"Whoo hoo! We're finally going! Can you believe it?"
This was the second time Woody had ever heard Jessie speak that sentence. However this time it was not due to flying to a toy museum in Japan. Andy was going on holiday with his Mom and little sister Molly, and he had been allowed to take three toys with him. So he had chosen Woody, Buzz, and to everyone's surprise, Jessie.
Jessie was so excited when she heard Andy was picking her to come along. She'd never been anywhere other than Emily's play areas in the country, she had confessed to Woody.
They were packed in Andy's rucksack for the car journey. Jessie herself was peering through the gap in the zipper. The bag Andy carried had a few other essentials, a large bag of sweets, a can of cola, a towel and some various clothes. It gave the toys nearly no room, but due to the clothing and towel, it was very comfortable.
"Jessie, pipe down." Buzz hissed. He was nestled in-between layers of towel, trying to sleep.
"But Buzz, it's so exciting!" Jessie kept her voice low but eager, and Buzz groaned. He flopped back in the towel and closed his eyes.
"How can I be enthusiastic when you kept me up last night, gassing in my ear about today?" He complained.
"I do not gas!" Jessie was offended.
"Whatever!" Buzz said dismissively, not reacting other than to wave a hand in her direction.
"Just promise me you two aren't going to argue all the way to the hotel," Woody stepped in.
"He started it," Jessie complained, pointing at Buzz.
Woody rolled his eyes. "Jess, just ignore him, I'm not going to play referee with you two again."
Jessie glared at Woody for not backing her up, and then turned an equal glare on Buzz. Buzz was simply grinning as he turned over to sleep for the rest of the journey.
They were disturbed later when the car stopped and they felt Andy grab the rucksack.
"We're here," Jessie clutched at Buzz, shaking him awake, making him jump.
He sighed and sat up sleepily. "Do you get excited over everything, Jessie?"
"Pretty much." Jessie didn't miss a beat. She was on her feet in a trice, gazing through the zipper again. "Wow you guys, you have to see this!" She gasped, and her obvious amazement rubbed off on the other two, who jumped up to peek out as well, Buzz a little behind Woody due to his rude awakening.
They were being carried through a hotel lobby. There were enormous glass lampshades above, lamps on every sill. The floor was tiled, the walls painted a soft terracotta, and the panelling was a creamy white colour.
As Andy's mom checked herself and her children in at reception, Andy swung around enthusing over everything. He was old enough now to appreciate places he went, and still full of boyish wonder. The glass window the toys caught sight of as Andy turned showed a huge patio area, tiled again, with sun beds, trees, and a pool. It all looked beautiful and the toys gawped.
"Okay Andy, help me with your sister while I deal with the bags," Mrs Davies instructed her son, walking over to him. They felt him take Molly off his mother, and heard Mrs Davies instructing the porter about which room they were in. Then they were moving again.
In the lift Mrs Davies pressed the button for the fourth floor, and started talking to Andy about the activities he could take part in every day. The toys listened as she reeled off all the daytime arrangements the hotel arranged, including crafts, board games, ball games, water games, and even workshops. Andy sounded very excited, but cut her off in the middle of his excitement to ask a question.
"Mom, when we're finished putting the bags in the room, can we go to the pool?"
"Okay, but you have to help me," Andy's mom smiled at her young son. He didn't mind what he did, usually, as long as he could go and splash about in the pool and play with his toys. He was exactly the same at home. This holiday was going to be good for them, might open him up to other children his age, she thought.
"Sure Mom, I'll just unpack my rucksack," Andy quipped in reply to his mom's statement, and made Mrs Davies laugh.
About an hour later, when Mrs Davies had sorted out the bags, tipped the porter, and seen to Molly, the three toys were packed in a plastic bag containing some towels and sun cream. Andy was wearing a t-shirt, bathing trunks, and Molly a little yellow bathing suit. Mrs Davies adjusted her pink two piece and tied a sarong around her middle. She carried Molly, and they felt Andy pick up the plastic bag.
