Chapter 783: Damian's Cottage
Wednesday, March 29th, Morning
The morning started before sunrise. Damian Gannon got up and went for a quick two-mile jog. Once he was done, he came back to the hotel and took a shower. After getting dressed, he checked his watch. The movers should be at the house in a few hours.
He looked at the other bed and saw his sleeping daughter, Jordan, unmoving. Damian noted that she had finally started to sleep through the night, and the nightmares weren't waking her anymore. Damian hoped this move and his retirement would help her, and in some ways, he hoped it would also help him.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and gently shook Jordan. She grumbled and tried to swat at Damian's hand, but he backed away until she settled down and then returned to wake her up.
Jordan finally got up, grabbed some clothes, and went into the bathroom to shower. Damian busied himself with packing his stuff. For years, he had learned to pack and travel light, but Jordan not so much.
When the bathroom door opened, Jordan dressed and dried her hair. Damian nodded as he headed down to the car. They had gotten in last night and got to the hotel to sleep. After the long drive from El Paso to here, they were tired. It will be a long day, but today, they move into their new cottage.
Returning to the hotel room after loading the car, Damian found Jordan was almost done with her packing. She looked at her Dad.
"Almost ready?" Damian asked.
Jordan nodded, "I'll be finished packing soon," she said.
"I don't just mean packing," Damian said.
Jordan looked towards the window, "Is anyone really ready?" she asked.
Damian sighed, "I guess not, but we start a new chapter today," he said.
Damian shook his head, and his blue eyes met Jordan's gray eyes. He could see the tears welling up in his daughter's eyes. Damian stepped over to his fifteen-year-old daughter and embraced her. Jordan buried her face into her Dad's shoulder. Damian rubbed her back.
"It's going to be okay, Honey," Damian said.
"Is it Dad?" Jordan asked.
Damian exhaled loudly, "Eventually," he said.
"I feel empty inside," Jordan replied.
"So do I," Damian said, feeling his tears welling up.
Dad and daughter stood there for a few minutes, holding each other and crying. Once they were done, they separated, and Jordan grabbed one of her bags, and Damian grabbed her other two.
"Are you hungry?" Damiana asked.
Jordan nodded, "Yeah, a bit," she said.
"I saw a Waffle House nearby," Damian said.
"Sounds good," Jordan replied.
Damian nodded, "So, let's do this," he said.
After a good breakfast, Damian and Jordan arrived at their new cottage. They walked down the front walk, and when they reached the front door, Damian unlocked it, and they wandered around.
They went upstairs and dropped their bags in their respective rooms. Damian got the main bedroom, and Jordan got the downstairs bedroom. That's not to say there wasn't some debate about it, and Damian had to promise that Jordan could sometimes use the Jacuzzi Tub. Damian went through the house, making sure the water and electricity were on and turning the heat down because the door was going to be open most of the day.
Just about in time, the moving truck arrived. Damian and Jordan walked out to meet the crew. After a quick conversation, Damian showed them around the house. After the quick walk-through, Damian went onto the front lawn to go over the offloading; Jordan would float around.
The process began with Damian reading off to confirm the boxes, and they started heading into the house. Slowly, Damian watched the truck empty out. Gradually, Damian began to feel like this time or that when he oversaw something, it was tedious. Jocelyn had handled most of the moves they had made in the last twenty-plus years.
He looked up and saw a woman turn the corner. Damian noted that she was out for a morning run. She had red hair and removed her sunglasses. The woman had slammed on the brakes and seemed to now have a little hitch in her step.
"There's that redhead again," Jordan said; this caused Damian to jump.
"Damn it, Jordan, why did you do that?" Damian asked.
"Just needed to let you know that we need to get toilet paper," Jordan said.
"What?" Damian asked.
"Yeah, there's no toilet paper," Jordan said.
"Have they unpacked the box with the MREs?" Damian asked.
"Okay," Jordan said and shook her head. What would the redhead think about us using ration TP?"
Damian rolled his eyes, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you're interested in her," he said.
"Only for you, Dad," Jordan said.
"Enough of this; go inside and find your TP for your Bunghole," Damian said.
Jordan laughed, "Not funny, Dad!" she said and ran to the cottage.
Damian shook his head.
"Kids, right sir?" one of the movers asked.
Damian nodded, "That's why her mom and I only had her; she's always been a handful," he said.
The mover nodded, and they went back to unloading the truck. Damian thought it was probably one of the most mind-numbing things he could be doing or has ever done.
Jordan came out again. "Did you find your TP?" Damian asked.
"Yes, but we're going to need some more," Jordan said.
Damian chuckled, "Duh!" he said.
"Please don't descend into dad jokes," Jordan said.
"I'll try not to sink to that level," Damian said.
"Oh god, no," Jordan said and rolled her eyes.
That was when Damian noticed the redheaded neighbor come out. Both Damian and Jordan watched her walk down the front walk of her cottage. Damian also noticed the movers stopped to watch her.
"Wow! She's dressed in some awesome clothes," Jordan observed.
"What are you saying?" Damian asked.
Jordan watched as the redhead opened the door of a blue Lexus LC500 and bent over at the waist to put stuff in the car. When she was done, she climbed into the driver's seat.
"She's given you a show, Dad," Jordan said.
"Enough," Damian said as he watched the car pull off.
Damian shook his head as they went back to moving in. Soon, all their stuff—that's how Damian started to refer to it—was in the cottage. He bid fairly well to the movers and tipped them generously.
The next thing he did, with Jordan's help, was set up her bed and move the major furniture where she wanted it. He left her to set up and start to unpack her room. It was good for her to keep busy.
Damian went to his bedroom and set up by himself. It was bittersweet, as he had twice as much in the room as he needed. After setting the bed up, he stared at half the boxes, then checked his watch.
He left his room and knocked on the door jamb of Jordan's room.
"Yes?" Jordan asked.
"Let's get some lunch and TP," Damian said.
Jordan shook her head, "Okay," she said and smiled.