“Cheyenne, calm down. I thought you didn’t like sports?” I asked, sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
Courtney stood in the doorway of my room, watching me.
“No, I told you that I didn’t like baseball,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes.
“You know that softball is like baseball, but just with a bigger ball right?”
“Yes, Dad!”
Cheyenne stood there, her hand on her hip with her blue eyes pleading. I was going to say yes, because I was happy she wanted to play sports. I wasn’t sure if she would be into it. Dana and I both played baseball growing up, so it was natural for her to follow in our footsteps. I couldn’t wait to throw the ball around with her and teach her.
Over the years, I assumed she didn’t like sports, so I didn’t ask her if she wanted to do any of them. She never expressed an interest in much but Barbies, riding her bike and kicking Avery’s ass at Wii bowling.
“Alright, when are sign-ups?”
“Courtney said tomorrow,” she said, looking back at Courtney for confirmation. “She also said I need to get a glove. Can we go get a glove tonight?”
“Tonight?” I asked, looking at the clock next to my king-size bed. “Let me go talk with Courtney’s parents and get all the details first, okay?”
I walked across the street and spoke with Courtney’s parents. Registration was the next day, and after everyone registered, they would place each girl on a team. I wasn’t sure if Cheyenne knew that there was a possibility that she and Courtney wouldn’t be on the same team. But it turned out that Courtney’s dad was actually the coach for the team Lightning, and he assured me that he would make sure they were on the same team.
I thanked him and told him to let me know if he needed an assistant coach. I hadn’t really thought about it, but now that Cheyenne wanted to play softball, I wanted to coach her, too.
Everything was going to work out perfectly. The first practice would be on the Monday after we returned from California, so that gave me plenty of time to get a glove broken in for her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Brooke
Spring Break was finally happening! Nicole and I each packed two suitcases plus a carry-on bag for our cruise. In the morning, Jared was driving us to the airport, and then we were off to California to board the ship for eight days. On day four, we would be at our first port. I couldn’t wait to get a tan and Nicole couldn’t wait to meet men.
“Jared,” I called from the bedroom after zipping up my final suitcase. “Jared,” I called again, but there was still no answer. I walked into the living room to see him sitting in his usual spot on the couch, his headphones on, an Xbox controller in his hands and Call of Duty on the TV screen. “Hey!” I said, standing next to him, my hands on my hips.
He looked at me, removing the left side of his headphones. “Yeah?”
“Can you move the suitcases off the bed? I’m done packing and my shoulder is really bothering me.”
“Yeah, after this,” he mumbled as he righted his headphones and returned his eyes back to the TV screen.
It had been almost two months since I hurt my shoulder. I was taking it easy and avoided doing any exercises at the gym that involved my upper body, but it wasn’t getting any better. In fact, I thought it was getting worse. My doctor prescribed me medication to take during the day since the muscle relaxers knocked me out, but they weren’t really working either.
Not only was I looking forward to the sun and a tan, but I planned to get a massage, too. I was hoping that it would help my shoulder somehow as I was desperate for any relief since it was on my dominant side. I tried to talk Jared into massaging my shoulder a few times, but he was too busy playing COD, and I would fall asleep before he was done for the night.
I moved the suitcases myself, popped half of a muscle relaxer and climbed into bed, reading a romance novel that Nicole had recommended. Before long, I was falling asleep, not caring about my shoulder or Jared being a selfish ass.
*~*~*
“Brooke, wake up,” Jared said, shaking me a little. I could feel him kissing my neck as I tried to wake.
I moaned a response, not able to do more because of the muscle relaxer.
“Wake up, we need to have sex before you leave for a whole week.”
I moaned again, trying to wake up, but the muscle relaxer was fighting against me. “I took a muscle...”
“Wake up,” he said, shaking me again.
“I took a muscle relaxer, Jared,” I mumbled.
“That’s okay, I’ll do all the work,” he said, sliding down my front, dragging my pajama bottoms with him.
I remembered laying there in a haze, feeling his hands on my body, his lips on my mound and his mouth sucking on my breasts at times. I was trying to wake up—to enjoy sex with my boyfriend, but the pill was keeping me from waking fully. I slightly remember trying to touch him, to pull his short blond hair, only to find that I didn’t have the strength to do so.
I don’t recall how much time passed before I felt Jared enter me, his cock thrusting into my center again and again until I heard him grunt and fall on top of me.
At least one of us was satisfied with how it turned out.
*~*~*
“Morning, Sunshine!” I said, handing Nicole a cup of her favorite latte from Starbucks as she opened her front door. “Ready to go soak in some sun?”
“Hell yeah! Where’s Jared?” she asked, looking around me.
“In the car,” I pointed with my thumb over my shoulder.
“Figures. He’s worthless, you know that, right?”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, laughing nervously. Sometimes I did know that. I cooked, cleaned, paid all the bills and made sure we had food in the fridge.
“He couldn’t come up and help with my bags?”
“Oh...we can get them. We have to lug them from the baggage claim to the bus when we get to L.A. anyway,” I pointed out.
“Still, he’s a man...no never mind, he’s a boy.”
