Maldivian Excursion

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

The Maldives, not what one really thinks about when they think about a beach type holiday. However, it was December and down in the Southern hemisphere it was hot. It wasn’t very often that Michael got a chance to leave the states since he’d left the feds. Though he’d been saving for this trip for a while. Unknown to Alexis of course. He wanted her to be somewhat surprised. Not that her ticket on the airline wouldn’t give things away at some point. It wasn’t like she was five and he could keep her from reading. No, quite the contrary his little girl wasn’t so little anymore. She’s an adult he was still coming to grips with the fact that she had grown up so fast.

No Michael hid the tickets and kept things on the downlow as long as he could. Well as hard as it was to tell a girl to get packed for the beach in the middle of winter. Words like, ‘Just do what your told’ and ‘Trust me’ had been thrown around. He’d already called her work and explained that she would be gone, though not to spill anything but that he’d like her to have the time off. Surprisingly, no one had said anything. Today was their flight. He knew Alexis already had to be suspicious but that wouldn’t change the fact that she was still in the dark. He put a bow on top of the envelope and made her breakfast.

He’d already been up finalizing everything. He’d even made a last minute phone call when someone had backed out of taking care of the animals. Now that was covered again. He needed to not let Alexis have any reasons to worry on their way over there, and if the animals were taken care of, he knew that would ease a lot of her worry. He wasn’t even sure how many animals they had now. Some came and went with her job so much so that he’d lost who was supposed to be a permanent fixture.

✄ @alexis

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

For several weeks now her dad had been teasing her, dangling a 'trip' in front of her without being specific. All she knew was that shorts and swimsuits meant somewhere south, but that could be...Australia? Cabo? Grand Cayman...South Africa...Well, the possibilities were endless, and now that it was time, she was itching with anticipation.

Now it was time and she eagerly took the envelope, tearing off the ribbon and ripping into it. Tickets!

Well, no surprise there. She looked up at her dad, then handed the envelope back to him. "I want to keep the surprise!" she told him, after all, that was half the fun. "Just...when do we leave?"

She was ready, pretty much, just needed her pillow and toothbrush, and those would only take a few minutes to grab!

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael shook his head when she handed the envelope back to him. “We are leaving for the airport after breakfast.” He pointed out. That meant there was enough time to tie things up. Michael being Michael took the envelope and put it in her bag. He’d give her the opportunity to peek anytime she wanted to do so. He’d already kept it a secret for a few months. Though he had to admit watching her so eager had been worth it.

Sitting down he joined her at the table. He was having his usual morning coffee. He already had made sure that his girlfriend had the key to the apartment and everything else. He smiled over towards her and smirked. “We will have a few layovers.” He pointed out. There was no way with the few layovers in various countries that she would be able to guess where they were going. Especially since their last leg was a small boat journey.

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Oh, really?" She raised an eyebrow, feigning disinterest as she spread cream cheese over a bagel. "I'll have my iPad, I have some studying...or, there's a book I started...and always Candy Crush or something, so I'll be good."

She looked over at him. "What about you, though...I hope you don't get too bored or anything. Will we have to eat airport food?"

She was pretending to be cool as a cucumber on the outside, while inside she was crazy with anticipation and ready to leave this instant! Heck, even airport food sounded exciting.

Taking a bite of her bagel, she quickly chewed then swallowed. "Okay, then...breakfast over! Time to go, right?"

As much as she was itching to go, she still was determined not to peek!

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael shook his head. “You started another one already? Did you even finish the other one you were reading?” There was an incredulous look of ‘already?’ written across his face. One thing he had been was a reader when he was her age. He’d lost interest in it over the years. That wasn’t to say every once in awhile he wouldn’t pick up a book. Though he was sure that his daughter ranked right up there with his mom and Jordan. He’d lost interest in a lot of things that reminded him of his past. Hell, even Alexis’ mom had been a reader.

“I have a few books myself.” Books he would likely start five pages in and put down. Or ones that he had read five hundred times. Truth was he was more likely to suggest starting a board game or something that was in their carry on, or take her strolling through the airport (or the outside world depending on how long it took them to have a layover).