Presently the toys found themselves settled on a lounger in the bright glare of the sun. Andy was almost straight away in the pool, while the ever patient Mrs Davies applied sun cream and a hat to Molly. The toys were amused to then watch her cajole with Andy for the next few minutes to get out of the water for long enough for her to see to his sun cream as well.
The toys continued to watch from their frozen positions as Andy played in the pool with Molly for a while, under the supervision of the children's pool attendant. Mrs Davies was never from either of them, and while Andy was out of the pool, she read a book while he kept a watchful eye on his sister. Occasionally he'd go to play with some of the other children in the water, and Mrs Davies nursed her toddler on her lap, with a contented smile on her face.
The hours passed in a lazy blur, and to the toys surprise, they were packed into the plastic bag again with the sun cream at the end of the day, and then the bag put on the floor while Mrs Davies folded the towels she'd brought with her. She handed the towels to Andy, picked up a now sleeping Molly, and headed off.
Leaving the bag with the toys in it under the sun lounger.
As the hours ticked by, Jessie grew increasingly frantic. "Woody!" She clutched now at the cowboy doll. "Are we going to be forgotten?" she asked in panic.
"No, Jessie," Woody consoled her, but he looked as unsure as she felt.
Buzz was very quiet next to them, he noticed, but he didn't say anything. No doubt the space toy had his own fears. No point talking in front of Jessie, who got hysterical as quickly as she did excited.
The pool area eventually became cool, dark, and quiet. The music from the indoor bar started up and the toys felt it safe to move about. Woody was first out of the bag, aiding Jessie in the short drop to the floor, and Buzz climbed out after them. Jessie was shaking, for the night air was chilly. Woody pulled her to him for a hug.
"Shh, it's okay, Jess." he murmured to her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck briefly, taking comfort from the cowboy doll easily.
"I don't want to be a forgotten toy," she said in a scared whisper.
"We won't be forgotten, Jess," Woody tried once more to console her. "Me and Buzz were lost toys once before and we got home safely, right Buzz?"
No reply.
"Buzz?" Woody looked up and around.
"Buzz?" Jessie now broke the hug and looked around too, taking a few steps from Woody. "Oh," she said softly, seeing Buzz in the darkness. He was standing on the edge of the pool, peering into it. He glowed a faint blue purple, the water reflecting on his helmet ever so slightly.
Jessie blinked and watched him. "Woody, why does Buzz have his helmet closed?" She asked, turning at the precise moment that they heard a splash. In horror both cowboy and cowgirl looked back at the poolside.
Buzz was not there.
Jessie went back to being frantic. "Buzz!" She cried, running for the poolside, and Woody had no choice but to follow her. They dodged and ducked around sun beds, and on the edge of the pool, Jessie inched closer over the paving.
"Buzz? She asked again, more uncertainly this time, peering into the depths of the water. But only her reflection shimmered there. Woody stood puzzled besides her; the water appeared cold, deep, and dark, apart from the reflections of the dim surrounding lights. Some of the reflections in the ripples moved, Woody noticed, some quicker than others.
Jessie was walking around the pool a little way now, inspecting it from another angle. "Woody, where can he have gone? You don't think maybe he dropped something in the pool to distract us and then hid, do you?"
Woody shrugged. "I don't think so – I don't see anything around here he could use..." he mused aloud, looking around behind him. At the sound of a second splash, he whipped around to see Jessie had vanished from her place on the poolside too.
But she didn't vanish for long. Her hands appeared, clutching the side of the pool deck, as she gasped for air. As Woody approached, Buzz appeared right behind the cowgirl, laughing. She turned to face him in the water.
"How the heck didja not stop breathing under there?!" She demanded, and Buzz merely pressed the purple button on the side of his neck, making his helmet pop open.
"Are you forgetting I can breathe through my helmet due to my oxygen supply?" he laughed. Jessie merely glowered at him, and hauled herself, spluttering, out of the pool.
"Moral of the story," Buzz called, floating on his back as Jessie took off her hat to wring her braid dry. "Never disturb a sleeping spaceman."
