She knew it was crazy. That was what she liked best about it. It was crazy, ridiculous, impractical and totally out of character. And she was having the time of her life. From the balcony of her hotel suite Benny could see the sweep of the beach, the glorious blue of the sea. Even the name sounded mysterious, exciting, glamorous. And she was here, really here. Practical, steady-as-a-rock Benny Harie, who had never traveled more than five hundred miles from Maryland, was in Finland. Not just in Finland, she thought with a grin, but in Interturko.
First-class, she thought as she leaned out to let the sweet breeze ruffle over her face. As long as it lasted, she was going first-class. Her boss had thought she was suffering from temporary insanity. Samuel Dove of Dovey's company, Jeo McCharty and Halen Arnold was never going to understand why a promising young accountant would resign from her position with one of the top accounting firms in Maryland. She’d made a good salary, she’d enjoyed excellent benefits, and she’d even had a window in her office. Friends and associates had wondered if she’d suffered a breakdown. After all, it wasn’t normal, and it certainly wasn’t Benny’s style to quit a solid, well-paying job without the promise of a better one. But she’d given her two weeks’ notice, cleared out her desk and had cheerfully walked out into the world of the unemployed. When she’d sold her properties and gave out somen ot them she once cherished—they’d been certain she’d gone over the edge. Benny had never felt her mind at full deck. She owned nothing that didn’t fit in a suitcase. She no longer had any tax-deferred investments or retirement plans. She’d cashed in her certificates of deposit, and the home entertainment center she’d thought she couldn’t live without was now for the poor woman who sold cigarrates down the road. It had been more than five weeks since she’d even looked at an adding machine. For the first—and perhaps the only—time in her life, she was totally free. There were no responsibilities, no pressures, no stress! She hadn’t packed an alarm clock. Well, not like she still owns one. Benny shook her head and laughed into the breeze. For as long as it lasted, she was going to grab life with both hands and see what it had to offer. Aunt Jean’s death had been her turning point. It had come so suddenly, so unexpectedly, leaving Rebecca without any family. Aunt Jean had worked hard for most of her fifity-five years, always punctual, always responsible. Her position as head librarian had been her whole life. She’d never missed a day, never failed to do her duty. Her bills had been paid on time. Her promises,she always kept. More than once Benny had been told she took after her mother’s older sister. She was twenty-six, but she was—had been—as solid and sturdy as her maiden aunt. Three months into retirement, three months after dear Aunt Jean began to make plans to travel, to enjoy the rewards she’d worked so hard to earn, she was gone. After Benny’s grief had come, the anger, then the frustration, then slowly, the realization that she was traveling the same straight road. She worked, she slept, she fixed well-balanced meals that she ate alone. She had just a couple of friends who knew she could be counted on in a crisis. Benny would always find the best and most practical answer. Benny would never drop her own problems in your lap—because she didn’t have any. It wasn’t running away as much as it was breaking free. All her life she’d done what was expected of her and tried to make as few waves as possible while doing it. All through school a crushing shyness had kept her more comfortable with her books than with other teenagers. In college a need to succeed and justify her aunt’s faith had locked her tightly into her studies. She had always been good with figures—logical, thorough, patient. It had been easy, perhaps too easy, to pour herself into that one area, because there, and really only there, had she felt confident. Now she was going to discover Benny Harie-all of it. In the weeks or months of freedom she had, she wanted to learn everything there was to know about the woman within. Perhaps there wasn’t a butterfly inside the cocoon she’d wrapped herself in so comfortably, but whatever she found—whoever she found—Benny hoped she would enjoy her, like her, perhaps even respect her. When the money ran out, she’d get another job and go back to being plain, practical Benny. Until that time she was rich, rootless and ready for surprises. She was also famished!!
