A Very Dark Family Vacation (Tyr & Lucrezia)

[Tyr]

Jim finally had the whole family loaded up into the large SUV so they could begin their special trip out to a cabin they owned. The cabin was more a small home that they’d purchased a few years back when the economy was good and used as a place for family vacations. The kids were out of school as it was Christmas break and Jim thought it would be nice if everyone got out of town and spent some time together away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The SUV was not only full of people, but supplies, luggage and presents for the two week vacation.

Jim’s lovely wife Eliza had finished helping him load everything up they would need. Accompanying them would their two sons (Eric & Mike) and their daughter (Shannon), and for the first time Eric’s girlfriend Iris. The SUV would normally easily hold 6 but with supplies, luggage and gifts it was packed full. Still the cabin was well stocked so they wouldn’t really have to go without.

Everyone settled in as they began the nearly four hour trip to the cabin. Jim and his wife upfront, Mike and Shannon behind them and Eric and Iris his girlfriend back on the rear bench seat. Jim hoped that this trip would not only be a nice special Christmas but a way to help settle some of the issues that had been brewing of late. Eliza had been cold, the economy rough, and they’d had to cut back on things, as the bonuses that Jim usually received from the bank had been cancelled. They’d always lived a good life, but the kids were getting older, and they needed to save money for their college education. So the trips, the jewelry and other trapping had to be cutback if not cutoff. Add to that the kids were getting older and though they weren’t full grown or truly adult, you could tell from their attitudes and rebellious nature that came with growing up. Still Jim thought this might be a positive way for everyone to get in touch with their feelings and truly bond. He and Eliza had kids at a young age, the first even born before either of them had finished college. So the majority of the child raising duties had fallen on Eliza as Jim had quickly had to start a career.

Looking back through the rearview mirror he couldn’t see what everyone was doing, but he could see Mike playing with his portable video game unit and Eric and his girlfriend giggling in the back. With no phones, television or other distractions, he hoped this would be a great opportunity for everyone to reestablish those bonds that seemed to be so hard to keep while they lived in the city.

 

[Lucrezia]

[[Sorry it took so long, am rather busy]]

Shannon sat slumped in her seat in the car, earphones pulled over her ear, one of the new so-called rock bands blaring away into her ears and a frown-pout combination on her face like only a teenager could pull off. Seriously. vacation with her family. How lame was that? This was going to be the most boring vacation ever and she blamed her father for it. It had been his idea. And to the stupid cabin in the stupid mountains at that. They could have at least dragged her kicking and screaming to Hawaii or something. Where she could work on her tan. Where there were boys in tight swim trunks to ogle. Her teenaged life was so unfair. So deprived. She glowered at her brother's boyfriend. What was that girl doing here anyway? Family outing. Not family and the big ho-bag outing.

It wasn't as if Iris didn't notice Shannon's hostile glares. She just didn't feel like getting into it with the girl, so instead focused on her boyfriend and giggled at something he said. It wasn't as if it was a smart joke, but it was good enough in a way, she supposed. She reached out to him and her hand lingered over his for a few seconds longer than she needed. Her boyfriend wasn't perfect, but perfect was a stupid fantasy. Besides, she prefered to date less-than-perfect than not date at all.

Eliza heard the giggle and looked over her shoulder to check, just for a second, before straightening again. She glanced at her husband and surpressed a sigh. It was so quiet, no talking and she could remember a time when the moments of quiet had been appreciated and intimate. Now... not so much.

"Do you need to take a break from driving?" she asked, just to have something to say. "Or are we almost there?" There was supposed to be some kind of advise on when to take a half hour break when driving a car. She couldn't remember how long. It hadn't seemed important at the time.

 

[Tyr]

Jim watched the road as they moved from the main road to one of those that was seasonally maintained by the federal government. Their cabin bordered a tract of land owned by the Federal government. The weather report showed chance of snow, which he thought might make for a great white Christmas. Plus they planned to be up at the cabin for two weeks, so even if they got snowed in they would be fine, plus they had supplies to last much longer than that just in case. His wife asked him if he wanted to switch off, and he shook his head in the negative and answered her.

