CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
(chapter title - Thanksgiving Vacation)
Back on the beautiful MSU campus, Jules was out taking a walk with John. Ever since she had been released from the hospital two days earlier, she had just relaxed and had done what the doctors had told her to do. She didn't have HIV - thank God. She had a serious enough cold that had made her fever soar to dangerous heights. She was on several medications, just to make sure that her fever wouldn't come back.
"So, Jules, what do you think of your dad getting married to Crystal?" John asked, squeezing Jules' hand tighter. She smiled and squeezed his hand back.
"I'm so happy to see him in love again, that's all that matters. I've met Crystal and I think she's a wonderful match for him." Jules told him, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek.
"I can't wait to go back to the loft. I haven't seen dad, Caitlyn, Destiny or Jason in a long time." John said, putting an arm around Jules' waist. Jules nodded and rested her head on John's shoulder.
"I just can't wait to see my dad and Crystal." Jules said.
"Your dad's almost done with his album, right?" John inquired. Jules nodded and sighed.
"Too bad Eileen isn't joining us for Thanksgiving." John said. Eileen was going to be spending Thanksgiving with Adam and his family.
"I know. Dad would've loved to see her again." Jules told him. John nodded. The two of them finished their walk in silence and headed back to the dorms.
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Meanwhile, Adam and Eileen were packing in their separate rooms, getting ready for Thanksgiving break. Eileen was spending two wonderful weeks with Adam and his family. She had phoned Mark the previous day to let him know of her Thanksgiving plans. Mark had told her to have fun, but not too much fun.
"You ready?" Adam asked, coming into Eileen's dorm room. He was dressed in a red sweater and blue jeans.
"Yeah, I am." Eileen answered, swinging her large blue duffel bag over her shoulder and walked out of the room, shutting off the light behind her. She and Adam walked hand in hand to the student parking lot and got into Adam's car. Listening to Roger's CD all the way to Adam's house, they talked once in a while about their relationship and school.
"So, do you like horses?" Adam inquired.
"I love horses! How many do you have?" Eileen asked, bubbling over with excitement. Adam laughed at her enthusiasm.
"We have seven - four Quarter Horses and three Thoroughbreds. The Quarter Horse's names are Lola, Garrison, Magic and Lily. The Thoroughbreds' names are Red Rover, Long Summer's Day and Star Spangled Banner." Adam told her, turning onto a dirt road.
"Are they rideable?" Eileen inquired.
"Yeah - Lola, Garrison, Star and Magic are. My sister, Lynn, is working with Lily, Summer and Red right now." Adam informed her. They talked about the horses as they traveled further down the dirt road. I wonder how Jules and John are doing Eileen asked herself.
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"Jules! John! You're finally here!" Maureen squealed as the two of them came into the terminal lobby. She ran up to them and hugged them, Roger and Crystal right behind her.
"Daddy!" Jules exclaimed, breaking free of Maureen and running to Roger. He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. She kissed him back and turned her attention to Crystal.
"Hi, Crystal. It's good to see you again." Jules greeted the older woman.
"It's great to see you again, Jules." Crystal told her, hugging her.
"Where's my dad?" John asked, looking around for a sign of Destiny or Mark.
"I'm sorry, John, but your dad and Destiny are running errands and they took Sophia with them. All three of them will be at the loft once we arrive. Don't worry." Roger told him, hugging him and tousling his hair. He's looking more like Mark with each passing day Roger told himself, smiling at his best friend's son.
"Congratulations dad and Crystal. I hear that you two are engaged! That's wonderful!" Jules congratulated them.
"Jules? Could I talk to you for a second in private?" Crystal inquired.
"Umm, sure. Why not." Jules told her. Crystal smiled and pulled Jules away from the welcoming committee.
"I was wondering if you would like to be my Maid of Honor? Your dad and I talked about it and he said that you would be perfect for the job." Crystal told her.
"Of course I would love to be your Maid of Honor! I'm thrilled to pieces! Thank you!" Jules thanked the older woman, pulling her into a hug. Crystal smiled and stroked Jules' soft hair as she hugged her back.
"C'mon ladies! The train leaves the station in…now!" Maureen called as the girls walked back over. Both of them laughed as they went to the baggage carousel. John had told them to wait by carousel number five while he went to use the restroom.
"Whose dad's Best Man?" Jules whispered in Crystal's ear.
"Mark." Crystal whispered back. Jules smiled as she looked for her purple duffel bag and John's black duffel bag. She spotted her duffel bag making its way around the carousel. As soon as it was close enough to her, she grabbed it and set it next to her. Roger had gotten John's duffel bag, so they were good to go.
"We set?" John asked, walking back over to them. The group nodded and filed out of the airport - Maureen, Jules, Roger, Crystal and John bringing up the rear.
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"Here, let me get that!" Adam laughed as Eileen attempted to get Lola's bit in her mouth. The pure black Quarter Horse mare continued to throw her head higher and higher until it was out of Eileen's reach. Adam handed her Garrison's reins as he put Lola's bridle on her. Gary and Carolyn were joining them on Magic and Star. Lynn was with her husband, Stuart and his family for the holidays, so they would be seeing less of her throughout the two weeks that Eileen was with Adam.
