“Momma,” Avery yells from inside the plane, “they have a couch in here!”
I smile at her and then look back at Stefano. “This is not normal.”
He chuckles and wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. “Baby, nothing with us will ever be normal.” He bends his head to kiss my lips. “As normal as things can be.”
“I don’t think you guys would know how to do normal if it came and bit you in the butt.” I shake my head. His arm drops from around my waist as his hand finds mine before he puts his other hand on my lower back, guiding me to the stairs. I walk up the first step, and the only thing going through my head is how crazy this is.
“Welcome aboard,” the attendant says, standing with her hands in front of her. “We will be ready to go when you are.”
All I can do is nod at her and move to the side so Stefano can step in. “I want to sit by the window,” Avery says, walking over to the four seats on one side with a table in the middle. “Dad, can I sit in that one?” She points at the one chair facing out the window.
“You can sit anywhere you like,” he replies, and I’m not even going to lie, I feel my chest rising and falling as I try not to freak the fuck out.
“Relax.” Stefano leans down and whispers in my ear.
“Easier said than done,” I mumble, making him chuckle as he kisses my lips softly before walking over and getting Avery buckled in her seat. He sits right next to her and then motions to me to come on over with his hand.
I inhale deeply and exhale before walking to the chair facing him and sitting down. The sound of the plane starting makes Avery squeal, the smile on her face is everything. She’s always been a happy kid. Always been a kid who just accepts what I tell her with no pushback, like when I couldn’t buy her the Frozen sneakers, and she stared at them for the longest time before just shrugging and walking out with me. It broke my heart so much I went back to get them the day after and ate ramen noodles for two weeks. I blink away the tears as I watch her and Stefano together.
He’s got his head next to hers and his arm around her, as he explains everything that is happening. When the plane starts to move, she looks over at him with her eyes big and her mouth in a big O. She puts her two hands on the armrests when the plane picks up speed and the pressure makes her back stick to the chair.
“My ears feel funny,” she says, putting her hands over her ears.
“When we get into the sky, it’ll feel better,” Stefano assures her and she just nods at him.
She looks out the window and gasps, “Momma, look, we are in the clouds.”
I smile at her as I turn to look out the window. “Pretty cool, right?”
The ping for the seat belt goes off, and Stefano unfastens his seat belt and then unfastens hers. “Just for a minute so that you can look outside,” he tells her as she gets on her knees, looking out the window.
“Where are we going?” I ask Stefano, who looks over at me with a smirk.
“It’s a surprise,” he repeats, earning him a glare which makes him laugh. “Last one, I promise.”
“I don’t know, but something about that statement makes me not believe you,” I accuse him. The attendant comes over to hand us water before coming back with a huge fruit plate. “Who is going to explain to her that this isn’t the way travel is done?” I point at Avery, who is looking out the window while she eats strawberries. “No one travels like this.”
He rolls his lips when I ask, “How often have you been on a regular airplane?”
He rolls his eyes. “Plenty of times.”
“Name five,” I demand, holding up my hand and he ignores me and turns to talk to Avery.
“Do you want to go watch a movie on the couch?” He points over to the other side, where a couch seats five people. Avery nods her head and he gets up from his seat before reaching over and picking her up.
I watch the two of them sitting on the couch as they watch a movie Avery chose. He will do anything she says. I wonder when she’ll use it to her advantage for real. I sit in the chair, looking around, wondering how I got here. I get up from my chair and walk over to the couch. I’m going to sit on the other side of Avery when he moves over so I can sit next to him.
Avery is now lying down on the other side with her feet in his lap. “Hi,” he says, putting his arm around my shoulders. “How’re you doing?”
“I’d be doing a whole lot better if I knew where we were going.” I look over at him.
“You’re beautiful when you get that look on your face,” he tells me, kissing my lips softly.
“What look?” I ask him, settling next to him.
“The look where you are going to kill me but still like me,” he teases, and this time I can’t help but throw my head back and burst out laughing.
“You aren’t going to tell me?” I prod him, and he shakes his head.
“You are always the one in charge. Let someone else take care of you for once.” His voice is soft as he raises his hand to touch my face. “Be the queen for the week.”
“A week?” I whisper-shout. “I can’t be away for a week.”
“I spoke with Sofia—” he starts, and my eyes get big.
“You did what?” I shake my head, ready to jump out of my seat.
“I called Sofia.” I close my eyes tight while my stomach rises. “I asked her if I could take you away for the week.”
I get up and walk over to my purse. Taking out my phone, I see missed messages from them.
Sofia:
Addison is out this week.
Shelby:
Is she sick?
Sofia:
Nope, her baby daddy is surprising her with a trip.
Clarabella:
Shut the front door!
Presley:
She’s going to have to get so down and dirty.
Sofia:
I think they got down and dirty last night.
Shelby:
On the nondate. Bahahaha
Clarabella: She rode that pony like a rodeo queen.
