Charlie IV

Chapter 23

"Are you ready for this?" Rick asked Kate as he drove toward New Orleans again. They were both betting the RV dealerships in that area would have the most number of options. It had taken two weeks to get the Fifth Wheel hitch and electronics installed which had cost Rick $1,500.

"Very ready. I like spending your money." Kate grinned at him and listened to him laugh. "So where are we going on vacation with this RV?" Kate was ready to begin planning. She still didn't know what she was going to do about school.

"I was thinking Vegas could be one of our stops. San Diego isn't that far from there but I was thinking maybe a stop in Lake Tahoe might be nice."

"So you want to throw your money away gambling, do you?" Kate sort of yanked his chain since Vegas did sound nice. Just not the gambling part. She didn't know what else Vegas had to offer.

"We could always get married while we're there," Rick teased right back.

"WHAT!"Kate shrieked and stared at him in shock.

He grinned at her for a moment before turning back to watching where he was going. "That got your attention."

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Kate scolded. "I'm not getting married in Vegas. If I don't let my dad walk me down the aisle he'll kill me. And Mom will hunt me down and kill me if I up and elope."

"Vegas has other things besides gambling and wedding venues. We could attend one of those shows."

Kate glared at him. "The topless one, you mean?"

"I'm a guy. I happen to like tits, especially yours. One of these times I'm going to have to try and give you a breast orgasm. You can go to that Camelot show instead."

"Is that even possible?" Kate was stuck on her breast orgasm. Lord knew he had found areas of her body that she didn't even know where sensitive zones.

"That's what I'm going to find out one of these days. As for Tahoe, I don't know. It's supposed to be pretty. San Diego has an award winning zoo we could tour."

"It sounds nice but we're not getting married in Vegas. At least not this trip," Kate told him now that she couldn't take her mind off of getting married to him in the first place.

"So are you telling me that you would marry me?" Rick challenged her.

"Maybe." Kate tried to sound noncommittal about marrying him anywhere. "Drive, Babe, we have money to spend." However, she was grinning. He was willing to marry her. She hadn't scared him off yet and she didn't want to.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Welcome, are you two looking for a Fifth Wheel?" A salesman had spotted them walking around.

"We are," Rick replied. "I have a half ton truck so it can't be too big. After that I'm not really sure."

"I have a few I can show you. Follow me, please." He led them to a different area. They were looking at the really big Fifth Wheels.

"We're going to start with this one. This is the StarCraft Telluride."

Rick shook his head. "Too big."

"I have other options, come this way, please." He took them a short distance. "This one is the Flagstaff Super Lite. Almost 37 feet long, 3 slide outs in total. Fifty-four gallons fresh water, 80 gallons gray water, and 50 gallons black water.

"This is your exterior storage. It's called the basement and it's a pass-thru to the far side." He opened it for them.

"It even has a light." Kate reached in and turned it on and back off again.

"Storage up front and more storage on the far side. Let me show you the motorized awning." He stepped inside and pressed a button to deploy it. "Eleven feet by 13 feet. Want to see inside?" He kept the door open and let them both go first.

"WOW!" It looked bigger than Kate expected. "It has an island and look at the size of that refrigerator." She opened it to look inside. "An oven, which is kind of small. Microwave. What's this?" Kate opened a door next to the oven. "A pantry!"

"Fireplace." Kate knelt down to turn it on.

"That will even put out heat if you want it to." He gestured to the island. "Your main heat comes from these vents."

"Nice big TV. Audio system." Rick commented on what he liked so far the most. "Seating with cup holders. Ceiling fan." Rick sat down and found out this loveseat had separate reclining seats. He relaxed and could still see the TV. That had Kate sitting next to him and doing the same.

"What else?" Kate was ready to move on and was up and went up the three steps. "Bathroom with some storage." It wasn't much but it had some. "Do you fit, Babe?" Kate stepped aside, let him enter the shower, and could see him take up most of the space.

