The next day, James headed off for work early.  Ashley hardly even knew he was leaving.  Her mind had been racing so much the night before, her sleep overtook her and kept her unconscious for much longer than it normally did.  Worrying takes a lot out of a person.  Although mental, it can have very real physical drawbacks.

Slowly opening her eyes, Ashley saw a blurred figure looking down to her.  "Mmm…what happened?" she asked the figure.  James, standing over her in a suit, smiled as she woke up.  Leaning closer, he put his hand over Ashley's forehead and pushed back her bangs.  "It's just me, honey.  You seemed worried last night.  You just slept in a little later than normal, that's all."  He then reached his head down and their lips locked together.  

As their kiss ended, James rose his head a little and reached for a tray of food from the other side of the bed.  "I've got to go to work.  You take it easy today, alright?  Take a day off from all this worrying and stress.  I made you breakfast.  Just sit back and enjoy yourself, honey.  I'll be back before you know it.  I love you."  He winked at her and then turned to walk out the door.

Ashley began to sit and watched him walking out the door, though her vision was still a little blurred.  She muttered up one statement as he was still in the doorway.  "I love you too, James."  Unaware of her, he smiled at her statement and hoped that she would do as he suggested.  He could tell the girl had been stressed out for many days now.  His little pampering from the night before may have helped, but he wanted to make her as happy as he could.

A few moments went by as Ashley's vision focused and she pulled the tray of food up to her.  Looking down at it, her eyes began to water and a smile came to her face.  He'd prepared her a friend egg and french toast.  "Oh, James…" she said to herself.  "You always know what I'm in the mood for."  She, now with a smile on her face, picked up a fork and began to eat the food that had been prepared for her.

A few hours later, Ashley had eaten, taken a shower, gotten dressed, and was ready to proceed with her day.  She stood in the bathroom, looking in the mirror as she brushed the tangles out of her hair.  As she finished, she stared into the mirror at her own face.  The memories of the night before came back to her as the voice in her head came back and began to talk to her.

'So, have you decided what you're going to do?' asked the voice.  Ashley took a deep breath and looked into the mirror, replying to herself.  "Yes" she said.  "James has been aware of my stress.  He went out of his way to make sure I was comfortable.  I need to get this over with as soon as possible so I can tell him what I've been keeping from."

'A wise decision' said the voice.  'You've got plenty of spare time today.'  She looked in the mirror and knew what it meant.  "Yes, I know.  I'm going to begin packing now and leave sometime this afternoon, before James gets home."  She then turned away from the mirror and flipped the light switch in the bathroom.  The room got dark as Ashley turned and walked back into their bedroom.

Walking over to the dresser that stood right next to the bed, she began opening up drawers and pulling clothes out.  She didn't know if she'd have to spend the night anywhere on this trip, but she would be packing a spare set of clothes, just in case.  She carefully lined clothes on top of the dresser:  2 pair of panties, ankle-high socks, jean shorts, and a couple sleeved T-shirts.  She looked around and was happy with her assortment.  She needed to look very casual, not to gather too much attention from others.

Kneeling down on the ground, she reached under her bed and pulled out a small suitcase.  It almost looked like a travel bag, but it was enough for a one-night trip.  She pulled it up and set it on the bed.  Unzipping the main compartment, it opened up to show 2 places to fit her clothes and other materials.  One was the main part of the suitcase, and the other was a 'sleeve' attached to the front of it, which already contained toiletries and other important materials she'd need on a trip.

Carefully folding the clothes, she piled them into the suitcase and then closed it up.  As she zipped it shut, he set her hands on it.  The leathery surface almost felt cold to her.  She stood there for a moment, wondering if she was doing the right thing.  "Can I really just leave like this?  Will he be okay with it?  I don't know…no.  Stop, Ashley, you're thinking too much.  He already told you he was fine with the trip.  Just leave him a note so he knows that you left early.  Just leave him a note and everything will be alright."

She zipped the suitcase shut the rest of the way and then made her way to the living room, which was attached to the front door.  She set the suitcase down by the door and then walked back into the kitchen.  Hanging on the refrigerator was a large white board with a black marker attached to it.  She walked over to it and took it down.  With the marker in her hand, she wrote her note.

[b]Dear James,
I am leaving for my trip a little early.  I hope you understand.  I promise I will tell you everything when I return.  I should be back tonight or tomorrow.  Don't worry too much about me, honey.  Everything is going to be fine.

Love you always,
Ashley[/b]

She was still a little conflicted, but she had a phrase running through her head as she was getting ready to leave.  'You have to do this.  For him.  For James.'  As it was being chanted in her head, she walked back out in the hallway.  Reaching the door, she picked up her suitcase and opened the door.  Wind rushing against her from outside, she closed her eyes and looked back into the house.  She felt like she'd never see the house like it was now again.  Taking a deep breath, she turned back around and proceeded towards her car.

She had a small japanese car, a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse.  It wasn't the best car in the world, but she loved how it looked, especially in it's red color.  Pulling out her keys, she hit a button on a connected remote that popped up the trunk.  She threw her suitcase inside, closed the hatch, and proceeded into the driver's seat.  

Sitting down, she slowly turned the key and started the engine.  She took a moment to examine her gauges.  Everything was in the green.  Gas was at Full, no abnormalities with the temperature or oil levels.  She was all set to go.  She looked over and pulled up a small piece of paper from the passenger's seat.  It was the directions to this woman's house.  

It was a pretty simple address.  Ashley looked up and flipped on her GPS unit.  Quickly entering the address, the unit told her it would take about 3 hours to reach her destination.  Ashley then switched the car into reverse and backed out of their driveway.  She got a strange feeling in her stomach as she began to drive off, as if something important were about to happen.  

She drove off, determined to find this woman and become able to fulfill James' ultimate fantasies...