Two's Company, Three's Love

Family

Having the gas tank and their bellies full, the pair hit the highway again. Cerise still wanted to listen to her daddy so they just kept on listening to the Spotify playlist as they drove along. Amarelle got into and began bopping her head along as she drove. Cerise's happy giggles made Ama smile. When they came upon a scenic overlook, the purple-headed woman decided to stop. 'We're in no real hurry, might as well have some fun and make this a memorable trip!' she thought as she unbuckled the toddler from her booster seat.

"What are we doing Miss Ama?" Cerise questioned as they walked to the overlook spot.

"This is a scenic overlook. You can look around at the beauty and take picture. I thought it would be fun to see what there was here and maybe get a selfie to show your daddy later." Ama smiled at the young girl.

They stood and look at the magnificence of the overlook, read about the spot, and took several selfies. Ama even took a few of Cerise by herself, being careful of where she had the girl standing, just for Adam. After a little while, the two ladies hit the road again. As they drove along, Cerise began to get sleepy. The rocking of the vehicle, the excitement of seeing Amarelle, and a full belly really made it hard for her to keep her eyes open. Before long, her head had leaned to the left and she was fast asleep!

Amarelle checked on her every now and then through the rearview mirror as she drove along. The car was getting great gas mileage and she hoped they wouldn't have to stop for gas too much. She was bopping to the music, driving along, and thinking about their little family. Was she ready for children? Did she really want kids? She figured Adam would. She sighed as she drove along.

"Miss Ama I'm thirsty." She heard Cerise state from the backseat.

"Ok sweetie. Let me find somewhere to stop. We can stretch our legs, use the restroom, and get something to drink. Sound good?" Ama looked in the rearview mirror at the little girl.

Amarelle began looking for a truck stop to pull in to. She was needing to use the restroom and figured Cerise was too. Another twenty miles up the road, they finally came to rest stop. Putting on her blinker, she turned onto exit ramp. After parking the car, she grabbed her purse, then got Cerise out of her booster seat. Ama grabbed Cerise's hand as they walked towards the building.

They went to the bathroom, washed their hands, then went to find a drink machine.

"What do you want to drink, sweetie?" Ama asked as they slowly walked around.

"I want juice Miss Ama."

"Cerise, you don't have to put 'Miss' in front of my name. You can just call me Ama." Amarelle stated with a smile, "We'll see what they have but if they have some juice that's what we'll get."

"Ya!" The small child exclaimed.

They finally found the vending and soda machines. Amarelle took her wallet out to get some bills. She bought a bottle of Dr. Pepper for herself and a bottle of Apple Juice for Cerise. As they walked around a little bit, she opened the juice bottle for her step-daughter. Once they were ready, they hit the road once more. Amarelle was only planning on driving for another two hours before stopping for the night.

Cerise was happy, giggling, and clapping her hands in the backseat. Ama couldn't help but smile at the happy girl. Around the time Ama was planning on stopping for the night, they came on decent sized city. She pulled off the highway, thankful there were a few motels directly off the service road. Ama pulled into a Best Western and parked the car. She got Cerise out of her booster seat, grabbed her purse, and walked inside.

She rented a room for the two of them with two beds on the first floor. Having the keys in hand, they walked back out to the rental, so they could park in front of their motel room door. Once parked, Amarelle opened the door to let Cerise in. Making sure the toddler was going to be ok for a minute or two, Ama went back to the car to get their bags. She locked the car and walked into the room. Ama sent a quick text to Adam that they'd stopped for the night and sometime later in the evening, they'd Face-Time so everyone could chat.