The Journey Collection

by Lisa Bilbrey

  He tilted his head in Max’s direction. “Yep, but if you ask him, he’d tell you that we tied him down to a table and forced him to eat raw chickens.”

  “Did you?” she asked, trying to put on a straight face, but the sparkle in her eyes gave her away.

  “Of course,” Travis scoffed. “It’s what we good dads do.”

  “You are one, you know — a good dad,” she commented, stroking his cheek. “You’ve got so much patience with him.”

  “He makes it easy,” he whispered.

  “Most of the time.” Penelope tried to stifle her yawn, but failed. “Excuse me; that was rude.”

  “You need to sleep tonight,” he said.

  “I slept last night,” she defended.

  “No, you dozed off on the couch with a dozen magazines on top of you. I mean real sleep, with a pillow and blankets; perhaps a warm body next to you.”

  She bit her lip. “Will any warm body do, or did you have someone in mind?”

  “I can think of someone who’d take the job.” Travis leaned in and kissed her. “Please sleep for me.”

  “I’ll try,” she offered, and he knew that was the best he’d get. “But right now, all I want to do is eat. I’m starving!”

  “Me, too,” he laughed, winking at her.

  Their server, a young boy who looked barely old enough to even have a job, came over and took their drink order. Penelope and Travis requested iced tea, while Sherman and Max went with root beer. Wanda opted for coffee and a glass of water. Since they already knew what they wanted to eat, they ordered their dinner, too. Once the server had delivered their drinks, they trailed off into random chatter.

  At least, until Wanda asked the one question that Travis knew would have Penelope tensing up: “Are you sure that you want to have the wedding outside?”

  “Mom,” Penelope groaned, letting her head fall backward. “We’ve been over this. Travis and I want to get married on the football field, right on the fifty-yard line. Why can’t you just accept it?”

  “Because it’s not normal,” she argued. “Don’t you want a church wedding?”

  “No,” Penelope scoffed. “Momma, that field is where Travis and I became who we are today. Please, just don’t fight me on this. I promise that it will be beautiful.”

  “Of course it will be beautiful, sweetheart. How can it not be, when you’re the bride?” Wanda shook her head. “And if you’re dead set on having the ceremony there, then I won’t argue with you, but can we at least have the reception somewhere else?”

  “Well, the ladies down at the Methodist church offered me the building if I want it. Will that make you happy?”

  “A little bit,” Wanda admitted. “I’m sorry; I just want you both to have the perfect wedding. It’s the only one you’re gonna have.”

  “And it will be perfect because we love each other,” Penelope answered with patience.

  “Okay, I’ll let it go, but we do need to discuss seating arrangements,” Wanda added.

  “Nana,” Max said, pulling everyone’s attention to him. “I think her head is gonna explode if you keep talking about the wedding.” A quick glance confirmed his speculation; Penelope had her fingers pressed against her temples. “Besides, who cares where everyone’s gonna sit? It’s supposed to be a party, right?”

  “Yes,” Wanda laughed.

  “Then, why even bother with chairs? We should just dance all night. Jana and I have been working on our moves already. We’re gonna make everyone else look like suckers,” he boasted.

  “Language, Max,” Travis and Penelope said together, making each other laugh.

  Just then, their server showed up with their meal. Once they had eaten, they paid their bill and left the restaurant. They arrived back home a little over an hour later, and Travis left Max in Sherman and Wanda’s care while he carried his fiancée into their bedroom. Penelope had fallen asleep in the car, and he hadn’t had the heart to wake her.

  ***

  Chapter Seven

  Party like It Was Yesterday

  “You need to calm down,” Penelope said, slipping her arms around Travis’s waist and laying her head on his back. “You’re going to do perfect.”

  Travis released a heavy breath. “I wish I had your faith. My stomach is in knots, and I think I might puke.”

  “Hey, look at me,” she ordered.

  He turned and shifted his eyes down to hers.

