Sitting with Gayle on the patio of a nice restaurant that evening, Steven Walton couldn't help but feel like he was somehow doing something wrong. Gayle hadn't spoken to him in an hour, and she was focused entirely on dinner. Sure, she could just be hungry, but the look on her face told Steven there was something else. Something more going on. He just didn't know what it was, didn't have the heart to ask and was, quite frankly, scared to find out. Steven sipped his drink as he watched Gayle cut another sliver of fish off with her fork and, after spearing it, lifted it to her lips.
"Is it good?" Steven asked, and Gayle nodded, still not giving him eye contact. Steven sighed and looked around. This had been a recommend restaurant by the free local culture magazine, and he thought since they rarely had the chance to go out when at home - considering her busy work schedule - that she might appreciate it now. Yet, she didn't appear to be, or if she was, she was certainly showing it in a funny way. He didn't even want her to appreciate the offer, he just wanted her to be happy. To have fun. Gayle always seemed like she was lost in her mind, probably thinking about work since she couldn't be working. The woman worked far too much, and it was a habit he was intent on breaking her of. Steven sighed again and leaned back in his chair, looking around at all the other couples; all happy, laughing, enjoying one anothers company. He hoped his daughter was having a better evening than he was. *** "Is there anything you wanna do?" Hannah asked, as she and Laura lounged on the couch in the suite while Jasmine sat on the floor and looked through her favorite storybook for the 9th time in a row. Laura shrugged and plopped more chips into her mouth, chewing noisily. "They wanted me to babysit, so that's what I'm doing," Laura said, "thanks for coming to keep me company though." "It's spooky being in a hotel room by yourself," Han said, "always feels like you're about to be murdered." "You watch too many horror movies," Laura said, Han nodding and laughing. "I can't deny that," she replied, taking the chip bag from Laura and shoveling some into her hand to eat. Laura didn't mind babysitting. She knew her father appreciated it, and she was always handsomly rewarded for her efforts, plus she loved her little sister to death. But still...this was vacation. She shouldn't have to be babysitting on her vacation. Or was it her parents vacation and they were just along for the ride? She didn't know. Regardless, at least she had Hannah around to pass the time with. Han flipped through the TV channels - the television on mute so it didn't bother Jasmine, but with the subtitles on so they could follow something if they wished - and finally stopped on a home shopping network to admire the jewerly. This particular set were emerald rings of different cuts and sets. "Emerald is the best gem," Hannah said, mouth full of chips, "I think I want my wedding ring to be emerald. Forget Diamond. Diamond is so overdone." "Emerald is a pretty good choice," Laura said, nodding in agreement, "I'm partial to Ruby's myself, but Emerald wouldn't be a bad choice." "Okay then it's settled," Hannah said, "you get me an Emerald and I'll get you a Ruby." Laura blushed and looked away from Han, confused. "Wh...why? What for?" she asked meekly. "Duh," Hannah said, "that way whoever we wind up marrying we can still get the rings we want!" Laura felt her heart drop. She nodded, going back to being quiet. The answer was never what she wanted it to be. *** Steven and Gayle, now walking arm in arm down the street in downtown shopping district, still weren't speaking. As they walked, Gayle window shopping as Steven looked off in a far away gaze, it was obvious there was a clear tension between them. Gayle stopped, pulling away from her husband and looking into a window, admiring something. Steven smiled and came back to her side, sidling up beside her. "What is it, what do you see?" he asked. "Look at this camera," Gayle said, pointing at an old photography camera that looked to be from the 40s. Steven smiled again. He'd always known she had a passion for photography, and in fact, had she not fallen into the line of work she had, she wanted to be a professional photographer. He'd always supported that; Gayle bit her lip and shook her head, "it's so fucking pretty. Look at the shape. All the chrome." "You want it?" Steven asked, and Gayle looked at him. "It's 300 dollars, Steven, I don't think-" "I don't care, do you want it?" he asked again, and she blushed, nodding. Steven told her to wait right there, then headed inside and purchased it. When he came back out and handed her the box, she was almost crying. She got on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. "Why did you-" "Because you've been so busy with work lately I wanna see you do something fun just for you," Steven said, before