Mystery Vacation

ลำดับตอนที่ #1 : Chapter 1

Eyes open.

 Closed.

 Then open again, scanning the room for 5 seconds to figure out the basics; who she was, where she was, what she was doing there, the whole package. Quick recollections came flashing her way; Vanessa Langley, 18 years old, independent, kickass lady-and a sense of normalcy was restored. However, something was different. That day was different. Was it the sight of snow finally falling, signaling the official launch of the Christmas season? 

No, it definitely wasn’t that. Was it the arm of her boyfriend resting across her chest? No, she was already used to that feeling-in fact, it was a feeling she had become all to nauseatingly familiar with, but she didn’t object to its continuity; “that’s what couples do, isn’t it?”, she often thought. Then it hit her: today was the day- the day they departed for the long awaited (and highly anticipated) Christmas vacation. Her father had won tickets for six on an all expense paid trip to Palm Springs; a reward for being the top salesman in the last reviewed calendar year. It was supposed to be the trip that made all things right with her family again. What exactly was wrong with the family in the first place? The answer goes way back to the beginning.

Vanessa’s family; the Langleys, were an awesome, all American family (that’s right, they WERE). Her parents, David and Helen, met 25 years ago while both were still in college, trying to make names for themselves. It was love at first sight- you know the whole “us against the world”,” love conquers all” type of feeling you get when you meet someone you believe is your soul mate? Sure, that feeling never lasts. After 5 years of dating, they got married and set off to conquer any challenges life eventually threw their way-together. How wrong they were. Sure, the marriage started off all rosy and perfect. 2 years later, they had a set of twins- Vanessa and Erica. Then dad got transferred to a city on the other side of the country. This meant they had to move- and thus began the nightmare. Moving up one rung after another on the professional ladder gave dad an ego the size of Texas; he became a tyrant and an abusive alcoholic in the house, stayed out extremely late and hardly took input from anyone about anything whatsoever. When questioned about his life choices and general way of doing things, he usually went on rants and outbursts. It was always the same story;

“You’re all ungrateful!”

“I work very hard to keep this family happy and well-fed. I should be allowed the chance to blow off some steam a few times!”

“Do you know how much I make?!”

“Without me, you’d still be stuck in Omaha, feeding horses and shooting geese!”

It sure didn’t help that they had to move every now and then due to the nature of dad’s job. He was a salesman-the best at his firm-and whenever a new product was to be launched at a new location, the firm wanted the best hands on deck to handle the sales department, i.e, dad.

Annoying and generally dickish as he was, however, dad kept one good quality as the years went by; he never joked with his little girls. He was a doting father who made sure his daughters had all they needed at every point in time. Especially Erica. Sweet little Erica. She was always to calm, so welcoming. She had a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. Her calm and soft nature was a sharp contrast to Vanessa. Vanessa was always so strong, passionate and driven- “the son never had”, her father often remarked after being marveled by her quick thinking skills and sharp wit. She had an analytical mind and made her decisions based on facts, reasons and weighing pros and cons, unlike Erica, who always had a “free-spirited” type of mind, believing in fairytales, ghosts and other “illogical nonsense”-a term mostly used by Vanessa.  Not that she wasn’t intelligent too, though; she was just too damn soft. Due to this, the impending fallout of their parents’ marriage was always harder on Erica. During their hard and long arguments, Erica would roll up in a ball under her bed sheets and cry herself to sleep.