  “You’ve been studying for this test for two months. You’re ready. Just calm down, relax, and remember that we love you.”

  “I love you, too,” he said, brushing his lips across hers. “And I’ll try. With any luck, I won’t be home too late.”

  “Don’t worry about us,” Penelope replied, sliding her hands down the front of his shirt. “Max has baseball practice at five, and if you aren’t home yet, then I will grab us something for dinner. Just text me and let me know when you’re on your way, okay?”

  “I will.” Travis kissed her once more before he left.

  Today, after two months of studying almost non-stop, he was taking his exam to become a certified educator in the state of Texas. Jack Garrison had arranged for a proctor to administer the exam at Clarendon College. While Travis was grateful that he wouldn’t have to leave his fiancée and son in order to take the test, there was still a lot of pressure on his shoulders. If he failed, he wouldn’t be able to take the job as the new head football coach. The thought of letting Jack, Coach Reynolds, Penelope, and Max down tore him to pieces.

  Travis parked outside the classroom center and took a deep breath. He kept repeating, “You can do this,” to himself as he climbed out of the car and headed inside. Jack had directed him to go to room one-fourteen. Travis found it and paused for just a moment before opening the door. Standing at the front of the classroom were Jack and Russ, both of them looking smug.

  “Dad, what are you doing here?” Travis asked.

  “I’m here to proctor your exam,” Russ told him with a laugh. “I sure hope you’re better prepared than that, or you just might be in some trouble.”

  Travis huffed. “What? I don’t understand. Why are you proctoring my test?”

  “Because Jack asked me to,” Russ said. “And since I’m a licensed proctor, I am allowed to monitor you.”

  “But isn’t this unethical?” Travis raised an eyebrow. “You are my father, after all.”

  “Yes, I am, but that is why Jack has agreed to stay. He’s not licensed to proctor, but he can make sure that I don’t cross any lines — which I won’t need to do, because you’re ready for this, boy,” Russ explained.

  “Yeah?” Travis griped. “Because I’m not so sure.”

  “Travis, if we didn’t have complete faith in you, we wouldn’t be here right now.” Jack moved over and stood in front of him. “Don’t make me call Penelope. I will, but I don’t want to.”

  He laughed. “Okay, okay. I wouldn’t want you to call her, either. Besides, she has enough on her plate and shouldn’t have to deal with my pity party. I’m ready.”

  “Good,” Jack sighed before turning to Russ, gesturing for him to begin. Russ nodded and pointed to the front of the classroom. The test and three number two pencils were sitting on top of one of the desks, waiting for him.

  “You’ll have four hours to complete the test, with a fifteen-minute break at the two-hour mark,” Russ explained. “Do you have any questions?”

  Shaking his head, Travis gulped. “No.”

  “Okay, then let’s get started,” Russ said.

  Calming his nerves, Travis walked over and sat down. He picked up one of the pencils and looked up at his father. “Start the clock.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Four hours and fifteen minutes later, Travis closed his test and walked it up to Russ, handing it to him. More than once, he’d fought against the bile creeping its way up his throat. The test had been harder than he’d expected, but he felt confident that he’d done the best he could. Now, he’d have to wait for the resu
lts to come back.

  “I’ll put a rush on this,” Russ said, sliding it into his folder. “See if we can’t get your results back a little faster than usual. Can’t promise you anything, of course.”

  “It’s fine,” Travis replied. “Thanks, you know, for being here and everything.”

  “You’re welcome,” Russ chuckled. “Get home to that fiancée of yours.”

  “Best plan I’ve heard all day.” Travis turned and left.

  When he pulled up in front of the house, he was surprised to see so many cars parked out front and along the street. Climbing out, he headed up the front porch and inside. The moment the door opened, two dozen people jumped out from behind couches, corners, and doorways. Penelope and Max were right in the middle, beautiful smiles on their faces.

