Post by mac on Oct 19, 2020 17:16:20 GMT
I like to be spoiled. Arthur couldn’t help but roll his eyes at that one. Of course Chardonnay liked to be spoiled. Of course she did. When they’d first met he’d pegged her as the spoiled princess type and he was correct -- except now he knew she had other qualities besides being spoiled. Like how her work ethic mirrored his own, how she was ambitious to a fault, that she had a level of self-confidence in herself Arthur envied most of the time. It was still surreal that he was here, driving to Chardonnay’s family, to spend the holiday season with someone other than his immediate family and Jason.
They pulled over once for a potty break, but for the most part, Arthur stayed on the highway. The major highways were pretty crowded, but once they passed through the big cities, Arthur knew miles and miles of desert waited for them. That part of the drive would be the smoothest, he figured, and he wouldn’t have to deal with fucking cocksuckers who cut him off getting on the highway. Under even the ebay of circumstances, Arthur had road rage, but since Adelaide was in the car he was trying to not cuss up a storm.
The bulk of the ride went by without incident; Adelaide was successfully pissed off, but she was the quiet sort of pissed off that meant she ignored everything and everyone. Arthur didn’t miss being her age. Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d been about Adelaide’s age when he’d first met Chardonnay and gone to Metric. Had it really been that long? Had he really looked that young? Oh, well. Times changed, and here they were.
Susan insisted on doing some karaoke during the drive, Arthur watched via the rearview mirror, amused, as Susan tried to coerce her grumpy daughter into singing Backstreet Boys. It didn’t work, but Susan continued to do a ridiculous little dance in time with the music. Arthur even had to sing along when his favorite songs came on. Life was too short to act embarrassed over something like that. Even though Chardonnay wasn’t very amused, he flashed her a grin, because her grumpiness wasn’t spurred on by discomfort or Adelaide making rude comments, it was just annoyance at the Summer family. And yeah, they could be annoying, but they were Arthur’s family, his pride and joy.
When his tank finally reached a tier before empty, he figured it was time to eat and get gas.
”I’m going to get gas here, we can grab lunch and use the bathroom before we keep going.” He told the car’s occupants, pulling into a small rest stop. There were signs for route 15 just ahead. Route 15 was mostly desert, and there wouldn’t be another full rest stop like this until they reached spring valley. He’d heard Susan’s stomach growl three times, and he didn’t want to hear it again until they got to Vegas.
It wasn’t much to write home about. There were a few restaurants attached -- a burger king, an in-and-out burger, a McDonalds. There was a convenience store there as well. Arthur parked his Jeep in one of the gas pumps, turning off the ignition.
Adelaide groaned and opened the door, stretching her long legs. The sun was beating down on them; it was about 11:30, a good time for lunch. They were making pretty decent time and when Arthur checked his GPS he saw they were expected to reach Spring Valley by one.
”Can I drive the rest of the way?” Adelaide asked.
”Absolutely not. But,” He got out of the car too, stretching his limbs. ”I’ll let you pump the gas.”
Adelaide’s eyes lit up and she bounced towards the pump, unscrewing the gas cap and listening as Arthur explained what to do. He used his debit card to authorize the gas, and Adelaide held the nozzle as it filled the Jeep. Arthur only half-watched her, because she’d watched him do this a million times, and simply made a face at the price register on the pump as it climbed higher and higher.
Susan stretched her limbs and looked towards Chardonnay. ”I don’t know about you, but I am starving! And I have to pee!”