FicWad

We stopped for the first night at Joshua Tree National Park. We had been here before, but it was a good stopping point for the first night. I had the trip all planned out. We would drive a few hours every day, stop mid afternoon for the evening and enjoy the campsite for the night. We had Bowie, and Fred & George with us, so it was important to let them out and get some exercise too.

On the morning we woke up at Joshua Tree, I got up and started coffee and breakfast early. Bronx was up already. I liked it when he and I were the only ones up. He always talked to me when it was just us

As I got the water started for the coffee he hit me with one of his questions.

“Moon, are you gonna marry Dad?” He asked. Sometimes his questions were loaded ones.

I answered him honestly as I always do. “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know?” He asked me.

“We haven’t talked about it.” I told him.

“But, would you marry him if he asked? Do you love him enough to marry him?”

“Yes. I do and I would. But don’t go telling him he needs to propose. We need to work that out on our own.”

“Hmm. I think you guys should get married.”

“Why? We’ve both been married before. We know what it means and what changes when you’re married. I don’t need it to be with him. Or to love you kids.”

“But, if you got married then we would all have the same last name and you would really be part of the Wentz family.”

“She is part of the family even without the name.” Pete said as he stepped out of the camper.

Bronx looked like he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t have. “But, if you guys got married then Moon would have the same last name as the kids. Then people wouldn’t just think she’s their stepmom. They would think she was just Mom.”

“That’s not a good enough reason to get married.” I told him.

Pete looked at me with a question in his eyes. I smiled and shook my head. “It’s not a good enough reason.” I said.

“I agree if that were the only reason. But that wouldn’t be the only reason for us to get married.”

I couldn’t help but smile at him. He was right, that wouldn’t be the reason for us. We would marry for love if we did marry. “We’ve known each other for just over a year. We’ve been a couple for what, eight months? Don’t you think that’s a little fast?”

Pete shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe. We don’t need to talk it out right now. Is the coffee ready?”

I know he was changing the subject and I was alright with it.

“Yeah, let me pour you a cup.” I said. I got both our cups out and poured us some coffee.

Pete didn’t bring up marriage to me again that day. We got the kids up, fed and dressed. Then we got back on the road. We were headed to Flagstaff Arizona. It was only about five hours to drive there. I wasn’t doing more than five or six hours of driving a day. I didn’t want the kids to get stuck in the camper all day each day on the trip. If we had wanted to, we could have driven eight to ten hours a day and done the drive in just a few days. But that’s no fun. This way the kids got to enjoy the adventure too.

We stopped for the second night just west of Flagstaff. There is some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land there that I have camped at before. BLM land is public land that anyone can use. You can camp for up to fourteen days there. It’s usually wild land that most people use to camp and hike. We stopped early enough that we could get a hike in.

I knew of a good trail to take them on. It’s not too hard or too long. It was an out and back trail. A mile and a half each way. Very short, but just the right length for the family. At the end of the trail is an amazing view of the desert. Pete and Saint aren’t the biggest hikers. But Bronx, Marvel, and I love it. Marvel can’t always keep up, but she tries, her legs are just too little to keep up with us. I carry her sometimes when she gets tired. I usually put her on my shoulders where she can sit mostly on my backpack. It helps distribute her weight and makes it easier to carry her.

That evening when we were sitting by the fire after eating, Bronx and I were talking about hiking. He was talking about places he wanted to hike someday and I was telling him about some of the places I’ve hiked.

“I want to climb mountains someday.” He told me.

“Do you know which ones you want to climb?” I asked him. I was interested if he wanted to climb here in the U.S. or maybe other places in the world.

“I know there are a lot of 14ers in the Rockies. Maybe start with some of those. But I want to climb Mt. Rainier. I saw a documentary on it. And I've been reading about the mountain.”

“I’ve climbed Rainier myself. Never made it all the way to the top. We could do it together if you want. We can train and do some hiking and climbing together and then try to summit Mt. Rainier.” I said.

“Really? That would be so cool. When do you want to do it? Next summer?” He asked excitedly.

“No. Not that I don’t want to. But, we need to train, and you need to be at least eighteen.”

“Why do I have to wait until I’m eighteen?” He asked.

“Because I won’t let you go mountain climbing before then. At eighteen if you want to go and summit a mountain, I can’t stop you.” Pete interjected.

“We could do it in five years when you turn twenty and I turn fifty.” I suggested. “Kind of a big milestone year for both of us. It could be a treat to ourselves.”

“I like that idea.” Bronx answered. And then looked at his Dad. “And I like being outside, hiking and camping. I know you only do it because I wanted to. But you and Mom are gonna have to accept that this is what I like. And, I’ve been thinking about what I want to do after school. I think I might go into Forestry. Maybe search and Rescue or a Forest Ranger.”

Pete looked at his son and his face softened around his eyes. The love he has for Bronx was so obvious. “You’re right. I do need to accept it. And I do. I don’t hate camping or hiking. You do like it more than I do. But, I do it because it’s a chance for us to do something together. I don’t have much time left with you before you leave and go off to college. You’ll start your own life and leave me and your Mom, and all the kids behind. I want to spend quality time with you and make memories.”

