way they always would be. Full of love, full of laughter, full of life. I couldn’t wait to bring my child into it.
We stayed up later than we probably should have, all gathered in the living room, chatting about nothing in particular. Dash cuddled in my lap and I let him stay there till he finally drifted to sleep, unable to keep his eyes open any longer. I carried him to bed and tucked him in. He stirred a bit and looked up at me with those sleepy blue eyes that looked just like my Mom’s. “I’m gonna miss you.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. “I’m gonna miss you, too. Lots and lots. But I’ll call and we’ll video chat and stuff. It’ll be like I never left.”
He nodded. “I’m glad you’re going,” he announced, as if he had given it plenty of thought.
“You are?”
He nodded again. “You deserve a happily ever after, Pea.”
I reached for a big hug. “You’re my happily ever after, Dashie.”
He wore a smile as he snuggled back down under the covers. “Give Prince Auggie a hug for me.”
I chuckled. “I will. Sweet dreams.” I kissed him goodnight.
I walked back to the living room to bid my parents goodnight. “I’m gonna hit the hay,” I said. I always loved to use that phrase at the farm. It felt unironic.
Dad stood to his feet, towering over me. “You call us every day,” he directed, pulling me into a big bear hug that took me off my feet. I threw my arms around him and gave him a big, loud kiss on the cheek.
Next was Mom, who held me in a long hug. “I can’t wait to see what you do with this opportunity, Pea,” she said.
“I hope I don’t fuck up,” I said.
She thought about it. “I hope you do.” Off my look, “It’s more fun that way.”
I laughed. “I love you, Mom,” I said, holding her tight.
“I love you, my sweet, juicy, little Peaches.” She kissed me goodbye and I lumbered to the pool house for one last night before the exciting new journey that lay ahead.
And I was ready.
Or so I thought…
Chapter Thirteen
Our adventure officially began when my alarm woke me up at four o’clock the following morning. I wanted to get up early, to deal with all the nausea bullshit before Sean arrived with the car around five-thirty. I took my time getting vertical, relying on the trusty crackers I now kept by the bed along with a purple sparkly tumbler of ginger tea that had become my best friend.
I called her Ging, for short.
Some people might have started their day perusing their socials, but I knew better than that now that I was on PING’s radar. There was a time, very recently in fact, that I would have loved to go viral. For my job. For my sister. For my super cute photos on Insta. Funny how when it happened, it didn’t feel quite as good as I had hoped. I knew looking at any of it now would just torpedo my mood.
Instead, I went over the day’s agenda on the tablet that Audra had provided me. It was bigger than my phone, so it was easier to read. Focusing on tiny text only made my tummy complain, so the tablet was a godsend.
Apparently, being a part of Auggie’s inner circle meant all my needs were met before I ever knew I had them.
Within about a half-hour, I was able to get out of bed, shower and prepare for the day. I took it slowly. Despite all my efforts to keep the nausea at bay, it still lurked in the shadows, ready to drive me to my knees in front of the next available toilet. It was a pretty big victory that I managed to hold off getting sick by the time Fern woke up and we started to get ready for our trip.
Though we were operating on less than five hours sleep, we were both giddy and excited about what lay ahead. We giggled as we finished packing, setting our suitcases outside the door. Dad, who was up with the chickens anyway, had already offered to open the gate for Sean. He assisted with our new luggage, which was comprised of two big suitcases each and two makeup bags.
It wasn’t nearly enough for five months, but we figured we could always buy clothes where we landed. Auggie’s tour would take us to 22 cities, 14 in the U.S. and eight in Europe.