“I think you need to start drinking your coffee, Grouch,” I said, laughing at her.
We lugged her heavy ass bags down the stairs of her condo to my car and started to drive to the airport.
“Remember you need to pay the rent tomorrow when the office is open,” I said to Jared as he drove. “I went grocery shopping yesterday and you should have enough food to get through the week.”
“I remember, and if I run out of food, I’ll order a pizza.”
Jared was no stranger to pizza. Every Friday and Saturday, he ordered a pizza and ate the whole large pie while playing COD. He never gained a pound, and it pissed me off. While he sat on his lazy ass playing video games, I went to the gym and busted my ass. Jerk.
“Okay, I won’t have my phone turned on since we will be in Mexico. Call your parents if there’s an emergency.”
“Got it.”
I heard Nicole huff in the backseat. I knew what she was thinking. I shouldn’t have to remind Jared about any of this. He was thirty-four and should be capable of taking care of himself, but I still had to make sure that he was taken care of.
We pulled up to the departures at the airport, and Jared came around to help us with our bags. I stole a quick glance at Nicole as she rolled her eyes. Jared was helpful at times. I kissed him good-bye, and Nicole and I struggled to carry our luggage to the check-in counter for our flight. We checked in our bags minus our carry-ons and made our way to security.
“Jesus, those heavy bags hurt my shoulder,” I said, rubbing it as we waited in security. My suitcases had wheels, but just pulling them made my right shoulder flare up.
“I can’t believe your shoulder is still hurting you. You need to go back to the doctor when we get back. Maybe you should see Dr. Sam instead of your doctor?”
Nicole worked for a private doctor’s office that specialized in family medicine. The office consisted of five doctors and staff. Her building was like a mini hospi
tal, but they didn’t work weekends. She had been begging me for years to switch to Dr. Sam and told me she was the best.
I never really got sick or hurt, and when I hurt my shoulder, I didn’t want to go through the hassle of finding a new doctor. Now I was regretting that decision, considering my doctor never even touched my shoulder to see what was going on and just prescribed me pills. Maybe I should have listened to my best friend who was also a registered nurse.
“I’ve been emailing with my doctor, and she just keeps telling me that muscle strains take a long time to heal. She prescribed me new meds, but I think they take some time to get into my system,” I said, stepping forward in line.
“I still find it weird that she wouldn’t run any tests and just prescribed you medication. Yes, muscle strains do take time to heal, but not this long—especially since you aren’t doing anything to strain it more.”
“Me too, but she’s the doctor.”
“And I’m a nurse and your best friend. If your shoulder is still hurting after the cruise, promise me you’ll schedule an appointment with Dr. Sam?” she pleaded, taking off her shoes before placing them in the plastic bin by the metal detector.
“Fine.” I sighed. She was probably right.
We made it through security with no problem. After finding our gate, we sat down, waiting for our flight that we would be boarding in just a few minutes.
“You’re never going to guess what Jared did last night,” I said in a whisper so the crowd of people waiting for the plane wouldn’t hear.
“Anything besides playing Call of Duty will surprise me,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“You know how I’ve been taking muscle relaxers at bedtime?”
She nodded.
“Well, I only took half of one because a full one makes me groggy if I don’t get like ten hours of sleep. Anyway, I’m sleeping and Jared tries to wake me up to have sex.”
“Eww, what did you do? Pretend you were asleep?” she asked with a disgusted look on her face.
“I remember telling him that I took a muscle relaxer and him telling me that he would do all the work.”
“What a pig!”
“I know, and I really was asleep—mostly. I barely remember anything.”
“That’s like rape,” she whispered.
“No, it’s not.” I laughed. “I would have wanted to do it if I could. Those pills knock me the fuck out.”
“Whatever, I still think he took advantage of you.”
After that, we sat in silence, waiting for the plane. Nicole hated Jared and part of me didn’t blame her. I’ve hated most of her old boyfriends.
Soon we boarded our six and half hour flight to LAX, both of us engrossing ourselves in our books that we were currently reading, occasionally taking breaks in between chapters for little catnaps .
*~*~*
We made it to Los Angeles and boarded the last bus to the docks.
“Are you going to tell people you have a boyfriend?” Nicole asked me.
“Of course. You know I’m not interested in meeting anyone.”
“But we are going on a singles cruise.”
“Yeah, a cruise you tricked me into going on.” I laughed.
“Just have fun. I don’t want you moping around,” Nicole said, crossing her arms over her chest. “In fact, if you do meet someone and hook up with them, I won’t tell Jared.”
“I won’t be moping around. Don’t be ridiculous. And I’m not going to cheat on Jared.”
“I’m serious. If you do meet a hot guy, I won’t tell. You know I hate that loser.”
“I know, but I won’t be cheating on him. I’m here for you and to get a tan—oh, and a massage.”
Nicole gave me a stern look then looked out the window at the Southern California scenery—or lack thereof. There was nothing but buildings everywhere. Once we got down to the docks, we took pictures of the Queen Mary that was docked nearby and hurried to board our ship.
We checked in after going through security. People actually thought they could bring alcohol on the ship; some were trying to be slick and poured vodka in gallon jugs of water, thinking they’d make it look like water, but the guards were onto them and confiscated those, too.
