car.  It almost didn't start but he finally gunned the throttle and sped toward the train station - he was sure that number was for the London train which left promptly at 6:30am. 

As Ashley and Sasha rounded the last corner and ran across the train station parking lot Ashley could see both the northbound and southbound trains in their positions.  Coming from behind, Ashley could hear their stepfather's car coming down the last street.  The noise it made was unmistakable.  Both she and Sasha were soaked as they burst through the doors of the station.  The clock said 6:20.

One Month Earlier

The hills got bigger and the sky smaller as Steve Kimball headed down Laguna Canyon Road to the beach having finally answered his biggest question.  He could smell the salt air and slowed even more to soak in the canyon setting.  Scents of lavender and rosemary were faint through his helmet, and he couldn't wait to take it off.  But it would be even tougher considering the journey ahead.  It wasn't going to be easy.  He cruised past the Festival of The Arts and its Pageant of The Masters.  He noticed new signage had been put up - large and artistic....as compared to the dinky sign at the Laguna Playhouse that you couldn't even read at cruising speed.  He remembered watching the volunteer actors, including children, recreate classic paintings on summer nights.  They would start behind a closed curtain and would assume their posing positions.  He knew a young woman who started at five years of age who told him the actors had to hold their positions for 90 seconds.  Try doing that when you have an itch.  Then the curtain would open, the music would begin and the lights would come on as the announcer (for many decades it was the guy who did the voice-over for Tony the Tiger) named the painting along with a little background.  The crowd always reacted with excitement.  His little friend volunteered for over fifteen years.  In her last event she was one of the golden nude statues.  He couldn’t watch.  He remembered when Sarah was that age. 

At 72, he was never able to reach his height goal of six feet - although he was close.  Years in the sun riding had produced wrinkles that pointed to his chin on which he wore a soul patch - a blondish triangle stash just below the lip - right in the middle.  His green eyes smiled below thick eyebrows and he always tried to look cool and calm even when he wasn't - he had to be....he grew up in Inglewood just south of LA.  He also fell short of a 4.0 GPA - way short by today's standards - but had decent grades...at least back then.  Steve played football - at linebacker even though he was a skinny 165 pounds - and he was named to the All-City second team after his senior season. Tackling was one thing he could do well.  As far as girls, he was crazy about them ever since fourth grade when he began to see feminine features developing on the girls at school.  He was hooked.  He may have been playing sports during recess, but his eyes were on the girls in class. 

Steve continued down Laguna Canyon Road to Main Beach at PCH just a few minutes away from seeing his daughter, Sarah - the biggest gift of his rotten life.  People of all ethnicities and age were strolling along the beach boardwalk in animated conversation interrupted with laughter.  He headed south past the historic Laguna Hotel and by Nick’s Restaurant and the Weiland Gallery with its amazing whale painting on the north wall and past the Cliff Restaurant  with its arts and crafts galleries.  He still has a handmade bowl painted with musical instruments and notes that he bought there and which he uses when he serves mixed nuts at his home.

Laguna Beach hardly changes from year to year, but Steve was distressed to see kraft paper covering the doors of the beloved Laguna Beach Hotel built almost 100 years ago.  It has a prime location on the main beach but has small rooms and would basically have to be gutted and retrofit with all the new building codes in force.  The only chance for it would be to be declared an historical landmark so the necessary funds for rehab could come from government and public funds.  Steve reached the top of the hill and then the next right turn and down the hill to The Deck – a bar and open-air café on a huge wooden deck on the sand.  He was only five minutes late but Sarah was already there, on time as usual.  He was meeting her to celebrate her promotion to senior management that week at the pension-services company where she had worked for seven years.

Hi, Dad!  Hi, sweetheart!  He hugged her and whispered Congratulations on your promotion!  So happy for you!  Always so proud. 

Thanks, Dad!  Let’s go.  I put our name in and we should have a table soon – otherwise we’ll just have a drink at the bar until one opens.

OK, I just need to freshen up – you go ahead, and I’ll meet you down there!  He was excited to tell Sarah of his plans for a fresh start.  It was Sarah who brought up the whole subject of the rest of Steve's life a few months ago.  She told him he still had a good decade or two to live - but he wasn't making any changes in his life.  She told him he needed to move on from Donna and retire from the business of motorcycles and try to enjoy life - a different life than he was stuck in.  Through much soul-searching Steve realized she was right.  He was holding on to bitterness.  Sarah had told him that she went through the same period of anger toward Donna.  But she realized she was at war with her own flesh....what she wanted out of Donna.  Sarah gave that up after she married Kyle.  She didn't want her selfish thoughts related to Donna to get in the way of her most important relationship now - her new husband.  So she decided to be all-in on Kyle and her Dad.  She said she had learned the truth about love - that anger is like a storm that tosses waves around and she decided to pick the calm waters of new thoughts - only good thoughts.  He couldn't wait to tell her his plans.  That would be easier after a margarita on-the-rocks, no salt.