No I’m fine, I enjoy driving. We still have about an hour, not that many miles, just a lot of twisting and turning road, with the rugged terrain.

Jim’s attention more on the road as it got rougher and rougher, the pavement turning to gravel. Mike didn’t even look up and just played his small video game unit, no one having thought to ask him if he wanted to go to the cabin. Mike was sort of looking forward to it, he’d had lots of fun goofing off at the cabin and playing in the snow, so he didn’t look at it as some form of punishment as his sister did.

In the back Eric was enjoying himself. Two weeks with his hot girl friend, she was such a nice girl, and he cared for her so much. He’d done all the right things, buying her gifts, getting her flowers, and showing her that he respected her, and wasn’t into the relationship just for sex. Eric wanted her to know he was different and not some horny kid, only interested in getting into her pants. Let her know that he respected her, and wanted this to me a long-term thing. He of course checks up on her.

Are you okay, do you need me to do anything for you?

 

[Lucrezia]

Eliza looked out of the window again, her hands tightened over each other at the slow desintegration of safe road into gravel and accidenta waiting to happen. She couldn't say that, of course, because that would be like she didn't trust her husband's driving. Just another hour and then they'd be at the cabin for a peaceful, quiet vacation which would hopefully not end in a fight to end all fights. Either between her and her husband or between the children, cooped up in a cabin for a vacation, far away from any distractions.

She knew a potential disaster when she saw one and she'd been a mother too long to be completely naive about her children's ability for mayhem.

Iris giggled and shook her head.

You're sweet, but no. I don't need anything.

Her boyfriend was the sweetest in the world, she was certain of it, but there was a time that sweetness ended and she would begin to wonder if he dated her for her or because he was hiding something. What? Girls had sex drives too. She was aching for something. Anything. But it wouldn't be very lady-like to ask for it, now would it?

 

[Tyr]

The elevation continued to increase, the air getting colder, the rain soon turning to a flurry of snow. The trees offering some protection, but there was already snow built up along the sides of the road, and the road itself was becoming more and more covered as they drove. Jim concentrated on the road, not wanting go into a ditch or make any mistakes. Though at times his mind did wander over his relationship with Eliza, and how of late their relationship seemed a struggle. No matter how many times he offered to take her on a retreat for mediation and inner soul searching, she seemed not be interested or didn’t have the time. When they’d first met, she was a pretty wild girl, and yet he’d seen good person she was, and when she became pregnant with their child, he knew it was right to propose. Yes, they’d struggled, and yet they’d found a way to have a loving, caring, and enlightened relationship with mutual respect.

Just look at Eric, Jim thought, he was a good self-respecting kid that treated his girlfriend so well. Now Mike was a little different, but Jim knew he was still young and he needed guidance. Maybe it was those video games or the media, but he seemed to be much rougher around the edges. Maybe he’d sit down with Mike and let him know that woman didn’t act like girls in those games, and that if he was a little nicer he might do better. Both of his boys were good looking and were smart, so he knew they would be successful.

The tires slipped on the snow as the road got rougher, there were still a little way from the cabin, but it looked obvious to Jim that they’d be snowed in at least for a few days. Eric nodded at Iris and held her hand. She was such a beautiful delicate flower that he just wanted everything to be perfect. She was the kind of girl, that you just knew she was saving it for marriage, and that to try to push sex on her would just dirty their relationship. Though at times he was in conflict with his parents, they’d raised him right, and you didn’t disrespect a girl, or force yourself upon them, especially when she was a good girl. By bringing her along to the cabin and for Christmas she could see that not only he but his family had values. Eric just knew they were the perfect couple, and with luck, they’d be together for a long time.

Mike briefly looked up from his video game, just smirked at his older bother and his hot girlfriend holding hands in the back seat. He wasn’t into all that new age crap his parents and brother seemed to thrive on, but that was just his opinion. If he had a girlfriend that hot, he’d be trying to do more than hold her hand. Was he the only one that thought all that stuff was just bullshit, just a fucking waste of time. Still going to the cabin would be fun, he’d find something to do than sit around talking about emotions and feelings.