Later on, when the music from the indoor bar had quietened, and the lights from the windows of the hotel were slowly disappearing one by one, the toys sat on the edge of the pool.
Jessie had taken her boots off and had her knees tucked up to her chest, leaning against Woody's side. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he had one arm around her back, holding her to him for protection, and also to provide her with some kind of warmth. On the other side of Woody, sat Buzz, who was looking up at the stars, specks of white in the darkness of the vast sky above them.
They must have sat like that for many minutes, none of them speaking. Woody was ticked off with Buzz for the pool incident, and Jessie was peeved with Buzz for similar reasons. Jessie shivered slightly and Woody wrapped his arm tighter around her. She was soaked through still, and she'd started to sniffle, much to Woody's alarm. Buzz looked across as Jessie sniffed again, and sighed. This was his fault. Now instead of having one western doll mad at him, he had two. Great.
Buzz hauled himself up. "And where are you going?" Woody asked, turning his head slightly as the space ranger started to walk off.
"I'm going to see if we can get back inside," Buzz replied, and Woody laughed.
"Even if we did get back inside, how would we get into the room, Buzz? We're on the fourth floor and each floor must have at least fifty rooms on it."
"There must be a way..." Buzz said to himself, looking up at the tall grey building behind them.
"There is no way," Jessie said snappily, getting up and starting to pace in order to keep herself warm. "We're stranded out here, possibly forever, and it's cold. Anything could get us out here too...we could be pecked to death by birds, or freeze...but oh no, wait, that last one is just me, isn't it, Buzz!"
Buzz dared to look at the cowgirl, who was standing there with her arms folded, her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed. "I said I was sorry," he said in a low voice, dropping his eyes to the tiled floor under his feet.
"Sorry isn't keeping me warm!" Jessie barked, and Woody got up. So much for not being the referee.
He put a comforting arm back around Jessie, whose shoulders un-tensed at his touch. "How about we go to sleep, little lady," he said softly, but Jessie didn't take her eyes off of Buzz, who was wilting after such a scolding.
"Where do you suggest we go,Woody? She finally turned her eyes to him.
"We should get back in the bag. The plastic might be thin but it'll keep us warm," Woody advised, and Jessie nodded slowly. Woody looked at Buzz. "C'mon, ranger. Bedtime," he said, and started to lead Jessie off. Buzz lifted his head, watching them retreat, and then shuffled after them.
It was a bit of a tight squeeze in the bag with all of them trying to lie down for sleep, but eventually they managed it by putting the bag on the side and removing the suncream bottle from the bottom. Woody climbed in first, then Jessie, and then Buzz on the other side of her, nearest the bag's opening. Woody pulled Jessie into his arms, so she could cuddle up near him for warmth, but Buzz turned away from the two of them, peering out into the night's darkness.
He hated it when Jessie was mad, particularly when she was mad at him. He turned his head to watch her sleeping just behind him, curled in Woody's arms. For a moment he felt a pang of envy that the two of them were so close, and wondered what it would be like to have a sister. It was almost perfectly parallel between those toys and their humans – Andy had Molly, and now Woody had Jessie.
He shook his head at all these 'sister' thoughts. Who was he trying to kid? He wasn't even fooling himself. He rolled onto his back and glanced again at Jessie. He'd had a bit of a liking for the shrewd cowgirl ever since she joined the playroom that fateful day a few months back. However her attentions waned hot and cold for him. Like right now, freezing cold, a bit like the water in the pool. And then there were other times, he remembered, when she thought he was sweet, like when they'd first met.
He liked Jessie.
Not really liked her, just enough to notice how adorable she looked even when mad. The way she wiggled her toes after taking her boots off earlier. The way her hair fell when it was wet from the pool. The look of shock when he'd grabbed her around the waist in the water.
But the way things were going, it was unlikely she'd ever feel the way he' started to. So it was just as well he had sleep, because when he slept, he saw her, and only her. Her bright green eyes, her red hair flowing in the breeze under her hat. And in his dreams, she was always happy, never angry at him, and he knew there were endless possibilities in his dream states, unlike real life.
