Chapter 19
Searching For Mermaids
Dad was all smiles when he put his arm around me and Mom as we entered the restaurant that looked like Davy Jones' Locker. The walls were adorned with seaweed and fishing nets; the smell resembled an old shoe. I had promised Sparky a doggy bag after taking him for a quick walk while we waited for Dad to clean himself up. I had Mom buy me five pounds of apples from the store and some doggy treats. She knew the apples weren't for me, well maybe a couple were.
I wanted to give the horses a treat for being so good as I drove them to who knows where. I could never understand how a horse could stand all day on their feet. For I seldom see them lie down unless they are truly in the mood or rolling in the dirt. Pa told me that they even sleep on their feet, yet I have yet to catch them at it.
Mom and Dad knew I hated fish, even though they used to make me eat it, telling me it was good for me. Yet I was a strange kid. I liked all leafy green vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower, but I drew the line at fish. The smell just made me nauseous after I had gagged it down only to vomit it back up. Mom and Dad stopped forcing it on me after realizing that Fish and I simply hated each other. I would tell him I had made a deal with the fish. If they left me alone, I would leave them alone. Fish didn't scare me, or maybe just a little.
Yet, I had learned over the years that fish were just as scared of me and would swim to the other side of the pond when they saw me. Later on, in my life, I had a new motto added. If the fish don't eat me, I won't eat them, and I have stuck to that. Even though I have prepared, cooked, and served fish for restaurants over the years, I never ate one bite. My insides were doing somersaults, knowing that the Rothwells loved fish. Mom placed her hand on my shoulder and whispered that if I wanted something else like a nice juicy steak or a hamburger, she was more than fine with that. I smiled, feeling much better already. We waited for the hostess to take us to our seats.
Mom's eyes popped out of her head when she saw what the waitress was wearing here, which wasn't much, asking Dad if this was such a good idea. Personally, I don't know what Mom was so concerned about. Considering we boys have been seriously desensitized when it comes to women without their clothes on. They could be topless or naked and we wouldn't give it a passing thought. When Mom realized that none of her boys so much as noticed the fact that the waitress was wearing seashells over her breast and skirt so short they could have been girl's panties.
That I didn't even blush or look like we even cared when she leaned over the table placing menus in our hands. I only looked up in her direction as her breast grazed my hand, hearing her say sorry. Watching her blush, I shrugged it off as if was nothing, which it was. Asking if they have other things besides fish, having her turn the page showing me hamburgers and steaks. Not even Jared gave notice that she nearly clipped him in the face with full breast exposure. Dad smiled sweetly and asked what the specials were, ordering us water instead of soda, which Mom fully approved of, and a green salad for each of us.
Mom soon calmed down until Jason spotted a mermaid swimming in a tank across the room. We all turned to watch seeing a topless woman swimming around doing stunts. Mom was about ready to leave until Dad said. "Karen, look at your sons. Do they even care that she is topless?"
Mom asked me and Jared point blank. Having us answer I said. "What's the big deal, Mom? It's not that it really matters. You got breasts, our sisters got breasts, our friends' mothers, and their sisters got breasts. Heck, Mom, we all have breasts, well sort of. After the fourth twist, we grew bored and started reading about the legends of the mermaid, and most importantly what they had for dessert.
Mom smiled and said. "That's right boys, we have taught you better than that. Now let's have a nice dinner and see what your Dad has in store for us."
Dad smiled, thinking Mom had tricked him into giving up his plan of secrecy, but Dad just smiled and looked at his watch. Said we had another three hundred miles to go before he would spring that surprise. Mom and I calculated the time on a napkin, each of us checking each other's work.
Mom winced that if we were right, that meant we had at least seven, maybe eight hours of the road before we got there. Dad pulled out his notebook and said. "That sounds about right. Yet I plan to do at least half of that tonight. We will stop overnight at a nice hotel that I know these boys of mine would absolutely die when they see it and get an early start in the morning. Also, it will give our animal friends time to rest after such a long drive."
Mom groaned, putting her head down on the table said. "Three more hours of road, and so far, we have logged close to four hundred miles already, Robert dear. Where on earth are you taking us?"
Dad reached over and took her hand and said. "To some place magical, something we will talk about as a family forever. Some place we haven't been in a long while." He was about to say more, but he wanted to be a surprise, not only to Mom but to the rest of us.
Mom smiled and asked. "Does it include a long, hot shower and a full body massage?"
Dad said. "Your wish is my command. Would you like that massage here, dear? After all, we already have seen several topless mermaids. One more will not make a difference."
