The bell on the door jingled as the two moms and two tiger cubs stepped out of the little pizzeria. Ket was the last out, and he held the door open for a couple who were coming in. The sky was black, as night had fallen, and they made their way back to the van by guide of orange lights set up around the parking lot of the shopping center they had pulled into.
The drive had been long, but it was almost over. At present-time nine-forty, they had made excellent time on the drive after their stop at a McDonald's to use the restroom and stretch their legs. Micah switched to get them to their general destination, and when they arrived in the city at a half-hour till nine, they drove around and found the little pizzeria to eat.
Emeral managed to survive thanks to Ket. When she got bored of checkers he dove back into is backpack and pulled out a pad and a few pencils. They started playing some more games like dot-box and tic-tac-toe.
But things really got fun when they started their little drawings. She started that one. She drew a star and handed it to him. He tried to draw a crescent moon, but it came out a little jagged because the car jostled. In the end they had several pictures done, and one of them half-finished.
The sky got pink very quickly. It was so vivid and bright, like those neon signs in Las Vegas. It glowed so brightly it was like a psychedelic light show from some of the music programs Emeral ran on the computer, that made different shapes and patterns out of all kinds of colors.
It only lasted a short time though, or at least that's what it felt like. When they walked in the pizzeria the sky was still pink on the edge, but when they came out it was pitch dark, save for the moon.
Back in the car, it would be a very short ride to the motel. At least, Emeral assumed it was the same one they had stayed at before. She watched out the window for a sign of familiarity. There wasn't really any; just the ambient glow of bluish lights and the glare of red from other cars' tail-lights.
Ket's mom yawned up front. "Gettin' sleepy."
Emmy's mom followed suit. "Not yet, still driving..." she mumbled. "Don't wanna fall asleep at the wheel."
"I can kick your seat a lot like a kid on a plane," Emeral said, tapping her foot against the chair.
"I can still motion to throw you out, y'know," her mom threatened with a tease.
The motel wasn't as Emeral remembered it, at least as they drove up to it. They pulled into the lot, and Garne got out to go to the lobby and get their room key. The kids and Micah hopped out and gathered all the duffel bags they would need.
Following Momma B. on the sidewalk, the roof of the second level just above their heads, they walked the trail of halogen globes for a little ways until they arrived at the light blue door to their room.
Ket stared out onto the lot as he heard Mrs. Garne insert the key. There wasn't a soul outside, and beyond the fringes of the halogen glow there wasn't a single light to show what hid in the shadows of the parking lot.
Emeral glanced at Ket to nudge him that they were going in, and when she saw him she could see his hackles were raised. They fell quickly, and he followed her into the room.
With a huff of exhaustion Momma R. dropped the duffel bags and Momma B. turned the overhead light on. The adults set about checking out the room, adjusting things to their liking.
It wasn't a spacious place, but it was a little cozy. It was almost a two-room. There was a divide between the area where the couch and TV were, and where the sleeping area was. There was a sliding door on the divide, Emeral realized, and there was a lock on it on the bedroom side.
The bathroom was on the TV-room side, but it was right by the sliding door. The bathroom was not spacious at all, either. It had two cramped sinks, and a very small shower with a door that had a weak attempt at privacy with an ineffective blur in its glass. The shower seemed clean though; it smelled a little musty but it probably just needed some airing out.
It was really Momma B. that instigated the heavy part of the inspection. The only problem with having a nurse for a mom, Emeral felt, was that she was such a freak when it came to germs and stuff. She insisted on pulling off the comforters of the bed and throwing them on the floor, stating that they were never washed. She inspected the beds to make sure they were clean also, even Micah helped with that inspection.
The kids sat on the couch, Emeral embarrassed that her mom was a lunatic, but Ket said it was fine and that he was glad she was thorough.
"Who knows how many people have slept in those beds?" He said, to validate the point.
"I just try not to think about it," Emmy replied.
"Okay, kiddos," Momma B. said, entering the TV room. "There's only one shower so we all have to take turns. Who wants to go first?"
Emeral swallowed. "Um...I'll...I'll go last," she said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
"No, mom's are going last."
Emeral looked at Ket. He shrugged.
"Ladies first," he said, as his mom came into the room and plopped on the other end of the couch.
"Such a gentleman," Momma R. complimented.
Emeral's ears drooped. "Um...is there...a tub somewhere?" She asked.
"You prefer baths don'tchya Emmy?" Momma R. asked. "I'm with you, they're so relaxing."
"No, Micah, actually," Momma B. grinned, "She's embarrassed cuz," she leaned on her knees, "Little Emmy's never taken a shower before, have ya?"
