Counting to Ten
Chapter 3
'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten…okay keep a calm, even tone' He thought to himself as he turned to face her.
"Carly, I said no. I am tired of this place. We have danced to three songs which is two more than I owed you. Other men are noticing you so why don't you let me go back to the cabin and you can stay and dance with them." Jason reasoned with her outside of the restrooms where it was quieter and there weren't any flashing, moving or blinding lights.
"Jason, you can't leave me here alone. I wouldn't be safe." Carly whined.
"Carly, I think it's the men in here that aren't safe from you. You have your gun I bought you for Christmas in your purse and you know how to use it as well as all the self defense techniques I have taught you over the years. Call me if there's trouble but there shouldn't be. Christ, it's Disney World. At worst you might get attacked by Donald Duck." He laughed at the stupidity of Carly boxing a duck. "I think you can take him."
Jason's patience was running out. An hour and a half later and the headache was taking definite shape behind his eyes from where it started at the little bar at the Contemporary Hotel. 'Mannequins. Who comes up with a stupid name like that? Why didn't they just call it Loud and Crowded because that's what this place is?' He thought. Jason placed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose and rubbed at the painful pulsing sensation that matched time with the boom of the music.
"Fine, I guess I'll just leave with you. There's no one here that looks even remotely in my league anyway." Carly pouted and suddenly the headache got worse.
"Look, why don't you stay. I am just going to go take a walk outside to clear my head and then I'll come back to get you. Maybe we can go get the boys and let Letecia have the night off."
"Letecia is taking the boys to the parade tonight. They are looking forward to it."
Suddenly Jason remembered the conversation, well empty threat is more like it, that Elizabeth had with Cameron.
Cameron Alexander Webber! If you don't get your little behind over here NOW we are NOT going to the parade tonight.
"I'll take the boys to the parade and you and Letecia can go out dancing. My treat." Jason decided he'd try his luck running into Elizabeth and Cameron while getting away from Carly and spending time with his nephews. A perfect plan as far as he was concerned.
"Well, are you sure? YOU are going to take the boys to the parade?"
"Sure, why not? We'll have fun. Guy time and all that. Just tell me where it is and what time and I'll take them. Meanwhile, here" he handed her a credit card "You and Letecia have fun on me."
"If you say so, just tell Letecia I'm here. She probably won't come anyway. Oh well her loss. I don't need to go back to the cabin with you, I'm fine here by myself." Carly said with a suspicious look on her face but then a smile as she snatched the credit card from Jason's hand.
"Carly" he warned "Stay out of trouble. Do you hear me?"
"Why I have no idea what you mean." Carly responded, batting her eyes and putting her hands to her chest in a display of innocence.
Jason just rolled his eyes, turned and walked off shaking his head. No matter how infuriating, greedy, selfish, stubborn or childish Carly behaved…she always made him smile. He just loved her and it was unconditional. Sonny may be his mentor but Carly…she was, without a doubt, his best friend.
She was crazy but ever since she finally stopped trying to have sex with him all those years ago, she was good crazy. Fun crazy. Sometimes dangerous crazy but never more than he could get her out of. She was laugh till you cried crazy. Beer and pool at Jakes while wearing a fur coat crazy. Sing Karaoke in the living room with a hairbrush crazy. Pose as a hooker to get information for Jason that he didn't ask for crazy.
Convince him that in order to recuperate from a stab wound he should take her and the boys on a week long vacation to Disney World crazy. Okay, maybe that last one meant he was crazy.
Jason tried to shake the thoughts of all the times Carly and her crazy schemes caused him to do something he would never normally do. There was the time he crawled through a sewer to find her engagement ring to Sonny, only to find out after trudging on his belly through human waste for a half hour that she had remembered she left it on the kitchen window sill. Then there was the time they chased the monkey through the jungle to find the antidote to a virus plaguing Port Charles and she injected herself with the illness. Thank God he found the antidote in time. She really scared him with that one.
"You know, I would do anything for her." He said to himself as he stepped on to the tram to take him back to their three bedroom cabin he rented at Fort Wilderness.
As a special treat to Letecia, he rented her a room at The Polynesian so that she could get away from the boys and also allow her boyfriend, Reginald Jennings, to stay with her. After all, she deserved a vacation too. A break not only from the boys but from Carly. And surely Reginald needed a week away from the Quartermaines.
