My Lustful Journey to Europe

"An Angel on The Way"

As the first sunrays were peeking through the drapes, trying to invade the bedroom, Carson was laying in bed, the thin white sheet pulled up waist high. His eyes were open and his mind, for not having slept that much, was still fully functional.

As he had done hundreds of times already overnight, Carson was going over the past few years of his life with Christen, wondering if he had missed distress signals along the way. Yes, he admitted to himself, he did spend a lot of time at work, but he knew the alternative would have not allowed the necessary income to guarantee the standard of living his wife had grown up accustomed to.

He tried to leave no stone uncovered, so he considered all the possibilities. In all fairness, he believed his sexual aptitude was at the very least above average, and surely they had been open enough about that part of their life for him to know she would have complained if she had become unsatisfied.

He even considered the possibility of another man -or woman- in her life, but again the signs were not there, the little lies never amounting to anything of that nature.

As the sun rays were now warming up his chest, Carson closed his eyes, his hands behind his head. He was slowly coming to the conclusion that Christen had just grown tired of the family life. Maybe she needed a break from being a mother just as much as from being a wife. In that case, there was little Carson could have said or done different over the years to change that.

"Child in the room, cover up!"

Carson recognized his daughter's voice and opened his eyes, turning his head towards where she stood, holding a tray full of breakfast goodies.

"Girl, don't get me used to this lifestyle!" He joked as he sat up in his bed. "And be careful sneaking up on me like that." He added in a playful voice.

She placed the tray on his thighs and went to pull the drapes wide open, making her dad groan from the sudden brightness.

"Room service will be here soon, Mister, so get going." She said with a commanding voice. Clearly Sabrina had transformed overnight into this masterful resort manager. She left the room without another word, playing the part wonderfully.

Carson looked down at the tray and was instantly impressed. Scrambled eggs, coffee, toasted bread, crispy bacon and an apple were all begging for his attention. Just as the servant had just suggested, he got going and enjoyed his breakfast. Once finished, he placed the tray on the nightstand, knocking down a picture frame as he did.

He stood up and took his coffee with him, opened the window to let the fresh summer breeze in so it could dance with the sunrays in the bedroom. Carson was glad today was a Sunday. Despite what his daughter had playfully suggested, he felt no rush to dress up or get to work, quite the opposite.

Sabrina and he had stayed up late last night, keeping each other company as a way to kick aside the elephant in the room. They shared memories and found themselves laughing more often than crying. They ended up discussing that Foreign Student Exchange program again, and Carson eventually agreed with his daughter that hosting a student might indeed be a good thing for the both of them.

They finished the night watching a movie and eating popcorn, Sabrina eventually falling asleep against her dad. He didn't move for a long time, not wanting her to wake up from a much needed rest. He even ended up carrying her to bed, as he had done many times over the years, so he assumed the morning breakfast was a way for her to pay it forward.

He heard a knock on the door, followed by a loud "Check out time!".

"Alright, alright!" He yelled back, smiling. "No tip for room service!"

He put the "World's Greatest Dad" coffee mug down and made his way to the bathroom. He got the water running as he leaned over the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. The years were starting to show on him, but he kept in decent shape, he thought. Not a big fan of dying his hair to hide what his wrinkles made obvious, he proudly displayed salt and pepper spots on a thick set of hair.

As steam was starting to form in the bathroom, he kicked the boxers away and got in the shower.

A few minutes later, he walked in the kitchen for a refill. A full pot of coffee was resting on the warmer so he poured himself another cup.

Reminder: complain about service. He thought to himself.

As he wandered around the house, coffee in hand, Carson tried to remember if anything was planned for today. Christen usually took care of the social aspect of their lives since he was more inclined to stay home and rest on his off days. He checked the calendar on the refrigerator, but the date appeared to be free of any event.

Christen had not told him much on the phone the day before other than she needed a break and was flying back to the U.S. The conversation had caught him off guard and he just now realized he hadn't asked many questions, or even shown particular interest in convincing her to stay. He was now more curious about the practical aspect of the "break".

Where would Christen be staying? And for how long? Was she expecting, or hoping, that they would still be in contact on a fairly regular basis, or was the break meant to be a total blackout?

Carson decided to go check his email in case his wife had sent him the general guidelines of what he would now refer to as "The Break". The family computer was in the study, a spacious room with two walls covered in books on deep solid wood shelves. A massive oak tree desk was placed in the middle of the room, facing the door. When Carson entered, Sabrina was sitting at the desk, typing on the keyboard.

"Do your employers know you're using their computer?" He asked playfully.

Sabrina looked over the monitor, a smile quickly forming on her face.

"They're computer illiterate. They won't figure it out." She replied as she went back to typing.

Carson sat in one of the executive chairs opposite her and brought the coffee to his lips. He waited for her to finish typing and asked.

"Anything from your mom on here?" As ne nodded towards the computer.

Sabrina was quick to reply, as if she hadn't waited for her dad to ask before checking if her mom had decided to show sign of life.

"Haven't seen anything, no. Not on here, and nothing on my phone either." She took her hands off the keyboard and sat back in the chair. "Did she call you?" She enquired.

"Nope. Nothing on my end either." Carson replied. Not wanting to have his daughter make too much of her mom not contacting them a day into The Break, he quickly moved the conversation towards the few points he was wondering about.

"Where do you think she will be staying?" He asked his daughter.

Sabrina looked at him silently, apparently going through the list of potential hideouts for her mom.

"The clear choice would be Grandma and Grandpa. What do you think?"

Carson took another sip of coffee before responding. "Could be. But she would have had to tell them why."