I shake my head.
I am not out this week. I might be out for a couple of days.
Sofia:
I approved it and we are changing the locks if you come back.
I am not taking the week off.
Shelby:
You haven’t taken a vacation since you started.
I put my head back, closing my eyes. I haven’t, that is true, but I tend to save my vacation days for the days when Avery gets sick.
I took a week off last year.
Clarabella:
Because Avery was sick and then you got whatever she had.
Still took the week off.
Presley:
I agree, you aren’t allowed back at the office this week. Enjoy the D.
Presley:
I mean vacation.
Shelby:
Yes, send all the pictures.
Clarabella:
Not all the pictures. I don’t need to be waking up to a dick picture.
Presley:
Yes, let’s not forget when you sent us an ass picture.
Clarabella:
It was a blurry shot and the kids took it.
Shelby:
I swear I saw ball sack.
Clarabella:
You did not.
Sofia:
Do not send me that picture to confirm or deny.
Presley:
Also, first thing we do when you get back is have a recap of that non-date.
Clarabella:
Yes, we should discuss how that co-parent meeting went.
Our co-parenting meeting went great, thanks.
Sofia:
She did have a huge smile on her face this morning. And if it’s any indication, by her outfit, they didn’t make it very far.
“Everything okay?” Stefano asks me, and I look over at him.
“No,” I growl between clenched teeth. “I was told not to come into work this week.”
“Oh, good,” he says. “See, now you can relax and unwind.”
I put my phone down, my head spinning, when I hear, “I’m hungry.”
Stefano puts his hand up to get the attendant’s attention. She comes over and talks with Avery, who orders a turkey sandwich and fries.
We eat lunch, and by the time we look out the window, it looks like we are descending. We sit in the seat with Stefano next to Avery, his arm reached in front of her to stop her from flying out, apparently. The landing is perfect and Avery claps her hands as soon as the plane stops. “Are we here?” She looks out the window as I unfasten my seat belt.
I stretch my legs, watching Stefano grab Avery and put her down in front of him. “I’m going to go out first,” he tells her, “and wait for you. But hold on.”
“Okay,” she says, listening to his every word. He walks down the steps, looking back every single step to make sure she is okay.
A black truck is parked on the side with the driver standing by it. I walk down the five steps to the tarmac where Stefano waits with Avery holding his hand. He slips his other hand in mine before walking over to the truck.
“Welcome,” the driver greets, opening the back door of the truck, “to San Francisco.”
The minute he says where we are, I stop in my tracks and gasp, “What?”
“Surprise,” Stefano says over his shoulder as he places Avery in her car seat. I look around to make sure I heard what he said and to be sure I’m actually in San Francisco. The tears fill my eyes, making my vision blurry, and I blink them away but one escapes anyway.
“They have a TV in here!” Avery shouts, making me laugh while I wipe away the tear.
Stefano comes over to me, grabbing my face in his hands. “Hey,” he says softly, his thumbs rubbing my cheeks.
“This is—” I start to say without letting the lump in my throat bother me, but the tears come anyway. “This is too much.”
“No.” He smiles as he kisses my tear from my cheek. “It’s never going to be enough.” I look up at this man, who was just a memory to me not long ago, but now the man is reality and he’s everything you could wish and hope for. Maybe even more than I wished for. “Now, let’s go. There is one more surprise.”
“Please, I don’t think I can take it,” I say, putting a hand on my stomach. This is all more than I have ever dreamed of. I get in the truck and look out the window, taking everything in. We pull into the hotel, and I look up when I see the name. I close my eyes, not even trying to think about how much this is going to cost him. The door opens on both sides, the man holding out a hand for me to help me out. “Thank you,” I say, stepping down and walking around the truck to see Stefano with Avery. His hand is always holding hers.
“Mr. and Mrs. Dimitris.” The man comes up to us, and I don’t correct him and neither does Stefano. “Welcome to the Fairmont. We are honored to have you.”
“Excited to be here,” Stefano says to him.
“If you will follow me, I’ll take you to your floor,” he says, and I look around seeing the hustle and bustle of people. We walk up the four steps toward the brown doors that are opened for us. My mouth hangs open as I walk into the lobby. The beige marble floors are shiny, with the ceilings high, and the molding looks like artwork painted in gold, and pillars are all over the room. It’s the prettiest hotel I’ve ever been to. I don’t even hear what the man is telling Stefano as we walk to the side, going straight to the elevator.
“Don’t we need to check in?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head.
“Already done,” he replies, getting into the elevator after the man. I watch him press the eighth floor out of nine. “Also, my parents are in town.” My mouth hangs open. “Or will be. They should be arriving shortly. They will give us tonight.” I tilt my head to the side. “They probably won’t because they want to see Avery.”
I don’t say anything because the elevator doors open and facing the car are two brass doors. “Welcome to the penthouse suite.”