"Here you go." Adam handed her Lola's reins.
"Thanks." Eileen smiled at him and led Lola to the riding arena. The four of them were riding Western, Adam's favorite style of riding. Gary and Carolyn were already mounted on Magic and Star. Magic tossed his head and snorted as Adam and Eileen entered the arena.
"Both of your horses are beautiful." Eileen praised as she mounted Lola.
"Thank you. Lola's a lamb, so I know that you'll like her." Carolyn told her, leaning over to pet Star's shoulder. The chestnut mare just closed her eyes and lowered her head.
"We ready to ride?" Adam asked, mounting Garrison and nudged the gelding into a walk. Lola followed, her tail swishing every so often at the occasional fly. Eileen laughed and followed Adam around the arena. For the next two hours, Gary, Carolyn, Adam and Eileen rode the horses at a walk, trot, canter and gallop. Eileen was so happy that she was having so much fun with her boyfriend and his family. She secretly longed to be with her family back in New York and wondered what they were doing at that very moment.
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"It's so wonderful to have you kids here with us." Mark was saying. Jules smiled and took a bite of her pizza. Destiny rested her head on Mark's shoulder and ate little of her pizza. Mark looked at her quizzidly and felt her forehead.
"Honey, you feel warm to me. Why don't you go lay down." Mark whispered in Destiny's ear. She nodded and gathered herself up and walked to the room she shared with Mark.
"I got a new movie that you guys might like." Mark said, standing up and walked over to the movie collection in a corner of the room. Picking up a red DVD case, he walked back over and put the disc in the DVD player.
"What movie is it, dad?" John asked, scooting closer to Jules. She smiled and sat in John's lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, as if he would never let her go.
"It's called Cars. I bought it for Caitlyn after she did so well in school. It's really cute, so I know you two will like it." Mark informed them, standing up. "You three can watch it, I'm gonna go to bed. See you in the morning." Mark bid goodnight to them and headed to his and Destiny's room.
"You gonna watch it with us, dad?" Jules asked, resting her head on John's shoulder. He kissed her neck and squeezed her shoulder. Crystal had gone to bed shortly after Maureen had gone to the loft next door where she and Sophia now lived.
"Yeah, for a bit, then I'm going to bed, too." Roger told them, sitting on the couch.
"Whose in this movie?" Jules inquired.
"Larry the Cable Guy, Paul Newman, Owen Wilson and Bonnie Hunt are some of the voices." Roger whispered as the opening credits came on. He then stood up and went to the room he and Crystal shared.
Jules fell asleep halfway into the movie. John lifted her out of his lap and put her on the couch, putting a throw blanket over her and going to his room to go to bed.
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"Here's where you'll be staying." Carolyn told Eileen, turning on the overhead light and walking into a room painted light blue with the ceiling sponge painted white so that it looked like clouds were on the ceiling. The room contained two closets, a bed with an old stuffed alligator on it and a chest of drawers.
"Thank you so much for everything." Eileen thanked Carolyn, setting her duffel bag down on the hardwood floor in front of the bed.
"You're so welcome, sweetie. Tomorrow morning, we're meeting Lynn, Stuart and their two kids - Jack and Tracie at the Pancake House, so don't stay up too late." Carolyn told her, smiling.
"Don't worry, I won't." Eileen reassured her, fishing around for her pajamas as Carolyn exited the room. As she changed and fell asleep, she thought of her loved ones in New York and what they were doing.
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Crystal turned over in her sleep and rested her head on Roger's exposed chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. She loved it when he held her close, she felt so safe and loved in his arms. She opened her eyes and looked at Roger's sleeping figure. I wonder what he's dreaming about she asked herself. She stayed awake for a little while so that she could watch him sleep.
Roger found himself standing on a stage, dressed in black cowboy attire - complete with a black ten-gallon hat and boots with spurs on them. He held his guitar and strummed a song that he only knew from the movie Cars and that song was called Route 66.
Mark, who was dressed in cream-colored cowboy attire, shot Roger a look that read 'what's up with the cowboy getup?' Roger smiled and shrugged his shoulders. He then strummed his guitar and stepped up to the mike, motioning for Mark to do the same. Mark strummed a chord on his banjo before playing the opening for Route 66.
"Well if you ever plan to motor west
Just take my way that's the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66." Roger sang.
"Well it winds from Chicago to L.A.
More than 2000 miles all the way
Get your kicks on Route 66." Mark crooned into his mike.
"Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri
Oklahoma City looks oh so pretty
You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino." the boys sang in unison.
"Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66" Mark sang.
"Well goes from St. Louie down to Missouri
Oklahoma city looks oh so pretty
You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona don't forget Winona
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino" they sang again in unison. Roger nodded his head for an instrumental break.
"Would you get hip to this kindly tip
And go take that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66!" Roger sang after a while. He and Mark stopped playing their instruments and ran off the stage, smiling at one another.
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"Get your kicks on Route 66..." Roger mumbled, turning over on his back.
"Roger, honey. Time to wake up." Crystal whispered into Roger's ear. Roger smiled and opened his eyes. She smiled back and kissed him passionately. He kissed her back, more deeply.
