Maxerica

Our Journey

Surprisingly, I'm excited to be going on this trip with Maxon.
We'll get to spend some alone time together and travel. It's like a vacation, but more serious.
I let the maid finish curling the tips of my hair then I get up. I run my hand through the curls to make them looser and more natural looking.
I put my olive green sheer shirt on and tie it in the front. Under it is a tight, blue belly shirt with close together white dots. I have my tropical print skirt pulled up high so not to much of my stomach is showing. I have on my navy blue flats with a bow on top.
I look at myself in the mirror and smile at the finished product.
Not to bad for a pregnant girl who woke up late and with morning sickness.
Maxon went to make sure everything's ready and told me to meet him at the front when I'm ready.
I grab my small black bag, the last of them, and take a last look over the room, making sure I didn't forget anything. Well, hoping I didn't forget anything.
I smile at the maid then go.
The guard at the door insists he carries my bag for me, so I allow him to. With him I go to where Maxon is waiting for me.
Maxon's leaning his back against the wall while he waits. He's wearing dark blue jeans and a grey short sleeved dress shirt.
It's nice to see him so casual.
He looks at me and smiles.
"Beautiful," he observes.
I smile and go over to him.
The guard takes my bag to the car.
"Thank you," I appreciate.
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Much. It was just a little bit of morning sickness."
"Just a little bit?"
"Just a little bit."
"And what is 'just a little bit'?"
"Throw up once. Wasn't to bad."
"Throwing up sounds bad to me."
I shrug.
The kids come running over with Marlee and her children.
We get a hug from each of them.
"Be good for Miss Marlee while we're gone ok?" Maxon tells them.
"We will," Eadlyn says.
"When will you be back?" Ahren asks.
"In a week or two," Maxon tells them.
"But that's so long," Kaden pouts.
"I know. But this will help other people. And we'll come see you all as soon as we get back."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Ok daddy."
He gives Maxon another hug.
Maxon smiles at him then looks at me.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
He nods at the guard who takes us to the car.
To my surprise, we're not riding in our normal offical limo. We're riding in a beautiful vintage car.
"Oh wow," I say.
I smile at Maxon who was watching my reaction.
"This is so cool," I tell him.
"Isn't it? I told a friend we were going on the trip and he said he would lend it to us," Maxon replies.
"So we're driving the entire way?"
"I figured it would be more enjoyable that way. We don't want to be stuck on a stuffy plane for a few hours now do we?"
I hug him.
"We'll get to ride a boat for awhile too."
"I've never ridden a boat before."
"Me neither. I guess we'll have our first boat experience together."
He kisses the top of my head and we get in.
"Are you excited?" he questions.
"So excited. I'm glad I get to spend time with you," I answer.
"Yes. It will be nice to have some time together won't it?"
"Very nice. While I like having some time away from the kids, I'm going to miss them."
"Me too."
The guard climbs into the passenger seat and the car starts moving. The driver is a guard as well, but he is always our driver. He transports us and important things wherever they need to go.
"We're going to stop a few places on the way," Maxon informs me.
"Where?"
"A few towns and spots. You'll see."
"What are we going to do?"
"Look around, shop, eat, go to the bathroom if we need to."
"Alright. Thanks again for letting me come Maxon."
"Of course. You're the queen. I want your help making all the decisions."
I smile at him.
"I needed some company anyway," he says with a wink.
Once we get through the surrounding city of Angeles and the other city filled areas, we go into the country. These areas have always had something beautiful the city just can't have.
Maxon watches the scenery through the window while I impatiently wait for the first stop. To help time go by, I snack on some dried apple pieces covered in cinnamon while I do puzzles in a puzzle book.
Our first stop is two hours into our trip at a farming town named Luray in Fennley.
I watch as the busy market booths go by my window.
The driver pulls over by a tavern.
"Getting hungry?" Maxon asks.
"Yes. I need lunch," I reply.
