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"It's time guys," Kurt said aloud returning to the hotel room, coffee in hand. Had he been told yesterday morning that the return trip was going to involve spending the night in a New York hotel room with his ex-wife, he wouldn't have believed it. Yet that is perceisely what had happened.
They were on friendly terms. They were friends in fact! Not best friends, but good friends. So he had tried to convince himself it wasn't awkward at all. What could possibly be awkward about sleeping in the same room with your ex-wife after eleven years.
Carey approached from behind him, exiting the bathroom. Just out of the shower, she still wore a white bath towel in her hair to keep her clothes from getting wet. She squeezed passed Kurt, and flicked the lights on. "Time to get up. Let's go," she spoke over tired groans.
They weren't getting any sympathy from her this morning, she was exhausted. Though admittedly, she was the type of person to occasionally have trouble sleeping even in the best of conditions. It wasn't a serious problem, but she had definitely picked up the family insomnia gene, if there was such a thing.
However, the five of them spending the night in a small hotel room intended for four people certainly wasn't an ideal sleeping arrangement. Especially when one of those people was your ex-husband. And it wasn't that he was a bad person, he wasn't. They were just so different. She didn't understand why she was feeling so tense though, she had known the guy for years. It was just an odd situation, one which she would have preferred to avoid.
Hearing Zack and Woody up whispering half of the night hadn't helped her much either, but at least she wouldn't be the one driving.
Cody stood yawning, then stretched peacefully. "Ah," he sighed lightly taking a moment to lookout the window. There wasn't much of a view anymore, now that he wasn't aboard the SS Tipton, but he did his best to enjoy it nonetheless.
Kurt sat down at the small table, which was shoved up against the wall next to the bathroom door. He opened his old laptop, and continued drinking his coffee as he stared straight ahead at the map on his screen.
Carey pulled the towel from her hair, dropped it into the bathroom, and brushed her hair before packing up several last minute items. "Come on guys," she reminded them a few moments later. Zack growned again, but remained motionless on the roll away bed. While Woody, fast asleep on the sofa, had the sheet pulled up to his eyebrows, leaving only a mop of dark curls visible on the pillow case.
Cody continued getting ready, pulling off his plain white shirt, and replacing it with a solid black one. Next he grabbed a pair of clean boxer-briefs, khaki pants, and a green button down shirt with a collar. On his way to the bathroom, he also grabbed his comb and toothbrush. Looking back at Zack and Woody he said, "I guess no one else needs the bathroom?" He paused a second still staring in silence. "No? Huh, it's just like school." He mumbled entering the bathroom.
"Guys," she said sitting down on the edge of Zack's bed. "I know it's early, but come on. A couple hours in the car, and we will be in Boston."
Cody returned from the bathroom looking refreshed, and ready to leave. He quickly packed his laundry into segmented sections of his suitcase before finally looking up at his mother. At least she appeared to be making progress. Zack was sitting up now.
"Cody, will you wake Woody?" Carey asked. Cody nodded, walking towards his sleeping friend.
"Woody," Cody said as he approached the sofa. He rolled his eyes at the lack of response. This was the kind of thing you got used to when sharing a bedroom with Zack most of his life, only to end up as Woody's roommate during high school. "Woody," he said a bit louder. "It's time to get up."
"It's not like I did my homework," Woody mummbled.
At that, Cody had to laugh. "This time, I didn't do my homework either," he told him, which seemed to get his Woody's attention. His eyes opened, and the sheet fell to his nose, then slowly progressed to his chin. "Boston, remember?" Cody reminded his confused friend. "We're officially high school graduates. No more homework, unless you're considering college. I wouldn't mind helping you apply. I uh," he continued somewhat more glumly. "I have a few applications to fill out myself."
The look of bewilderment left his face in an instant. He sat up taking only a moment to realize that everyone was ready to go except for Zack and himself. "Dang it!" Woody exclaimed standing immediately. "I'm sorry," he said as he scrambled through his stuff, ultimately taking his entire duffle to the bathroom.
Cody raised his eyebrows, "that was odd," he said quietly, but shrugged it off. Woody was typically layed back, but he could also be a little eccentric sometimes.
"Your fine Woody," Carey called after him. More quietly she asked, "Was he wearing a backpack? Did he wear a backpack to bed?
"I think he just grabbed that huge duffle bag," Cody replied thinking back to what he had seen.
"No," Carey shook her head. "I mean that green backpack from yesterday."
"Yeah, he wouldn't part with it at the game yesterday either," Kurt whispered spinning toward them in his chair. Thankfully, his morning coffee seemed to be doing the trick. "So the kid has backpack issues. I thought he was a little weird. Different takes you places." He made an attempt at tossing his empty coffee cup into a nearby trashcan, but it hit the rim and fell to the side.
"That explains the smell," Cody replied conversationally as he tossed his fathers empty coffee cup into the trash. Kurt eyed him. "Oh, not that, I was referring to that old green backpack. It's filthy!"
