She laughed and nodded before again pointing the way out to the highway.
They road in relative quiet. The silence occasionally interrupted by Paige's directions. The scenery was gorgeous. Fall was upon New England and the foliage had shed its greens for varying shades of yellow, orange and red. Nathan kept sneaking glances at Paige from the corner of his eye. At times she seemed liked the woman he had known so well, a smile on her lips as she took in the wonder of nature's transformation. At other times he noted her gripping the door handle and shifting uncomfortably in her seat as if she were sitting on a tack. He didn't know what to think and feared anything he might say would be taken wrong so he held his tongue as best he could.
When they had crossed the Jamestown Bridge he noticed the frequency of her shifting increased. She had stopped holding onto the door handle and had taken up wringing her hands together. Nathan could tell she was completely unaware of her actions and had no desire to bring them to her attention. He thought for a moment and then made a decision. He wasn't sure if it was brilliant or stupid, but decided to go with his gut.
"Do you want to take over?"
"What?"
"We are getting close right?"
"Yeah, we will be coming up on the Newport Bridge soon," she said pointing at a sign proclaiming the Claiborne Pell Bridge was ahead. It was a toll bridge.
"Would it be easier if you drove into Newport, rather then give me directions?"
She seemed to think about it and then nodded.
Nathan slowed and pulled off to the side of the road. They switched places. Paige slid behind the wheel and buckled in. Nathan watched, worried that he had made a mistake, as her hand hovered over the shifter. She looked at him and then at her trembling hand and let out some nervous laughter. He wanted to say something reassuring, but his voice wouldn't come, so he simply nodded to her and gave her a tight smile. He guessed that was enough because she slipped the car into gear and pulled back onto the road.
A few minutes later she pulled to a stop as they joined a line of cars for one of the tollbooth gates. She looked at the sign and frowned.
"Four dollars?"
"Expensive bridge you got there," Nathan said and laughed. She laughed as well, but shook her head.
"I...I don't remember it being so much."
"Well you probably had an E-Z Pass so didn't notice," Nathan said pointing to the sign for the E-Z Pass gates.
"Yeah, maybe," she said, but didn't sound convinced. She inched her way forward as the car in front passed through the gate. Nathan fished some money out of his wallet and passed it to Paige who then passed it on to the woman in the tollbooth. Moments later they were through and began to ascend the bridge. A smile began to spread over Paige's face.
"It feels like I have been gone so long. Hard to believe it has only been a few weeks."
Nathan wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself, but he was happy to see the smile so he held back the real questions that sprang to mind.
"So what am I looking at here? Besides one hell of a gorgeous view."
The view was indeed spectacular. The thirty percent chance of rain was seeming less and less likely. The sun had pierced the clouds at least twenty minutes back and now reflected off the water below. Sailboats of all sizes could be seen on either side of the bridge.
"Well, we are now passing over Narragansett Bay," she began, doing her best to mimic a tour guide. Nathan couldn't help but smile. "Now off to the right side of the bridge you will notice a small island. That is Rose Island. There is a real working lighthouse there. People can actually go and be honorary lighthouse keepers, even staying over night."
"Have you ever done that?"
Paige giggled and shook her head no.
"Keeping on the right, you'll notice a larger island closer to the shore. That is Goat Island."
Nathan laughed. "You are making that up."
"No, it really is Goat Island."
"Why Goat Island?"
"Early settlers used it as a goat pasture."
"Seriously?"
Paige nodded.
"There is a fort there that has been around since like 1700 or so. There is or rather was a naval torpedo factory on the island. A lot has changed of course. There are now condos, hotels, a marina."
Nathan smiled, not just at the information, but the ease with which Paige delivered it. She seemed completely relaxed for the moment.
"Speaking of the Navy. Look over the left side of the bridge and you can see some of the Newport Navy Base, which is the home to the Naval War College. It's that really big white building at the point. I think anyway. I've never actually been on the base."
Nathan looked, saw the building she meant, or thought he did. The truth was he didn't care, she seemed happy and relaxed and for that he was thankful.