"It's a little tight. But the skylight is well positioned," Rick noted.

"Bedroom." Kate moved on. "Looks like a queen bed. Dresser with drawers and a closet!" She slid it open and saw more storage next to it.

"The bed lifts up and has even more storage," the salesman said as he demonstrated.

"TV and second A/C system for those hot days," Rick said with approval.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"This one is the Rockwood Ultra Lite. The same almost 37 foot length. Fifty-four gallon fresh water, 90 gallon gray water, and 90 gallon black water. This model has 4 slide outs and the same basement storage as the Flagstaff. The awning is a little bigger at 18 feet. Want to look inside?" He left the door open for them.

"WOW! This is different. Different colors, no island, same oven, smaller microwave, even the refrigerator is tiny." Kate opened the fridge and hated it.

"This one will run off of propane or electricity allowing for dry camping. The Flagstaff only runs off of electricity so you'll need hookups wherever you go."

"Another fireplace." Kate turned it on to test it.

"TV looks smaller too, A/C system." Rick sat down and passed up the booth to sit and eat at, remembering that the Flagstaff had a table with 4 chairs.

"These don't recline." Rick hated that.

"No, they don't," the salesman admitted.

"What's behind this door?" Kate opened it and saw something she didn't expect. "A bedroom!" That had Rick up to join her.

"It's a bunk room for the kids," the salesman explained. "The sofa turns into a bed." He watched Kate and Rick convert it into a bed and back again.

"What's behind this door?" Kate opened it. "A half bath!" This was interesting.

Rick looked around the room. "No A/C and no TV in this room."

"No, it doesn't have either of them." That might be a problem for them. Worse, they hadn't said anything about them having kids.

"What else?" Kate was ready to move on. "Bathroom, can you fit, Babe?" The shower looked even smaller since it was a rounded corner unit.

"Bedroom with a queen bed, almost no storage." The main closet was tiny.

Rick frowned. "Second A/C and no TV at all and no where to plug one in."

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

The salesman had left them to talk about it. "One was too much weight so we skipped it," Rick mentioned.

"The last one has a room for kids to sleep in. Kids we don't have. I'm too young to have kids. I want to finish school first and at least get a job." She left off not even being married since she was thinking they would be eventually.

"That kinda leaves just the Flagstaff," Rick pointed out.

"Island, massive pantry, big refrigerator, fireplace, more bedroom storage than even I know what to do with. I did see a washer/dryer hook-up in that closet I loved," Kate said.

"Two A/C units and two TVs. A loveseat with dual recliners and a sofa. I suppose a table and 4 chairs is fine," Rick said with a thoughtful nod. "It's even bigger than the trailer I was living in back in LA, so plenty of room for Charlie. It was only 27 feet long."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Kate queried.

"The Flagstaff or we leave and go look somewhere else." It was all Rick had.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Have you folks reached a decision?" He was hoping he had a sale with these two.

Rick nodded. "Yes, we'll take the Flagstaff."

"Great choice! Let's get you all signed up, hooked up, and on your way home," he told them since he was pleased.

"Where is Laurel, Mississippi?" He had no idea.

"About 2 hours north from here up the Interstate," Rick replied.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"How does it feel?" Kate asked him once they were on the Interstate headed home.

"I'm definitely towing something. I can feel the engine struggling just a little. It feels different as well. Now I need to learn how to back into a parking space. That should be fun." Rick wasn't looking forward to learning how to do that and listening to Kate laugh wasn't helping any.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Rick had to remember to make really wide turns since he had something big and long behind him as he pulled up in front of the house now that they were home. The driveway was just too difficult to even try for now.

"Looks like Mom and Dad are gone. Probably at work. Can we leave it out here overnight?" Kate questioned him.

Rick looked it over. "Probably not. Might as well move it to the storage space we know about now. We can bring your parents out to see it when they get home." Both of them got back in his truck and he drove to the storage space.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"YOUR OTHER LEFT!" Kate was trying to help him back up into the space they were assigned. She was starting to feel for him. He kept turning the wheel the wrong way while backing up, pulling forward to start all over again. But he finally made it.