  “What the hell is going on?” Travis blurted. Nadine, Coach Reynolds, Mr. Nickels, Mark, Heather, Jana, and the majority of Max’s classmates were there, as well as all the boys from the Broncos. Ever since Travis had talked to them during the state championship game, he’d been getting to know most of them better — Cody Holland in particular.

  “It’s a party, goofball!” Penelope laughed and walked over to Travis, placing her hand on his chest. She leaned up and whispered in his ear. “It was Max’s idea.”

  “But . . . I don’t understand.” He shook his head. “Why are you throwing me a party?”

  “It’s for my birthday,” Max chortled.

  “Yeah, your birthday isn’t for another week, little man,” Travis scoffed. “Plus, if it’s for your birthday, then why are you throwing it for me?”

  Max fiddled with the hem of his shirt and dropped his attention to the ground. “Because you missed the first ten birthdays I had, and I wanted this one to be special for both of us. You know, because it’s our first one together, or whatever.”

  “Max,” Travis gasped. Crossing the room, he knelt down in front of his son, drawing the boy into his arms.

  “Dad,” Max cried, burying his face in the crook of Travis’s neck.

  In that moment, Travis didn’t care that there were dozens of people around them or that everyone could hear them both crying. Max and Travis had lost too much time together, and in an effort to give Travis a small piece of the ten years that he’d lost, Max had left himself vulnerable.

  “Thank you,” Travis whispered. “You didn’t need to do this — not for me.”

  “I did it for us,” Max wept. “Every year on my birthday, I wished that you’d be here, that you’d come for me and Mom.”

  “You know I would have, don’t you? If I’d known, there wouldn’t have been anything that could have kept me away from you,” Travis said.

  “I know. But you’re here now, and that’s all that matters, Dad. You’re not leaving me or Mom again.” Max leaned back and wiped his tears away. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, little man.” Travis smiled. “Now, tell me, do we have cake?”

  “Chocolate!” Max cheered. “I always get a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, too. Only way to eat it, if you ask me.”

  “Can’t say I disagree.” Travis stood up and followed him over to the dining room table. A large, chocolate cake sat in the middle. Written in neon-green icing was ‘Happy Birthday, Max and Travis.’ “Wow, that’s a nice looking cake. Think Mom would let us have some now?”

  Max pursed his lips together and looked over his shoulder. “I don’t know. She’s just standing there with a weird smile on her face.”

  Travis, trying to be inconspicuous, looked over his shoulder at Penelope. She was indeed standing and smiling at them — a smile of pure joy. “I think they call that happiness, little man. We shouldn’t rock the boat by asking for cake, ya know. Play it smart.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Max huffed.

  “Oh, you two!” Penelope rolled her eyes and walked over to them. “Of course you can have some cake, but not until we sing you ‘Happy Birthday’.”

  “Oh, Mom,” they whined together.

  “No singing, no cake. Your choice.” She folded her arms in front of her and smirked.

  Travis and Max looked at each other before sighing in perfect unison. “Okay,” they said.

  “Good,” Penelope cackled before turning to everyone else. “On three. Ready? One, two, three!”

  “Happy birthday to you . . .”

  While the crowd serenaded them, Travis saw Jack and Russ slip into the back of the room. Based on the smirks on their faces, they’d known about this party from the get-go and may have even helped Max and Penelope set it up. Travis vowed to get back at them — somehow.

  “Happy birthday to you!” their guests sang, holding the last note.

  Once the singing had stopped, Travis laughed and said, “Thank you. Now let’s have some cake!”

  “Yes!” Max shouted, almost jumping onto the table in his quest to get to it.

  “Whoa, there, little man,” Travis chuckled, pulling him back. “Have some patience.”

  “Okay, okay,” he grumbled, but he still had a smile on his face.

  Penelope cut the cake while Nadine dished out the ice cream. Travis offered to help, but Nadine waved him off, telling him to enjoy the celebration. With gratitude, Travis and Max took the first two pieces, settling on the hearth to the fireplace to eat. The cake was phenomenal; the best Travis had ever tasted.