It's 11:40. We always have lunch around noon, so it's about time we ate. All I had for breakfast was a banana which doesn't help my hunger.
The guards get out then opens my door. He helps me out first then let's Maxon out.
He closes the door while the other guard leads us inside.
The tavern was just as busy as the market, chatter filling the room.
A woman at the front greets us and brings us to a table against the wall by the back in the corner. Only one of the tables around us is occupied, and they appear to be almost done. One guard stands by their table and the other stands by the other table.
A waitress takes our orders and brings us both a fresh lemonade.
While we are waiting for our food we chat.
A woman, who I assume is the owner, comes over to us and gives a slight bow.
"It's an honor to have both of you here. Is this a special occasion?" the woman asks.
"Just a business trip," Maxon responds.
"How nice. I'll make sure your food gets to you soon."
"We're in no rush."
"Alright sir. Would you like refills?"
"Yes please."
She has our waitress refill our drinks, and our food comes not much later.
Maxon got a veggie wrap and I got boneless ribs. We both got steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes.
Maxon cuts up his veggie wrap.
We start eating.
"I'm guessing you want to walk around the market before we go?" Maxon questions me.
"Yeah, just for a bit," I confirm.
"If you want a snack for the road we should get it here. They sell a lot of fresh and healthy foods."
"Sure."
"We don't want to take anything that will go bad in the car though so be careful what you pick."
"I'm thinking I want some fruit."
"That's a good choice. Do you know what you want?"
"I want to look at everything before I decide."
"Alright. I'll probably get something too, just to try it."
"We could share."
"If you'd like darling."
"I would."
I smile at him and work on the food in front of me.
Once we're done we go outside.
He holds my hand while we start walking.
Our two guards stay behind us.
People recognize us as we walk by, but nobody disturbs us.
We first go over to the fresh food market. We decide to get a peach, a star fruit, a mango, and a pomegranate.
"These look great," I comment.
"They do. We'll eat them later in the car," Maxon says as we walk towards the jewelry and material part of the market.
Maxon holds my hand with his right one and the bag with the other.
We go over to the few other booths. They mostly have hats and clothes.
We look around.
The guard taps Maxon's shoulder.
Maxon turns to look at him, so I do too.
He bows.
"Sir. We should leave soon if we want to stay on schedule," the guard informs us.
"We'll be ready to depart in a moment," Maxon says.
"I'll go get the car ready sir."
"Alright. Thank you."
He bows again and goes to the car.
"Do you want anything from here?" Maxon asks me.
"No it's ok. Let's just go."
He nods.
We go to the car and get situated.
The driver asks if we're ready then our journey continues.
"How far is the next stop?" I ask.
"About three and a half hours," Maxon replies.
"Ugh."
"I know. But you are going to love the next stop."
I smile at him. He smiles back.
I know better than to ask him where it is because he wants everything to be a surprise. Which is fine. It makes everything more exciting to see.
Halfway there we share the peach.
"This is so good," I praise.
"It is."
"Do you want anymore?"
"You finish it."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. You seem to be enjoying it much more than me."
I smile and give a playful eye roll at him.
I notice him glance at my stomach as I eat.
I look at him. He looks at me.
"Thinking about the baby?" I question with a smile.
"Yeah. Just wondering if you'll start showing soon."
"I can't stop shoving food in my mouth so I'll probably be showing fat soon."
"Oh stop. You haven't been eating that much."
"More than normal."
"Hardly. Just stop. You're fine."
I pout at him.
He smiles and kisses my forehead. 
"You're fine darling."
"If you say so."
"I do."
I finish my peach then work again on my puzzles.
Maxon helps me with them until we arrive in Carlisle, Jammins at 4:50.
Maxon was right. I absolutely love it.
Once the cars parked we get out.
We're surrounded by a beautiful town. A big church with sculptures and stained glass windows stands center of it all. Surrounding it is another market. There's a strip of buildings including a coffee shop, some different food places, clothing stores, and a few other places. The homes aren't to far away and are all made of brick. They're all beautiful. Everything is either stone or brick and fits so well together.
