Chapter 9
“Are we there yet?”
“Angel, we only left home an hour ago. We would’ve been on the road sooner if you and Tae hadn’t been so silly.”
“We weren’t being silly. It was hard to say goodbye.”
“We’ll only be gone for three days. It’s not like we’re moving away. How in the world did you handle us moving up here and not seeing him for those first couple months?”
“I dunno.” I shrugged. “He’s my best friend.”
“Yes, and you’ll see him in three days. Unless you want to cancel Vegas and go back home? Then you won’t miss him.”
“Noooooo, Daddy. I want to go to Vegas. It’s gonna be so much fun. I’ll ride the merry-go-round, and play games, and win lots of new stuffies. Oh, and candy. I want to get lots of candy from the candy stores.”
“Did a bit of Vegas internet searches, I take it?”
“Yup. They have sooooo many candy stores. It’s like candy heaven.”
“Great,” Daddy sighed. “Do you want to stop for lunch on the way or eat there after we drop our luggage off at the room.”
“Eat there. They have all kinds of food, did you know that?”
“I had an idea there would be an overwhelming selection.”
“Are we getting married there, Daddy?” The tires squealed when Daddy swerved. “Oopsie.”
“What in the world makes you think we’re getting married there?”
“I dunno. Internet said lots of people do, and Tae said he wouldn’t be surprised if we did.”
“My brother is in dire need of a noogie. Remind me to thank him for that minor heart attack.”
“You don’t want to marry me, Daddy?” My Little was far more brazen than I was. He didn’t hold back at all.
“Of course I do, but running off and doing it in Vegas will hurt our family. Imagine how sad your grandmother would be if she wasn’t there. We should plan something at the cabins, like what Chuck and Tae did but outside, surrounded by the gorgeous forest we now call home.”
“Ooohhh, I like that. And our kitties can be there then.” I wondered if I could get a pretty dress for Sabrina to wear. “When do you want to do it?”
“Shouldn’t Daddy ask you properly first?”
“Nah, I’m good with this. We’re not mushy, down-on-one-knee people.”
“We’re not?”
“Nope.”
“I guess the smart boy knows best then. How about this fall?”
“Halloween? I can wear my cat costume.” I’d look so cute, standing up there with Daddy dressed like Sabrina.
“If Daddy gets any say in this it’s yes to Halloween and no to a cat costume. Although…” he trailed off. “A costume wedding might be fun.”
“See, as a cat.”
Daddy shook his head. “Can we do something fun and more grooms-y?”
“Like Daddy-boy matchies?”
“Kinda. Maybe like zombie grooms or ghosts with top hats.”
I giggled. “That could be fun. Can we decorate the forest like Halloween and make it spooky?”
“If you’d like. Wait, did we just decide to get married?”
Poor Daddy was so lost. “Yup.”
“Alrighty then. Going over the big bridge now. Keep an eye out for the Welcome to Nevada sign.”
“Yay!” I tried to see over the concrete sides but barely got any view. “I can’t see.”
“I think that’s the point, so people don’t freak out when they realize how high up they really are.”
“Oh.”
Daddy squeezed my knee. “Just keep your eyes forward, sweetheart. I promise you’re okay. If you want, on the way home we can stop at the Hoover Dam.”
I pulled out my phone and internet searched it. “It’s way up high too, Daddy.”
“You’ve never said anything about a fear of heights before, Angel.”
“Most of what we do is like normal house high. Except for Uncle Chuck’s roof, but I just fished the stuff up to you guys.” While my feet remained firmly planted on solid ground.
“I’ll have to remember that. Um, what if our room is high up in the tower?”
“I dunno, guess we’ll have to wait and see.” Never been anywhere that I was up high before. Never had to test my fear of heights in any way. Heck, until we were up on this bridge, I didn’t know it may even be an issue.
I will not ruin this vacation with my insecurities.
“What’s got you thinking so hard over there, Angel?”
“Just don’t want to be a problem on our first trip. What if I freak out because our room is too high?”
“Then we’ll keep the curtains shut so you don’t see it, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll ask them to move us to a lower-level floor. Easy peasy.”
“’Kay.”
“Look, there’s the strip. See the Luxor pyramid?”
“Where?” He pointed again, “Oh, yeah, I do. And the knights and jousting one beside it.”
“Excalibur.” We drove past them on the freeway and all the way to the other end where our hotel was.
“Whoa, these hotels are ginormous.”
“Yes, they are. And it’s my understanding that once we get to the main area of the strip, most of them are connected by moving walkways. Bet that’s nice in the heat of summer since they get up to Phoenix temps here.”
We grabbed our luggage and headed inside. “Wow, that is a lot of sounds.”
“Yes. Machines going off, voices, rides, games. Definitely not the place to be for quiet reflection.” Daddy laughed. “Let’s head to the check-in desk so we can check out our room and drop off our bags.”
Check-in went pretty fast, given the line we had to wait in. There was so much going on around us that my head was spinning. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to eat or hit the arcade. Go down the strip and see everything or just stay here. My brain was on overload.
I followed Daddy into the elevator and saw him press the button for the twenty-seventh floor. “You alright, Angel?” I nodded, not totally sure, and left it at that. We’d see the minute we got into our room. Down the long hall we went, like a scene out of a scary movie. “Here we are.”