  Once Max finished eating, he took off to play with his friends. Cody sat down next to Travis and laughed. “You should have seen the look on your face, man. I thought you were about to crap your pants.”

  “Ha-ha; very funny,” Travis said, his tone dry. “I just wasn’t expecting you and your goofball friends inside my house.”

  “True,” Cody replied. Then he sighed. “Not to change the subject, but the recruiter from Tech is pressuring me to make a decision.”

  Cody had been offered a scholarship to play football at Texas Tech University, but he’d been hesitant to accept. He’d been raised by a single mom and had a little sister to think about. Travis, Penelope, Coach Reynolds, and his mother all had tried to tell him not to allow a chance like this go, but Travis knew Cody was scared. Leaving home and facing a world outside your own was a lot to take on.

  “What are you going to tell him?”

  Cody shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Mom keeps telling me that she can handle Carissa on her own, and I know she can, but she’s already working two jobs. Who’s gonna be there for Carissa’s basketball games next year? She’ll be a seventh grader; she’ll need support, ya know.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Cody turned to Travis with his mouth wide open.

  “Don’t give me that look. Your sister needs someone; I’ll be there. Look, I know you’re scared. Moving away from home, it’s hard, but you’ll regret not trying. You’re good, Cody. If I didn’t think you could handle it, I wouldn’t be pushing you to accept. Especially at Texas Tech. They’re from the devil.”

  “Well, maybe if the University of Texas had offered me a scholarship, I could have made you happy, too,” Cody teased. “Still better than OU, though, right?”

  “Heck, yeah,” Travis scoffed. “Look, you know what to do.”

  Cody nodded as Penelope came over with a small piece of cake on her plate. “I do. Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Travis told him.

  Cody stood up and offered Penelope his seat, which she took. “I’d better get going. I’ve got a phone call to make.”

  “I thought you might,” Travis replied.

  Penelope leaned her head on Travis’s shoulder while she ate her cake, moaning at each and every bite. She was doing it on purpose — Travis knew it, and Penelope knew it — but he wasn’t about to stop her. He enjoyed listening to her moan. After she was done, she set her plate down next to her and sighed.

  “Are you mad?” she asked.

  “Why would I be mad?” he wondered.

  “You’ve never been one to like surprises,” she replied. �
�But I couldn’t tell him no. Not when I saw how important it was to him.”

  Travis smiled. “I’m not upset in the least, baby. Shocked and amazed that he’d go to such lengths for me, but not angry.”

  “His birthdays were always the hardest,” Penelope whispered. “He never told me that he wanted you to be there. If he had, I would have reached out to you.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m here now.” He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her closer.

  “How’d your test go?”

  The minute the words were out of her mouth, Travis felt his body tense up.

  “That bad?”

  “No, I feel like I did okay, but how do I know?” He shook his head. “You may already know this, but my dad was my proctor.”

  “What?” she asked. “How’d he work that out?”

  “You didn’t know?” he snorted. Penelope shook her head. “I figured you were in on it with him and Jack.”

  “I wish,” she jibed. “Wasn’t him being in there a breach of ethics or something?”

  “That’s what I said!” Travis bellowed. “He said that, as long as Jack was there to monitor us and make sure that Dad didn’t cheat or something, he could be my proctor. I just went with it.”

  “So how do you think you did? Was it hard?” Penelope inquired.

  “I think I passed, but it was harder than I anticipated. Or maybe it was more information than I was expecting.”

  “I’m sure you did an amazing job.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “You were always good on your feet.”

  Travis blew out a heavy breath. “I hope so. There’s so much riding on whether or not I pass. If I don’t . . .” Shaking his head, he sighed. “I don’t even want to think about what will happen if I don’t pass.”

  “Then don’t,” she chirped. “It’s not like we don’t have other things to think about.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “Less than two months, and then you’re mine.”

  “I’m yours now,” she giggled.

  “Officially,” Travis murmured. “You’ll be mine officially.”

  ***

  Chapter Eight

  Facing the Boss