Michael made a face when she said airport food. He didn’t much care for that. “I think only one of our layovers is that short.” There was the ‘thank god’ look plastered all over his face. He wasn’t slightly concerned that she had finished breakfast so fast. Neither one of them had ever really been much of a breakfast person.

Taking the tickets off of the table, he put them in his shoulder bag. It looked like a briefcase, but it was going to be his carry on. Carrying bags didn’t bother Michael. When you were a single father at one point in your life and carried pink diaper bags… nothing like that phased you anymore. Literally, nothing. “C’mon then, leggo.”

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Ready!" Well, almost. First Alex had to give each critter a kiss and a snuggle. She'd miss them, but not too much, and besides, she knew they'd be well-cared for so she didn't have to worry.

"Okay, real ready now!" Grinning, she grabbed her suitcase and backpack, then headed for the door. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to do some reading...you don't even have to use a real book so you look like an old fogey...you could get a Kindal, look real 'hip', listen to music while you read."

Of course, even as much as she liked to stick her nose in a book, and even though she was in the middle of a really great one, she wouldn't leave her dad hanging...this was a vacation for them to be together, so she'd challenge him to a game of some sort, or maybe they could just talk some.

"So, there going to be long layovers?" So they might be visiting more than one place? Or at least having a whirlwind stop? This was sounding better all the time!

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael knew better than to know she was ready the first time. His daughter was predictable when it came to the animals. “As opposed to fake ready?” He teased as he picked her up with one arm and swung her out the door. Okay so that was more difficult than it had been in the past but that didn’t change the fact that he could still do it. He’d do it as long as his back would let him and as long as she wasn’t complaining about it.

“One day someone is going to be calling you old.” He stated, poking her lightly in the sides before he locked the door. He’d already given Tess a key. “Then you can see how you like it.” He teased. He was trying to come to grips with the fact that his daughter was technically an adult now. Where had his little girl gone?

“A few. Enough to get out of the airport and have a little while to eat in some interesting places.” He smirked. “How does Lunch in London sound with Dinner in Rome?” He teased. Neither of which gave away their destinations. They were going to be airline hopping like crazy. So he would let her munch on that little bit of information.

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Really?" She looked over at him with a huge grin. She'd always wanted to travel and see most of those places. Sure, she'd lived in Spain, but that had been a long time ago and she'd been really young, she really didn't remember much about it, and besides, it wasn't as if they'd been tourists or anything.

Of course, neither London nor Rome was having weather that was suitable to bathing suits this time of year, so she knew neither of those was the end-point. Maybe Australia or New Zealand? South Africa?

Well, no matter, she was really enjoying the journey, and she was certain that she was going to enjoy the final destination.

"High tea, then?" she quipped in a bad English accent, "scones and clotted cream?" Laughing, she nudged her dad. "Real spaghetti in Italy, I mean, what more is there? I mean, besides coffee in Morocco?"

Okay, she could just look at the tickets, but where was the fun in that? Besides, it was good to see her Dad enjoying himself with all the intrigue.

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

At his daughter’s bad accent he chuckled and just shook his head. “Yes all of that and more.” He just enjoyed seeing her happy. Perhaps he spoiled her more than he should sometimes but he also tried to balance out the whole having to be the disciplinary throughout the years.

He made his way to the driver’s seat of the car. Something else he had finally managed to pay off. Michael opened the door as he laid across the seats in order to reach the door handle before sitting back upright once had unlocked the door. One of the many things he had to get fixed the car, the door lock of his Jeep still needed some work.

"Morroco?” He raised a brow. Not really the place to visit but maybe his daughter was more into cultural excursions than first thought.

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Did I say Morocco?" She smiled innocently as she slid into the passenger seat. "I think I meant Monaco...or Monte Carlo? Oh, Monterey!"

It was all just a lousy attempt at guessing the final destination, which was kind of silly since she could just look at the tickets. But where was the fun in that?

"I don't really care as long as there's...oh, a castle and beach and mountains and a zip line...cats, of course..."

Grinning, she added in, "Oh, right, and some hunky men in Speedos!"

