"Waves this suite is sick!" Champ said in amazement as he walked around, checking out their home for the next day.
"That's great." Waverly replied in a disinterested tone. "I just care about where the bed is, I'm exhausted."
Champ walked up behind his girlfriend smiling, "Do you want company in bed?"
Waverly turned and weakly smiled, "Didn't you want to check your email and social media? You've been talking about how hard it's been being disconnected from the rest of the world for the last couple of weeks."
Champ nodded, "That's true but I could be convinced to put it off for a few more hours." He smiled suggestively.
"Honestly Champ, once my head finds a real pillow I will be out like a light." Waverly said hoping her clueless boyfriend would get the hint.
"Alright." Champ replied with a sigh. "I guess one of us should update Dr. Vali about how much awesome content we got during our time here."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Waverly answered with relief. "Tell Ali I'll send her some pictures tomorrow."
"Will do Waves!" Champ said happily. He waited a moment before he continued, "I'm so glad we did this together! Not only will this be the best dissertation our advisors have ever seen, we also got to share these amazing memories together."
"Right." Waverly replied not really knowing what else to say. "Um… I'm goanna go to bed. See you in the morning Champ."
"Night sweetheart!" Champ said as Waverly walked towards the bedroom.
"Night." Waverly replied just before she closed the door. There were a number of things that had exhausted her during this trip but number one was Champ. She hoped that a good night's sleep would make things clear.
Waverly woke up the next morning alone, which didn't bother her very much. This wasn't unusual, but the fact that she was in a wonderfully comfortable bed was a luxury she hadn't had for almost a month.
When the topic of her doctorate dissertation came up with her advisor she knew she wanted to do something with some social significance. Being a photo journalism major she probably should have wanted to go to some war-torn country and cover that type of story but instead she was interested in how people survived in poverty stricken villages in Africa. The media was flooded with stories from war torn nations but people seemed to forget about those people who just didn't have the modern conveniences that most people take for granted. These were people that Waverly wanted to highlight.
Unfortunately, her boyfriend Champ had agreed with her and he pitched an idea to both his advisor and hers. She would document their trip with pictures and he would write the social commentary. He was a talented writer so she should have been happy about the proposal but she felt she was outgrowing Champ. He was a typical frat boy type which was cute at first but had definitely gotten old. Originally, she had hoped this trip would give her some space from him but when he invited himself along she had no choice, her advisor loved the project.
Waverly didn't really want to get up because that meant having to deal with Champ but she knew she had to. Ali would want an update from her before they got on the plane heading back to Arizona.
She grabbed her laptop out of her bag and headed out into the kitchen. She noticed that Champ was passed out on the couch with his computer open. She tried to make as little noise as she could so she didn't wake him. Luckily, he was a heavy sleeper so she could get on her computer without him moving a muscle.
When she had her laptop up and running she picked a few pictures to send to her advisor so she would know this trip was well worth the time. After sending those off she decided she should check her email since it had been almost a month. She had plenty of junk mail which she quickly deleted but she also had an email from her sister Wynonna. At first, she wanted to delete it without reading it but for some reason she felt compelled to open the message, though she wasn't prepared for what her sister had sent her.
"Oh shit!" Waverly said more loudly than she meant to.
Champ sat up quickly and said, "What's going on?"
"Nothing Champ, go back to sleep." Waverly said quickly.
Champ shook his head, "Waves, you barely ever swear. What's going on?"
Waverly tried to keep her voice calm as she replied, "My sister emailed me. I have to go back home before I head back to school."
"Why?" Champ asked.
Waverly took a deep breath before answering, "My uncle Curtis died. His funeral is in two days. I need to go back to Purgatory."
Champ jumped up and came over to her wrapping his arms around her, "I'm sorry baby. I know he meant a lot to you. Of course, we have to go to his funeral before we go back to school."
Waverly was caught off guard by Champ's compassion, "Um… Champ you don't have to come with me. I can deal with this on my own."
"No way, you shouldn't have to deal with this without me." Champ replied, "You'll need a shoulder to cry on, and I've got awesome muscular shoulders."
Waverly couldn't help but laugh at his dopy response, "It's okay Champ, I can do this on my own."
"I know you can cause you're crazy smart and brave but I'm your boyfriend, I should be there to support you and I will." Champ said
"Really, you don't…"
"No, I do." Champ stated. "You don't have to handle this by yourself. I know you've said your family is a bit messed up so you need someone on your side, and that someone is me Waves."
Waverly thought for a moment. She really didn't want to bring Champ home. She was tired of him but he was like a puppy dog, willing to do anything for her so she gave in, "Alright I guess our travel plans have changed. Lagos to Purgatory."