“That should go in a greeting card.”
“Or another article.”
“I’m not writing about this,” she said.
“Why?”
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Every life crisis doesn’t need to be monetized?”
“Fair enough. Though I wasn’t thinking of it in those terms.”
She shook her head. “Everyone needs to learn to organize their pantry. Not very many people need to learn to navigate their husband asking for an open marriage.”
“A lot of people need to learn to deal with life changes they didn’t ask for, though.”
“My life didn’t change. My life is on pause, so while it’s on pause, I decided to step out of the frame and explore.”
“Uh-huh.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“I know you, Sam. I don’t know how you’re going to go back to him after knowing what he’s been doing all summer.”
“I’m not going to know. I’m going to take him back, no questions asked.”
“Ah. The denial.”
And that infuriated her, because she couldn’t even argue with him. Maybe it was denial. Maybe a little dose of denial was how everyone got through life.
She liked to think that as a parent, she was a consistent disciplinarian. But she did often pretend she didn’t see something so she didn’t have to punish her kids. If that was denial, fine. It allowed her to create boundaries, consistency, and to not be permanently installed up her kids’ asses. So there.
They ended up stuck behind a tractor on the road going east to Bakersfield, and it made the last twenty minutes take forty. By the time they pulled into the Holiday Inn, she was exhausted. Who knew riding in a car all day even without kids could be so tiring?
You might not be with three little boys, but you are with him.
True. Fair.
They walked up to the attendant at the check-in counter and got their room numbers and key cards.
“I want to get on the road again at six,” he said.
“Six?” she parroted. She looked at the sign sitting on the front desk. “Breakfast doesn’t start till 6:30 a.m.”
“It would be a damn shame to miss your ride over a continental breakfast, Sam. We need to make some headway tomorrow.”
“Aren’t we going to Flagstaff? That’s like eight hours.”
“I thought you wanted to sightsee?”
“I do but are you planning on feeding me and giving me coffee at some point?”
“I wouldn’t dream of denying you. I like all my digits right where they are.” He held up his hand and wiggled his fingers, and then began to walk toward the elevator.
She went after him, just managing to get inside before the doors slid shut. He pressed Two, and then pressed Four.
“I don’t understand the implication,” she said as the elevator starting going up.
“Maybe you’ve forgotten,” he said, the pitch of his voice lowering. “I’ve traveled with you before.”