She batted her eyes sweetly. "As long as I get first pick!"

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

There had been plenty layer overs, plenty of time to visit some of the sites in London, but not so much time in Italy. There were other overs but none that had lasted long enough to try more than the native airport foods. There had been numerous card games, a few naps, and by the time they got off the cramped plane at their final destination Michael was ready to be on solid ground.

Going through the airport to baggage claim he had a feeling he was the most tired of the two. He was getting older and his daughter had always been a bundle of energy, even when she had been little. Though now he had a harder time keeping up with her adult energy even. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as they made their way to baggage claim. They were waiting on luggage, and to be honest he had no idea how much luggage they were waiting on.

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

Alex was in Seventh Heaven, still flying in the wake of, well, flying! In a way, so far it had been overwhelming, but she had readily taken it all in, wanting more, knowing that somehow she wanted to work this into her life once she was out of high school...well, and college...except she didn't want to be away from her Dad too much. Well, she'd find a way to make it work!

And here they were, the 'Final Destination', the Maldives! No snow, no parkas, no scarves or gloves or boots! Nope, just bikinis, snorkeling, zip-lines and parasailing!

"So, are you going to teach me how SCUBA?" she asked as she watched for the luggage. "And we get to go zip-lining, right?" She had no idea what he had lined up and didn't want to spoil it, but it didn't hurt to plant a few suggestions. "Oh, and horseback riding!"

If she was going to sacrifice social media, she may as well get something in return...besides alone-time with Dad!

@meriton

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Michael couldn’t help the smile that was planted on Alexis’ face as they waited for their luggage. “We can make plans when we get to where we are staying.” Michael pointed out. Cabin on the water. I mean as long as there weren’t any hurricanes or tsunamis coming for them, it would be quite nice.

“But do you really think we are going to leave here without horseback riding?” That was more than likely a rhetorical question. Though he’d only learned to ride because his daughter had fallen in love with it. One of those things he tried to let her do as often as possible. Though he had to remind himself that she wasn’t so little anymore. His little girl was an adult now. Officially speaking. Hell the legal drinking age here in the Maldives was even 18.

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Awesome!"  Alex's face lit up as she ambled toward the exit, towing her luggage behind her, her coat having long been stuffed away.  No need for that here, and as she stepped into the balmy sunshine, she turned her face up to take in the welcome warmth.

"Man, everyone back home is going to be soooo jealous!" she declared, glancing at her dad, "there's a use for snow, sure...skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, snow angels...but I think I could be happy just living the other way around, you know?  Home, warm, vacation, cold."

Not only that, but the air here was so clear, without the haze created by millions of people that hung over Chicago most of the time and muted the colors.  No, here the sky was bright, vivid blue and that made the clouds seem all the more white in contrast.  And the greens were so sharp and beautiful...and they hadn't even gotten a good view of the ocean yet!

"This is really great!  Thanks, Dad!"  Alex gave her father a firm hug, holding him for a few seconds, genuinely loving having him to herself for now, all too aware of how fleeting life was, and how quickly it could be taken away.

As for all the ideas of what she wanted to try, that were turning around in her head, she held those in for now to see what her dad had planned.

"So, let's go do this!  I'm ready!"

@meriton,

[Deleted]

i'd say show me but that
would come out all kinds of wrong.
i have to say they didn't exactly partner me with a male too hard on the eyes

Of course his daughter would be happy to be cold when it was warm in Chicago. Though he was hardly going to take her someplace that was as chilly as Chicago. Michael watched her excitement and smiled though soon she had her arms wrapped around him. There were few people in his life that he actually cared for and making his daughter happy is what kept him going most days. Even as close as he was to his sisters, his daughter always came first.

“It’s your week, you tell me where you want to go.” He picked up their bags and loaded their bags into the cab. “Though, we might want to go to where are staying hrm?” He hadn’t exactly booked a hotel room. It was a little cabin that sat on a dock on the edge of the beach. He may have gone overboard. But then again, he was allowed to do that.

OOC: Sorry took so long. Michael’s muse is the first to falter when my stress level gets high

✄ Alexis Wheeler

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOXOGRAPHY 2.0