We posed for a picture on our way to the ship like they do at Disneyland. A fake tropical background was created by using miniature palm trees, a beach ball, beach chair, and even a fake sandcastle.
We giggled as we walked up the long ramp towards the ship, not believing that Spring Break was already here, and for eight days at that. Growing up, I never imaged I would be traveling—let alone going out of the country. I never imagined that I would be able to go on vacations, because I always felt like a mother to Bailee, like I had to stay behind and make money to support my family.
At fifteen, I got a job so Bailee could afford to participate in school activities and buy some of the clothes that she wanted. My mother left us minimal funds when she would go out of town, and I was tired of Bailee not being able to go to the movies with her friends. Now that she was off to college, I felt like I had to be a mother to Jared instead.
Our rent was expensive, and Jared always bought expensive gaming equipment or something for his car. My money was spent on groceries and sending some money to Bailee while she was at college.
I hadn’t seen my mother in almost four years—since Bailee turned eighteen and went off to Berkeley. I didn’t care. It wasn’t like she was around much when I was growing up anyway. She last told me that she moved to Beverly Hills to live with her rich boyfriend, whom I’ve never met. Bailee told me that she had tried to see our mom on the weekends since Berkeley is only a short plane ride to Beverly Hills, but our mother always had plans.
So, if it weren’t for Nicole, I wouldn’t have made this trip. I realized as the wind blew through my hair that I needed to get out more. I needed to stop my normal routine of working and hanging out with Nicole on Friday and Saturday nights, with my only me time being the bi-weekly manis and pedis I treated myself to, and start living my life for me. I needed to travel, see the world, and let my hair down. Jared was thirty-four; he could learn to cook and help clean around the apartment. Shit, he needed to get out of the house, too!
“I just want to say thank you for giving me this gift. If it weren’t for you, I would be at home, doing laundry and getting ready for the work week. No matter what happens, let’s just have fun. I’ll be your wingwoman and get you a shitload of phone numbers,” I said, linking my arm through Nicole’s.
“I knew I would have to force you to come; that’s why I paid for it before I gave it to you. And I hope to get more than phone numbers,” Nicole said as she winked at me.
We laughed as we stood in the long line of people waiting to board the ship. Everything was about standing in lines. Lines to board the bus, lines to go through security, lines to check-in, lines to take our picture with the fake tropical background, and now lines to board the ship.
Once we made it to the front of the line, a man with a Hispanic accent greeted us. “My name is Waldo and I will be your Steward and show you to your cabin. Your bags will be delivered there shortly,” he said as he gestured for us to follow him.
Nicole and I turned towards each other, wide-eyed and speaking telepathically.
“Did he just say ‘Waldo’?” she asked without words, raising her eyebrows.
I nodded and spoke without words back, “Yes. Yes, he said his name is Waldo”.
We both bit our lips, trying not to laugh.
“That’s an uncommon name you have, Waldo,” I said, still trying not to laugh.
“Yes, I get that a lot. It’s not because of your American books, Where’s Waldo, even though I hear that a lot, too.”
“It’s not?” Nicole asked.
Waldo led us down a grand staircase, showing us a bar, the desk where we could book excursions and a Duty Free shop. The Grand Foyer was beautiful. The floor appeared to be made out of white marble, and it sparkled against the overh
ead lights and chandeliers. People relaxed near a white Grand Piano, sipping cocktails and already enjoying their vacation. The lights reflected off the marble, and it reminded me of being at a ball...well, what balls were depicted as in movies, that is.
We waited for an elevator as he explained his name—probably for the ten millionth time. “My brother and I are twins, and my mother loves the poetry by Ralph Waldo Emerson. My brother was born first—by twenty-three minutes.” He frowned. “His name is Ralph, and well—I’m Waldo.”
“Did you know the book was originally called Where’s Wally? when it was published first in the UK? It was changed to Where’s Waldo? for the US and Canada,” I said, getting into the elevator.
“How do you know that?” Nicole asked.
“Bailee loved looking for that man for hours in his red-and-white-striped shirt, bobble hat and big, round, black glasses. I don’t remember where I first learned about that particular fact, though.” I smiled.
“I did not know that,” Waldo said, ushering us out of the elevator.
We followed Waldo down a narrow, dimly lit hallway with no windows. The carpets were a dark blue with different color stars randomly scattered throughout, making the hallway appear darker. Porters were hustling and delivering bags to rooms, and we followed Waldo to our room.
He ushered us into a small, cramped room with two twin beds that lined the walls with tiny bedside tables beside each, and an ocean-view window centered in the middle over them. The blue carpet with stars mimicked the carpet from the halls.
We didn’t make it far into the room before I spoke, looking around the room, “You couldn’t splurge and get me a suite for my birthday?”
CHAPTER SIX
Easton
The closer our plane got to California, the more I felt like a bad father. I was going on an eight day vacation without my daughter. Avery told me to relax, but he wasn’t a father—not to mention a single father—and he had no clue. What if something were to happen to me? What if the ship were to break down in the middle of the ocean and we died? Cheyenne would be left without any parents.
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