"Well that was fun," Rick grumbled and listened to Kate laugh. They had just been given a glimpse of their future.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Flagstaff." Jim read the name on the front as he and Jo got out of their Explorer to look this Fifth Wheel over. "Isn't that a city in Arizona somewhere?"

Rick opened the door and let them go inside to look it over. Kate opened the refrigerator and grinned and then grinned even wider when she showed off the size of the pantry.

Jo turned the switch on the fireplace to see it but turned the switch back off. It didn't work. Then she realized there was no electricity to run it.

"Do you even fit in this shower, son?" Jim asked Rick after they made it to the bathroom.

"Barely, that might be the only downside this unit. It does have motorized automatic leveling stands so I don't have to crank them down." Rick loved that part.

Next Jim and Johanna were lying side by side on the bed to test it out.

"Washer/dryer connections, Mom." Kate opened her precious closet to show them off. She didn't know how they were going to get one or even get it installed but there had to be a way.

"You just had to get a Fifth Wheel, didn't you? How are we supposed to tow it when we want to borrow it?" Jo asked.

Kate grinned at them. "Buy a truck."

"Okay, for the big question. What did it cost you?" Jim queried and didn't see the look his wife was giving him for even thinking of asking that.

"I paid for it in cash, no payments this time – $41,995. It still leaves me with money to spend." Rick hadn't spent all of it. He hadn't spent all of it on the truck either so he was richer than he'd ever been in his life.

"That's good, because now you get to buy sheets, blankets, pillows, cookware, silverware, plates and glasses, chairs for outside, a BBQ grill, small kitchen appliances, cleaning supplies—" Jo was on a roll when Kate interrupted her.

"Really, Mom? We've barely even thought about where to take it." Kate glared at her. She was already trying to ruin it.

"Well I like it. Just figure out what you're going to do with it. It's not doing you any good just sitting here," Jim mentioned.

"We'll think of something, Dad," Kate responded.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"I noticed Katie did all the talking. We bought it. We're going to use it. We parked it there. We're going to figure out where to go with it." Jim waited for Jo to say something.

"I'm pretty sure they're involved with each other and maybe have been for weeks or longer." Then Jo shut him off at the pass. "Don't do something to ruin it for them, Jim."

"Who me?" Then Jim reminded her of one of Katie's supposed boyfriends during high school. "Have you forgotten about that guy she dated who had the biggest mustache and beard I've ever seen on anyone? I don't even know if he had lips for her to kiss let alone how he ate anything through that. Pretty sure he wasn't even in any school."

"Don't, just don't. I've been doing my best to forget that guy. Thank you very much." Jo glared at him for resurrecting that memory.

"That's what husbands are for," Jim razzed her.

Jo fought back. "OH so that's what they're for? Hmm..."

Jim wasn't done with her just yet. "Didn't your mother teach you that?"

Jo shook her head. "No, she didn't."

Jim raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and grinned. "She neglected your education, woman."

"That's enough, Jim. Thankfully Katie is past that phase. Rick isn't any of those awful men. He has a real job and he's a writer and making good money at both," Jo said in relief. A new truck and a new RV proved that easily enough.

"Do you know where his mother is?" Jim didn't remember. He only remembered that Rick didn't have a father growing up. Not a biological one, anyway.

"New York City somewhere. We're going to have to talk to him about that. She deserves to know what her son's doing." Jo really wanted to talk to her and maybe find a way to meet her.

"Sounds like your department. I'll leave that in your capable hands," Jim told her.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

Kate didn't hear typing so she entered his bedroom and saw him and a bunch of maps spread out all over his bed. "What are you doing?" There was nowhere to sit so she stood and looked down. He did at least have a pad of paper in his lap.

