A Simple Life: Chapter 196

Slowly I surface to the glow of morning against my eyelids and an empty bed. Against the window is the lulling spitter-spatter of a light rain.

“Mrrrmm.” I stretch and lay there for a time as my senses come into focus. My bedmate might be gone but I knew she was close as I hear raised voices coming through the closed door.

“Ha ha! Get wrecked, bitch!”

“We’re on the same team, shit head!”

“FUCK!”

“HA HA HA!”

“Look how close we were!”

“We’ll get’im this time, come on.”

I smile at hearing Brayden and Winona’s spiky banter. Sitting up I check the clock to find that it was already quarter to eleven. Damn. I’m glad I warned Grandpa we could be late. I rub my face then slip out of bed and into some sweats and a t shirt.

As I open the door I am greeted by Brayden’s game-raging shout. “Fuck youuuu!”

“Shit! Got me too!” Replies an equally frustrated Winona.

“This is bullshit, bro. That’s not even fair!”

“Having fun?” I ask as I walk around the corner into the living room.

On the sofa sat Brayden looking disheveled and wearing the same clothes he had on last night and Winona wrapped up in my never worn ‘Made in the USA’ bathrobe that Lauren and Jack had bought me for Christmas a few years back. While I had always hated that robe I had to admit that she made it look good. Old timey music fills the air while on the screen are the cheery colors of Cuphead.

“There he is.” Winona’s face lights up at my arrival in exactly the same way as mine was on seeing her.

As she rises to greet me Brayden gripes. “Come on, one more try.”

“I’m done.” She says then takes me into her arms. After a nose to nose nuzzle and a kiss she whispers. “Good mornin, Sprout.”

“Good m-morning.” I beam. “Nice robe.”

“I thought so.” She winks. “I made some scramble eggs and toast.”

“I’m starving.” I kiss her again and lay my head on her shoulder. “Thank youuu.”

“Ugh.” Brayden grunts. “He might be starving but I’m losing my appetite.”

“Good.” Winona says. “You can make your damn eggs.”

The toast was slightly burnt and the eggs were both overcooked and over-salted but I eat the meal she’d made me with gusto. It was made with love and that was the best ingredient of all, and I tell her as much too. I giggle as from the sofa there comes another cringing groan. I could totally understand Brayden’s stomach turning at Winona and I’s lovey-dovey behavior but it was honest and I loved it. Honestly, I couldn’t understand how other people in love were able to contain themselves. Being in love just infused every little part of me until the excess had nowhere else to go but come gushing out.

As we sit and chat I learn that Brayden had had as good a night as we did, maybe even better! He mentioned that he was still sore from Onyx’s attentions but left the details to our imaginations. We also talk about how awesome the game was and, of course, Winona and I were pretty pumped about our overnight cruise with Grandpa. And on that topic we keep things brief. After breakfast and a shower I get dressed and ready for my day. I am giggling once again as Winona strides boldly from the building still in the robe and wearing her shoes over bare feet.

“Probably shoulda brought a change of clothes.” She says as an old couple passing us gives her a look.

“I dunno.” I snicker. “The look k-kinda works on you.”

“Slacker chic?” She quips. “I’d hate to steal Brayden’s whole vibe then do it better than him.”

“Pfft!”

Soon we are in the truck and zipping back home through the light morning drizzle.

“Dad’ll come check on Brutus while we’re gone.”

“Poor guy. All alone last n-night.” I say. “Nothin worse than sleepin alone.”

She looks over at me and smiles. “You ain’t wrong, baby. I slept like the dead last night.”

“Mmm.” I say. “I’m glad. I w-was worried, um…”

“What’s up?”

“Mom called me last night.” I say. “She was d-d-drunk.”

“Aw, shit. I didn’t even hear it.”

“It’s okay.” I say. “She w-was just…well, she gets like that sometimes. I d-don’t think she’s very happy. I know she isn’t.”

“Doesn’t like laying in the bed she made? Boo hoo.”

“But she’s still my m-mom.”

“I know, baby. Just don’t let her drag you down with her.”

Looking down and fiddling with seam in my jeans I say. “She t-told Grandpa who my real dad is.”

“Good!”

“She d-doesn’t want me to meet him. Sh-She thinks I’ll mess up his life.”

“Well she can get fucked.” Winona says. “It’s none of her damned business anymore.”

“Yeah.” I say, grateful to hear my own thoughts coming from her.

The stop home is brief whirlwind of activity where I give Brutus some much needed love while Winona gets dressed. After a quick call to Grandpa to make sure all was well we pack our overnight bags and are back on the road to town.

“This is gonna be AWESOOOME!” Winona drums her hands against the wheel. “I’ve never been on a proper cruise before.”

I giggle at the thought of putting around Ehkolie on Bella being considered a ‘proper cruise’. But for her, born and raised in landlocked South Dakota, I could see how it could seem glamorous.

“I think I’m gonna tell Mike.”

“Tell him?”

“My secret.” She says. “He’s family now. There’s no reason he can’t know. Is there?”

It made my heart so happy to hear Winona willing to extend her trust to Grandpa. “No reason at all.”

“Good.” She says with a nod. Despite her bold talk I could sense she was still a bit nervous about it. “Good! It’s nice to just…be myself around people, ya know?”

“I know.” I say. “He’ll love you n-no matter what.”

“I hope so.” She glances to me. “I never really had a gaka growing up. Not really.” As she spoke I recall her talking about how one of her grandpas had died when she was very young. She never spoke about the other one and I suspected, like me, she just wasn’t that close to that side of her family. “Kinda cool, ya know? Having a proper elder in my life again. I, um, I like that. It’s cool. It’s really cool.”

It was fascinating to me how differently Winona spoke about and thought about Grandpa compared to his own child and grandchildren. He embarrassed Mom while Jack and Paige just thought of him as some cracked old geezer. But Winona seemed to hold a subtle reverence for him. She could joke around with him and even tease him a little but underlying the humor was a quiet respect that I hadn’t seen her give to anybody else. And seeing her now, genuinely anticipating getting to know him better, it was clear just how honored and blessed she felt to have this opportunity. This was important to her in ways that went beyond simply ‘getting along with the in-laws’. It brought home to me the embarrassingly small amount that I actually understood about her culture. I knew that her ‘Rez’ was hardly some sort of paradise on Earth. I knew that they had more than their share of troubles and social issues. And yet it was so obvious to me, through her, that they had some lessons that might just make the whole country a better place if we chose to listen.

“Yeah.” I lay my hand over hers on the gear shift. “V-Very cool.”

We share a look then laugh.

It was with a strange mix of excitement and nerves that we take the final turn toward the dock. The trip itself was going to be so fun, I had no worries about that. There were so many sights and places and memories that I could not wait to share with my beloved. And sharing time with Grandpa was always a special treat. But this journey would be so much more. I was about to gain a father. She was about to embrace a gaka. Our new family was beginning to take shape around us. This was going to be a cruise to remember.

Chapter 197