"Mom!" Emeral hissed, blushing and giving her mom a scathing look.
"Haha," Miss Rachaun giggled, "Emmy it's okay. Ket, remember when I was teaching you to use the shower?"
"Heh, yeah, and the head fell off and smacked right here," he said, pointing right at the middle of his forehead.
"Oh gosh that was so funny. You looked up at it all kinds of curious and then smack! right between the eyes!"
"Does that...happen a lot?"
Micah shook her head. "No, no. It was an old showerhead. You don't have to worry about that. Besides, Ket's still alive."
"C'mon kiddo," Momma B. said, pulling her daughter up by the hand. "I'll help you out."
"No," she protested, "I can...I can do it by myself. I don't need you to hold my hand the whole time."
"I ain't gonna hold it the whole time," her mom reassured, "I'm just gonna show you how it works and then you can be a grown-up little lady and finish up on your own."
They went into the room to get Emeral a change of clothes, and then mother and daughter disappeared into the bathroom, door slightly ajar; and mother and son were left sitting on the couch.
"You sure were nice to Emeral in the car," Ket's mom said with a smile.
He glanced at her and shrugged. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," she replied. "I just haven't seen you be such a good friend before." She moved to lie down fully on the couch, her feet dangerously close to him, but she didn't try to pester. "To be honest I was worried. I was about ready to make you do something to go out and make friends." She crossed her ankles.
"Make me do something? LIke what?" He asked.
"I was thinking ballet lessons," she teased.
"You coulda just threatened that and I'd make friends anyway," he replied.
"I dunno, I still think you should try it anyway."
"No way. I'd rather take Jiu-Jitsu with Emmy."
His mom smiled. "I thought you didn't like Martial Arts. What was that one you took for that little bit?"
"Tae-Kwon-Do," he replied.
"That's it. I knew it was something weird sounding. They kinda all are, I guess." She nudged him with her foot. "Go get the remote, let's see what's on TV."
* * *
About ten minutes later, Ket was in the bed room, having heard the shower shut off a few minutes ago. It was his turn, and he was just getting his stuff ready. When he was pulling out his shampoo bottle, Emeral padded into the room.
He glanced in her direction. She was wearing a shirt that was kind of big, that had a faded unicorn on it. Her pajama pants were rolled up to her calves, to keep her from stepping on them. She approached him with her dirty clothes bundled in her arms, heading to the plastic bag where she would put her dirty laundry.
Ket stood up as she bent down. "So...how'd it go?" He asked.
She chuckled. "Fine," she admitted, "It was actually kinda fun. I might take showers more often." She stood up too, facing him.
The TV was on in the other room, both their moms on the couch watching it.
As Emeral closed the four-step distance between them, Ket could scent the shampoo she had used, mixed with the clean odor of water. Her hair, which was always fairly straight, was a much darker white than usual, and very matte from being damp.
When they hugged, and when his cheek brushed against hers, he could even feel how fresh and clean her fur was. He had never felt that before; had never seen her when she was fresh and washed. Maybe it was just his excitement that they were going to spend at least four more nights like this, but he felt a bit giddy about it all.
"You smell nice," he said.
She giggled. "Thanks. I used shampoo."
He chuckled also. They parted, and she leaned forward to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Your turn. Make sure to wash behind your ears," she reached up and pinched the left one, causing his eye to squint.
"Yeah yeah," he grumbled, walking out of the room toward the bathroom.
* * *
Another ten minutes later, Ket emerged from the bathroom. The shower had run out of hot water halfway through, more or less, and he had to deal with it being lukewarm. It wasn't bad though, he lived, and when he opened the door all the girls were sitting on the couch watching some movie that was black and white.
"Ket's out!" Emeral said.
"Hot water's out, too," Ket said, walking back into the bed room to put his dirty clothes away. When he came back to the couch his mom was taking the next shift, even though the water wouldn't heat. "I like colder showers anyway, it's so hot outside."
When Momma R. got up, Emeral scooted over and patted the couch for Ket to sit next to her. He did, and looked toward the movie. It was something about World War II, which he knew next to nothing about. The only reason he knew was because his grandpa sometimes watched old movies like this one.
Emeral hugged her knees, and leaned against the armchair of the couch. Ket was sitting close enough that she could touch him without reaching, but she couldn't without her mom noticiing.
