Chocolate Eyes

Evander had never travelled with so many people. It was hectic trying to get everyone through the airport and onto the plane, and they were all constantly keeping an eye on him. He was passed from person to person and someone was holding his hand or carrying him at all times. When they got on the plane, having boarded first with others parents and small children, Michelle, Val, and EJ discovered that their seats were just a few rows ahead of Suzy, Papa, and Mckenna’s.

EJ had flown before and knew what it felt like to be lifted off the ground, but knowing that it was coming still make him nervous. Michelle inserted a hollow type of earplug in his ears to keep them from popping and he was intrigued by her explanation of them. He ended up sitting between the sisters and spent most of the time waiting for the plane to leave have separate conversations with each of them. Val sat nearest to the window and Michelle near the aisle. His backpack was under the seat in front of him, but they asked him to turn his iPod off before they ascended. He fiddled with the papers that had been slipped into the pocket of the seat in front of him while he waited for the rest of the plane to board.

This flight was twice as long as his last, but unlike the trip to Oklahoma, he was able to get up from his seat after take off. Michelle let him wander back and forth from her to the Haners since they were only two rows back, but made him stay out of the aisle as much as possible. He spent a lot of time in Papa’s lap, watching one of the movies. When he fell asleep, Brian Sr. carried him back to his seat and Michelle pulled out the blanket that she’d packed. She wasn’t one to use airplane blankets or pillows and she definitely wasn’t exposing them to Evander.

He slept for over an hour and was upset when he woke up and learned that they still had over two to go.

“You want something to eat?” Michelle asked as Valary found a channel playing a kids’ movie.

EJ nodded quickly and shifted in his seat at look at the bag that Michelle was sliding out from under the seat in front of her. She had packed snack food and sandwiches. The plane offered beverages, but their snack items ran about three dollars a piece and there were no meals. She put EJ’s table down and gave him a ham and Swiss sandwich. He ate most of it in just minutes, his headphones on and his eyes glued to the movie.

EJ was unsurprisingly well behaved on the flight. The closer that the family got to Orlando, the more excited he got about the whole ordeal. He curled up in his seat and spoke rapidly about seeing his father for the first time since he left. The Disney trip was second to Brian, and it seemed that his birthday was a forgotten concept all together.

The little boy raced back to his seat from his grandparents’ and aunt’s aisle and darted past Michelle when the ‘fasten seatbelt’ lights came on and the announcement began that they were going to be landing soon. And when they finally made it to the ground, it was nearly impossible to keep him in his seat as they gathered their things up and waited for everyone to exit the plane.

Michelle strapped EJ’s backpack on him and made sure that his iPod and other items had made it back into their designated pockets before she told him to stay behind her and led him from the plane. The rest of the family had already left their seats. Michelle carried her bag off and grabbed his hand the minute they were back in the terminal. She checked with Val that her sister had her things as well and then they walked out to meet up with everyone else.

EJ was gone from Michelle’s side before she even had time to register it. She was turning quickly, getting ready to scream for him to come back before she realized that he was running to his father. Brian stood maybe twenty feet from him with the rest of his band at his sides and EJ raced to him. Brian kneeled down and took the boy into his arms.

Michelle paused to watch their reunion. It was something that made her eyes tear up. EJ had been away from his father for over two months and seeing them back together felt right. EJ clung to Brian as the man stood up and hugged his little son to him, hand pressed into the back of the boy’s head. EJ called out for his dad, repeating the word continuously, little arms locked together around the man’s neck. Brian was grinned when he finally stepped over to hug father, step-mother, and sister, all while still holding EJ. He then moved over to say hello to Val and turned to his wife. He wrapped his free arm around Michelle, the three of them holding onto each other.

“I’ve missed you,” he said in the hug, speaking to Michelle. He kissed her quickly, but adoringly. Then he stood back just enough to be able to see his son and wife simultaneously.

“I’ve missed you too, Bri,” ‘Chelle answered, her hand on his back as she stood next to him, “I’m so glad to see you.”

He nodded and couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

The group continued their hugs and hellos before heading over to luggage. Brian carried EJ through the whole airport, which was exactly what the little boy wanted. When they got their things, they hailed two taxi-van’s outside and piled in. EJ didn’t have a carseat so he spent the twenty minute ride on Brian’s lap.

The boy knew that they had a trip planned to Walt Disney World, but he didn’t know where they were staying or even what it entailed. It hadn’t been something he thought much about. Beyond getting to Florida and to his father, there wasn’t much else he really considered. But when the taxis pulled through the gate into the Animal Kingdom, it felt like another world to the child. He turned and peered out the windows, watching as the trees transformed and the buildings morphed into another style, another place all together.

“Zebras!” he said, surprised by the crop of foreign animals. He stared at another couple of creatures, trying to piece it together in his mind, before he finally gave up and turned back to his family, both confused and astonished. “Where are we?”

Brian grinned, patting his son’s back and adjusting the strap of his backpack. “The Disney Animal Kingdom,” he said.

EJ looked back through the window and his expression was of utter surprise and excitement as the two vehicles passed by a grouping of a Giraffes. He lost all composure and jumped in the small space between the seats and the sliding door. “There’s giraffes and zebras and goats!”

Brian pulled him back into his arms and nodded at the boy’s excitement. The adults in the van had their eyes trained on the blonde child and they watched him as well. He shimmed back into Brian’s lap, dark eyes widening as they moved farther into the African themed resort, and said, “I thought the plane brought us to Florida.”

“It did,” Bri answered, situating him as the car stopped at the front of the resort.

EJ frowned, childlike confusion on his face. “I didn’t know that Florida looked like this.”