Looking at his watch, he realized he would not make the parade if he had to go all the way back to the cabin. He pulled his cell phone out and dialed.
"Letecia? Hey, it's Jason. How would you like the night off?...Good. Where are you and the boys right now?...Perfect. Wait there and I'll see you in a minute. I'll take the boys off your hands and you can go dancing with Carly or you and Reginald can go do something else. It's up to you. NO I didn't tell Carly that Reginald is here. I would never do that to you…Well just call her and say you are tired and turning in early instead of going dancing. It wouldn't be a lie necessarily as much as not the whole truth…Okay I'll figure out how to get over there and see you in a few minutes."
Jason hung up the phone and leaned over to the driver of the tram cars. "Hey, how do I get to the entrance to the Magic Kingdom from here? I need to meet my nephews over there in ten minutes."
"Well sir, actually I could drive you over there since I need to re-fuel the tram but I am not supposed to allow passengers through the back streets. The only other group of passengers on here are getting off at this next stop so you would be the only one on the tram until Fort Wilderness. I was going to re-fuel after dropping you off to start the parking lot tour. This place starts to empty around nine and I'll be running in circles till after midnight. If you can promise not to get me in trouble, I'll drop you off just outside the entrance. All you'll have to do is walk through a gate and you'll be on the side where guests are allowed at the entrance."
"Sounds good to me and trust me. I would certainly not get you in trouble for doing me this favor."
They rode the rest of the way in silence and Jason tipped the man for his help and walked through the gate the driver pointed to and pulled out his cell phone. Looking down to dial the number, he never noticed that Elizabeth and Cameron walked right by him.
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Cameron saw the man who kissed his Mommy on the lips standing in front of the turnstile to get into the Magic Kingdom. He tugged on his mothers arm to point Jason out to her but she didn't notice and then when he did get her attention he could no longer see Jason so he asked for a balloon instead.
Elizabeth complied since this would be their last day there. Once she paid for the overpriced balloon they walked down Main Street to find a good spot to watch the parade.
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Jason met up with Letecia and the boys and she thanked him for giving her the night off. She had called Reginald and they were going to take a boat ride around the lagoon and then have a late dinner in their room. Jason knew Reginald intended to ask Letecia to marry him and Jason wondered if tonight might actually be the night he proposed.
Once he and the boys were inside the park and headed down Main Street, Jason realized how stupid he had been to think that he would be able to find Elizabeth in this crowd. He wondered if he would ever be able to see her and explain that the girl she saw hugging him was his best friend and NOT his girlfriend. Then again, would she even care? It's not like she made any attempt after he kissed her to lead him to believe she wanted to see him again. In fact she ran from him which should be his first clue that she didn't.
However, something about the way she commented on their kiss and then how her eyes lit up when she first saw him in that bar told him that maybe she wouldn't mind seeing him again. He KNEW he wanted to see her again. She had not left his thoughts since he first saw her at the pool.
'I wonder if she took that job?' he asked himself. No matter where she was, be it moving to a new town with the new job or back in Colorado, he would gladly travel, and often, if given the chance to get to know her.
"Uncle Jason, can Morgan and I get ears with our names on them?" Michael asked.
"Ears?" Jason's scrunched up face told Michael that he had not been paying attention at all during their vacation.
"Yeah, like those." Michael said as he pointed to a girl in front of them with a pair of mouse ears on her head.
"I don't care but where would we find something like that?" Jason replied.
"Right there Uncle Jason" Morgan piped up pointing to a store on Main Street across from them.
Jason and the boys crossed the street never noticing Elizabeth and Cameron walking out of the ice cream parlor they had just been standing in front of the door to. They went into the 'Ear' store and purchased ears with names etched in them for Michael, Morgan, Kristina, Carly, Letecia, Spencer, Emily, Lila and even Sonny. The boys begged Jason to get some for himself but he adamantly refused. He was NOT wearing anything remotely like what the two boys currently had perched on top of their heads.
Looking at his watch, he knew they had twenty more minutes before the parade was to start. "Where do you boys want to watch the parade from?"
"There's an open part of the sidewalk right there. Let's sit there." Michael offered as he pointed up the street a few yards.
"Sit on the sidewalk?" Jason asked turning his nose up at the garbage and germs that must be there.
"Sure Uncle Jason" Michael responded.
"Okay, if you say so." Jason responded walking along as Morgan dragged him by the arm.