She wondered if he felt the same way she did. It was like Christmas, when circumstances meant they had slept together in the same bed. That was the night they became officially boyfriend and girlfriend, and even though it was the most uncomfortable sleep she'd ever had, it was the best sleep she'd ever had. It was like when she was a kid and she imagined all of her stuffed animals coming to life and cuddling with her; Ket was like a big teddy bear that she held onto all night long, both because she loved him and because it was cold and he was warm.
She figured they wouldn't get to do that ever again, but still she stayed up almost every night the whole week thinking about all the romantic possibilities they could have. Time alone, just to hug or kiss or lean against each other.
It was teeth-grindingly frustrating that her mom existed right at this very moment.
Just then, the bells of Heaven rang. Well, really it was just the bell-chime ringtone on Garne's cellphone, but to Emeral it was a beacon of hope. Her mom pulled the phone out of her purse. "Hey, hun," she said, "How was your drive?"
Come on, get up and leave...
"Really? I'd hate to work in Florida, then."
You know you want to...
"Car accidents are the most common thing I have to deal with in the ER."
Don't you always complain how people who talk on the phone when other people are around is so incredibly rude?
"Well that's a relief. Please come back in one piece. How's Steph?"
Please, dad, for the sake of convenient plot hooks, tell mom a long, private story!
"Well, I guess it'll be an easy visit for you, then. I'll call you when we get to the beach, tomorrow, kay? Love you too, sleep well."
Emeral sighed, her ears flattened irritably.
Ket was watching the movie. There was a dog-fight going on in the air, and while the grainy picture made it really hard to tell what plane was what, it was still cool to see one of them popping and smoking when they got hit; the sound of the engine going crazy loud, and the sudden drop of altitude.
Emeral huffed. "This is getting boring."
"I think it's cool," Ket said, his eyes practically drooling at the action.
Emeral rolled her head. "Boys."
"Can we try to see if something else is on, Ket?" Momma B. asked sweetly.
"Yeah," he said, "I'll watch anything."
Mrs. Garne picked up the remote and started flipping the channels to Cartoon Network. However, she forgot that it was a different channel in different places, and therefore instead of cartoons there was the scene of a woman dropping a towel around her ankles. The camera panned upward, passing a tasteful red bikini bottom on its way. Before it got to her bust, Mrs. Garne flipped the channel in whatever direction her thumb was on, and cleared her throat.
"We're...not watching that," she stated with a rush of air.
"Awww..." Ket mumbled as a joke.
"Boys!" Both girls beside him exclaimed.
He erupted with laughter.
* * *
Emeral lifted her head up and flipped the pillow over so that it was on the cooler side. She rested back down with her left nostril smooshed against the fabric, her right eye open and gazing into the darkness. According to the clock on the bedside table, that is if it was set correctly, it was eleven thirty-eight.
Her mom started snoring.
Emeral blinked. Great. She knew she wouldn't get to sleep in the same bed with Ket, but sleeping with her mom was aggravating. It was already pretty hot, and her mom was like a furnace. Emeral had to scoot all the way to the edge of the bed to keep from burning up. She even had to stick a foot out and pull her pajama bottoms up past her knees just to hold down a few degrees of comfort.
As cliché as it was, she was beginning to learn intimately the phrase, So close, and yet so far. Ket was a mere six feet away; in fact, she could just barely make him out in the gloomy light that washed through the curtained window, and yet there was an infinite, dark chasm between them. If she so much as dipped a toe in it, she would probably get pulled in and have to perform a series of tasks for a false wizard in order to get back out.
She closed her eyes. She didn't get any alone time with her boyfriend today. All she got was a brief hug, and he got the kiss. For a while she was bitter that he didn't try to get them a moment alone. After all, they had talked about it practically all week. But...in his defense, their plots involved the openness of the beach and seclusion of a gigantic ocean. In this place, they were lucky to have gotten that one moment.
Just then, she heard a rustling. Someone slipped out of the other bed. There were footsteps, soft and light on the carpet, and the bed room door slid open. A thin crack of light shined through, lighting the way to the bathroom. When the door shut, the beam of light disappeared.
A few minutes passed. The sound of rushing water through the piping made Emeral's ear twitch. It was like listening to a train roaming across the tracks, if it was really really really far away. She continued to stay awake, waiting for the return of the shaft of light before she actually tried to go back to sleep.
She waited. And waited. And waited. Her eye shot open again. Okay...where was the door opening? Did she miss it? She looked at the clock again. Eleven forty-fi—six.
Her mom started snoring louder. With a sigh, Emeral decided to get curious and see why the door was never opened. She walked as quietly as she could, her hand pressed outward to feel when she hit the wall. Thankfully, she felt it with only a gentle noise, and carefully she walked along. She found the door easily enough and slid it open.