adding, "plus, we're gonna need pictures of this vacation to remember it by, aren't we?" Gayle nodded, looking down at the box in her hands as they continued to walk down the street. She started thinking about what he'd said, and she knew he was right. She had in fact been working way too much lately, and much as she enjoyed it, she also really did hate how much time it was taking away from her family, Laura especially. She knew Steven was fine, she knew Jasmine was well cared for, but Laura she could sense was going through something, and it killed her to know she wouldn't tell her own mother what it was. But, she thought, that's what teenagers do. "So what's the first thing you're gonna photograph?" Steven asked, and Gayle thought for a moment. "My ass, obviously," she said, the both of them laughing. "It is a fantastic sight, one of the great wonders of the world," Steven said, both of them cackling. *** "Do you think she'll be okay here?" Laura asked, standing by the door. "She'll be fine, we're just going to another floor to get drinks," Han said, "she's engrossed in her book. We'll be literally right back." Laura nodded, but she was still hesitant. She hated leaving Jasmine alone, even for a moment, but Hannah was right. They were only going down for a minute. As she and Han exited, Laura tugging the door shut behind them, Laura knew Hannah was right and she had nothing to worry about. Heading down the hall, side by side, Laura was scared to say anything. She was afraid she'd say something stupid, or expose herself in some unexpected way. She was always this way around pretty girls. "You know," Hannah said, stuffing her hands in her windbreaker pockets, "next time you need to babysit, we should be dropped off somewhere. There's a really cool small zoo nearby, and they have an awesome butterfly dome where you can go inside and just be surrounded by butterflies, it's so beautiful." "That does sound really neat," Laura said, hugging herself as they walked, her sweatshirt sleeves hanging past her hands, "but...so...you'd wanna come along with us for that?" "Well it's my idea," Hannah said, laughing as they headed down the stairs and to the floor with the drink machines, adding, "besides, why would I turn that offer down? I love going there! I brought it up cause I wanted to show it to you!" Laura blushed as they turned the corner and saw the drink machines off in the distance. As they arrived, Hannah started digging through her pockets, looking for the money her father had given her to use for snacks. As Laura waited, she heard the sound of another door in the hall open, and saw a woman in her thirties step out in a nice black dress with sleek heels and long dark orange hair. She stopped and waited momentarily, then was suddenly joined by another woman of the same age, this one in a white blouse and a black pencil skirt with yellow flats. They made sure the hotel door was locked, and then - and much to Laura's surprise - they kissed. Just right there, in the hall...where anyone could see them. After the kiss ended, they noticed Laura watching them, and they both waved at her, and she politely waved back, smiling, before turning her attention back on Hannah and the drink machines. Laura suddenly felt different, like...like maybe there really was nothing to be afraid of. There were older women, happy women, in love, who felt just like she did. She could grow up to be just like that too, she thought. Laura suddenly, absentmindedly, slipped her hand into Hannah's as Hannah used her other hand to continue buying drinks. Hannah glanced at Laura and smiled, Laura blushing. A single word didn't have to be said. Whether Hannah felt the same way Laura did didn't matter to Laura right now. What mattered was she had a friend she could be affectionate with. Vacation's are all about new experiences after all, she thought. *** "I can't believe it came with film," Gayle said, as she popped open the back then shut it again, lifting the camera to her eye and scanning the horizon. Steven and Gayle had stopped on a small bench right on the beach, looking out towards the water. They had gotten ice cream cones and had seated themselves on the bench to eat them; Gayle was now finished, but Steven was still eating his and he watched his wife play with her camera, her joy warming his heart. As he finished his cone, he stood up and went to get them an iced coffee they could share. Stopping at the nearby cart, in line behind a few other people, he suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Erin standing behind him. "Oh hey!" he said. "Hi, what're you doing down here?" she asked. "Wife and I had dinner, now we're just relaxing, taking in the view," Steven said. He and Erin looked towards the ocean, and then Erin scoffed. "It's not much, is it?" she asked, and he shook his head. "I've seen better," he replied, the both of them chuckling as he added, "what about