Christmas Down Under (Single Wide Female: Happily Ever After #1)

by Lillianna Blake

  “Don’t be so sure.” She shook her head. “I hated every minute I was forced to sit still. I still do, to be honest. That’s why we’re always out and about, exploring. I don’t like to get into too much of a routine. It makes my skin crawl.”

  “You know, Max and I run into that too. We get into these ruts, even though we promise ourselves that we won’t. It’s like everything we do becomes routine and then we end up grouchy. That’s when we know it’s time to travel again.”

  “Traveling helps. But I find it works better for me if I make it a lifestyle. I never allow myself to be pinned down by anything. I write a travel blog and my husband is a photographer. Both our careers allow us to travel at the drop of a hat. We don’t even own a house. We stay with relatives, or when we want to stay somewhere for a bit longer, we’ll find a place we can rent month-to-month. Our friends all think we’re crazy. They’re settling down, buying homes, having families, but the very thought of being confined to one place makes me crazy.”

  “It’s a bit harder with a little one, I have to admit. But Max and I have still traveled a lot. We did buy a house, but that doesn’t keep us from traveling when we please. I’m a writer and he manages a lot of that, plus he’s a computer whiz so he can pick up work whenever and wherever he pleases.”

  “What a great combination. Have I read anything you’ve written?”

  I hesitated. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to reveal what I’d written. I liked the break from work, and though I couldn’t be certain that she’d read anything of mine, I didn’t want to risk it either.

  “Maybe. A few of my books have become popular. But we’re on vacation, so I’d rather not discuss it.”

  “Oh, I get it.” She laughed. “At one point, every single place I traveled too got blogged about. I soon found that instead of enjoying my travels, I was making them work. So now, once a month or so, my husband and I make sure that we travel somewhere and leave work behind. It’s very refreshing.”

  “This vacation is the first one we’ve taken that didn’t involve something with my work. It’s been nice not to feel the pressure to write every single day. Although I still find that I want to. I feel a little guilty when I don’t.”

  “I can understand that. But try to relax. Especially with your little one. It won’t be easy to take trips as she moves farther along in school. You’ll be limited by when and where you can go. Enjoy it now.”

  “Yes, I will. Thanks.”

  She headed off to join her husband, and I gazed at my little girl investigating the mud. Was Bette right? As Abby got further along in school, she’d have more homework and more obligations. And schools had very strict attendance policies. Maybe this really would be our last big trip together.

  As we continued on our hike, I was troubled by that thought. Did we really have to give up the next twelve years? Sure, we could travel in the summer, but that limited where we could go, what we might want to experience, and it really forced us into a routine that I didn’t want.

  Chapter 20

  Toward the end of our walk, Abby began to slow down again. Max scooped her up and set her on his shoulders.

  My body was already a little sore from walking, I admired Max for being able to carry her without the slightest trouble.

  As he walked, I noticed the way his muscles flexed. He always stayed fit—mostly from activities—running, biking, swimming. But he made physical activity a priority in his life.

  Lately I hadn’t been doing that, and I could feel it in my body.

  “Look there!” Walt pointed off across the flat land.

  Abby squealed and clapped her hands when she saw the group of kangaroos all hopping together.

  “We usually see one or two, so it’s a nice treat to see so many together.” Walt pointed to my camera. “Snap away!”

  I did as I was told and began taking pictures. I was so engrossed with the pictures that I ignored a tickle along my ankle. I crouched down a little to get a better line of sight. As I continued to snap pictures, I heard Abby gasp.

  “Mommy! Mommy! You have a new friend! Take a picture!”

  “I am taking pictures, sweetie.”

  “No, not the kangaroos—the furry spider!” She pointed to my leg.

  “What?” I looked down at my leg and released a shriek that could have drowned out Abby’s loudest scream.

  A giant, furry spider had crept all the way up to my thigh and was dangerously close to a vulnerable area of my body.

  “Oh no!” Max set Abby down. “Sammy, stay still! Don’t move!”

  “No, I can’t! I can’t!” I wiggled my leg and shuddered as the spider crept around my inner thigh. “Ack! Get it off me!”

  “Okay, take a deep breath. He’s just curious, right?” Walt grinned as he looked directly at my crotch.

  “Get it off of me!” I growled and tried not to slap at it.

  The other couples gathered around us with a mixture of horror and amusement.

  “Settle down now, I’ll get him.” Walt looked into my eyes. “Don’t move a muscle, alright? All this commotion has him spooked. If we’re calm, he’ll be calm. Okay?”

  “Oh, please. Please just get it off of me.” Tears filled my eyes as panic shot through me.

  Walt stretched out his hands, and I gulped as I realized what he intended to do.

  “It’s alright, Sammy, just stay still. Walt knows what he’s doing.”

  Did he? I shot a look of warning at Max.

  The worst part was that the spider’s legs were tickling me through my pants. My inner thigh could be a very ticklish spot, and every time the spider moved, I had to resist laughing and jerking my leg. I certainly wasn’t in the mood for laughing.