Once they got to the open spot, Jason could not believe his eyes. Standing there attempting to capture the same empty area was Elizabeth and Cameron Webber. Silently sending a prayer of Thank you's to the Heavens, Jason looked down and smiled.
"Hello again" he said in his sexy baritone voice.
"Oh, hi" she responded slightly colder than intended but still conveying the message.
"Jason, I saw you out there" Cameron pointed "I tried to tell Mommy you were here but she didn't listen." The boy finished shaking his head right to left.
"Well, I am glad I ran in to you two." Feeling Morgan pulling on his hand as he peeked out from the side of Jason's pants, he looked down and smiled "Um, Morgan, Michael…this is Elizabeth and Cameron Webber. I met them at the pool today while you and your Mom and Letecia were here. Cameron, Elizabeth…these are my NEPHEWS Michael and Morgan Corinthos."
A smile bloomed across Elizabeth's face but then quickly disappeared. "Letecia?" she asked cautiously.
"Their nanny. I hired her when Michael was a baby. Carly, MY BEST FRIEND, was unable to care for him when he was first born so I hired Letecia to help me." He answered quickly.
"So who was the woman I saw you with at the Contemporary? Your girlfriend?" she asked wondering who the leggy blonde that draped herself all over him was. And if she was his girlfriend, then why had he kissed her until her knees went weak at the pool earlier today. He sure didn't seem like the kind of cad that would do something like that if he were involved with someone else.
"Uncle Jason? Since when did you have a girlfriend? I never knew you with anyone except Aunt Courtney and you two got divorced a long time ago." Michael asked turning his attention back away from the woman and child he had just been introduced to and toward his Uncle.
The boy was a savior. Far beyond his twelve years. He explained perfectly and Jason could see the relief wash over Elizabeth's face as soon as she heard the pre-teen elaborate. Jason smiled and keeping his eyes on Elizabeth he said, "I don't have a girlfriend Michael and you are right, I haven't dated anyone since your Aunt Courtney and I got divorced TWO years ago."
"Oh" was her only response. Then the smile that he felt down to his toes came back out beaming like a beacon in the night.
"Mommy, can I have a hat like they have?" Cameron asked and before she could respond Jason jumped into action.
Picking up the little boy he said, "Do you know how to spell your name?"
"Yes C-A-M"
"Cam? I don't think that's all of the letters buddy." Jason said puzzled and looking over to Elizabeth.
"I call him Cam for short. Really all of us do, his teachers at pre-school, my Grams, my brother Steven. I just never taught him to spell the rest of his name yet but we are working on it aren't we Cam?" she said as she tickled his stomach eliciting a bout of giggles.
"Then Cam it is. I'll be right back. Will you keep an eye on Michael and Morgan? Oh, and don't sit down anyone. I want to find something for you to sit on instead of this dirty ground."
Dropping the boy down to the ground and seeing that Elizabeth nodded affirmative to his request to keep an eye on his nephews he turned on his heel and headed back toward the store that sold the hats. While inside, he made his request and then moved over to the General Store next door and bought two Disney blankets. When he returned to the hat store the man had just completed his order and as he walked out the door he heard the sound come through the speakers announcing the start of the parade.
Once he got back to the group, Jason pulled the two blankets from the one bag and he and Michael spread it out over the curb. Then he pulled the hat with the ears attached that said CAM on the back of it. The little boy thanked him and Jason gave him a smile and a wink.
"Let's sit down. Morgan can sit on my lap and Michael and Cameron can sit beside us so we all should fit." Jason suggested and they all moved to sit down. Michel went to sit between Jason and Elizabeth and Jason grabbed the boys arm and pulled him to his other side. Michael gave him a puzzled look that lasted mere seconds before the bloom of an 'aha' crossed his face and the red haired boys cheeks instantly became equally as red as his hair.
Once they were all settled on the curbside, Jason reached back into the bag and pulled out a pink hat with ears and a red with white polka dot bow that said ELIZABETH on the back. He plopped it on top of her head and she smiled at him. They watched the parade in silence as the boys became animated with each character that walked or rode by.
Feeling at ease, Jason slowly slipped his arm around Cameron and pulled him onto his lap along side Morgan then grabbed Elizabeth with his free arm around the waist and tugged her closer. She looked over at him and he gave her a wink. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her.
'This is the most magical place on earth, and I pray the magic never ends.' Jason thought as she watched the parade go by and he watched her.