you? What brings you down here? Do they let you leave the hotel for extended periods of time or did you have to tunnel your way out with a spoon?" Erin laughed hard and shook her head. "Naw, I come down here every night," she said, "I like getting coffee from here." "You work the night shift and need the caffiene?" "Nah, I just like seeing her," Erin said, pointing to the barista manning the cart, and Steven smirked. "I get it," he said, "she's pretty." "Okay," Gayle said, approaching them and tapping the camera, "I'm gonna take your photo Steve. Just stand there and we'll see how it comes out. I think I've got it all figured out. These older cameras take a bit of time for me to remember how to use cause I'm so used to those modern monstrosities with a million buttons that I have to remind myself about simplicity." Erin threw bunny ears up behind Steven as he smiled for the camera, Gayle snapping the photo and smiling afterwards. "Do we know you?" she asked, looking at Erin. "She was our bellhop," Steven said, "remember? She helped bring our bags up to the room?" "Right!" Gayle said, shaking Erin's hand, adding, "it's so good to see you again!" With that, it was suddenly Steven's turn to order, but he let Erin go ahead of them, just to be nice. The last thing any of the Waltons had expected to do on this trip was make friends, and yet here they were. *** Lying back on the couch, Hannah's head in Lauren's lap as they continued watching the TV on mute - Jasmine now asleep curled up on the floor as she liked to do - Hannah shook her head in disbelief as she took another bite of her candy bar, one arm gesturing towards the television. "See, who needs designer purses?" Hannah asked, "now that's a waste of money. It's a BAG. You're buying a glorified BAG. I don't mind the jewelry or even the weirder stuff like swords, but purses is where I draw the line." "You're really gonna die on this hill?" Laura asked, and Hannah nodded vigorously. "I am! I'm gonna die on the hill and then roll down it and take everyone with me! Look, I guess I get, if you have literally so much money that you have to spend it on something, then why not buy designer purses, but...I don't know. I'm not even agaisnt high fashion! I like fashion! I guess I just think purses is where I have to take a stand." "But it's just an accessory, just like jewelry, why does one get a pass and one doesn't?" "Because...because it...it just does!" Hannah said, the both of them laughing, then trying to hush up so as not to wake up Jasmine. Hannah finally sat back upright on the couch and looked at her cell phone, realizing that it was getting late. She finished up her candy bar and then, still sitting on the couch, looked at Laura, who was watching her closely. Hannah turned and pulled her legs up onto the couch, crossing them and putting her hands in her lap, Laura doing the same. "...um," Laura said, stammering, feeling nervous, "...thanks for babysitting with me tonight." "It was fun! I got to wash all the trash TV I wanted," Han said, "plus you're fun to hang out with. Super chill. It's nice." Laura blushed deep, and looked down at her hands, but when she looked back up, Hannah was smiling at her still, which only made her blush deeper. Laura reached out, waiting for Hannah to take her hand, but as soon as their fingers almost touch the door unlocked and swung open, Steven and Gayle entering, Laura quickly pulling her hand back in shock. "Hey," Steven said, "sorry it's so late, guess we lost track of time. How was your night, girls?" "Not bad," Laura said, stuttering, terrified, "um...um what did you guys do?" "Had dinner, bought your mother a camera, boring adult stuff," Steven said, "Hannah, your folks are probably worried about you, you should get going." Hannah nodded, climbing awkwardly off the couch and heading out. Laura scrambled to follow her, telling her parents she'd be right back, and shut the door behind her quietly. She knew they'd be occupied with unwinding and putting Jasmine to bed properly, so she had a little bit of time. Standing in the hallway now, Hannah zipping up her jacket, looked back at Laura, who was completely flushed. "Are you okay? You look like you're sweating to death," Hannah said. "I just...I didn't...expect...they came back so suddenly," Laura said. "I'll come see you tomorrow, yeah? We'll do something way more fun than this," Hannah said, before suddenly leaning in and hugging Laura, patting her back, whispering, "sleep good." With that, she turned and headed down the hallway, leaving Laura glued there, obsessed with the affection she'd just been shown. She never wanted that hug to end. The door opened again and Gayle exited, watching Hannah leave and patting Laura on the shoulder. "It's nice you made a friend while here," Gayle said, smiling, continuing, "you should come and see the camera your father bought for me." Laura nodded and began following her mother back into the room, but all she could think of was Hannah, and their promise to buy rings, and the older women kissing in the hallway. Laura hated herself. She was going to ruin everything, she just knew. But she'd worry about that another day. Tonight she was, nervous yes, but also on cloud nine, and she wasn't about to let her usual teenage angst ruin what had been a literally perfect night. And she'd see Hannah again tomorrow. And who knows. Maybe tomorrow would be perfect too.