He must have fallen asleep, because when Buzz awoke, it was due to something heavy falling on him. Cautiously he moved his eyes around, noticing there was something else in the bag with him, and the bag was moving. He then noticed he was in a sitting position of sorts, the suncream bottle resting across his lap, and as he moved his head, he noticed Woody across from him, also half upright. Buzz felt his leg was resting on something, and he moved to lean over the bottle, trying to see what it was.
To his surprise he noticed Jessie lying down on the other side of the bottle, her legs tangled with his own, and his eyes widened as he attempted to free himself. This was easier said than done, due to the jostling of the bag, and suddenly they were tipped out onto a flat surface. They landed in a heap, Woody to one side, and Jessie falling out underneath Buzz. The suncream bottle bounced and landed away from all three of them, as Molly gurgled and picked up Buzz.
"Andy! I found your toys," Mrs Davies called, and Andy came running from the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth.
"Aw thanks Mom," he cried, giving the older woman a hug, "Where were they?"
"Right where I left them..." Mrs Davies replied, picking up Jessie. She frowned. "Did it rain overnight?" She queried, realising the girl doll was soggy.
Andy shrugged and ran back to finish brushing his teeth, Mrs Davies following him. Molly started flying Buzz around in circles from her place on the bed, making the appropriate 'zoom' noises, and giggling to herself.
Then to the toys shock – although they didn't show it – the loud whirring from the bathroom cut through the silence. It continued for more several minutes, before pausing, then Andy walked out of the bathroom. The whirring started again in the background, and Molly put Buzz down on the bed, crawling over to her brother.
Woody and Buzz exchanged glances quickly. What was happening to Jessie? It sounded like she was being sawn in two. Buzz was immediately fearful. What if he'd gotten Jessie into a situation she couldn't get out of? It would be impossible to mend her if she'd been cut up.
The whirring stopped, and Mrs Davies came out. "That's better," she said, and placed Jessie down on the bed next to Buzz and Woody. "Come on kids," she moved on swiftly, lifting Molly into her arms. "Time for breakfast."
"Yes! I want chocolate," Andy cried, picking up Woody, and Mrs Davies shook her head. "No, Andy. Chocolates for special times. This morning, cereal."
"Alright! Chocolate flavoured cereal! C'mon Woody, lets go eat!" Andy cheered, and Mrs Davies sighed as the three of them, plus Woody, left the room. She did despair of Andy sometimes!
When the humans were gone, and the coast was clear, Buzz looked at Jessie.
"She dried me off," Jessie said, with a laugh, reading his mind. "There's some kind of contraption in that room that blows hot air and it's all rooting tooting snug!" She felt the tassels on the end of her sleeves, getting up off the bed for a moment.
"So...we're okay then?" Buzz hesitated and Jessie turned to look at him. "Over last night in the pool, I mean."
"I'll think about it," Jessie said softly, and turned away again.
"Sorry about landing on you, too," Buzz said, referring to the recent episode in the plastic bag, and she looked back at him. Was that a blush rising on her cheeks, he wondered, or was it from the heat of the hot air contraption?
"Oh, no worries, no harm done," she said simply, straightening her hat and plopping down next to him again. She glanced at him, her gaze lingering on him for a moment.
"Why did you grab me like that?" She asked.
"Like what?" Buzz asked.
"Last night. When I slipped on the poolside. You put your arms around my waist in the water."
"Well, I didn't want you sinking under, did I?"
"No?" Her gaze never left his face. "You held me close when I was under the water with you."
He could feel his own cheeks tinting pink now. "Reflex action."
"Right. So why were you laughing at me when I got out?"
"Nerves, I guess," He shrugged.
"I see. I suppose I should have expected it all to happen, in return for all the lack of sleep I gave you last night and this morning. Kind of like a comeuppance," She smiled at him now, albeit shyly, then dropped her gaze.
Buzz watched the cowgirl pull her braid over her shoulder, and then she glanced back up at him, her face still wearing the shy expression. He knew, as she started to retie her hair ribbon, that he'd be seeing that smile in his sleep that night.
It was the smile his dreams were made of.