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“Are you guys ready?!” John called excitedly from downstairs as he banged on the front door with his hand.
I had spent the rest of the day packing once we got home yesterday and had to make a last-minute trip to the store to grab the few things I didn’t have. I hated not being prepared, and I was definitely not ready for this trip, but then John reassured me that we weren’t going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere and that there would be plenty of stores to pick up whatever I needed.
I pulled the handle up on my suitcase and quickly glanced around the room one last time to make sure I didn’t forget anything. I made sure—twice—that I had packed plenty of underwear, my phone charger, and my Kindle. What more could I need?
I grabbed my purse from the top of the dresser and slung it across my chest, letting it hang on my hip as I wheeled the suitcase into the hallway. I heard a loud thud and turned to see Lily in the hallway, dragging a suitcase packed to the brim and bigger than she was. I held back a giggle as I leaned around it to find her face.
“Do you need help?” I asked once she spotted me.
“I got it,” she grunted as she gave it a hard push with her shoulder to get it to move. My brows shot up as she shoved into it again, the heavy thing not budging.
“Come on, girls, we gotta get going!” John called up to us.
“We’re coming!” I laughed, knowing that it was a lie. “Here,” I said, setting my suitcase to the side, out of the way. “Let me help you,” I offered.
I walked over to where she was standing and yanked hard to get the handle to come all the way up. The suitcase looked old and worn out, which explained why she was having so much trouble with it—aside from the eighty pounds worth of stuff she must’ve crammed inside of it.
“What all is in here?” I asked as I used my weight to shift it into the position that I needed.
“Clothes. Shoes. A few games. A notebook. Pens. A scrapbook. My camera. A blanket. And just a few other small things.” She shrugged as if this was a normal amount of things to pack for a vacation.
“Well, I guess you’ve got it all covered,” I joked but secretly wondered if she was more prepared than I was when I glanced over at my smaller suitcase.
“I didn’t want to forget anything.”
“I hear you,” I mumbled, knowing that I had already forgotten something. I just knew that I would, but I hated not knowing what it was. Which, if I knew what it was, I wouldn’t have forgotten it. I shook my head to clear the unnecessary, never-ending circle that my thoughts were going in.
“I’ll take your suitcase if you can grab mine,” I offered, nodding over to where mine was sitting. She smiled and shook her head in agreement before walking behind me and grabbing it as we headed downstairs.
I tried to be as careful as possible as I lugged the beast down the stairs, making sure not to damage anything on the way. Once I got to the bottom, I rolled it over to the front door, where I was met with a judgment look from John.
“You know that I wasn’t kidding when I said that there would be stores on the way,” he asked cautiously. “You didn’t have to pack your entire room.”
“I didn’t,” I said breathlessly. “This one is Lily’s. That’s mine.” I gestured to the small one that Lily was standing beside.
“I should have known,” he sighed and scrubbed a hand down his face.
We laughed and made our way outside while John locked the doors. I had no idea what to expect when John said that he was renting a motorhome, but I honestly expected some giant, ugly beast of a thing that would be hard to drive and stick out like a sore thumb.
Instead, there was a beautiful one sitting in front of the house, no bigger than a small bus. I started to feel a little uneasy when I imagined how small it was inside and how cramped it would be with all of us sitting on top of each other.
As if reading my mind, I heard John chuckle beside me before saying, “let’s go check it out.”
He took Lily’s luggage from me and loaded it into the back storage compartment. I walked around and took a look inside, amazed at how much room was back there. I waited until he had her suitcase situated before I picked mine up to add it to the pile. He smiled and took it from me, gently setting it to the back, next to what I assumed was his.
I did one last check to make sure that I had my kindle and phone charger in my purse. I wanted to make sure that I had them handy in case I wanted or needed them on the drive. John talked with Lily for a few minutes as they argued about what she needed from her suitcase from the drive before he closed the compartment and locked it.
John opened the door and stepped to the side, letting us inside first. I heard Lily gasp wow as she walked in and knew what she meant when my jaw dropped to the floor when I looked around. It was small inside, but everything was surprisingly spread out to feel comfortable and not cramped.