“EEEP!” I squealed and froze just inside the room. The curtains were wide open with a massive view of… everything. “So high.” The room got all spinny, and Daddy helped me sit against the wall then ran over and closed the curtains.
“Angel?” Daddy had his worried face on. “Let me get a cool rag for your head.” I concentrated on taking even breaths until he got back. “Here, now lean forward and put your head between your knees. That’ll hold the rag in place.”
“I feel so stupid.”
“Don’t say that. Acrophobia is real and can be debilitating.
Let’s focus on getting your breathing under control.
Breathe with me, Angel. Deep breath in, hold it for three seconds, and out.
Good boy, now again.” We did that for a few minutes while Daddy sat with his arm around me.
“Sweetheart, I’m gonna call the office and ask them to move us to another room. ”
“Thank you.” I hated this. I wanted to look out at the strip at night, all lit up and take amazing pictures to share with everyone. Stupid phobias.
“They’re sending a valet up to help us and a wheelchair for you.” I opened my mouth to protest but Daddy wasn’t having it. “Don’t even think about it. You’re riding down in a wheelchair. Then I’ll get you situated and run and get us food. We’ll eat in our room and try to go out later.”
“I’m ruining our vacation.”
“No, you’re not. We are both learning a lot today. Your health and well-being come first for me, Angel. That is a non-negotiable.”
“Yes, Daddy.” The men came in a few minutes later and loaded me and our luggage up. The foolish feeling I harbored amped up like ten million as I rode down the hall like an invalid.
After the men unloaded us, Daddy tipped them and locked the door when they left. “The second floor was the best they could do. I figured it would be okay since that’s the same as being upstairs at Uncle Chuck’s.”
“Thank you, Daddy. I’m so sorry.” I burst into tears. Crying wasn’t something I did in front of others.
“Oh, baby.” Daddy hugged me. “Let’s lie down for a bit then Daddy will get lunch.”
“Daddy milkies?”
“Yes, I know that always helps you.” He took off his shirt and binder, laid down, and pulled me close to him.
Between the warmth of the milk and the familiar, soothing sucking motion, my heartrate normalized and my head stopped throbbing.
Hopefully a nap would get me back on track so we could finally enjoy our vacation.
“Daddy?” I heard the door open, and he wasn’t in bed beside me. “Is that you?”
“It is, Angel. I got lunch. How do you feel?”
Great question. “Um, I think okay. I’m so sorry for all this mess.”
“No more apologies.” He sat the food on the table and came and kissed my head.
“You come first. I’ve told you that before, and I meant it.
If something doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work for me.
I’m just glad we figured this out before you agreed to do something rash like a roller coaster ride or bungee jumping. ”
The thought alone nearly made me vomit.
“I can promise I won’t do any of that.”
“Good boy. Come on, let’s eat. Daddy got you a cheeseburger, fries, and a ginger ale to help your tummy.”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Sometimes you didn’t realize how hungry you were until that first bite hit your tongue. I probably ate faster than I should’ve, but I was starving. “Can we go exploring?”
“Depends on how you feel?”
“Much better since I napped and ate. Can we at least go to the arcade?” Daddy side-eyed me and squinted, like he was trying to get inside my head. “Please?”
“Alright. Finish your fries then we’ll go play.”
“Yay!” We took the stairs down, since it was only one floor. Would’ve taken longer to wait on the elevator. “Whoa.”
“Whoa is right. Rides in the Adventuredome or games and prizes in the midway.”
“Midway!”
“Alright, back up this set of stairs. I wonder if we could’ve come straight across from our floor?
” Daddy got all thinky while I started my plan of attack.
I wanted to win a bunch of new stuffies for me and Tae.
“Let’s load up a couple playing cards.” Daddy walked over to the machine and put a bunch of money on them.
“Wait, Daddy, I have money too. You don’t have to pay for everything.” I hardly paid any bills, and now that Grandma was here with us, I wasn’t helping her out anymore either. So, my money just sat in the bank.
“I’m the Daddy.”
“And I’m the boy and one who wants to help out too.”
“Fair enough, you can do the refill, which I have a feeling you’re gonna need.”
“Deal.” I ran right over to the claw machine filled with Squishmallows. “I’ve wanted a Squishmallow for forever.”
“Forever, huh?” Daddy smiled. “This is the first I heard of it. Let’s test our skills.” Daddy set himself up at the machine beside me. “Ready, set, go!”
Daddy won the first one, a cute blue bear, but I won the next two. “An elephant and a cow.” I was so excited, but not ready to stop. “Let’s try the Pokémon one. Maybe they have a Meowth for Sabrina.”
We were still playing when the attendant announced they were closing in twenty minutes. “Whoa.” I glanced down at the pile between us. “How many do we have now.” We’d hit every skill crane game and totally forgot to play the rewards ones.
“An even dozen. Alright, let’s run these up to our room then find an all-night diner. I’m sure they have one in here.” Our arms were so full it was hard to hold onto all of them. “Which is your favorite, Angel?”
“The blue bear Squishmallow you won.”
“Why is that?”
“’Cause it’s my first stuffie from Daddy.”