"I'm a little concerned," Carey said seriously.
"It's Woody," Cody explained. "We'll just have to make a showering sche..."
"Leave it alone," Zack said defensively cutting their conversation short. "It's a backpack, big deal, and Cody's gotta blanket. Can we move on? There's nothing weird ab..." he stopped mid sentence. Great, now they were staring at him like he was some kind of lunatic. "I'm up, I'm up," he went with an abrupt change of topic, trailing multiple blankets on the floor behind him, then kicking them away as he grabbed random clothing garments from his suitcase. "Now can I have a little privacy here? I've gotta change."
"Sure," Carey replied rising to her feet, but are you ok?"
"Yeah, sorry," he said. "I'm just tired." Carey knelt down on the floor beside Kurt somewhat uncomfortably to look at the map, while Cody merely turned away, standing guard in the short walkway.
"I don't see why we couldn't just keep going last night." Zack complained as he got dressed. "We'd be in Boston by now, and there'd be no reason to wake up early."
Woody exited the bathroom. "He's getting dressed," Cody gestured behind him.
"Nah, it's cool," Zack replied. Cody and Woody returned as Zack was pulling on his shirt.
"Are you decent?" Carey asked more cautiously. When they were younger, she had always been the type to enter their bedroom without knocking. She hadn't meant to disturb their privacy, but she was a single mother raising energetic twins in a hotel. She had always been protective of them, perhaps overly so. Now though, she knew that she would have to learn to allow them the appropriate level of privacy. Allowing the twins to attend high school on the SS Tipton had not only been a learning experience for them, but for her as well. She had to allow them to grow up.
She could only hope that they had learned about the need others have for privacy. Absolutely no more inviting friends into the bathroom while she was showering! How many times had that happened? She hadn't kept count. Clearly, leaving the bathroom door unlocked in case of emergency had meant something much different to her than it had to them at the time. Asking if their friends Tapeworm and Max could stay for dinner was not a valid reason for the four of them to show up in the bathroom while she was showering.
"Yep, am now," he replied. Normal activity resumed about the crowded hotel room as Zack packed up his belongings.
"Do you realize how hard it is to recover from sleep dept? It's practically a universal epidemic!" Cody exclaimed to his twin.
Carey smiled at them. They were so grown up. It had happened so fast!
"Wait a second, debt?" Woody asked looking away from the over stuffed duffle he was attempting to zip. "You have to pay for sleep?"
"No, no," Zack replied shaking his head. "Mom had a voucher for this place," Zack replied. "We slept here free."
"Guys," Cody said in exasperation. "Sleep debt is caused by getting less sleep than the body requires. We learned about this in Science class and Psychology class."
"Huh," Zack replied. "I must've been sleeping." He in Woody both laughed, and Cody rolled his eyes.
"Anyway," he continued. "The debt is not financial, it's physiological."
"Physio what?" Woody asked.
"Physiological," Cody repeated, continuing his explanation. "Sleep deprivation can build up quickly, but the harm it causes to the brain and other vital organs can't be repayed overnight. It's a serious problem! That's why I try to get between eight and ten hours of sleep each night."
"That's why we couldn't even make it out of New York after the Yankee game? Because you needed your beauty sleep?" Zack asked.
"When your old and tired you'll..." Cody cut himself off. "Mom? Are you alright?" He asked seeing the almost tearful expression on her face.
"My boys, my boys," she said hugging them both. The twins felt themselves being squished together in one of her famous mom hugs.
"Ugh, mom," Zack whined.
"So grown up," she told them. "I can't believe my high school graduates. Seems like only yesterday you..."
"Mom," Zack groaned again turning in her embrace. "C'mon, not the tears."
"We love you mom," Cody hugged her.
As Cody pulled away, Zack leaned in to hug her as well. "I love you mom," he told her.
She had calmed in an instant. It was as if Cody knew exactly what to say and do. If he had been more like Cody, would he not have lost Maya? He shook the thought away, not allowing it any further consideration.
Woody sat on the edge of the sofa, backpack on, and duffle by his feet. Every family had problems, it was what he'd always believed. But here in front of him, his every belief about the family dynamic was shattering. Why couldn't he have been their brother too?
He looked down at his shoes. In his peripheral view he could see fat bulging from his stomach, his thighs, his calves. It was everywhere! Why had Addison always told him he wasn't fat? He was! Looking up at the twins again, he became more disgusted with himself. No wonder their mother loves them so much! The dirty blond hair, slim, but muscular. Both were gorgeous! Zack's muscles were better defined, probably because he was strong and athletic. Cody was somewhat thinner, but he had a brilliant mind.
That was why he couldn't be their brother. He was... Nothing. His thoughts lead to daydreams of his own family for a brief moment, but it didn't take long for his thoughts to darken and his daydreams to become nightmarish memories. He was visibly startled when Kurt called out.
"Everyone packed and ready?" Kurt asked. Each of them nodded their heads. "Alright, everything out to the car then. We'll hit the first drive through we see."