Chapter 3
When I landed in Washington, I welcomed the cooler weather. After sorting out a mix-up with the car rental—they had me down for three days, not thirty-two, and it took some quick thinking by the rental agent to fix it—I plugged Vincent’s address into the onboard GPS and headed out.
It was a pleasant day, somehow overcast and bright at the same time, and the drive was beautiful. I couldn’t get over how lush and green everything was. Even though I knew logically it was a completely different climate, my brain was used to California, where even the green wasn’t this green.
Driving across Deception Pass Bridge was an awe-inspiring but harrowing experience, and I had to breathe deeply and focus hard to get across without panicking. Finally making it onto Whidbey Island, I let out a
