Vacation at the Lake

Author's Note: Hi Guys! This is a continuation of "Gone" but you don't have to read it for this to make sense. Brief summary to get you caught up: Olivia has Calvin; they are both living with Elliot and his children.

The kids: Eli will be in first grade [they're on summer break in this story], Calvin will be a sophomore, Lizzie and Dickie will be seniors, and Maureen and Kathleen are in college.

That should be enough to make sense out of this story... if you want more details you'll just gave to read Gone ;-)

The vacation spot, though it is in a real town, is totally made up—just a random FYI. Thanks for reading!

"How about Niagara Falls?" Olivia suggested.

"Nah," Elliot said. "Been there, done that. Maybe Philadelphia?"

"I want to get away from the city," Olivia said. "Not go to another city."

Elliot had his laptop out and was searching for a place to take everybody on vacation. Olivia was sitting on the couch next to him looking through a stack of tour guides.

"What about this?" Elliot said excitedly. "White Mountain Lake Lodge in Bristol, Connecticut. It's a small private island in the middle of a huge lake. They have 12 rustic cabins that they rent out and tons of activities. There's a game room, baseball and soccer field, volleyball nets on the beach, free Jet Ski and boat rentals. There's a dock to go fishing, a swimming area, all kinds of stuff," Elliot said as he was scrolling down the page on the website.

"Wow!" Olivia said as she put her tour books aside. "What are the cabins like?"

"Umm, hang on," Elliot said as he clicked on one of the links on the page. "Authentic log cabins, electricity, plumbing, full kitchen, grilling area on the back patio, wood fireplace, 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a master suite with attached private bathroom."

"Sounds beautiful," Olivia said. "Can we afford it?" she asked hesitantly.

Elliot clicked on another link on the page and read through the prices. "I think so," he answered. "It's on the higher end of what we wanted to spend but we won't be spending money on museum admissions, or other activities and we can take food with us since there's no where to eat out on the island. It should all balance out."

"Well it sounds great and looks beautiful," Olivia said, leaning over Elliot's shoulder and looking at the pictures with him. "You should call and reserve a cabin for us before they're all booked!"

Elliot called and reserved a cabin for the following month for him, Olivia, Dickie, Lizzie, Calvin and Eli. The kids were getting out of school the following week and Elliot and Olivia had some vacation time to use so they decided to pack up the kids and get out of the city for a week. Maureen and Kathleen were taking summer classes and neither one of them wanted to take time off from their jobs.

Elliot and Olivia were having a difficult time getting the kids to go to bed. Dickie and Calvin were protesting going to bed at 10:00. Lizzie was still saying good bye to her friends on the computer and Eli was in his room but every time he was left alone he climbed out of bed to play.

"Ok Liv," Elliot said. "Do you want the older kids or junior?"

"I'll take Eli," Olivia said after thinking it over for a second.

Olivia opened the door to Eli's room and saw him hurry to his bed to try to avoid being caught. "Busted!" she teased him. She knew he was excited about their trip and that's why he was having a difficult time going to sleep, but she didn't want him to be cranky during the drive up. She tucked him into bed, picked out a book off of his bookshelf and sat down next to him to read.

/

"Ok, no more stalling. It's bedtime!" Elliot said. He grabbed the remote and turned the TV off and then walked over and turned the computer monitor off. "Come on, I want to get an early start tomorrow and I don't want any grumpy kids! And try to be quiet; Liv is trying to put Eli to sleep."

"Good night Daddy," Lizzie said.

Elliot reached out and hugged her as she walked past him. "Good night Sweetheart," he said before kissing the top of her head.

"Night Dad," Dickie said. He held his hand up to give his Dad a high-five as he walked by.

"Good night Calvin," Elliot said. Calvin was a little shy sometimes. Elliot reached out and gave him a hug. He knew Calvin liked the affection, and that he never got any growing up. Elliot and Olivia always made sure they hugged and kissed him whenever they got the chance; they always made sure he knew he was loved as much as the other children.

"How'd you do?" Elliot asked as he entered the bedroom.

"I rubbed his back while I read him two books and I think he's finally asleep!" Olivia answered. "You?"

"They're all in bed," Elliot said, relieved. He leaned over the bed and kissed Olivia before taking his shirt and pants off and slipping into bed next to her. "Do we have everything packed?"

Olivia laid her head on Elliot's chest. "I'm pretty sure we do. We just need to stop at the grocery store before we head out to the island. Did you make sure the boys got everything they needed?"

"Sure did," Elliot said. "Dickie forgot his swim suit and Calvin forgot his toothbrush but other than that they did pretty good. I think we're set to go."

"This is going to be great El. I love you."

"I love you too," Elliot said, smiling at Olivia.

Everybody was up by 7:00 the following morning except for Eli. Olivia made sure the kids got some breakfast while Elliot loaded their luggage in the van. She put on a pot of coffee for her and Elliot. She put some dry cereal in a container for Eli and grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk for him. After the van was packed Elliot woke Eli up and helped him pick out an outfit. Then they all piled in the van and headed for Connecticut.

"10:00, we made good time!" Elliot said.

"This place is great!" Lizzie said as they walked up the front path to their cabin. Dickie and Calvin were already inside scouting out the best bedroom.

"Eli, come inside with us please," Elliot called. Eli had spotted a couple of ducks and was wandering off towards them but turned and followed the rest of the family into the house when his father called.

Elliot and Olivia put the groceries away while the kids ran around and explored the cabin. After everything had a place in the kitchen and all of the luggage had made it to the appropriate rooms they all went out together to explore the island. They found the Jet Skies and boats, walked by some of the other cabins, saw the ball fields, the beach that was roped off for swimming, the docks for fishing and the game room. Dickie, Calvin and Lizzie went in to explore the game room while Elliot and Olivia took Eli back to their cabin.

"Let's take Eli to feed the ducks before we get lunch started," Elliot suggested.

"That sounds like fun!" Olivia said. "Do you want to feed the ducks?" she asked Eli.

Eli's eyes got really big as he danced around and sang a chorus of yeses.

"Well since you have so much energy why don't you go get the bread," Elliot said. "I put it on the counter."

Eli raced into the cabin and returned with the bread. Elliot lifted him onto his shoulders and carried him down to the lake. Elliot and Olivia sat on a bench and watched Eli feed the ducks and chase them around.

"How lucky are we?" Olivia asked Elliot as she watched Eli.

Elliot wrapped his arm around Olivia and pulled her close to him while he watched Eli play. "We're extremely blessed."

"Olivia! Dad!" Lizzie called. She ran down to the lake. "I made a friend in the game room! Is it ok if she has lunch with us?"

Olivia looked at Elliot, he raised his eyebrows and cocked his head to the side giving his ok. "Sure honey. That would be fine," Olivia told her.

"Thanks you guys!" Lizzie hugged her Dad and Olivia then ran off back towards her friend.

Author's Note: I know it starts off kind of slow. This isn't going to be an action packed story but there will be some drama, I promise! Thanks for reading!