Jared and I blushed when Dad suggested Mom to climb onto the table, which brought a smile to Dad's face knowing that Jared and I understood perfectly well what Mom and Dad do in the bedroom, after all, it's not such a big secret. Jared said. "Dad, could you wait until you get into that hotel room? I really don't need that image playing over and over in my mind." I gave Jared a fist bump, stating I totally agree. It's one thing knowing how babies are made, it's quite another watching it. Even worse, seeing your own parents do it. To us, it was just ewe.
My mouth watered when I saw that nice big juicy hamburger and lots of greasy French fries. I gagged when Dad ordered the catfish and Mom ordered the salmon. Jared ordered the same as me, while our two younger brothers had fish fingers and fries. The second I took the first bite; my mouth said it was to die for. Feeling the grease drip down my chin as the tangy sauce covered my fingers. I want very much to lick my fingers clean, but where are my table manners? I grabbed a napkin instead, watching Jared follow the same example. Mom smiled, which said I had made the right decision, and quickly wiped my chin with her fingers and tasted it. And quickly stole a French fry off my plate. We were stuffed after some apple pie à la mode with chocolate sauce dripping down the side.
Dad had the waitress take our leftovers, which wasn't much, and put them in a doggy bag for Sparky. He even ordered an extra child's hamburger with nothing on it. I knew Sparky would woof it down and lick his canine teeth, asking where the rest of it was. I do have to admit Sparky was getting a little on the chunky side, and he and I were good with that. When we left the restaurant, Dad said it was his turn to drive, and Jason and I could sleep until we reached our next destination. Mom quickly asked for our shirts so we wouldn't get them dirty or ruin them while we slept. Dad had us kneel in a circle on the grass as we had a quick prayer, asking God to watch over us and our home, asking him to help fix the rift in our family and bring his spirit back into our hearts.
Mom cried when Dad said the prayer, something she hadn't done in a very long time. It touched us all as we wiped our tears, feeling the love and the spirit that had been missing at home. We all knew why and none of us wanted to bring it up, afraid it would spoil our time together. Mom gave Jason and me a blanket to share and kissed us on the cheek. Dad climbed in after a quick kiss for Mom and one for each of us, telling us how much they loved us. Jason and I yawned that we loved them too and drifted off to sleep. With Jason's head resting on my leg as a pillow and his feet across the seat. I barely saw the flash of a camera before I dozed off with the sound of the radio and the sound of the engine pounding the highway to our destination.
I wish I could say I slept well, but after driving long miles, I still felt that I was still driving. The worst part about dream driving is you can't find the breaks. I jolted awake being surrounded by complete darkness. The first thing I noticed was we weren't moving anymore. Dad was missing, and I panicked and heard a knocking on my window that scared the living daylights out of me. Dad grinned, knowing he startled me, having me roll down my window. Dad pointed to a long line of buildings that somehow time had stopped. The sign on the road said The Last Frontier Hotel. Right next to it were several small buildings with hitching posts that looked like we had been trapped inside an old western. I woke Jason so he could see it, too. Dad told us he had made a reservation at the hotel; we were shocked and excited all at the same time.
Dad pulled up to where we could park and had us follow him as we walked down the center of town. We could all imagine being in a gunfight shooting outlaws. It was a boy's dream coming true. The hotel looked old and rustic on the inside and the outside, yet it was also modernized with indoor plumbing and electricity. Dad gave our names and handed the clerk a tip for keeping our rooms available and an extra fifty for overlooking Sparky when it said no pets allowed.
Even though Sparky was mostly an outdoor dog, Mom and Dad allowed him into the house and into my room when the weather turned foul or cold. He was housebroken, so Dad had no problems overlooking the fact no animals were allowed, even though he would have been just as comfortable sleeping inside the horse trailer. Mom and Dad were still trying to buy my silence.
Our accommodation included a nice run yard for the horses, and complete rub down and fresh oats and hay, and clean water. It was twenty dollars more for horseshoes, which Dad paid for gladly, but most importantly a private room for Mom and Dad and one room for us, right across from them, with all the comforts of home. Jason and my baby brother wasted no time jumping on the bed, which could easily sleep, four boys. Mom, too, wasted no time removing her shoes and tossed them into the corner, while Dad grabbed a change of clothing for him and Mom. Mom gave our room a close inspection and told my brothers I was in charge and to behave ourselves, taking the remote for the TV and unplugging it.
Jared and I drew straws on which brother we got to share a bath with. Having been the lucky one to draw my baby brother, who is the most difficult to bathe when it comes to getting him to sit still long enough. I groaned inside, knowing once more I was going to have to be the one to wrangle him so I could at least put on a diaper.