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If there was one thing Steven Walton was good at...it was trivia.
That was how he'd wound up on popular TV game show "Guesstimate" and, unsurprisingly, blazed his competitors to ultimately win an all expenses paid trip to a tropical local in the Florida Keys. However, his joy was shortlived, because, as it turned out much to his dismay...his family wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of a vacation. Steven couldn't understand it. Even the night before leaving, when he and his wife, Gayle, were packing to go in their bedroom, she kept making somewhat disparaging comments about the situation. "I just wish you'd taken into consideration the things the rest of us might've planned," she said, thumping in another pile of clothes into her suitcase, "because I have work obligations, and Laura probably made some kind of plans and-" "Laura never has plans," Steven said as he tugged some more stuff from the dresser, "and I don't mean that in a derogatory 'our daughter is a loser' sort of way, I just mean she's antisocial and she never does anything. She takes after you in that regard, because outside of work you yourself aren't exactly Miss Popularity." "Such a charmer," Gayle said as she slammed her suitcase shut and zipped it angrily. Laura was in fact spending more and more of her time alone, partially because she was, as her father had so eloquently put it, antisocial, but also for reasons her parents never would've fathomed. She'd just turned 15, and she had become enamored with a fellow student in her chess club. A student she'd played against a number of times, who she enjoyed matching with. A student with long auburn hair and the greyest of eyes, named Lindsay. Laura felt so ashamed of herself for these feelings that she instead chose to withdraw further than the typical teenager usually does, and blocked out everything in the world aorund her, instead focusing on reading most of the summer...a plan her father had now unintentionally thrown a wrench into. But who cares, she thought. She could bring some books on the trip. And now, sitting in the car on the way to their resort - only about an hour from their predetermined destination at this point - she was indeed doing just that. Reading. Laura had always been able to read in the car, and this was a super power she was grateful for, as it allowed her to ignore things around her that she didn't want to focus on. For example, she could hear her parents talking rather animatedly in the front seat, but she could easily tune it out for the fantasy in her hands, playing inside her head. Her little sister, 7 year old Jasmine, was sitting in the seat beside her, fast asleep with headphones on. Jasmine needed her headphones everywhere she went, or the amount of noises easily overstimulated her. "I'm just saying," Steven said as he came to a red light and stopped, "you can get some work done remotely from the hotel, but this is supposed to be a vacation. You should relax. When I was a kid, we went on family vacations like this every year, and we've only ever done it twice, and one of them was an absolute disaster. I wanna make good memories with you and the girls before time marches on too fast and the chance is lost." "That's sweet and all, Steven, it really is," Gayle responded, filing her nails absentmindedly in the passenger seat, the air conditioner blowing her mop of curly tied up orange hair out of her face, "but I've got a high level position, I can't just bail on something for 'family time'. That looks bad to the man upstairs." "You mean...God?" Steven asked, making Gayle chuckle. "That's certainly how he sees himself," Gayle said, the both of them laughing now, which made Laura smile. Laura liked when her parents got along, and lately that had been happening less and less. It seemed her mother was always too stressed over work while her father was too stressed over everything else - he worked from home so he was around the family more - and when they finally got to be together, it often resulted in pithy arguments about nothing that ultimately resolved nothing. After a bit more driving, they stopped at a small diner near the hotel, just to be able to get something to eat since they hadn't eaten since they'd left, and Jasmine in particular was getting grumpy because of the lack of sustenance. She had blood sugar issues, so if she didn't eat