Dedicating Every Day to You

Chapter Forty-Nine

"You've got everything, Kathryn?" John stands over the trunk of the car, loading in a suitcase. He grins at me and adjusts his giant sweater.

I nod and roll my suitcase- the one I acquired for our Disney trip- over the gravel of the driveway. I wasn't sure what to pack, as no one would tell me where we're going, so I just kind of threw stuff in. The weather's been so weird lately that no one knows how to dress, either. I'm currently wearing a giant, mustard yellow sweater, shorts, and my reliable sneakers.

Alex yawns from the passenger's seat. "Another road trip? I mean, I'm down for all of this long weekend stuff, even if Columbus day is a lame holiday, but still. You won't even tell us where we're going."

John smacks down the trunk of the car. "It's called a surprise. Am I not allowed to surprise my family anymore?"

"Go for it." I climb into the back and buckle. "Surprise away." I'm definitely down for a car trip. I have my Tolkein box set, a giant bag of chips, and some long weekend homework because my teachers are cruel. I've got a fluffy blanket and some squishy socks and an appetite for disaster. I love road trips.

John sits down, buckles up, and pulls out of the driveway. Alex turns on the radio, and Bad starts to play. Of course, being dorks, we all start to sing along, and I do my best attempt at a moonwalk from my seat. It ends with me kicking the seats and losing a sneaker on the floor. Altogether, an auspicious start to our day.

We drive for a while in relative silence, and then Alex pulls up personality quizzes on his phone. He calls the questions out to us, and then laughs manically at our results. After a particular 'what Disney animal are you' quiz halfway down the Jersey turnpike, John smacks a hand down on the steering wheel so hard he sends the horn blasting.

"I am not Simba! What the heck? I'm totally Louis from the Frog movie!" An old lady speeding by gives us a very rude hand gesture indeed.

Alex cackles. "Of course you are! You're so fierce and angry." He reaches out and ruffles John's hair.

**********

I sigh, pressing my nose against the window glass. We've been in standstill traffic for most of our journey. It's almost evening now, and we're still in DC. I've eaten my entire giant back of chips, read almost all of my copy of The Hobbit, and finished conjugating my Spanish verbs and calculated my geometry angles.

John groans and presses a hand to his horn again. "I'm starving, and we haven't moved in literally half an hour. What do you say we pull off at the next exit and get some food or something?"

Alex thinks for a moment, clicking his pen, and then nods. "I've gotten pretty hungry as well. What do you say, Kat?"

I nod vehemently and then yawn. "I am definitely down for food. I just want to get out of the car."

"Don't stop believing," John sings along with the radio. I've never really noticed before, but he has a very nice singing voice. He kind of mumbles along to music, mostly, but now that he's being louder I can hear it for the first time.

The car in front of us finally moves, and we pull off into the parking lot of a small restaurant. Getting out of the car has never felt so good.

********

The next day, we're about to cross the border into South Carolina. I've lost all of the enthusiasm I had for this road trip, and am now gazing listlessly at the road in front of us. After our dinner, which we ate at nearly nine in the evening, we tried to get back on the road to drive. We'd been watching cars move at an infintessimal pace for our entire meal, and finally Alex just gave up and offered to do a leg of the driving. When he almost fell asleep at the wheel, John suggested that we maybe find a motel for the night.

A word to the wise: cheap motels are never a good idea. The walls and floors are so thin, you can hear everything. We could hear the people in the room next to us arguing in very loud and profane Spanish at three in the morning. We could hear someone else's ESPN at top volume, and someone else playing a karaoke game- a very drunken karaoke game.

All totalled, I got about four hour's sleep in the rickety bed that was provided, but it was four hour's sleep that didn't take place in a car, so at least there was that. We opted to skip the hotel's complimentary breakfast and bought convenience store snack cakes instead. Now, every member of the family is cranky and exhausted and running on pretty close to empty.

Alex sighs and sets down his phone, where he's been playing yet another round of solitare. "John, when are you going to tell us where we're going?"

John keeps his eyes on the road. "Alright, but you have to promise not to get mad at me."

"With an opening statement like that, I can promise nothing." Alex runs a hand through his hair. "So what gives?"

John takes a long, slow breath and then looks at us. "I wanted to visit my father."