They both remained silent for a moment, as if they both tried to answer the many questions they still had in their heads.

"Do you think she will come back?" Sabrina finally asked.

Carson wasn't sure. But this time he decided to alter his answer and answer his daughter's wish rather than the actual question.

"I believe so, yes." He forced himself to smile and added, with an ounce of good-hearted sarcasm. "Where can she find anyone better than us?"

Sabrina laughed and threw a paper clip at her dad. "Clearly!"

As Carson stood up, a soft sound from the computer informed them both that an email had come in. As much as they wanted to act normal, Sabrina quickly looked at the monitor and Carson didn't wait long before asking who the email was from.

Sabrina clicked her way to the email folder and opened the newly received message.

"Not mom. It's from the student girl." She informed her dad, as excitement quickly replaced the initial disappointment in Sabrina's voice.

Carson was amused by how his daughter seemed genuinely happy to host that foreign student girl. He had put more thought into it after his initial hesitation and had come to the conclusion that the whole experience might prove positive after all. They lived in a big enough house to allow for everyone to have privacy at all time, and having a third person live with them would surely be a welcomed distraction for both of them. If all went well, Sabrina would befriend the girl and learn how to manage her time for another person, something she wasn't too familiar with since growing up as a single child.

"What does she say?" Carson asked.

Sabrina's eyes were moving from left to right as she was still reading the message from their soon-to-be house mate.

"She seems pretty excited by the whole trip." She said as she kept reading for more. "Her name is Angeline."

"Cute name." Carson offered. "Better than Deviline, I'm sure." He added with his usual wit.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Since you're in a good mood, how about that? She's asking if she can be here a little sooner."

Carson's smile from his own joke quickly disappeared. "Hmm. How soon?"

"She doesn't say. She still needs to book her flight but she says she'd like to fly as soon as she can if we're good with it." Sabrina looked at her dad. "What do you say Carson-line... or do you go by Dad-line?"

"She's all yours. Whatever you decide." He responded as he exited the study to the sounds of his daughter's fingers hitting the keyboard, already responding to the Angel from America.

Carson knew his daughter would make the right choice and would be a great guide to that girl, Angelina. Or was it Angeline? Either way, Sabrina grew up as a single child and had always said she would have loved to have siblings. For whatever reason, it had never happened and this student would be the closest thing to it.

Walking down the hallway, Carson realized they had to prepare a room in a hurry if they wanted to appear as decent hosts. He turned around and went back to the study and found his daughter gleaming. It warmed his heart up instantly.

"Honey. We need to prepare a room for your new friend. Where should she be staying?"

"I got it all taken care of, boss." Sabrina answered showing the palm of her hand. "She will be staying in the guest room accross from my room. That way we can chit-chat once the adults are asleep."

Carson was now impressed by how every details was already handled by his daughter.

"Don't you want to go to the city and get some nice stuff for that room?"

Sabrina jumped at the offer.

"Great idea! I already have the color scheme in my mind. Let's get the paint first." She said as she walked by him.

"Paint? What paint?" He asked.

"Dad! This is the room where my grandparents are usually staying when they visit. We are receiving a 19 year old girl for a whole school year." Sabrina explained with a sprinkle of drama in her voice and gestures. "She will need a stereo, bookshelves, a vanity... come on, let's go!"

This time, Sabrina grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the front of the house.

"Grab your keys. Vamonos!"

When the tornado finally settled down, Carson found himself at the wheel of his Audi SUV, driving carefully on the tortuous road that led towards the center of Tarragona. It had taken them all a few months to get used the city, but both Carson and Sabrina now knew their way around.

The city was not small with a little over 125,000 inhabitants, but by American standards, it wasn't a big city at all and everything was fairly accessible and traffic was usually good. Located about an hour dive away from Barcelona, Tarragona had all the charms of a smaller city but was close enough to the capital of Cataluna.

"Remember that little restaurant?" Carson asked his daughter, pointing towards a small cafe a few blocks away from the Roman ruins of Tarraco.

Her head against the headrest, Sabrina replied thoughtfully.

"I sure do. My first Tapas ever."

Carson smiled. He had arrived in Spain a few months before them and took his wife and his daughter there for their first taste of Spain. Both women had fallen in love with the taste, but now thinking about it, maybe only Sabrina truly enjoyed it.

"Your first Spanish stain too if I remember well." He added laughing.

Sabrina playfully punched him as they were approaching their destination.

They parked in front of the local supermarket and, once inside the store, Sabrina showed some savvy moves when it came to maneuvering the shopping cart among aisles and aisles of products and local shoppers. They grabbed paint and paintbrushes, some new bathroom items and then made their way to the electronics section of the store. As Carson had suggested earlier, Sabrina was indeed in charge and seemed unconcerned about the financial aspect of shopping.

A few people greeted them in different parts of the store, some even enquired about Christen, but Carson was quick to respond that she was on a planned trip back in the U.S. He will be happy to pass their regards on to her.

The shopping cart was reaching full capacity so he suggested they saved some space for food and drinks. Sabrina grabbed a few local items and Carson handled the wine and beer part, though his daughter was in legal age for alcoholic beverages here.

They paid and spent a few minutes on the parking lot looking for their car just as big black summer clouds were forming above. The rain came down hard and in a hurry and they both ended up soaked before they could finish loading everything in the back of the Audi.

Once back home, the rain had already stopped so they took their time unloading everything.

As Carson finished placing the last bottle of wine in the cellar, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it to be an international call, but Carson didn't answer.

Not that he didn't want to, his phone was still in the car.

So the call went to the voicemail.