It had been a long, exhausting day. Roy had been on every rollercoaster the park had to offer. He was sure he was going to be having nightmares about this day for a long time to come. Joanne's broken wrist was aching. Johnny was still squishing from getting drenched on the rapids ride. Chris and Jenny were nearly asleep on their feet. All Roy wanted to do was go home. Johnny mumbled something about picking up packages and headed into what Roy hoped was his final gift shop. Johnny had picked out small gifts for everyone and had them sent to the front entrance to avoid carrying them all day. He emerged a few minutes later juggling all the bags. Finally, they could go home.
Outside the exit, Roy asked, "What row were we in Johnny?" His friend's blank stare did not bode well for a quick escape. "You do know where we parked?"
"Of course I know where we parked Roy. I even wrote it down so I wouldn't forget it. Just give me minute …" Roy rolled his eyes heavenward as Johnny began juggling the bags and trying to search his pockets at the same time. A second later, Johnny dumped all the bags on Roy.
"Here, hold these for a sec. I know I have the paper." Triumphantly, Johnny pulled a soggy square from his pocket. "See its right here!" Johnny slowly opened the folded paper and squinted at it.
"Well, what row are we in Johnny?"
"Gimme a minute, just gimme me a minute. It's a little dark here. " By now Roy's whole family was staring at Johnny.
"Johnny….. " Roy's tone was swiftly becoming impatient. Hearing this, Joanne reached around Johnny and snagged the paper. All Joanne could see were squiggles from where the ink had run. She turned it around to show to her husband. Luckily for Johnny, Roy's hands were still occupied with holding all of the purchases.
"Hey Roy, why don't y'all just wait right here while I go get the Rover?"
Johnny was gone before Roy could get what he thinking out of his mouth. The chances of getting home soon seemed pretty distant now. If there was a wall nearby, he would be banging his head against it. It seemed like such a great idea to ask Johnny along when Joanne had broken her wrist. He could ride with one of the kids while Joanne waited. It seemed like such a reasonable solution at the time, invite Johnny or be forced to cancel the trip. He should have known by now that Johnny and reasonable were usually not on speaking terms. Joanne slipped her arm around her husband and slowly led her family over to nearby bench to wait for Johnny's return.
"Mommy, is Daddy really mad at Uncle Johnny?" Jenny asked quietly.
Joanne stared at her husband as she replied, "No honey, Daddy is just grumpy because he's tired."
"That's good. I don't like it when Daddy when gets mad at Uncle Johnny. "
"I'm not mad at Uncle Johnny, Jen. I'm just tired like your mom said."
Who wouldn't be tired with three energetic kids at an amusement park, Roy thought, especially when one of the kids was so adept at finding new ways to get themself into trouble. At least they had managed to avoid a trip to the parks first aid building.
After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality was only half an hour or so, Johnny pulled up in the Rover with a big smile on his face. "Ya see Roy, I told you I knew where the Rover was."
"Uh huh, if you knew where it was, why'd it take so long to get back here? " Roy asked. Johnny started sputtering while everyone climbed into the jeep. Roy yawned and took pity on his friend, "It's alright partner. Let's just go home."
It was a quiet ride back to Roy's home. Joanne and the kids fell asleep before they even made it out of the parking lot. Roy started snoring a few miles down the road. Johnny just grinned. He was tired but it was the best kind of tired – the kind that comes from spending time with the people you loved and thoroughly enjoying your day. His smile got even bigger when he thought about how he made sure that they would never forget this day.
A little over an hour later, Johnny pulled into Roy's driveway. The sudden lack of motion was enough to wake Roy. "We're home already? I must have been more tired than I thought." Roy rubbed his eyes and continued, "Guess we'd better get inside before the neighbors complain about us sleeping in the driveway."
Both men got out of the rover, being careful not to slam the doors. "Jo. Honey, we're home." Joanne woke up slowly and mumbled something about unlocking the door so they could carry the kids in. As she headed up the porch, Johnny and Roy each reached for a kid. Jenny turned right into Johnny's neck without even waking. Chris on the other hand, woke up when Roy touched him. Declaring himself too big to be carried like a baby, he staggered into the house and up to his bedroom. He was fast asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Once Jenny was in her room, Joanne shooed Johnny out and started getting her daughter ready for bed. Roy didn't have the heart to wake Chris again and just pulled a blanket over his son after removing his shoes.
He headed back downstairs where he found his partner rinsing out his empty glass. "Johnny, you want to spend the night?"
"No thanks Roy, I'll just head on home now."
"You sure you're ok to drive? I don't want you falling asleep behind the wheel. "
"I'll be fine. I got my second wind now," Johnny said. "I'll see you at station. Night, Roy. Give Joanne and the kids a kiss for me."
"Johnny you call me when you get home. I want to make sure that once I fall asleep, I won't be woken up by any calls from Rampart informing me my partner was involved in an accident."
Seeing how tired his partner was, and knowing if he hung around much longer he would be taking Roy up on his offer, Johnny quickly agreed and headed out.