"We ready to go?" Crystal asked, getting out of bed and walking to her closet. Roger rolled his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He then walked over to his own closet and fished through his clothes, Crystal laughing at him.
"What?" Roger inquired, smiling at his fiancée. She just smiled wider and wrapped her arms around Roger's waist. He kissed her forehead and stroked her hair.
"Jules and I are going to do some womanly things after breakfast, is that okay?" Crystal asked. She wanted to spend some "quality time" with Jules, just to get to know her better.
"Of course. That's fine, in fact, I'm happy about it. Ever since Eileen went to spend Thanksgiving with Adam and his family, she's been sort of down in the dumps." Roger said, planting another kiss on Crystal's forehead. She smiled up at him, her hands working their way up his shirt. She loved the way his skin felt, so smooth and warm.
"Lovebirds! Let's go!" Mark called as he walked by their room.
"Coming Marky!" Roger jokingly called back. He heard Mark laugh as he made his way around the loft, waking the others up.
"Where are we going for breakfast exactly?" Crystal's question was muffled, she was taking off the oversized sleep shirt she always slept in and changing into a light blue sweater and jeans.
"I dunno." Roger shrugged his shoulders, taking his own shirt off and changing into a black sweater and jeans.
"Is Jules up yet?" Roger asked as Caitlyn came into the room. She smiled and nodded.
"That's good." Roger said, smiling.
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Meanwhile, Eileen was having trouble waking up. She wasn't used to waking up to a rooster crowing at six in the morning. She pulled the pillow over her head and went back to sleep.
"C'mon Eileen, sweetie. Time to wake up." Adam sat down on the side of Eileen's bed and gathered her in his arms. Eileen, still half asleep, smiled and rested her head on his forearm. Adam stroked her hair and kissed her neck. Eileen opened her eyes and looked up into the eyes of her beloved boyfriend.
"Hey honey." Adam smiled and kissed her forehead.
"Hey." she croaked, stretching and sitting up a bit in bed. Adam hugged her and stood up. He was dressed in a green plaid shirt, faded blue jeans and a cream colored ten-gallon hat.
"What time is it?" Eileen asked, standing up and going to her closet.
"It's six-thirty." Adam told her, walking behind her and putting his hands around her waist.
"So, what time are we meeting Lynn, Stuart, Tracie and Jack?" Eileen inquired, fishing through her closet for her favorite yellow top and a pair of jeans.
"We're meeting them in about an hour for breakfast." Adam informed her, letting go of her waist and heading out the door so that she could change.
Ten minutes later, Eileen walked into the kitchen to see a deserted house. A note on the counter caught her eye. Picking the note up, she read it aloud:
"Eileen, we're at the barn. Come down when you're ready - the Evans family." Eileen smiled and walked down to the barn, grabbing her jacket on the way out.
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"Are we going yet?" Caitlyn asked for the fourth time since she got up. Destiny sighed and continued to nurse Jason. Mark, Roger and Maureen had gone to make reservations at a restaurant called The Breakfast Club. Jules was taking a shower and John was holding Sophia. Crystal was sitting on the couch, reading a book. Destiny was in the nursery, nursing Jason and Caitlyn was in with Destiny, bugging her.
"Caitlyn, why don't you go play? Maybe after Jules gets ready, she'll play with you, all right?" Destiny suggested as she burped Jason. Caitlyn sighed and exited the nursery.
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"It's so good to finally meet you. Adam has told us all about you." Lynn said, shaking Eileen's hand. Lynn had shoulder-length light brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a red sweater that had a dancing Dalmatian on it and black pants.
"It's nice to meet you, too." Eileen told the older woman, smiling.
"Adam told me that you hope to do something with horses. That's wonderful!" Lynn told her as they sat down at a table at the Pancake House. Eileen ended up sitting next to Lynn on one side and Gary on the other. Adam was sitting across from her, which made her happy. He reached across the table and took her hands in his, squeezing them gently.
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After breakfast, Jules and Crystal headed to Macy's Department Store in downtown Manhattan.
"So, what do you want to do?" Crystal asked. Jules shrugged her shoulders.
"C'mon Jules! What's wrong?" Crystal inquired as tears came into Jules' eyes.
"I just miss Eileen, that's all." Jules confessed, sitting down on a bench. Crystal sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug.
"It's okay, sweetie. You'll see her in two weeks." Crystal soothed as she stroked Jules' hair and rubbed her back. Jules sobbed a little harder as she hugged Crystal back.
"Shh. It's okay. Calm down." Crystal whispered in Jules' ear. After a while, Jules calmed down.
"Sorry about that." Jules apologized.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about, honey." Crystal told her, handing her a Kleenex. Jules smiled and wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Feel better?" Crystal asked, standing up. Jules nodded and stood up, too.
"There's a beautiful carousel in the basement. Wanna go for a ride?" Crystal inquired.
"Yeah! I love carousels!" Jules informed her, excited. Crystal laughed and together, the two of them walked to the elevator, talking about everything and nothing.
A/N: don't own the lyrics to Route 66. 'nuff said
