From This Moment On

Chapter 43

Nick had a lot of fun planning the Disney vacation for his family. He was just as excited as the kids were, especially Aaron because he’d never been anywhere before other than Sea World when he first came to live with his brother.

“Nick, are we really going to meet Mickey Mouse?” Aaron asked, even though he spent most of the week leading up to the vacation acting cool about the whole thing. As it got closer he grew more and more excited and gave up on acting like a teenager.

“I hope we will. I have our fast passes set up for most of the things and we can always get more fast passes. The booking agent explained all this to me. Once we use all of them, I can use the mobile app to book more. So we can get on all the rides we want to without waiting.” Nick told him. Aaron continued to pack his bag with a huge grin on his face. He’d told all his friends at school about the trip before summer started and would not stop talking about it according to his teacher. Nick had to laugh,. If it was him, he’d do the same thing.

“I wish Andrew could have come.” 

“I thought you invited your friend to come, what happened with that?” Nick asked as he got his own bag ready. He was busily packing Amanda’s even though she would only come and fix things later anyway.

“His mom wouldn’t let him because he got a C in History. I tried to help him study for the test. It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Aaron said dejectedly, trying to pretend he wasn’t bothered by his friend not being able to make it. Andrew was his best friend at school and often came over to hang out, or do homework. Nick was glad Aaron had friends at the new school after all the bullying from the kids at Oceanview Elementary. 

So the two of them went back to packing, as Nick got a text from Brian.

Make sure you bring Lisa to the Star Wars fireworks show in Hollywood Studios on Friday. 

Nick smiled….it was about to go down. 

“Do we have everything we need, guys?” Amanda asked, as Nick lugged all their bags out to the van that was taking them to the airport. Bryan was falling asleep on her shoulder and Celine was running after Nick with a Minnie Mouse doll that they’d given her when they told the kids about Disney World. 

“Hurry, Daddy!” 

“Celine, don’t run! Mickey Mouse isn’t going anywhere.” Nick laughed, picking her up and putting her in the van as he kissed her cheek. He took Bryan’s Goofy doll and got everything into the van as Lisa and the van driver helped them. Mike, his bodyguard was going too but he was meeting them at the airport.

Pretty soon the whole family was on their way to the airport and Nick couldn’t be more excited. He took a photo of all of them in the van to post on his instagram and tweeted it on his twitter page as well.

@nickcarter: First family vacation to Disney World begins now!!! Soooo excited!!

Amanda laughed at him from the seat next to him as the tweet came across the phone. Nick was being more social with the fans lately and she liked that. She didn’t mind sharing him with the world and loved the reactions her children’s photos got from fans. Most fans were very supportive and Nick was glad to see that. When Bryan was born, he was hesitant to post photos but Amanda said it wouldn’t hurt. Nick looked at the kids in the back seat and took a photo of them, smiling as he posted it on Instagram.

After a short flight, everyone landed in Orlando, then took the Magical Express bus to the Boardwalk Inn. It was about a 45 minute ride so the kids were both cranky by the time they reached the hotel. 

“Nick, this is beautiful.” Amanda commented, noticing the lush plants and landscaping surrounding the hotel. The hotel was styled after the beachfront condos at the shore...and it reminded Amanda of back home in New Jersey. They went to their room which was a large studio villa on property. The room was done in soft pinks and green, with plush carpets and a kitchenette. Their luggage was waiting in the room already when Nick and Amanda arrived with the children. 

“Not bad service at all. I could use a shower.” Amanda said, feeling tired and wanting to relax before they did anything crazy. 

“Me too, you should do that and change because we are going to go out for dinner tonight.” Nick said with a wink. 

“Does Lisa know?” Amanda asked, as Lisa came into the room. She was busily texting Brian on her phone to let him know they’d landed in Orlando but he hadn’t answered because he was probably working. Lisa sighed and put her phone back in her pocket. 

“I can watch the babies. Don’t worry….you two have a good time. I’ll just hang here. Maybe I can find something for the kids to do.” 

“This is your vacation too, and while you are working you can have fun as well. I don’t want you to feel like you need to spend it sitting in the room.” Nick said, looking at the room service menu. He liked to poke around the hotel room before settling in, just something he’d done ever since he started traveling. 

“I know. I just miss Brian, that’s all.” Lisa smiled. 

As it turned out, Nick had made reservations at the restaurant inside the hotel for dinner. Trattoria al Forno was a beautiful Italian restaurant downstairs inside the Boardwalk. He was dressed nicely but not overly done because it wasn’t a super fancy place, but in black pants and a black dress shirt. Amanda wore a short dress made of a soft pink chiffon material that flowed around her knees and hugged her chest and hips. 

“You look beautiful. Let’s go eat.” Nick said, feeling hungry as he took Amanda by the hand. She giggled and followed him out the door after making sure the kids were going to be okay with Lisa in the room. Lisa smiled at them wistfully, wishing she could be whisked away by Brian for a nice meal like that. She stared down at Bryan on the changing table as she changed his diaper, the baby laughing and gurgling. 

“I guess you are my date for tonight, huh Bryan?” Lisa drawled, after checking her phone again. When she did not see any messages, she finished tending to the kids and put on a movie, ordering in some pizza to the room. It wasn’t the most glamorous vacation, but at least she was getting paid. 

Lisa turned on Lady and the Tramp and settled in, wondering what Brian could possibly be doing at nine at night where he did not want to video chat after work. 

Little did she know that Brian was not far off and a big surprise was on the way.