Immediately to my left was a stove and kitchen sink, which were directly across from a full-size refrigerator. A small table and booth-style seats sat between the fridge and the driver’s seat. On the other side, behind the passenger seat, was another chair barely big enough to fit in the small space next to the door. Just from the looks of it, there was plenty of room for us to spread out when we stopped for meals or to rest at night.
I turned around and checked out the rest of it while Lily climbed into the seat behind me. There weren’t any walls or dividers to separate the space, other than the bathroom, which was thankfully hidden behind a closed door. The only bed that I could find was butted up against the kitchen sink. There were plenty of cabinets above the bed for storage, but it wasn’t very big. I guessed that it was a full-size bed if that.
I swallowed hard, wondering what in the hell John was thinking when he rented this thing. I knew that he had good intentions, but didn’t he understand that we needed space? Privacy? I was about to say something when he started talking instead.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said quickly. “But trust me, there’s plenty of room.”
He walked around me, over to the driver’s seat. He reached up and moved a few things around until a bed magically appeared above the seats.
“I’ll take this bed, you can have the one in the back, and Lily can have this one,” he explained, turning around to pull the table out before creating another bed with the seats.
“It’s like magic,” I whispered, impressed by the hidden features.
“It really is,” he agreed, standing beside me as we stared at the new beds that he had created.
“I can sleep up top,” I offered, knowing that it was probably the most uncomfortable.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind.”
“Can I sleep up there?” Lily asked with excitement splattered across her face.
“You want that one?” he asked, studying her. She shook her head faster than the grin could spread across her cheeks.
“Okay, you can have the top bed. I’ll sleep on this one,” he nodded to the bed that had been made of cushions from the table seats.
“I really don’t mind sleeping there either,” I countered. He was paying for this thing, so he should have the comfortable bed.
“We’re good, Emma. Trust me.”
I pulled in a deep breath and tried to keep myself from arguing any further.
“Alright, are we ready to get this party started?!” He rubbed his hands together and closed the doors behind us before getting situated in the driver’s seat.
The entire motorhome was one big open space, so I took a seat at the table across from Lily and got situated. I laid my purse on the seat next to me and pulled my phone out to check it. Not that there was anything to check. No one ever called or text me and the only emails that I got were spam. I suddenly felt nervous and didn’t know what to do with myself.
John took his seat at the steering wheel and adjusted the air conditioner vents to where he wanted them before checking the mirrors and moving them as needed.
“There’s stuff in the fridge if you guys get hungry or need a drink,” he said, looking over his shoulder to make sure I heard him.
“Thank you,” I smiled back at him, wondering if I should offer to get him something. He reached down and picked up his travel mug of coffee and took a drink. I released the breath that I had been holding and reminded myself that I was here to have fun and help take care of Lily—not John. He wasn’t my responsibility, and I had to stop worrying about him.
A few minutes later, we were on the road, and my nerves started to calm down some. Maybe it was the excitement of the trip finally getting underway, or perhaps it was the idea that it was too late to turn back now. Either way, I leaned back against the cool leather and closed my eyes.
Lily and I played a few card games during the first few hours, but we gave up when she refused to let me win one. I wasn’t a sore loser, but I also didn’t love getting beat by a ten-year-old. Whoever said that Uno was a game for kids had obviously never played the competitive version with Lily.
Around one o’clock, I started getting hungry and imagined so was Lily.
“Hey, do you want me to fix you something to eat?” I asked loud enough for John to hear, in case he wanted something as well.
“I’m not really hungry,” she said with a frown. “My stomach is feeling kinda slushy.”
I scrunched my face up, feeling bad that she was getting car sick.
“Sorry, honey. Sometimes my stomach gets that way on car rides too.”
“How about we stop for lunch soon?” John offered, hearing our conversation. “We’re coming up on Avila Beach in about twenty minutes. Can you wait that long?”
“Yeah,” Lily said, a look of relief on her face that we would be stopping soon.
I wondered how she would do on the rest of the trip, given we had only been on the road for a few hours. We had so much ground to cover, and I didn’t want her to be miserable the entire time. I remembered my first road trip when Charlotte and I moved to California from New Jersey. It was right after we graduated high school, and my aunt had passed away. I was ready to break free and take on the world, but after the first ten hours on the road, I was miserable and begged her to drive me back to New Jersey. Granted, when we made the trip, it was in an old VW Bug that didn’t have air conditioning. Nothing makes car sickness worse than cramped space and excessive heat. This was a better way to travel, but I could still relate to how she was feeling.