The entire situation continued for years, up until Vanessa and Erica turned 14. At this point, their father had become quite soft, maybe due to old age, maybe because he finally had enough of the fights. Not that he became completely repentant, though; he still drank occasionally. It was a vicious cycle; his drinking lead to late nights- he came home to an angry Helen, who in turn began nagging and demanding explanations. As a response, David began his usual yelling routine and this went on for hours, only finally ending when David got tired, slept off or when Helen started crying, swearing here and there that she was done with the marriage- a few times, she actually stormed out of the house and came back a few days later, after much pleading from David and the kids. The kids’ response to situations like these never really changed; while Erica came out and pleaded with her parents mid-argument to calm down, Vanessa had one simple lasting solution; leave. She always dreamed f the day when she’d be legally able to be a house owner or at least move out and begin living with her boyfriend, Corey Reynolds. She met Corey while in high school and although he wasn’t perfect, she fell in love with his “beautiful soul and selfless attitude”. They continued their relationship all through high school and into college. In time, however, their relationship also grew quite dysfunctional and although both noticed it, none of them bothered to acknowledge the fact. The just simply plodded along, working their relationship through problem after problem, one day at a time. The previous year, when she turned 18, Vanessa moved out of the family home and began living with Corey, despite the continuous pleadings from her family members. “It’s been 18 years and the situation hasn’t budged and frankly, I’m tired. Like mom, I’m done with all this but unlike mom, I’m leaving you all”, she said and with that statement, she left the house. She loved her parents; she really did. But as she resolved, enough was enough.

Since then, it’s been one big freak show. At times, she and Corey went to her home with gifts and stayed around for dinner, but the difference was still clear. Dad had mellowed down, probably a consequence of Vanessa leaving them. Once, she had a discussion about it with Erica

“You should come back”

“Why should I? You all seem happy, I doubt you even miss me”

“It’s not that. Dad has been really reserved since you left. He blames himself for the fact that you left. He hardly talks to anyone”

“Not even you?”

“Not even me”

“Well, that’s sad. On the flip side, though, he doesn’t drink anymore, which means no more sardonic barbs. So which do you prefer? I come back and we pick up where we left off, or I stay right where I am and you all continue to enjoy dad 2.0?”

Vanessa had a point and even Erica knew it. In as much as she hated her sister being an estranged part of the family, she also loved the fact that her father had become somewhat changed. For the sake of her mother and peace reigning in the family, she let things be and stopped pressing on the issue altogether.

Back to the present. Vanessa realized what was so different about that day. Dad had announced months before that he won a holiday trip for six to a wonderful holiday resort in Wisconsin. While everyone was definitely excited about this trip, Erica had seen it as a way to heal up the wounds of dysfunctionality that had cracked open their family. She relayed this vision to Vanessa and surprisingly, Vanessa shared the same opinion. In truth, she had noticed some reservedness on the part of her father. Whether it was as a result of her leaving their house as Erica hypothesized, she didn’t know but gradually, and as much as she hated to admit it, she noticed that something had changed with her father-and it wasn’t his drinking. He wasn’t as excited about stuff that used to spark him up before; sports, electrical tools and works, whatever. Except for some rare occasions, he hardly spoke to anyone. He only gave short answers to questions and sometimes appeared to mumble things to himself. While she was sure it wasn’t a medical condition or anything to be exactly worried about, she still wasn’t at rest. It bothered her, and she was going to try to fix him-starting with this trip. “Given your personality, I have to say I’m quite surprised that you’re agreeing with me. Your cold heart is gradually thawing. It’s a Christmas miracle”, Erica had joked when they discussed about it. This meant there was another reason to look forward to the trip. Vanessa, her parents, Corey, Erica and Erica’s boyfriend, Richard O’Connor were definitely set for a life-changing trip.

Vanessa nudged Corey awake. “Wake up, sleepy”. Before he turned over completely, she held his face firmly in her hand and planted a kiss on his drowsy face.

“Morning, babe. You seem happy”

“Of course I am. We’re going to Wisconsin, baby!”

“That’s the point. You seem happy ABOUT the trip”

 “Well, I am. It could be a way for my family to heal some long lasting rifts and if there’s even a 1% chance of that happening, I’ll take it”

“I’m happy to hear you say that. I’d sure love for things to work out between you all again so it’s good to be optimistic”

“Nessa’s being sentimental? Talk about a real Christmas miracle”

The whole emotional thing was beginning to nauseate her once again. Her? Being emotional? That’s not right. “What the hell is going on?”, she thought as she gradually got up from the bed.

Getting ready for the short drive to her parents’ house was easy. Vanessa and Corey got up, bathed and groomed up quickly. The entire final packing process, which included picking up a few essentials, didn’t take an hour and they were out of the door of their place and on their way in a short while.