The Unexpected

Ohio.

I awoke to the insistent sounds of a morning in Portland. Horns honking on the nearby interstate as they started their morning routines. A faint glow filled my studio apartment as I made my way into the kitchen. Both of my boys were still fast asleep so I decided to make a quick breakfast before waking them. As I was removing the last of the bacon from the skillet I heard the sound of stretching coming from the makeshift room I had created for the boys. "Ax, Bry breakfast is ready!" I called out and watched as my 7 and 4 year old both dragged themselves to the table. "Are you guys excited for our road trip?" Today we would be making the drive to Ohio. The boys want to go to kings island and it's been 6 years since I last saw my best friend Brooke, so I thought it was time to pay her a visit. Out of everyone that has ever been in my life; Brooke is the only person I still kept in touch with. She gets me completely and understands that a trip like this with two children isn't an easy one to make so it rarely happens. She was there when Axel was born but has yet to meet Bryson, so this should be an amazing trip. "Yes mama. We get to see aunt Brooke and ride coasters!" Ax said very excited. Bryson kept his head down eating silently. "Hey Bry aren't you excited too buddy?" I asked him. "Ya mommy but what if aunt bwooke don't like me?" "Baby that's not possible you're the sweetest 4 year old I know. Now quit worrying and finish your breakfast Mama needs to put our bags in the car so we can leave once you two finish." They nodded as I rinsed my plate and put it in the dishwasher. I was honestly more nervous than either of them could ever be. Since the death of their father 3 years ago my anxiety has skyrocketed. He was a firefighter here in Portland and one night while trying to rescue a family from an 8 story apartment building the roof collapsed and he fell through. He fought for recovery for about 3 weeks before the burns and infection became too much and we lost him. It's been a difficult experience but somehow I got us through it all on my own.
I had just shut the trunk of my range rover when I heard the ding of a text message.
Brooke: Good morning best friend! Have you left yet? Gosh I'm so excited. I have so much planned for us.
Me: I know we can't wait! I just got the rover packed so as soon as I get the boys dressed and in their seats we will be heading out.
Brooke: Okay please be safe I love you
Me: You know I will. Love you too.

I made my way inside to see that the boys had already cleaned their plates, put them in the dish washer, and got themselves dressed. "Well look at you two doing my job for me" I laughed. "Oh my god and you have your backpacks on. You guys are awesome you know that?" Bryson have me a big grin and ran to the door. "Alright off we go!" I got the kiddos strapped in with a movie going and we headed out. This was going to be fun.
The drive was a long one and we ended up stopping at a hotel after about 20 hours of driving so that I could get a small nap in before finishing up the drive. We only had roughly 5 hours to go so I napped for 4 and we headed back out. I text Brooke and let her know we were about an hour from Kings Island so that she could meet us there. We figured that would be the best way to start this vacation.
"Mommy look there's the roller coasters! We're here!" Axel yelled to me in excitement and I turned a corner and spotted the entrance. It had been years since I had been here but I easily spotted Brooke standing under the entrance sign like we did in high school. I waved at her with a huge smile as I found an empty space. It was early still and the gates had 5 minutes before unlocking. We took this time to let the boys see their Aunt. "Hey boys!" Brooke hollared towards them. Bryson shied away but Axel ran to her. "Hi Aunt Brooke you probably don't remember me because I was a baby last time but I'm 7 now." He said matter of factly. "Of course I remember you buddy! Now how come your little brother is hiding?" At her words Bry poked his head out from behind my legs as Brooke gave me a hug. "Hi Aunt Bwooke I'm Bwyson. I'm 4 but I neber met you afore." She laughed and scooped him up. "Well it's very nice to meet you Bryson. I've been waiting for this a long time." She said before setting him back down and turning her attention to the gates. "Look they're opening, let's go!" The boys darted to the gates waiting for us to catch up. "So Lily how are you and I don't want the usual 'I'm good thanks'; I mean like really you've been through a lot in the past 3 years between losing Brandon and the house. I need to know my best friend is okay." I could see the worry behind her eyes and let out a sigh. "I'm okay. Not exactly where I want to be in life for the boys sake but right now I just have to keep busting ass so we stay fed with a roof over our heads. Losing Brandon was and always will be the hardest thing I've dealt with. He was my person and when he died I had to be my own person and the rock for Ax and Bry. But this vacation isn't about being sad and rehashing those memories so how about we just have fun with the boys okay?" She said that she understood but I know deep down she's always going to worry about me.
We spent all day at the amusement park and as it got dark we got in my range rover and headed to Brookes in Dayton.
"So I wasn't sure if you would be up for it but I got us tickets to Raw in Columbus tomorrow. Ring side seats and backstage passes." She whispered so that the boys wouldn't hear her "Not to mention I remembered that little book store you used to spend hours at when we would go to Columbus and thought you might want to make an entire day of it." She beamed knowing the millions of memories we both had that were running through my head. "Okay first off bitch you got us what kind of raw tickets? I'm not sure I heard you properly. Second hell yeah I wanna have a day in Columbus!" She laughed at my excitement. "It's true. Ring side seats and backstage passes. Being a journalist has it's advantages." We pulled into the apartment complex and carried the boys inside. This trip has already been exactly what I needed.