  Walt cupped one hand over the spider, then reached through my legs with the other hand. It was uncomfortable to have him so close to such an intimate part of my body, but at that point, I would have stripped naked and stood on my head if it meant that the spider would be gone.

  “Just relax—slow breaths. He’s going to crawl right onto my hand, okay?”

  “Okay.” I closed my eyes as Walt nudged the spider. I gritted my teeth as the spider made its way across my pants leg and onto his palm.

  Walt closed his other hand on top of the spider and pulled away from me.

  The moment the spider was off, I collapsed into Max’s arms and buried my face in the side of his neck. I was relieved, embarrassed, and horrified all at once.

  “Mommy, it’s so cute!”

  I opened my eyes to see Abby petting the spider that Walt still held in his hand.

  “No, Abby, don’t touch it!”

  “It’s okay.” Walt looked into my eyes. “It’s harmless, really. If it had been trapped between your legs it might have hurt you, but as long as it’s feeling secure, it won’t hurt anybody. Do you want to touch it?”

  “He’s so soft, Mommy, you have to feel!” Abby smiled up at me.

  Most to the others in the group took turns touching the spider too.

  “You don’t have to, Sammy,” said Max. “Abby, Mommy’s a little frightened and that’s okay. Here, I’ll touch it.” He reached out and stroked the fur along one of the spider’s legs.

  “Wow, it really is soft.”

  I willed myself to stop trembling. Abby gazed up at me and saw a grown woman frightened of a spider. That certainly was not what I wanted to teach her.

  After taking a long deep breath, I reached out and touched the spider. It was a two-second touch on just the edge of one of its legs. I jerked my hand back fast and then laughed.

  “Wow, you’re right. It feels like a teddy bear.”

  “Can we keep it?” Abby grinned.

  “No!” I shook my head.

  “Actually, Abby, it’s very important that this spider stays right here. Every type of wildlife is part of a delicate balance. If we remove wildlife from its environment, it can have an impact on the entire environment. So we need to let this little guy go,” said Walt.

  “Litt
le?” My eyes widened.

  “Sure, he’s just a baby.” He smiled as he set the spider free to roam.

  The spider ran off as if it was just as frightened as I’d been.

  “Baby.” I looked over at Max. “That was a baby?”

  “You were very brave, sweetie.” He smiled and kissed my cheek. “I think if it had been me with a spider in that particular area, I would have passed out.”

  “I’ve seen it before.” Walt chuckled. “They look pretty scary and some can be very dangerous, but the important thing to keep in mind is that they’re not monsters. They’re just creatures, just like us. They’re happy, they’re sad, they get scared, and we’re the frightening monsters that are invading their space.”

  I’d never really thought about it from that perspective. It was so easy to be arrogant as a human. But our world was built within the environments of these creatures. We were the ones wandering through their neighborhoods, not the other way around.

  Chapter 21

  We continued on the hike, and I noticed that I was a bit more aware of my surroundings.

  Max took every chance he could get to tickle me when I wasn’t paying attention.

  “Stop it!” I swatted at him.

  “What?” He grinned.

  “You’re going to make me scream and look like an idiot again.”

  “You could never look like an idiot, Sammy.” He wrapped his arm around me as we entered our campsite for the night.

  There were already tents set up and ample food available for dinner.

  Abby chowed down and was sound asleep within fifteen minutes of arriving at the campsite.

  “Wow, she must have had a great time.” Max zipped up the tent she slept in, then joined me beside the campfire.

  The other couples had wandered off to private areas, and Walt was busy checking the packs for the next leg of the hike.

  “I did too.” I snuggled close to him as he sat down next to me.

  “Really? Even with the mask and the spider?”

  “Yes, even with those unfortunate incidents. I think sometimes I need a good scare to draw me out of myself again.”

  “That’s true. It’s easy to get lost in caution.”

  “Do you think this will be our last trip, Max?”

  “Why would you say that?” Max frowned. “I thought we were planning to travel as much as possible?”

  “Sure, we’d planned that. But what about Abby? I’m not going to feel comfortable leaving her behind. We’re not going to be able to plan every trip around her school schedule.”

  “We’ll figure it out.”

  “When? She starts first grade next year.”

  “I know.” He gazed into the fire for a moment. “I mean, if that’s what we decide.”

  “What does that mean?” I watched a spark leap off the flames.

  “We do have other options.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like what Cheryl does with her kids. They homeschool and travel—and all that.”

  “Which I think is great.” I shook my head. “But I’m not that kind of mom.”

  “How aren’t you?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “I’m not that smart. I wouldn’t know where to begin homeschooling her. I’ve never been very patient, I’m easily frustrated and she would probably grow to hate me.”

  “Sammy.” He took my hand and studied me. “You’re one of the smartest people I know. Besides, it’s not about what you know, it’s about what you’re willing to teach. And you wouldn’t be doing it alone. I’d be doing it with you. I promise, I wouldn’t let all of the responsibility fall on your shoulders.”

  “I don’t know.” I sighed. “Remember when I tried to teach her how to tie her shoes? She threw one at me! And what did I, the mature mother who has all the patience in the world, do? I threw it back at her!”