regularly, then she could get very angry or sick. Sitting in the diner booth, beside her mother - her father and Jasmine in the seat opposite them - Laura continued to stay focused on her book to distract herself from the goings on around the restaurant. Or at least she tried to, until her mother yanked it from her hands, slid her bookmark into its spot and said this was not a time for recreation, to which Laura replied, "isn't this a vacation? Aren't those all about recreation?" To which her folks had no answer. But big surprise. The adults never seemed to. *** As the Waltons quickly discovered, "all expenses paid" doesn't necessarily equate to "quality". Not only was the rental car they'd picked up been shoddy, with a lot of things barely working, but when they finally arrived at the hotel - Blue Dog Hotel to be exact - they found that comfort apparently came at a cost. It wasn't that Blue Dog was a bad hotel, in fact it was pretty okay, it was more that it's the kind of hotel one stays in when the other, more well known, hotels are full up. As their rental car struggled to come around to the front, and a valet stepped forward to take it while a young woman in a bellhop uniform also stepped forward to help get their luggage from the trunk, Steven couldn't believe he'd finally get to have a vacation. Some would argue his entire life was, in essence, a vacation, because he worked from home, but as anyone who works from home knows, that is not at all the case. Just because your venue is different doesn't mean your workload is. As the bellhop tugged two of their bags from the back and put them on the cart, Steven decided to help her while his wife took the girls inside. After finishing and shutting the trunk, patting it to let the valet know they were done, the bellhop and Steven turned to face one another. She was a woman around his age, maybe a year or two younger, with jet black short hair and messy racoon style eyeliner. She put her hands on the gold bar on the cart and started to push as they entered the hotel, following his family. "Been here before?" the bellhop asked. "No, never, not even to the Keys in general," Steven replied, pulling a stick of gum from his Hawaiian shirt pocket and unwrapping it, popping it in his mouth to chew as they walked, his hands back in his shorts pockets now. "Why'd you come here instead of literally anywhere else in the world?" the bellhop asked, and Steven shrugged. "I won a game show," he said, "It wasn't really a choice, as much as it was forced upon us." "That's very Florida, yes," the bellhop remarked as they came to the elevator. They didn't have to check in, as the game show had already done all that for them, so they could easily just head on up to their room. As they piled into the elevator with Steven's family, he offered the bellhop - whose nametag read Erin - a piece of gum, to which she politely declined before pulling her own pack of gum from her shirt pocket and taking one and saying, "Nicotine gum, trying to quite smoking." When the elevator came to a halt at their floor, the 5 of them got off and headed down the hall. Laura saw her mother was holding Jasmine's hand and remembered when she'd been small enough to have her hand held like that, and felt oddly jealous. Things had been so much easier then. She hated being the age she was. They came to a stop at the door, where Steven pulled the rooms keycard from his pocket and slid it through the metal knob, allowing them entrance. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call down to the front desk for any and all needs," Erin said in the most flat, monotone voice one could muster as she pushed their luggage cart inside, "because here at Blue Dog Hotel we strive to make your vacation blah blah blah blah blah tip me." "Well, with such an earnest and heartfelt delivery like that, how could I not?" Steven asked, making Gayle laugh as she walked past him and entered the room. Steven dug into his pocket, pulled out his wallet and handed her a ten, much to her surprise. Erin smiled, thanked him and then left. Steven turned to his family, clapped his hands together and smiled as they all sat on the beds, obviously exhausted. "So," he said loudly, "Who wants to have some fun!?" *** The hotel room was actually a suite. Laura wasn't old enough to have her own room, exactly, so instead they got a connecting suite. That was the only stipulation the Waltons had when it came to making the plans, was they requested a suite so the girls could have their own space and the parents their own. Laura got her things together and, along with her sister and her sisters things, unpacked in the suite. The girls room even had two beds, so they didn't have to share, which was nice because Jasmine needed her own sleeping space. She had to be completely constricted when being in bed, which was something Laura just couldn't handle. As Jasmine sat on the bed with