Ket glanced over. Emeral's head peeked through the doorframe. Their eyes met. She ducked back in, and then the door slid open a little more, and she shimmied through, tail-first. With the slowest motion, she closed the door, putting her fingers in the way so that she could soften the final thump.
He was sitting on the couch, the table-side light on at a very dim setting. It emitted a buzz that sounded not unlike a bug zapper.
She walked to the couch, her bare ankles popping once. She sat quietly, a little smile on her face. There was a bit of silence as they stared at each other, the expression on his face a little odd. "Whatchya doin' out here?" She asked rhetorically.
He folded his hands on his lap. "I...just can't really sleep." He reached beside him for the water bottle sitting by the light. He unscrewed the cap and took a sip.
"I don't blame you. My mom is sawing a log made out of concrete." She put one leg up on the couch, crooking her knee so she could face toward him. "Maybe you'd sleep better if you were with me?" She asked, walking her fingers over toward him.
He half-smiled. "Maybe," he replied.
She felt a little rejected. He was suddenly distracted. "Why can't you sleep, then?" She asked, retrieving her hand back to her leg.
He shrugged. "It's nothing," he replied.
She rested her cheek against the back of the couch, staring at him, trying to decode him. "...You wanted to go on this trip right? You're not just going to 'make me happy'..."
He shook his head. "No, I really wanted to go," he smiled. "I'm just a little restless, otherwise I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
I'm fine. Don't worry about it.
A memory latched onto to Emeral's brain. It crawled from the very back, slowly, and with great effort. Like it was being pulled back into the realm of Forgetalot, it struggled to claw its way across her cerebral furrows until it hit the spot it needed. "You don't like motels," she stated, like she was Cleo.
He shook his head again.
"Your mom...over Christmas. She stayed at a motel, but you didn't go cuz you don't like them," she explained, as if she knew it and he didn't. But really she was just remembering it, putting it all together. "But...you seemed fine earlier, you were laughing and everything. It's not so bad is it?"
He shook his head for a third time. "No...but, now that everything's all quiet I just..."
She moved on impulse.
Over Christmas his father had come for a visit, and afterward they shared a very intense conversation. Both of them had issues that haunted them at the time, but this time she didn't have any such thing, and now that they were a couple she was compelled to comfort him. She moved her arm behind him, and reluctantly he allowed it. Her other arm wrapped around his waist, and she hugged him with it, rubbing his shoulder with the arm that was pinned behind.
He sighed. "I'm fine, really," he insisted.
"Do you..." she didn't really want to say it, "Do you want me to go back to the room? Leave you...alone?"
He looked to her.
She dipped her gaze, saddened. "Kay," she said with a smile, but when she tried to pull away, his hands latched onto her.
"No, you don't need to go," he said, and pulled her gently until the tension in his hands slacked. He moved her to lean against him, and he brought his arm up to hug her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
They remained that way for a while, his hand stroking over her arm, and then moving to sift his fingers through her soft, clean hair. He knew she liked it when he did that, and he was happy to oblige. It wasn't that he wanted her to go, he just liked it better when it was his arm around her; somehow the other way around felt...odd.
"So...it was like, a day after mom found out," Ket began, for he knew she would wonder why he was so agitated; "Before I knew what was going on, dad took me and we went to a motel..."
Already Emeral didn't like where this was going, but she listened respectfully. Still, she couldn't help blurting, "Why did you go with him?"
"I didn't...really have the feelings that I have now until a little later," he explained. "So, anyway, he took me to a motel. That was...where I met her."
The tigress felt a twinge. She didn't know if she was supposed to ask, but she did anyway; "Who's 'her'?"
"The person my dad was cheating on my mom with." Ket replied.
Suddenly, Emeral's arms enveloped him; she moved so she was supporting herself more, and squeezed him tightly, a low growl emitting from her throat.
"Relax," he shushed, "Nothing crazy happened. It was just...really weird at the time." He pried her away, "I'm fine, really. I was just thinking about it, that's all."
"After tonight," she said, "promise me you won't think about that stuff for the rest of the trip? I want you to have fun."
He held up his hand. "I promise. I won't drag us down. It'll be fun," he set the hand on her shoulder, and turned toward her. "...We're alone, right?"
Emeral looked over his head at the door. It seemed to be shut still. She nodded, feeling a bubbling rise from her chest.
He leaned in, closing the inches between their noses.
They shared the first of, hopefully, many kisses that they would have for the next several days.
Days that Emeral already wished could last forever.