As he went down the stairs the sound of the surf and seagulls awakened his senses which were whacked from being inside his helmet for over 30 minutes.  A flock of five brown pelicans glided by with no effort.  He spotted Sarah at the end of the bar by the surf.  She ordered a Chardonnay and before they finished their drinks, he learned all about her new position.  She expressed her fear - wondering if she was ready for such a big move.  It scares me, Dad!  He reminded her that she was selected because everyone involved believed in her.  You’re as ready as anyone – and you deserve the recognition.  I've always known you are the best!  And she was.  Steve remembers her rarely complaining about her new family.  She devoted herself to her friends and Steve always let her invite one or two to come along on the weekends he was able to be with Sarah. 

Not that she wasn't a little anxious.  Her parents divorced when she was six.  Steve was also insecure for several years after Donna's affair.  He felt somewhat responsible that Donna had left him because he was in the middle of expanding his motorcycle business and was working seven days per week.  But he lost his breath and a least one heartbeat when his high school sweetheart told him she was leaving and taking Sarah with her.  He was so angry.  He was working his butt off trying to expand the business for his family's future and he felt betrayed.  Steve is not quite as unsure of himself now – but his dating life did not produce any fruit over the years.  He has trouble trusting women.  He still remembers going to his parents to tell them about her infidelity and that they would only be seeing Sarah maybe once each month.  Steve's Dad, Dan, told him to go home and make three lists – one with his frustrations and anger revealed, a second with what he was thankful for and a third with a prayer list.  The second and third lists were short.  He was never very good at praying.  His parents were active in their church, and he went to the church’s youth group and Confirmation Class – but church just seemed mostly about rules of behavior that he avoided after heading off to Vietnam.  He never got into it when he got back.  He wanted to own a business. 

So, what’s up with you, Dad? asked Sarah.  You sounded like there is something urgent!

I'm selling the business. 

Sarah gasped.

I have a purchase agreement with Cody.  He's agreed to a 5-year plan.  I’ll stick around on a real part-time basis for a year or two to make sure he’s able to staff up and keep it running smoothly.  But I’ve decided to go on a motorcycle trip through Europe for a few months.  How about that? 

What?  Oh, my gosh!  You're finally going to do something for yourself?

Steve smiled.  It's time.  I realize that my work in the business is finished.  I have way more money than I need and with Cody's funds coming in over the next five years I have nothing to worry about financially.  I'm totally drained, and I need some time to figure out the rest of my life.

Well, Cody certainly has earned the chance.  He’s been with you for - what - fifteen years?

Yes, and he’s basically running the operational side of things already.  I just need to teach him more about the financial end of our company.  He’s smart and a real hard worker so that shouldn’t take long.

When are you doing this? asked Sarah.

I'll probably leave in a month or so.  I was thinking of taking off around the first of August and coming home maybe late October or early November.  I’ve never done anything like this - so my plans are pretty flexible.

Wow, why now and why Europe? 

Like I said - I’m just sort of burned out.  I haven’t taken a vacation in years, and I want to do this while I’m still vertical!  I’m in pretty good shape.  Heck, I was only 15 seconds off my personal best on that last half-marathon!  So, I guess it’s now or never! 

Where all are you going?

I thought I would fly to London and see some of Great Britain and then over to Normandy to see what our soldiers faced on D-Day.  I’ll go through France, Spain, Italy....then probably Switzerland and Germany and maybe finish up in Denmark and Sweden.  I’ll ship over probably 4 cycles to different cities along the way so if I have any problems the next bike is not far away.  But, like I say – the clock is ticking for me....I think it’s time!

Dad, I think that is just fabulous!  You’ll have to set up that internet phone app where you can call and text for free so we can follow you!

They both switched to a Napa Cab and after the last sips they talked for well over another hour so they could drive home under the legal limi,t and they hugged as they parted.  Sarah was – and still is - at the top of the list of what Steve was thankful for.  She seemed to bounce back from the divorce better than Steve did.  Many of Sarah's friends had been through divorces, too, so she had them for mutual support.  Steve just poured himself into his business.  He wanted to provide for Sarah as much as the rich stepfather - also to take his mind off Donna. 