Mom said. "Sorry Tiger," handing me a clean diaper. Yet it wasn't my first rodeo even though I wanted to gag when I had to wipe his bottom. He was still my brother, and I loved him just as much. I was glad that he was almost potty trained and seldom wet the bed anymore. Yet it wouldn't be my first time finding what he had and I had rolled into it. I had to take a page from Dad when comes to boys peeing on you, that it won't kill you. In fact, according to science, it is the cleanest waste the body dumps, but to Jared and me, it was just plain yew.
Even though I had to share a bath, it still felt good to get all the grime off me and relax those sore driving muscles. Personally, I felt sorry for Mom having to drive the entire distance without a break, so my complaint was small as I wrestled with the diaper that looked like a hatch-it job. Mom told me when I had kids of my own that I would miss the days when I had to wrestle a diaper on. Personally, I thought she was nuts when she said it and wondered how my mother put up with me when she had to change mine.
Since I was the oldest now in our family, I got to choose my spot, which was always in the middle. Simply put, I never had to worry about which side hogged all the blankets.
Even though we had family prayer when we left the restaurant, Dad wanted to have another. I couldn't argue with that, and I knew better than to argue, so I got on my knees and took my hands in our small room with one gigantic bed. Mom didn't cry this time, but I could tell she was a lot happier compared to at home these days. Dad said nothing when Sparky jumped on the bed and made himself comfortable just simply patted him on the head and told him to watch out for outlaws.
When we all woke the following Wednesday morning, we had thought Dad and Mom slept in seeing the sun peek through the window. Dad knocked on the door before coming in. Noticing we were all in the bathroom, brushing our teeth and combing each other's hair. Mom and Dad never once had to tell me what I needed to do, as they do with Arthur, which set me apart from him and the other foster kids they had taken in. I smiled and said I was just about to wake them, reminding Dad he wanted to get an early start.
Dad grinned as Mom took his arm, watching her boys doing something without being told a hundred times. Like brushing your teeth, washing your hands and face. Something most mothers harp on. She was proud of the fact that I had already put on a fresh diaper on my baby brother and was combing his hair as an older brother should have done. Mom doubted God himself wouldn't say differently that these were my brothers. My father and my sisters, on the other hand, would argue that point.
Dad said. "About that boy's, Mom and I have decided that we would spend a few hours here before we head out. Gives us all a break." Jared and Jason give each other a fist bump. What can I say when it comes to a boy's dream of hunting down outlaws in an old Western? you jump at the opportunity? Dad had the stable guy saddle our horses as I put Sparky inside the horse trailer with a clean bed of straw. With plenty of food and water and a couple of doggy treats and a soup bone, he was in doggy heaven. I doubted I even mattered as I watched him gnaw the life out of his bone in the shade of an old tree. He could either sleep under the tree or inside the horse trailer. Not once did he complain? The second, I gave him his bone and told him to be a good boy.
Mom had taken several pictures of us standing near the buildings with cowboy hats and twin pop guns. We all laughed when Dad put on a pair of spurs and the sheriff's badge and pretended we were all in a gunfight and we were all his deputies. Mom would sit on his lap wearing his hat and slip into a skirt that women wore back then, and Mom was Dad's barmaid, having me take the pictures. When our horses were ready, we headed out to do some trail riding, Mom gasping at the beautiful scenery, and having Dad pick some wildflowers for her hair.
It was one o'clock by the time we left on the road without a clue where Dad was taking us. Dad traded places with Mom having me drive his truck with her beside me, with Jason and my baby brother sitting in the middle. The only instruction he gave me was to keep driving until we reached half a tank. Then Mom and I should see another small town and take the first exit. Mom stopped needling Dad, just simply removed her shoes and my brother's flip-flops, making her and then comfortable as she gave Jared his game and my baby brother a coloring book and some crayons.
Mom's music differed from Dad's country music; even mine was different for all of them, like pop rock or heavy metal bands. Moms was church music and would sometimes hum to her favorite songs, trying to get me to sing with her to complete our harmony. Even though she and Dad didn't care for some of my music and would be strict with what I listened to. Vulgar, music that talked of killing or had some bad influences was simply tossed out automatically. They would let me put in one of my cassettes until they couldn't take it anymore, but we all had time to listen to each other's music and would compromise.
When the gas gauge read half full, Mom and I saw the town just ahead, just like Dad said would be there. I asked Mom if she had any idea where Dad was taking us. In my head, I counted the days we had left and couldn't wrap my head around it, wishing I never overheard Dad's conversation with my caseworker. Who so far has been there for me and was the longest one to stay on the course, even when she had her baby. She didn't forget me or have someone fill in for her. You can say I was getting concerned regarding if I would make it back in time for my home visit. Like Dad, I played it cool as he drove us further and further.