Thankfully, the traffic wasn’t horrendous for mid-day on a Wednesday. We pulled into the paid parking lot, and John took care of everything while I got myself and Lily ready. We didn’t need much, but I wanted to make sure that we didn’t leave anything valuable out while we were gone.
We got out and stretched our legs, the warm salty sea air a welcomed treat. The air conditioning was nice, but nothing beats the fresh air by the water. We walked over to the cute little restaurant that was sitting by the beach and asked for a table on their patio so we could people watch while gazing at the ocean.
The waitress dropped off menus and glasses of water before rushing off to wait on another table. While the traffic might not have been busy, this place was. Servers were rushing around in their khaki-colored shorts and white polo t-shirts. I couldn’t imagine being a server at a fancy restaurant like this. There was no way that I would keep either piece of clothing from being covered in food by the end of my shift.
I looked over the menu, my stomach knotting at the prices. I suggested we come here because it looked fun and laid back, which meant that they would probably be reasonably priced. However, I failed to remember that anything on the beach is always expensive. I considered getting a salad, but when I saw that it was the same price as the cheeseburger and fries, my decision was made.
The waitress came back a few minutes later, plucking the pen from behind her ear as she held the notepad out in front of her.
“What can I get you guys?” she asked, glancing over at a table behind us that was being seated.
We gave her our order—three cheeseburgers, three fries and sent her on her way.
I slowly sipped my water, feeling thirsty but not wanting to drink too much and having to pee all day before I remembered that we literally had a bathroom in the motorhome with us. I laughed and rolled my eyes, drawing the attention of John and Lily.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, already amused as his crooked smile pulled at his cheeks.
“Nothing,” I waved my hand in the air. “I was trying not to drink too much water, so we didn’t have to make too many pitstops, and then I remembered that I didn’t have to worry about that because we have a bathroom.” I felt the blush pinch my cheeks as John watched me, continuing to smile. I had only seen this look from him a few times in my life, and it was always given to Charlotte.
“I keep forgetting too,” Lily admitted. “I thought I was going to have an accident earlier when I was trying to hold it, and then I remembered that I didn’t have to.” She pressed the palm of her hand to her forehead and shook her head.
We all laughed about it, and things started to feel like normal between us. The stress and anxiety that I had been feeling earlier were already melting away.
The waitress came back with our food quicker than I had expected. The smell immediately sent me over the edge, the corners of my mouth dotted with drool as my stomach grumbled while it waited for that first bite.
I closed my eyes and chewed, the flavor exploding in my mouth. It was a simple meal, yet it was one of the best ones I had had in a while. I opened my eyes to find John and Lily staring at me, their burgers inches away from their faces.
“You guys need to try this burger—it’s amazing!” I said, pushing my food to the side as I covered my mouth with my hand. They laughed and finally focused their attention on their food.
We must have been hungrier than we thought we were because it was completely silent around us for a solid ten to fifteen minutes. Who knows? I had already lost track of time by that point.
It also looked like we had come in at the tail end of their lunch rush as the noise started to die down and tables cleared out around us. There were only a handful of people on the patio, most of them scattered around. I couldn’t help but notice the little old man sitting a few tables away from us. I was about to ask John and Lily if I could invite him to sit with us when he looked up and scowled at me.
I lowered my eyes and looked away. So much for that idea.
And then it happened.
Out of nowhere, he sneezed. Loud. So loud that it startled our table and caught Lily by surprise. Her eyes went wide as she covered her mouth with her hand. I could see her lips twitch as she fought to keep from laughing.
“NO!” I whispered, my eyes going back and forth between her and the grumpy old man behind her.
Just when I thought that everything was under control and Lily was able to control herself, he sneezed again. This time it was louder and accompanied by a fart that echoed off the patio around us.
Lily’s eyes were as big as saucers as she dropped her burger to her plate. The laughter erupted out of her quicker than I could try to stop it. He looked over at our table and gave us a dirty look as John, and I lost control and laughed along with her. I was bent over, slapping the table as I snorted. John joined me, the sound so loud that I almost missed it when the old man got up and left, mumbling for us to grow up as he walked past our table.