There are lots of people here. Many are riding bikes or walking between shops. A group of children are running around playing what I'm guessing is tag.
I notice lots of flowers and gardens all over the place. A group of women are working on the garden around the water fountain by the church.
There's even some people playing music outside. There's someone with a violin, someone with an oboe, and someone with a picollo.
"Wow," I finally get out.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
"Very."
Maxon smiles and watches me observe the town.
I watch the group of kids run behind the church then I look at Maxon.
"Do you want to eat or walk around first?" he questions.
"Let's walk around. I'm not to hungry yet," I answer.
"Sounds good to me."
He holds my hand.
"Let's check out the booths," he suggests.
I nod.
We walk over to the booths, people obviously noticing us again.
I pull him over to a booth with bundles of cloth on it. A sign on the table says they're all hand made. I touch a dark blue material with a damask pattern on it.
"Are you looking for something specific ma'am?" the woman running the booth asks.
"No. Just anything that would look good as a dress," I explain.
"One of the more popular ones is this."
She holds out a green material with red roses and pink flowers on it.
"That's pretty."
"Would you like some?"
"Mmmm no. I think I would like this blue one and that red one."
I point to a plain red material.
She grabs the red and the blue.
"Anything else?"
I look around.
"Yes. That light blue one."
I point to a baby blue material with white white and grey stripes. That would make a good shirt for Ahren.
"Is that all?"
"Yes please."
She bags the material and we pay her.
I hand Maxon the bag and we move on to the next booth. This one has lots of kids toys.
"Let's get something here for the kids," I say to Maxon.
"Alright. What do you think they'd like?"
"Probably a stuffed animal for Eadlyn."
I look over them, unsure what to get her.
There are hippos, cats, dogs, foxes, even giraffes. But as soon as I see the pandas I know that's what to get her. I grab one and look at Maxon.
"That's perfect," Maxon agrees.
"Now the boys."
"Should we just get them all stuffed animals?"
"No. Ahren would like a sword or something better."
"He has lots of swords. Maybe we should get him this."
He holds up a pack that has a wooden truck, a wooden tractor, and a wooden car.
"That's nice," I say.
"And we can get Kaden this puzzle."
"Ok. Should we get them more?"
"We can get them stuff at other places too."
"Then I guess we're done here."
We buy the stuff then go to a small coffee shop.
I get a turkey sandwich with provolone cheese, light olive mayo, and banana peppers on potato bread. Maxon gets a ham sandwich with swiss cheese on wheat bread with lettuce. We both got sweet tea and a white chocolate cookie.
"I hope the kids like their gifts," I say after swallowing a bite of my sandwich.
"They will."
"I'm kinda nervous they won't."
"I'm positive they'll like the gifts."
"I don't know."
"America. They're very grateful children. They will be glad we got them something. Now stop stressing and enjoy your dinner."
I look at him.
He smiles at me then keeps eating.
I smile and eat as well.
Once we're done we walk around the church and look at the gardens.
We decide to leave earlier than planned so we get to the hotel early.
The next stop isn't for another two hours, so I take a nap against Maxon.
He wakes me up once we get there.
I find myself shocked as I get out.
We're on a mountain, looking over a city. The sun is almost down, but it's leaving a beautiful pink and orange glow over the buildings.
No one else is here. There's a bench by a cliff and a sign talking about this spot.
Maxon takes me over to the spot and we sit.
He puts his arm around me.
We just sit there for awhile, enjoying the view and each other.
"What do you think?" he asks.
"I...it's so pretty."
"Just like you."
I look at him.
He smiles and kisses me.
I kiss him back.
He moves his arm down to my waist.
I put my hand on his check.
He moves back and leans his forehead against mine.
"I love you America."
"I love you too Maxon. With all of my heart."