Chapter 51 : Yosemite
"Time to get back to work, I'm afraid…" He whispered as he dropped a last kiss on Chris's lips.
"Seems so…" She dragged out one last ardent kiss from her husband before doing her hair quickly and putting her sweat on.
"See you tonight, babe." He told her as he left discreetly the room.
She threw him her jacket as he closed the door. He knew too well she was not fond of little nicknames and he did it anyway. Just to annoy her. And she liked this. It must have been the definition of love.
Today was their last day of work before they went on honeymoon. Their shift ended in 4 hours and they had so much to do again. Chris took a second to think about the last 5 minutes that had happened. She didn't regret to have hidden in the showers to share a long, warm and savage kiss with Jim. He gave her more strength for all she had left to do.
The last two weeks had been gruelling and they needed to rest, to escape from criminal world and focus on only the two of them. As they ended their shifts, 20 and 50-Squad went to say them goodbyes.
"Have fun!" Kotonin, Chen and O'Rourke wished them to enjoy all moments before they ran to their vehicles to go home.
"For you!" Nora handed them a compass. "Just in case!"
"Thanks, Nora. Even if I hope we'll never use it." Chris joked.
"Just in case as I say. Must leave you a little boy is waiting for me. See you in 3 weeks!"
"No silly things, lovebirds." Rhokker irrupted from behind them.
"Not our type!"
"This is what all lovebirds say at the beginning, believe me, Street. I let you, my wife is waiting for me, we have a birthday party tonight. Keyla is 3!"
"Happy birthday to her!" Chris told before Rhokker left in a hurry.
"Leaving tomorrow?" Hondo asked.
"Yes, in the morning after we pack our stuff."
"Hey, Chris, be careful to this little boy, right? Want to find him back!"
"Don't worry, Tan, I'll look after him!"
"Hey, feel offended here. I'm not this carefree!"
"To others!"
"Thanks for the support, Luca!" Street faked to sulk.
"Always there, bro!"
"See you in three weeks, guys. We're gonna miss you!" Deac confessed.
"Will take care of these gentlemen for you, Chris!"
"Thanks, Alicia. Count on you to watch their steps." The two women laughed, letting the men grumbling.
They split up after talking for some more minutes and they joined their cars. Chris and Street had bags to pack not to leave too late next morning.
[…]
"Ready, J.? It's been one hour since you told me you were almost ready..." Chris told him, a little bit annoyed.
"Almost, ready, just time to take my hiking shoes and my little knife and oh, also the compass Nora..."
"Already in the bag, J. The little knife in the front pocket of your backpack, the compass is in mine and your hiking shoes are with mine in front of the door…"
"So I guess, we're ready!" He announced proudly.
"What I've been saying to you for the last half hour… Hurry or we're gonna be stuck in traffic jam!" Chris added while showing him the hour. Almost 8AM. It was already too late.
"Sorry…" He said, lowering the head. "I've totally fucked up this morning."
She tried to remain angry at him but his dimples and guilty look made her melt. She laughed. "Hurry, we may pass through the mess. Know some shortcuts."
"You do?" He asked with a cheeky look.
"Surprised?
"Not anymore when it comes from you." She wasn't expecting this answer and blushed before taking her bag and put it on her back.
"Ready?"
"This time, yes!"
They walked till Jim's bike and tied the bags on each side of it. Jim got on first, Chris sat just besides him, embracing his waist. Before leaving she gave him some tips to avoid LA big roads and cut through small neighbors and industrial estates to finally reach the mountains. From here, Jim knew where he was going. He studied maps for weeks now to decide of the most convenient roads. First Santa Clarita, then Bakersfield, Fresno and finally their goal. Almost 6 hours of road, made it seven because they will stop to eat something.
"Happy honeymoon, sweetie!"
"Don't ever call me like this or I swear I could hit you in the face!" Street couldn't restrain a snicker. "Ah ah ah very funny, honey!" She emphasized the last word of her sentence to annoy him. She knew he hated as much as her all these little nicknames involving food or animals.
"Ok, you win…"
"Like always, but thanks for reminding me this sweet memory!" She was jubilating. "And now, go and drive, man, come on, time to go on holidays!"
He obeyed her and moved the bike. He let out a smile under his helmet each time he felt Chris's hands on his torso despite his thick jacket. She liked being on a bike now. He had taught her to enjoy this kind of ride but she remained scared, probably because of this hit and run he was victim of a few years ago.
They got out Los Angeles easily thanks to Chris's tips and now enjoyed the large roads almost only for them. Most of the cars were driven in the other way. Back to LA, to the frenzy and busy life when they escaped it for the next three weeks. Chris, head against her husband's back, looked around her. First, the desert. Dry, infinite, full of mysteries. Then, as they came closer to their destination, desert vanished little by little to let place to green nature. Jim stopped the bike in front of a tiny BBQ restaurant.
"Time to eat!" He was proud to announce.
They took the road a few hours later and arrived at their hotel three hours later. It was a small, modest hotel. Nothing too posh and bling-bling. They both hated this. The lady at the reception desk took their names and asked them to wait for some minutes. She stood up from her chair and disappeared in the room behind her.