her noise cancelling headphones, watching cartoons on the TV on mute with the subtitles on, Laura - who'd finished unpacking - walked over to the window and pulled the blinds down a little, peering out and spying a pool, which was nearly empty. Laura walked back to the door connecting the two rooms and opened it, heading through to find her parents also putting things away. "Dad?" Laura asked as she entered, "Can I go down by the pool? There's like nobody there." "Yeah, sure, we can see it from our window too, so it's fine," Steven said, "just be careful." Laura smiled and nodded, taking off through their door, leaving the connecting door open so they could check on Jasmine, who, in all likelihood, was going to nap anyway. Laura headed down the stairs and exited the back until she came to the large pool, where she embraced the silence and emptiness. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad vacation after all. Laura sat down and, kicking off her shoes, dipped her legs into the water, her shorts only reaching her upper thigh so she could put as much leg as she wanted in anyway. Laura shut her eyes and smiled, enjoying the solitude, when she heard someone sit down beside her and also dip their legs in the water. Taken by surprise, Laura's eyes snapped open and she looked to her side to see a girl about her age, with short sandy blonde hair and big teeth smile at her. "Hi," the girl said, "I hope it's okay to sit here." "It's okay, you just scared me." "Sorry," the girl replied, "I've been known to have that effect on people." "...is your family staying here too?" Laura asked, and the girl nodded. "Mhm. We come here every year," the girl responded, "I'm Hannah Waters. We always come here for my birthday." "It's your birthday?" Laura asked. "Well, not for another few days, but yeah," Hannah said, shutting her eyes and relaxing, feeling the brisk pool water cool her skin on her legs before adding, "...It's my most favorite place in the world, I love it." "Is there a particular reason? Cause so far it's not impressing me, though I've only been here for about an hour," Laura said, making Hannah laugh, which made Laura blush. She liked Hannah's laugh; soft and almost musical, she couldn't help but be delighted by hearing it. "Well, when I was little, my Grandma lived out here, so I visited a lot, but now that she's gone we just come here cause it's so familiar. Feels like being with Grandma, ya know?" Hannah said, "What's your name?" "Laura," Laura said, smiling as her eyes ran down to Hannah's smooth bare legs, admiring them before feeling embarrassed and looking anywhere else. Suddenly, from somewhere across the yard, Hannah's name was called. She quickly sprung up. "I have to go, I was just supposed to be getting a soda!" she said, "Bye!" And with that Hannah shot off across the yard to god knows who. Laura stayed there for a while longer, just soaking her legs in the pool, blushing and feeling so strange. She hated this. She hated these feelings. All the other girls in her class talked about the boys they liked, and she could never participate. She wished she could be like all the other girls she knew her age. But then...that'd mean never liking girls the way she did. And that wasn't something she was eager to lose either. Life as a closeted teenager sure was frustrating. *** The Waltons ate dinner at the hotel restaurant that night, a placed called The Doghouse - everything in this hotel seemed dog related - and sitting there at the table with her parents and little sister, Laura couldn't help but feel like maybe this wouldn't be such a bad vacation after all. Sure she was grappling with some things that she didn't know how to approach just yet, things that were somewhat scary to acknowledge, but overall it could be a lot of fun. However, the restaurant that night just happened to be absolutely packed, and between the noisy crowd and the general overwhelming lighting, Jasmine was already on the verge of losing her shit. "Do you wanna take her out of here?" Gayle asked, looking at Steven, "She's going to flip out." "What do I do about the food I ordered?" "I can have them pack it up and we can take it back to the room," Gayle said, "don't worry about it, just get Jas out of here before it gets on atomic levels." Steven nodded, standing up and, taking Jasmine by the hand, led her out of the restaurant, leaving just Laura and her mother alone at the table now. Laura nervously played with her utensils, tapping them repeatedly as her mother sipped her drink, waiting for their orders to arrive. Laura eventually looked up to see her mother watching her, smiling warmly. This display of parental affection only made Laura feel more uncomfortable, as she shifted uneasily in her seat. "Do you like the hotel?" Gayle asked, and Laura shrugged. "It's...nice," she said, "but I guess I can't really compare, since I haven't stayed at many hotels." "I