  Max laughed. “Yeah, that was great.”

  “No, it wasn’t! What if I’d hit her with it? It was awful. I’m just not that kind of mother.”

  “You taught her that if she throws a shoe, she’s going to get one thrown back at her. That’s an important lesson.” Max laughed again.

  “I’m serious, Max! I’m sure it would be a disaster.”

  “More of a disaster than her coming home with notes from her teacher every day? More of a disaster than watching her love for learning slowly fade away?”

  “You’re serious?” I looked into his eyes. “You’ve thought about this?”

  “I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I just didn’t know when to bring it up. I thought that once she went to school, I’d lose the desire for it. But it’s only gotten stronger. School is great for some kids and some families, but it’s not our only option.”

  “You keep saying that, but it feels like it is our only option. I might be able to teach her a few things, but what about the things I can’t?”

  “Between the two of us, I’m sure we can handle it. If not, we’ll just research it or get her a tutor.”

  “I don’t know.” I shook my head as I looked back into the fire. “Don’t you think her life is already strange enough? What if she hates us for not letting her be normal?”

  “Uh—Sammy, she’s our kid.” He squeezed my hand. “She doesn’t have much chance of being normal.”

  I laughed. “Alright, fine, but you know what I’m saying. She won’t be doing what every other kid is doing.”

  “She already doesn’t do what every other kid does. That’s why she’s bringing notes home from school. She doesn’t want to sit at a desk or learn about the same thing over and over again. She wants to explore, investigate, and experience the world. Isn’t that inspiring to you? She’s a creative soul who wants to spread her wings. I just can’t imagine clipping them.”

  “It’s something to think about.”

  “I think it’s more than that.” He turned to face me directly. “I think it’s a choice we need to make—and soon.”

  “So you’re set on this?”

  “No. That’s not what I’m saying. But I do want to discuss it. It’s so much easier to go with the flow of society and say, well everyone else sends their kids to school, so should we. But we don’t exactly go with the flow of society, do we? Have we ever?”

  “No, I guess not.” I bit into my bottom lip.

  Max was so excited by the idea that it overwhelmed me. He said he’d help, but what would happen if he had to work every day? Would I be stuck in the mother/teacher role? Would I ever get time for myself—to write or just to binge watch my favorite show?

  Maybe they were selfish concerns, but when I pictured homeschooling, I pictured Abby and me locked in a room together in an argument about prime numbers. It wasn’t my idea of fun.

  School hadn’t been something I’d excelled at, and if I was honest, I hadn’t even liked going.

  How could I create an environment that would be fun or different for Abby? I wasn’t a teacher. I hadn’t been taught how to teach. How could I possibly risk my daughter’s education—her entire future—on my being able to teach her something?

  Max brushed his lips against mine, then hugged me. “I see your mind spinning. Don’t stress about it. It’s just an idea. We can talk about it after the trip.”

  “I like that you’re thinking about it. That makes me happy.” I smiled.

  “Good, because I want you to be. I want all of us to be happy.”

  “I am.” I kissed the back of his hand and looked into his eyes. “I’m so very happy.”

  Chapter 22

  That night as I listened to the sound of Max’s heavy breathing beside me, my mind journeyed back through our relationship—first our friendship, then our marriage.

  I really was happy. Everything in my life seemed to have fallen into place in a way that was perfect for me. Did I really want to do anything to shake that up?

  I closed my eyes and tried to think about what my life would be like with Abby in it all the time. I loved the idea, but was it reality
or fantasy?

  The next morning we headed off toward mountains in the distance. I knew we would be spending a night in Alice Springs and then hiking on from there. I looked forward to discovering the small town and whatever secrets it might hold about life away from the pressures of society.

  As we started our hike, Abby was just as eager as ever.

  Max slid his hand into mine and we walked a few feet behind Abby with the group a short distance ahead of us.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Max gazed at the mountains in the distance. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a picture of something like this before, and now here we are witnessing it.”

  “It’s wonderful.” I nodded and then snapped a picture.

  “We should put an album together of each of our adventures.”

  “I know we talked about doing that when we got back from Japan, but I just haven’t had the chance.” I said.

  “Too much going on.” Max nodded. “That’s what I’d like—a little more time to just slow down and be together, without having to think about what happens next.”

  “I’d like that too. Maybe I can shuffle things around when we get back home and make some more space for that.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Max kissed my cheek.

  Abby sped up and so did we. The group had stopped at a circle of rocks for a rest.

  As we sat down, Walt pulled out a kazoo and began to play.

  Abby was thrilled with the sound of it. She danced around and even danced with some of the others in the group. She danced with Max, then with me. It was a lively break, and put smiles on everyone’s faces.

  When we reached the large rocks, Walt led us up a trail to a midpoint.

  “Now, if anyone wants to go any higher with me, they are welcome to. If you decide you’d rather stay here, then that’s fine. Have some lunch and afterwards we’ll head into the town. There are plenty of shops, and not to worry—they will send your parcels back to wherever you’d like them, so you don’t have to carry them with you. So who’s up for a hike?” He pointed to a rather steep trail.