"I'm trying to figure out how much time we'll need to reach various places. A little over 1,100 miles to Vegas alone so that's about 3 days pulling a trailer. Plus however many days we stay there. Three hundred thirty-one miles from there to San Diego sounds like around 4 hours to me. Then from there to Lake Tahoe is another 500 plus miles or 10 hours. And from there to home is another 2100 plus miles so yet another 3 days.

"Sooo, basically 7 days driving alone plus however long we stay in each place. But say we remove San Diego and just go to Vegas and Lake Tahoe. That's 6 days easy just in driving plus however long we stay." Doing the math was what he had been doing.

"Ouch! How many days of vacation do you have?" Kate asked.

"Ten," Rick answered.

"That leaves us 4 days so 2 days at each place. It's summer so where else can we go besides those two places that might be closer?" Kate questioned him.

"Well, Key West, Florida is about 2 days. One day coming back we could stop at Disney World. Maybe a side trip to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina and then come home. Going east is closer," Rick replied since he had planned that out as well. "We could maybe add Savannah, Georgia to the trip. That's still about 6 days of diving."

Kate sighed since she wasn't used to planning trips. Her parents did all that for her.

"So one day in Key West, one day at Myrtle Beach, one day in Savannah, and one day at Disney. A lot of driving for one day," Kate said.

"All right. Since Key West and Myrtle Beach are basically both beaches we leave out one. If we skip Savannah we can add days to Key West and Disney," Rick suggested.

"Sounds better but in any case we'll be using up all of your vacation time for just one trip." She felt bad about that.

"Use it or lose it," Rick pointed out.

"When do classes start?" Not that she had even dealt with that problem yet.

"August sometime. I don't really know." He hadn't bothered to look that up.

"It's June now and it's only going to get hotter. Then classes will start. Do I get a vote?" Kate queried and saw the face he gave her. "Sorry." She had done some internal thinking and thought maybe she'd been pushing herself into his life too much.

"I would like to go west but that's just too far to drive and see that much. So I'm thinking Key West and Disney. Just two days in each location but that won't leave you any vacation time. Not even one day. What if Black Pawn wants you in New York City or some place else that's far away to sign books?" Kate asked.

"They get to work around my weekend off to make it work like before. They don't like it, tough," Rick answered. "Do you want to go with me next time?"

"YES!" Kate didn't need a second to answer that question.

"I can ask when they ask. It's the best I can do," Rick told her.

"I'll let you plan it but Mom's right, sadly. We need everything for the trailer. It's empty of everything. We probably can't even make toast if we even had bread to make toast with." Kate hated it when her mother was right. She just loved to say I told you so.

[:] o-0-O-0-o [:]

"Katie, have you made a choice about college? Your father and I really are sorry about Stanford. We know it hurts to lose one's dream. But it doesn't mean your life is over. It's just changed. You still have us and Rick and Charlie." Jo turned her head to look outside to see Rick throwing the ball for Charlie to chase down. That had Kate doing the same.

"No, but I really don't know what to do, Mom. I just don't."

Jo gave her some advice. It was what mothers did. "You could go to Jones County Community College. It's the closest. Use a semester and try something. If you don't like it then change it later to something else. You chose not to do babysitting jobs so maybe teacher isn't your best choice. But third graders aren't babies which I think was what you were trying to avoid. I'm pretty sure you took a biology class. Ask yourself how well that went. Maybe you'll like vet school. Lord knows you love Charlie.

"Now if you could just tell me that you loved Rick just as much, you would make me very happy."

"I am actually trying, Mom. Maybe this upcoming vacation trip will solidify that."

"You've selected a plan?" Jo inquired.

"Yeah, from here to Key West and on the way back we stop in Orlando to either go to Disney or Universal or maybe one day at each. We haven't worked that out just yet."

"Good, put that new RV to good use. I saw the size of that refrigerator. It's almost bigger than ours." Jo chuckled a little. Rick and Katie had made a wise choice in RVs. Now they just needed to put it to use or it was money wasted.