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Clayton
Honey? Wake up.” I whisper excitedly pulling up to the Great Wolf Lodge, an indoor themed water park we’ll be calling home till Sunday. Getting Abigail to give up a week from Mac’s was unreal. She actually thought she was gonna win that argument. I wasn’t having it, and Mac pretty much ordered her to go and have a bit of fun. I reserved us the Fireplace Suite. The pics boast a King-sized bed in a cozy setting. A bit much for us, but Vic’s parents chipped in as well as Wayde’s. Check-in is eleven o’clock, so we were on the road by eight-thirty, to miss the traffic, the two slugs complaining till they passed out again. It’s just been me since Wayde and Adam took the Jeep.
The place is crazy! It looks like a huge log cabin resort. King’s Island, the sister park is open, but I’d much rather be indoors with all the water rides, arcades, and food. I grab the bags as Vic, and Abigail get out, stretching their tired limbs. I walk up to them, looking at the place, while Wayde and Adam get their bags, and the bellhops come out.
“So, what do you think?” I smile as my loves stare up at the joint.
“Umm, didn’t we already have Christmas?” Abigail asks with a crooked brow while Vic is still doing stretches and groaning like an old woman.
“Admittedly, the place does look a little too winter themed. “It’s- cheery,” I answer, throwing a bag at Vic as he straightens up.
He catches it with an Oomph. “Really?”
“Yup, grab the rest of the stuff, I gotta check us in.”
I get us all squared away, with the nice woman behind the counter, who gives us a bit of a look as the five of us head to our rooms. I mean it is two guys, and one itty bitty girl in one room and two guys in the other, Lord knows what they are thinking. Or maybe they don’t care, but whatever. We get inside and unload the bags on the king-sized bed looking around. It’s a huge room, fresh linens, plush bathrobes, I mean it’s a little kitschy, with the log cabin bed and rustic looking linens, but there’s fun to be had? So worth it!
I smile, turning toward them, beaming as Adam and Wayde come through the open door. Their room is just down the hall, but we have a better view.
Abigail walks straight up to me and grabs my balls, giving them a good squeeze. “Oh, good, I was just making sure they were still there.” She smirks as I look down at her, surprised, and Vic starts laughing his ass off.
“Seriously? Dude, shut up, you helped pick this room.” I shake my head. “C’mon, it’s a good room, check the fireplace and the view. You can see the gardens and fountains from over there. The food is always good too. I used to come up here with my Mom before everything. I thought you guys would like it.” I pull away from her and grab my bag to unpack, the wind out of my sails a bit. I pop open the dresser and get to putting stuff away.
“Ouch!” I turn my head in time to see Abigail pulling back and Vic rubbing his shoulder. “What the hell?”
“You got no business laughing. You helped pick?”
“In my defense, the other suite had bunk beds.”
“This is a tad better.”
“Well, the sooner we get things put up, the faster we can get out of the room and grab some lunch, there’s a really good hot dog joint by the arcade. Best damn hot dogs I’ve ever had, they got this one that’s got ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, chili, cheddar cheese, and sauerkraut on it.” I say, headed for the bathroom to change.
“Hope it comes with a pack of Orbit, cause there’s no way I’m kissing you after eating that!” Vic smirks, wrapping his arms around Abigail from behind.
They’re not back to perfect, but since I leaned into him, he’s backed off a tad. Our girl saw the lawyer, and even though she’s sayin’ otherwise, we both know it’s got her rattled. That’s one of the reasons for this trip. It’s a breath, a couple of days where she doesn’t have to think about worrying if she’s gonna run into them. A couple of days where she can just be herself and not the anxiety-ridden version we’ve all had to get used to.
It hasn’t been easy, because of her shoulder and Vic’s constant moving around in the night I’m in the middle, so I’m the one who feels her tense up at night. The one who holds her when she has a fit and wakes up crying and fighting the shadows of demons that are sadly very real. He doesn’t get it, doesn’t understand, he may have seen the pictures, but until he’s been on the receiving end of such abuses, what he’s imagined will never quite touch the reality. I want her to talk to someone, but she won’t. I know that it’s hard, what she’s gone through, I’ve started talking to people in an online support group since my attack, and it’s been helpful. To know I’m not alone in the fucked-up recesses of my brain where I sometimes escape to. Those are the times when I go running, or for a drive, or just disappear into the bathroom for a few moments. Just so I can catch my breath, get my bearings back. I think I might see if she’ll try an online group, perhaps it could be a stepping stone in getting her to open up.
“Have you looked at the brochure yet?” Adam squeals. They have a thing like white water rafting! We all gotta do that!”
He sounds so excited. “I’m glad someone else has my enthusiasm.” I holler, dropping my pants and putting on my swim trunks. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m gonna eat and play till I prune and burst,” I announce as I come back out. “Who’s with me?”
