IMPORTANT: Reread the end of the last chapter; I have made some changes.
It was finally the weekend, and it was time for Josie's trip with her parents. Jack and Rose had spent the previous day packing up their things and getting ready for the trip. Rose also made some snacks with the supervision of Maddie, of course, the master chef.
Finally, it was the day of the trip. Rose was excited; as much as she already felt like she knew Josie, she didn't get to spend this much time with her before. And finally, the day was here. Jack and Rose got into the car and drove to Josie's apartment to pick her up. They left the car, rang the doorbell to the apartment, and Josie let them inside. Wow, she had a nice apartment. "Ready to go?" Josie asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Jack said, leading everyone out to the car. They would be driving Josie's car, since they had done that every year. Josie got into the driver's seat, and Jack told Rose to sit next to her in the passenger seat. Jack took the backseat for himself. Josie drove away, and put on her favorite music in the car.
"So what's the plan?" Rose asked.
"Well, we're gonna drive up, and stop for coffee on the way, of course. And we'll probably take some pictures if life treats us right," she looked at Rose. "I don't like it when road trips are just about the drive, and you don't get anything from the drive other than the destination. I like making the journey itself fun. Because that's what life's about."
Jack laughed. "Wow, Josie. That was deep," he joked.
"Seriously though. We've had some fun car rides," Josie said. "Hey, can we stop for coffee?"
"Sure," said Jack.
Josie drove over to their favorite coffee shop, and ordered three coffees. She handed Jack and Rose their coffees, which was met by a weird look from Rose. "What, you don't expect me to know your coffee order? Trust me, you knew mine too." Rose smiled in response.
Josie was driving for about five minutes before she looked at Jack. "I'm already tired of this, can you take over?"
"Sure," Jack responded. "You're giving me total whiplash."
"I'm actually a good driver," Josie said. "It's just that when I'm driving alone, I will make last minute decisions and give myself whiplash. But now you guys are here, and I have to drive like 25 on the freeway. And having your hands on the wheel just feels wrong. It's my wheel, and my whiplash."
"Yeah, I'm fine just sitting here."
"No, you're driving though," Josie said with an awkward smile.
In the end, Josie just kept driving. They drove for about an hour before Josie's car phone started ringing. "I think it's Nate." Josie answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey it's me," said the voice, which was, in fact, Nate's. "How's the drive going?"
"It's going well. You're on speaker and my parents are in the car."
"Okay, no problem," said Nate. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson." They both said hello, and Nate said, "Josie, I left a book in your apartment. Is it okay if I head over there and grab it?"
"Of course," said Josie. "Hey, what happened with Mitchell?" Mitchell was Nate's father.
Nate sighed. "Nothing good. But don't worry. We'll sort this whole thing out. I promise."
"I know," Josie said. "It's just so sudden. I hate not knowing."
"I know, and I'm trying to take care of it. Listen I have to go. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye." Josie hung up the phone and was greeted by looks from both of her parents.
"What was that about?" Jack asked.
Josie realized she couldn't hide it from them any longer. "I went over to their house for dinner with Nate to meet his parents. We got there, and Nate's mother immediately started talking about how her children were both dating unsuitable matches. She told Nate, in front of me, that I wasn't good enough to be a Livingston. And, of course, this was absolutely ridiculous, since Nate and I are nowhere near getting married. We've been dating for two months!"
"And what did Nate do?" Rose asked.
"He grabbed my hand and walked out. But then a few days later, Nate's father found me and apologized, telling me what his wife did was inappropriate. He told me I seemed like a bright girl with lots of potential. But then he told Nate it was time for him to go to London and learn about the family business. For a whole year."
"What did Nate say?" Jack asked.
"Well did he told his father he was being ridiculous, but it didn't matter. His father said that if he didn't go, he would cut him off. And it's not just that Nate wouldn't live the first class life anymore. He wouldn't be able to be in college, he would have nowhere to live."
"You should call Nate's parents and confront them. Gently, but still confronting them. Just say that you don't understand what you did to cause them not to like you, and ask how they and Nate can make an agreement so he can finish college, and learn about the family business while staying in the country."
"That's a good idea. Thanks Dad." Josie pulled into the rest stop. Jack and Rose got out of the car and waited for Josie.
"You guys go in. I'm going to call the Livingstons. I'll meet you in there." Jack nodded, and he and Rose went into the rest stop.
Jack and Rose stood inside the rest stop, talking. "I feel so bad for her," Jack said.
"They can't win, though," Rose said. "If Nate loves her back, his parents don't stand a chance."
"Yeah, unless he's that afraid of them."
"Well let's just hope that's not the case."
Just then, Josie walked through the door. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were soaked with tears. Jack saw her walk in first, and walked over to her with outstretched arms. Josie leaned in and put her head on her father's shoulder and sobbed quietly. Jack wrapped his arms around his daughter and just let her cry it out. It's all he could do to help her.
A/N: Before anyone asks, yes, some of the driving scene came from an Emma Chamberlain video. I recently watched her road trip video with her dad and was inspired :)