Chapter 6

We arrived late morning on Friday, at San Francisco International Airport. This allowed us to see a little of the city, before checking in to our hotel. Rising early on Saturday, we leisurely picked up our rental car and took the scenic route; in other words, we just meandered in the general direction we wanted, finding our way to Daly City, where we picked up highway 1, also known as Cabrillo Highway, and began our trip down the Pacific coast. Stopping for a few hours in Santa Cruz, where there were several attractions in the area, and we let Chloe decide which we would visit. Chloe chose the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, with its amusement park. Since it was Saturday, everything was open and Chloe proved she was still a kid, wanting to ride all the rides and sample all the different types of food available. Consequently, we didn’t arrive at our hotel in Monterey until late. Since the room was paid for, it was held for us. With everyone full of carnival food, we just retired for the evening, planning on looking around the area the next day.

Sunday morning, we started out slow and it matched the general speed of things around us. Breakfast became brunch, and we didn’t leave the general area until nearly four in the afternoon. We only made it as far as Big Sur before we began casting about for lodgings. There were ample choices, and we chose to stay at Glen Oaks – Big Sur, enjoying some great food at the Big Sur Roadhouse a few miles south. Monday morning, we started off early and stopped in San Simeon to tour the Hearst Castle. Traveling through San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, we chose to stop at Solvang to see the Scandinavian influenced town, then onto our next hotel in Santa Barbara. I knew from experience, it would be a short trip to Malibu, and Chloe would get her birthday wish, a day early. Fortunately for Chloe, the weather was sunny and warm, so she had the chance to wear her bikini and go into the water at Malibu Beach. She had Myra and I take copious pictures to show her friends back in the UK. We had already taken a hundred pictures of everything she’d seen and done since arriving in New York.

On the eve of her Sweet Sixteen birthday, I checked us into the Disneyland Hotel, adjacent to the park. She may have been to Disneyland – Paris, but I felt visiting the ‘original’ park would be a special memory for her. Myra and I feted her royally on her birthday, even to the extent of having a birthday cake presented to her at one of the restaurants inside the park. We made it a point to have her picture taken with as many of the Disney characters as possible. We knew she was trying to act grown up, but this was a chance to be a kid one more time, before she was rushed into adulthood. Her face must have hurt from smiling so broadly, so much. I had bought her a gold bracelet, which I presented at supper in the hotel dining room, with yet another cake. Since leaving home, we had all shared one hotel room, making it difficult to have any privacy, although I had traded off sleeping with each one. Since this was her birthday, Myra offered to give us a couple hours of privacy by going to the hotel bar and sipping a few glasses of wine. Myra later ‘complained’ about being ‘hit on’ by several men, both older and younger. In our room, Chloe had been effusive in her thanks for such a memorable birthday. She was sleeping deeply by the time her mother returned to the room.

Thursday, we left Los Angeles and drove to San Diego, where we drove around town, which I was familiar with, having lived there for a couple of years. It had changed a great deal, but I still had my bearings. We spent our last night away from home in Hotel Circle in Mission Valley. Our flight out of San Diego was in the early afternoon and we arrived back in Phoenix around six in the evening. The shuttle took us directly home this time. It was good to be in familiar surroundings and Chloe begged for a few hours in the hot tub, so Myra and I joined her, to relax from our trip. We still had two days to convalesce before I had to return to reality.

The first night back, Myra claimed me, and I made it clear I was there totally for her. She was very appreciative and the last thing she said to me, before drifting off to sleep, was something off the wall:

“Will, living with you has made me fat!”

Thinking about it, I wanted to retort that ‘she’ was doing most of the cooking, but the lethargy of a sweet round of lovemaking kept my comment from finding voice. As my mind drifted off, I thought to myself that she could afford to gain a few pounds before it affected her appearance. Sleep overtook me and I completely forgot about it the next morning. That was because the first lucid thought I had questioned if there was a mad parrot screeching in my ears. Rousing myself, I found two women in my bed chattering away as though they were alone. When they became aware of me being awake, they stifled themselves and simply informed me that breakfast was ready, compliments of Chloe.

At the dining room table, we consumed omelets with a variety of different ingredients I had never thought to put in an omelet. They were edible, just different. All the while, Chloe kept looking at me and smiling broadly. Myra kept her eyes on her plate but was smiling also.

“Alright, ladies, what’s going on? Am I wearing my robe askew, or did I mistakenly leave a dob of toothpaste on my forehead?” I questioned.

“Nothing is going on, Will. Everything that was going to happen has already happened!” Myra answered vaguely.

“What does that mean, Myra?” I asked pointedly.

“What was the last thing you remember me saying last night, after we ... uh, before we went to sleep?”

Thinking about it, I suddenly remembered her weird remark:

“You said living with me was making you fat. I thought that was funny since you do most of the cooking. Am I keeping you from getting your normal amount of exercise? I mean, I could use more myself.”

“No Will. You, against all odds, have allowed me to be back ‘in the club’.” she nearly sobbed.

“Club? What club?” I mumbled.

“I was expecting my monthlies two weeks ago. You have allowed me to be in the expectant mother’s club. I’m preggers. You knocked me up, you wonderful Will!” she gushed.