“Dad, I’m never gonna leave you, not really. I might go away for college. And I might move away from L.A., but I’m never gonna leave you or Mom or Moon and the kids.” Bronx assured his father.

“You’re a great kid. The best son a father could ask for. I love you so much.” Pete told him. Then he got up from his chair and went to hug Bronx.

“I love you too Dad.” Bronx told him as they hugged.

The next day we got on the road early. I wanted to take them to someplace that I’ve been before, but I knew none of them had been to. The Meteor Crater Natural Landmark. It was only about an hour outside of Flagstaff. If you’ve never heard of the Meteor Crater, I suggest you look it up. It’s actually really interesting. It is what the name suggests. It’s a crater in the middle of the desert caused by a meteor that hit the Earth millions of years ago. We were there for a few hours and then I got us back on the road. We got to Albuquerque, New Mexico that afternoon.

I asked the kids that night how they liked the road trip so far. Bronx thought it was awesome and wanted to know if this was what it was like to live in Luna. Saint and Marvel were a little less enthusiastic. They both said they liked it, but that it was a lot of time in the camper driving.

The fourth night we were in Texas, not far from Amarillo. The fifth night we were in Oklahoma. Home of the dancing cowboy that Pete was jealous of. They had never met, but I had told him about my friend that used to take me dancing when I was in Oklahoma. We didn’t even come close to where he lives. He’s in Tusla, we drove through Oklahoma City, south of where my friend was.

That night Pete brought up my friend.

“Do you want to stop and go dancing with your cowboy friend?” he asked me as we were settling down to sleep that night. He waited until the kids were all in bed and we were alone to bring this up.

“No. Why would I?” I asked him as I slipped under the covers with him.

“We’re in Oklahoma. Thought you’d want to see him.” Pete mumbled into my shoulder as he snuggled close.

“Honey, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. He’s just a friend that took me dancing. And why in the world would I want the dancing cowboy when I have the rock star?”

His grip on me tightened and he pushed his face further into my neck. “Why am I better than the cowboy?” He asked me in a voice that told me he needed to know that I wanted him and not Derrick.

“Because I’m in love with you. Derrick is a friend. Only a friend. He has never been anything else to me. I’ve never even kissed him. You, well, you’ve never been just a friend. Even before we started dating, we’ve always been more than friends. Since the first day we met, we were never just friends.” I told him as I rolled over to face him. We were face to face. “Pete, Honey, I’ve chosen you as my life partner. Derrick has never been anything more than a dance partner.”

“I love you so much. I’m...” He sighed softly. “I don’t want to lose you. I’ve been left for other men before. Both Ashlee and Meagan found other people while we were together. I can’t lose you that way too.”

“I’m not them. I’m not going to leave you for someone else.” I told him. But he wouldn’t look at my face.

“Hey, look at me.” I said. When he did I continued. “I was in a bad relationship for a long time and I didn’t cheat. I could have, but that’s not who I am. I left instead. And then I spent over five years figuring out who I am and what I want in life. So, please believe me when I tell you, what I want in life is you. You and your family, but you. I want you, Pete. I want to be with you. I stopped traveling because I want to be with you. Only you. Not the dancing cowboy, or anyone else.”

He pulled me tight, as tight as he could to him and held on for dear life. I leaned in and kissed him deeply. “Only you.” I told him again. “I only want you. For the rest of my life.”

He rolled over so he was on top of me. He looked down at me and asked, “Promise? Promise me you’ll never leave me for another man?”

“I promise. I don’t know how either of them could have left you. You’re the best thing to happen to me. You’re gonna be stuck with me forever.”

“I want you forever too.” He said and then kissed me. Then we proceeded to show each other just how much we wanted and loved each other.

The sixth night we were in Memphis, Tennessee. I had booked us a hotel for that night. I wanted one night to be in a hotel. Pete and the kids weren’t used to living out of a camper for long. They had all spent time on the road, but with the band they didn’t live on the buses full time.

The seventh night of our trip was spent outside of Atlanta. From there the distance to my Dad’s farm was only about four hours. We would be there the next day. I was getting very excited. I was looking forward to introducing my families to each other.

The morning we would arrive at Dad’s place, I got up really early. I was too excited to sleep. I got up and started heating some water to make coffee with. As I was puttering around the campsite Marvel got up and joined me.

“Moony, are we gonna get to your Daddy’s house today?” She asked me.

“Yes we are. I can’t wait for you to meet him.” I told her with a smile.

“Are there lots of animals on the farm?” She had been asking questions about the farm.

“Lots of animals. He has chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs, horses and a donkey. And he has dogs and cats. He even has a cat named Molly that's Fred & George's mom. And you can meet all of them.” I assured her.

“Can I ride the horses?” She asked.

“Yes. I’ll take you riding. And you can help gather the eggs from the chickens. And you can feed the horses carrots and apples.” I was telling her this Saint came out of the kids tent.

“Good morning Sir Saint.” I greeted him.

“Morning Moony. Can I ride the horses too?” He asked.

“Yes you can. I’ll teach you how. Would you guys like some juice?”

I got them both juice and then started breakfast. Pete and Bronx both got up just a little bit later. Everyone was ready for the trip to be over. I was ready to see my family. Once we had eaten and had gotten ready for the day, we left Georgia and heading west we made it to South Carolina and the farm.