Heading back home to Sunset Beach, Steve couldn't make it past the yellow shake shack.  He had to stop for a date shake while overlooking the Beachcomber Restaurant which sits on the site where some of the early Hollywood silent movies were made and Long John Silver – his favorite movie as a kid.  He rode through Corona Del Mar, Newport and Huntington Beach and thought about all the great times he had with his parents and friends going to the beaches and later when Sarah was young.  He learned to surf a little back in the day.  But then came Vietnam.

Steve's parents were hard-working and giving people.  His dad was a kid during The Great Depression and later worked two jobs until Steve was in fifth grade - one for the Santa Fe Railroad as a claims adjuster and then selling shoes part-time at Sears at nights and on weekends so they could take a vacation each summer.  His mom, Alice, also worked at Sears part-time so they could save for college for their kids.  Kid, as it turned out.  Steve ended up being an only child.  It was hoped there would be a sister, but his mother was never able to conceive again.  His Dad always reminded Steve that the economy is not under our control and to never assume it would always be rosy.  Politicians were unpredictable and greedy.  His Mom and Dad couldn't have been better supporters of Steve.  They never hassled him about grades and came to all his football games in high school.  Steve was glad his parents were able to use their savings to have a few things in life and not waste it on college for him.  They passed away from cancer just three years apart after Sarah graduated Westmont College.  That was a milestone for them - seeing their only family member to go to college - let alone graduate. 

Steve's company – Pacific Motorcycle Company – was founded by Gunther, his first boss after Vietnam.  He was the father of Steve's best friend, Dick, who never made it back from Vietnam - barely made it two weeks.  Dick would have owned this company after his father retired had he lived...but his base camp was overrun by the Viet Cong.  They were in and out in about three minutes according to reports.  They killed everyone in the barracks and a few on watch.  The only survivors were those out on patrol.  Steve didn’t find out for almost two weeks.  That is still on his list of frustrations, and he was angry with God.  Losing Gary, his platoon mate, and then losing his best friend - along with the passing of Josh, the two-year old son of a niece almost 20 years ago, was too much for him to handle.

Josh was one of the early toddler heart transplants at UCLA at 17 months of age.  He lived another 15 months before he died.  Even though he was just a toddler Steve learned so much about endurance from Josh.  Steve never forgot one food fight Josh had with his twin brother, Jake, about six months after his transplant.  Steve, Donna and Sarah were at his niece's house for a summer gathering.  When his niece found out about the food fight – and that Josh had started it – she picked him up and they had an eyeball to eyeball discussion about what had happened.  She made him apologize to everyone at the table.  To this day, Steve will say, he has never seen a more sincere apology from any man, woman or child.  He was in his high chair and, as he said I’m sorry, he looked at each of the six of us at the table – right into each of our eyes.  Steve still chokes up every time he thinks about it.  How can a two-year-old teach such an amazing example of a real apology?  Anyway, that is one of the answers Steve probably won't find on this trip.  But he'll ask the question when he first meets God – if that ever happens. 

Sure - he knows bad things don’t just happen to bad people.  He remembered Gunther saying to him when he went over to see him a couple of days after returning from Vietnam:  We don’t have to understand God’s answers to our questions.....just trust that they will be made evident sooner rather than later.  He also said, Earth is not heaven – earth is war.  Steve never walked away from a fight - before or after Vietnam.  He and Donna got married before he went into the Army because he heard wives could join husbands on their R&R.  Also - in case he never made it back at least there would be some financial help for her.  When he met Donna in Hawaii for the first R&R it was difficult for him to enjoy himself because his best friend was dead, and he was still alive.  The horror of Vietnam reminded him how blessed he was to have good relationships and he did not take them for granted.  But he wondered why it wasn't until he went through tough times that he appreciated love and friendships.  He didn’t learn soon enough for Donna.  But at least she didn't get any Army death benefits because of him.  Soon after Sarah graduated college and got married, Donna was divorced again.  Her second husband also traded her in for younger version.  Serves her right, Steve thought.  Husband number two got what he deserved - the alimony bills - until she got a job after about six months.  Sarah told Steve that she had dated a little since then but had not remarried.  Sarah often comes up with excuses when Donna wants to see her but does get together with her around their birthdays and the major holidays.  Sarah never really felt like she fit in with the new family.

Sarah once told Steve about a birthday party Donna and her husband had for their child they had together - a girl named Britney - for her 4th birthday.  They bought her a $400 princess dress and hired an young actress from Hollywood to entertain Britney's friends.  Donna and her husband looked like movie stars anyway - so that made sense.  The party had lavish decorations and it was catered by a 5-star restaurant in Beverly Hills and most of the parents of Britney's friends as well as 20 or so