"This is for you, here are the keys of the room, here the towels and some chocolate as a welcome gift!"
"Thanks. " Chris and Jim told as the same time, taking the keys and towels.
"Dinner room is just over here and if you need anything, you just call 0 with your phone."
Chris and Jim whispered "thanks" once again and walked till their room. They dreamed about a hot shower and a good nap before going out around the hotel to discover the place.
[…]
She lifted her head first. She must have fallen asleep while reading the guide of the area. She looked for Jim before realizing that what she had taken for a pillow a few seconds earlier was in fact Jim's chest. He was slowly emerging from his nap too.
Everything was dark outside. She looked for her phone and turned it on. It was 3 in the morning. Their walk around the hotel will remain a vague memory. Her stomach growled reminding her they hadn't eaten last evening. She resigned herself and cuddled against Jim who hugged her.
"What time is it?"
"3…"
"In the morning?"
"Yes… Think we missed our spot to take a walk outside… And also dinner… Kind of hungry right now…"
"Me too…" His stomach growled too. "I may have a solution!" He kissed her hair, before getting up, letting his arms letting go of her body. He rummaged in his backpack and got out a pack of biscuits and two juice packs.
"Could help till the early morning!"
"Where did you get this?" She sat crossed-legged in the bed.
"Your niece left them at home when we looked after her last time."
As he sat next to her, she stole from his hands a juice pack and the pack of biscuits, making him laugh.
"You're dangerous when you're hungry!"
"Ah ah ah, Want some? Hurry or I eat everything!"
"Give me this!" He stole her the pack from her hands and opened it to take some biscuits. She took it from his hands quickly after this to take some too. She giggled. He did too. They talked about what they wanted to do tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next week. He unfolded the map on the bed, showed her all the loops they could do. She told him about what she had seen online. They decided on their road map, at least the most important spots not to miss. For the rest, they will improvise.
It was new for Chris to let herself be carried by randomness. She learned every day to be less in control and to appreciate some carefree time. Jim loved being the one in charge, seeing Chris taking some time for her, enjoying the little things of life.
"Maybe we should go back to sleep?" He asked shyly.
She nodded and smiled at him. "Yes, maybe…"
He laid down in the bed, pushing the map and pens on the ground. She did the same with the guides she had in hand and came quickly cuddle in Jim's arms. She shivered when he put his arms around her.
"Cold?" He told her, a little worried.
"No, just happy." He blushed, hearing her telling this and embraced her tighter. And before they could tell more they had fallen asleep again.
[…]
On the morning, they woke up slowly, taking their time. There was any rush. They were on holidays. No alarm clock, no shift, nothing that restrained them from doing what they wanted. On their first day here, they decided to take all the time they needed to discover the place. Yosemite National Park was so huge, they had plenty of things to see.
"Before deciding what we're gonna visit, would you agree to have breakfast? I'm starving." Jim offered.
"Me too. The last one ready loses and the other chooses the hike of the day?"
"Deal!"
As Jim ended his sentence, they both jumped out of bed and ran to their bags to grab their clothes. Both in a hurry, they put their clothes to be the one waiting for the other first. Chris chose to wear the overalls, it saved her time. And it worked, she was the one in front of the door, waiting for Jim to put his checked shirt.
"I win!" She giggled, jubilating to be the winner.
"Guess I can forget about strolling along the Merced River, right?"
"Totally! We're going to the Glacier Point today!"
"But don't overjubilate too long, we'll go for this walk along the river!"
"Yes, I know that but not today, because I won!" He loved to see her so playful, so joyful, all smiley.
"Ok, ok, I must admit, I lost. So we're even now?" He gave her a large grin.
"Maybe… I don't know, we'll see."
After breakfast, they went back to their room and took their backpack, maps and guides before hurrying to the bike. It was still early. Jim drove till Glacier Point and parked the bike next to the information center.
"Back in a few minutes, I'll go and look for some info inside."
"Ok!"
Chris stayed for a while next to the bike and finally decided to get closer to the point of view. They were lucky. It was early and it was mid-spring and tourists were not back again. She enjoyed being with only a few people to read all the information signs.
"All alone?" Chris was surprised by the question coming from her right. She turned to discover a couple of retired people, just next to her.
"Oh... No… My husband is inside the center, getting the latest info."
"This is great, you're not alone, woods and nature can be scary for a lonely woman like you." She smiled politely at this nice, old man who was coming from another age. A time when women couldn't defend themselves by their own means.
"Hey, you're here!" Street emerged from behind her.
"Oh you should be the husband…" The man said.
"Yes, Jim. Nice to meet you."
I was telling your wife it was good she was not alone in here, she needs to be protected."
Jim started to laugh. "Sorry, no offense, not against you, but if there's something my wife doesn't need, it is to be protected. She can do this on her own. Believe me, she's even better than me at this. Real badass."
The old man seemed confused for a few minutes, processing what Street had just told him.
"If you excuse us…" Jim pushed Chris so they could walk towards the start of the trail. The floor of Yosemite Valley was waiting for them.