Since I'm usually a jovial, happy person, when I'm upset it's difficult to hide, and most people, even casual co-workers, notice almost immediately.
With Family it's impossible.
"What's going on?" Boone asked, nearly as soon as he exited the truck, "You look ticked!"
"Rachael and Skip. They've got their heads stuck in their phones, the clouds, everything except paying attention to the car, and where we are going!"
"Got it", he quickly changed the subject, "You see all those Drag Week cars across the street at the Casey's?"
I hadn't, so I peered over and noticed four of them, "Scott Brown, in his 53 Chevy", I commented.
"And three Fox Bodies", Boone added, "wonder why he's hanging with them?"
"Yeah, a Mustang, a Marquis wagon, and a Fairmont...If memory serves me Boone, I believe all four of those are LS powered!"
"Well, if you're right, that would explain why they are running late...no way a pack of four LS cars can travel together without breaking one!"
Still, I found it was odd that we had left the track hours after everyone else, and were already finding others still out on the road. About that time, I heard the Belvedere shut off, and any chance of me retaining composure went away. I ran to the car and yelled.
"What the heck are you doing now?"
Rachael didn't answer, she simply tossed her hands up.
"Man, Back off!" James stepped between me, and the door of the Belvedere, "I told her to shut it off because I needed the keys to get in the trunk for a can of Bars Leaks we bought earlier! The Gremlin is losing water somewhere."
"Your idea huh? Fine! YOU can babysit her the rest of the way to Cordova!"

With that outburst, I spun on my heels, headed straight for the Valiant, fired it up, and headed back onto the route without another exchange with anybody. I cleared Byron fairly quick, and found myself driving through the tranquil, moonlit, Illinois countryside with only the sound of the 428 to accompany me. I felt like a character in a Snickers commercial; frustrated, embarrassed, dissapointed, and still trying to reconcile why had responded in that fashion. I expected my phone to ring, but it didn't...I picked it up, and checked the time: 1:00AM, and still seventy miles of back roads to go.