149

They drive up route 235 and he watches the scenery and the various buildings. The forest that used to be on the right is now gone. The middle school is still there, but the tiny shotgun houses that had been across the way are gone. In their place is a two story condominium that looks woefully out of place. He knew a few of the families that used to live in the houses. He used to go to school with their children. They weren't in any of his classes, however.
Up a little further is the back entrance to the military base. He can't imagine anything about the base ever changing, and he is correct. Exactly the same as it ever was. Ten foot high chainlink fence. Little white trucks with black numbers on them driving the road directly inside that marks the periphery of the base. He points one of these trucks out to Rowena.
"They're doing a GCR," he says.
"A GCR?"
"Gulf Coast Run. In order to keep its vehicles, companies have to show that they use them often enough to warrent the government doling our the insurance and gas money. So, every week or so a couple of contractors take the car on a ride around the far edges of the base. Including all through the little curvy inlets of the coast of the Patuxant. It takes a few hours. I went on a number of these things when I worked on the base back in highschool. Temp jobs."
"Our tax dollars at work," she says.
"Nothing like working for the government," he replies.