guess that's fair," Gayle said, chuckling, "we don't take too many vacations. Maybe your father was right. Maybe we don't do enough family vacations and stuff, and we should-" And then Gayle's cell phone rang. She fished it from her pocket and answered, her face quickly souring, obviously work related. Laura sighed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. Seemed like mom was always on the phone. As Laura looked around the restaurant, she was surprised to see Hannah sitting at a nearby table. When their eyes connected, Hannah waved happily, and Laura, a bit cautious, waved back meekly. Hannah then asked her mom something, before standing up and walking over to the table, tugging at Laura's sleeve. Laura looked at her mom, but knew she wouldn't be finished anytime soon, so she decided to stand up and walk out with Hannah into the hotel lobby. Once the girls had gotten far enough away from the restaurant, Hanna grabbed Laura's hand and, tugging her behind her, started heading down the hall and around the corner, towards the gift shop. Once inside, Hannah pulled her further into the store to the wall of keychains and finally let go of Laura's hand. "What are we doing here?" Laura asked. "I'm looking for my name, duh," Hannah said, "They never have my name in stock." Laura nodded, and then started digging through the rows with Hannah, determined to help her achieve her goal. Meanwhile, out in the hall near the candy machine that Steven had pumped a few dollars into to no avail in the quest to attain a treat for Jasmine, Steven couldn't help but feel defeated. So far this trip hadn't been going the way he'd planned. He finally stopped, looked down at Jasmine and shrugged. She didn't reply - in fact, Jasmine rarely spoke, she was mostly nonverbal - and continued to occupy herself with the stim toy in her hands. Steven leaned against the machine and sighed, when he heard a set of footsteps approach from behind. He looked to his side to see Erin standing there, chewing gum. "That smells surprisingly good," Steven said, grinning. "Well, it's supposed to mimic nicotine without being nicotine, so in essence you're admitting you like the smell of nicotine," Erin said. "I used to smoke in college," Steven said, "hey, this machine ate my money, and I was trying to get some candy for my daughter, would you mind-" Erin looked at Jasmine, then at the machine and nodded. She walked forward as Steven pulled away and, taking the keyring off her belt loop, she plunged the necessary key into the machine and unlocked it. Erin then pulled the door open and reached inside, grabbing a few bags of a few different things and then knelt down and handed them to Jasmine, all while Steven watched, surprised by her softness and generosity. "I don't know what you like, so I got you a bunch of things," she said, as Jasmine happily took them and thanked her, the first time the whole day she'd actually spoken. Erin stood back up and folded her arms, standing by Steven, the both of them watching Jasmine tear into a bag of Skittles. "You're good with kids," Steven said. "I have a sister like that," Erin said, "well, had. Anyway, I know what it takes. Let me know if you need anything else." With that, Erin patted him on the arm, then walked by Jasmine, patting her on the head and disappearing down the hall. As he watched her go, Steven felt an uneasy lump forming in his gut. Something told him this vacation was going to be worse than he'd been prepared for it to be, and that scared him. *** Lying in bed that night, Laura couldn't sleep. She was staring at the ceiling, then rolled onto her side and looked at her little sister, cocooned in her weighted blanket and fast asleep, clutching her favorite stuffed animal to her chest. Laura sighed and climbed off the bed, stood up and headed to the balcony. She looked down towards the pool, and smiled. She'd always liked the sight of a pool in the night. Something about the calm blue water illuminated by the soft lights underwater...it just made her feel totally at ease. Laura looked around, then noticed Hannah walking across the courtyard with her father, both eating ice cream sandwiches, and she felt a twinge of jealousy in her chest. She wanted to be that close to her parents again, but she didn't feel like she could be. "Laura?" Laura turned and saw Jasmine sitting up now, looking at her. She re-entered the room and shut the balcony door behind her, locking it. "What do you need?" Laura asked, sitting down cross legged in front of her sister. "I had a nightmare," Jasmine whispered. Laura nodded, laid down and pulled her little sister against her, tugging the blanket up around the both of them. She started petting Jasmine's hair, knowing that always calmed her down. "Tell me about it, and I'll tell you why you're safe," Laura said. If there was anyone who knew about living through nightmares currently...it was Laura Walton. |