There was a chuckle that reverberated through the van and then the group of them were getting out, EJ in Brian’s arms as he paid the taxi drivers. They unloaded their luggage as the cars drove away and a man stepped out through the building to greet them, dressed nicely and smiling like they were something special. EJ was no help at all, his attention lost to the animals roaming freely.

Brian moved to the man to introduce himself and his family. “I’m Brian Haner, we’re checking in,” he said, glancing back nervously to his son as the boy stepped across the gravel driveway towards the fence that kept the animals away from the cars. Bri turned back to the man when Mckenna grabbed the boy’s hand and led him back to the group.

“Ah, yes, Mr. Haner, we’ve been expecting all of you,” he said warmly, smiling past the guitarist to the rest of the clan, “Welcome to the Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge. If you’ll follow me I’ll get you all checked in and have someone show you to your rooms.” He waited for the group to grab their bags and for the rich-brown haired man to grab the little boy, and he led them through the doors of the wood and glass building.

Each person had been expecting something extravagant, but none of them had anything coherent to say about the inside lobby of the Kidani Village. The outside had been a sight - the architecture something they’d never seen before, but the inside was gorgeous. It was authentic, four stories high with wooden beams and glassy floors. The lights that hung from the arched ceiling looked feathery and inconceivable. Brian had to quickly grasp to hold onto his son as the child leaning back in his arms, intent of taking in every aspect of the gargantuous room.

The group moved across the floor with their eyes scanning and their heads swiveling from side to side. The employee looked back at them with a smile on his face, having seen this reaction countless times before.

EJ sat with Mckenna in one of the chairs while Brian checked them in. He ran in the small space and slid from wooden chair to wooden chair on the slick floor. He grinned at his family, at Zack and Brian Sr., and Michelle, and the others as he slipped and almost fell to the floor. No one was going to tell him to stop or to calm down. It was almost his birthday and this was their vacation.

“Dad! Can we go see the animals!?” EJ called across the space to his father. The dark haired man stood at the wooden counter, waiting for the machine to check his credit card and ID with the number and name he’d used to book the rooms. He was signing over his father’s rooms to his credit card and the machine was taking a moment to register the actions.

“Later,” Brian answered, grinning back at the boy as he leaned against the counter, “You need to get something to eat and then we can do whatever you want.”

EJ grinned at the possibilities. “Can I swim with fishes?”

A few people in group chuckled at the phrase. Brian shook his head, still smiling. “I don’t think that’s possible, but we can definitely find a swimming pool if that’s what you want to do.” He turned back quickly to the counter and signed his name as the man finished the transaction. Brian was free to go after that, and he swept across the room, bringing his suitcase and EJ’s with him. “Lets go!” he cheered, watching as the boy’s eyes widened and he darted over to him.

Brian’s fingers lingered on the handle of the boy’s book bag as the two of them led the group to the elevator. They had four rooms in total along the same hall. They’d paired up easily, the groups coming natural. Brian, Michelle, and EJ would share one, Suzy, Papa, and Mckenna in another, Zacky and Johnny, and then Matt and Val had their own as well. Brian’s room consisted of a queen size bed and bunkbed. He offered to have Mckenna say with them so that his parents could have their own space and the teenager easily agreed, somewhat excited to share a bunk bed with her nephew.

EJ called top.

“We should get you changed into your swim trunks,” Brian said when he’d gotten most of his and the boy’s things put away, “We’re going to get something to eat and then you want to go swimming right?” He’d been texting the guys and his father while they unpacked and they’d all agreed that they were down for whatever.

“Yeah!” EJ shouted, sitting on the top bunk. Brian had almost had a heart-attack when he turned around and saw the boy standing, pressing his palms into the popcorn ceiling. He’d yelled for him to sit down immediately and warned him that if he did it again Mckenna would be sleeping up there instead of him.

“Alright, then get down here.” Brian reached up to the top and lifted his son over the rail and to the ground. EJ climbed up onto the bed where Michelle was sitting, going through her bathing suits, and dropped down next to her, watching expectantly as his dad went through theirs.

“I wanna wear the green one,” EJ said, pointing to the lime green trunks Michelle had bought and packed for him, “They’re cool.”

Brian pulled them from the stack of trunks and tossed them onto the bed. He then turned and rifled through the boy’s suitcase, trying to find a shirt and shoes that he could wear with them out to lunch. He noticed easily all the new items. “‘Chelle, did you take him shopping?” he asked, grinning back at his wife, who grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

“He’s grown a lot in the last couple months,” she defended, “He needed some knew things.”

“You brought him six pairs of swim trunks,” Brian argued, “He’s only going to be here barely three days, ‘Chelle.” He stuffed the pile back into the bag and pulled out a black tank top for the boy, along with a pair of blue and green flipflops. “Come on, E, go get changed in the bathroom.”

Mckenna was sitting on her bunk as EJ passed, going through her own clothes. “Where are we eating?” she asked, pulling her swimsuit top onto her lap to separate it from the other items, “And when are we going to actual Disney World? I wanna ride some rides.” She grinned at her older brother.

“Tomorrow, probably,” he answered easily, grabbing for his own swim trunks.

“We should plan it out,” Michelle answered, “There’s so much to do and we’re not going to get through it all if we don’t plan it. We could make a list of everything else one wants to do and make a little schedule.”

“I don’t want a schedule,” EJ complained as he came out of the bathroom in his changed clothes, “I wanna have fun, Michelle.” Mckenna brushed past him into the bathroom to change, fingers brushing through his hair as she went. He frowned and stepped away from her, the frown remaining on his features as he looked at his step-mother.

“Not a strict schedule,” she defended, amused by his connotation of the word, “Just a list so we know what there is to do here. I’m sure you don’t wanna miss anything.”

He shook his head minutely and stepped over to lean forward against the edge of their bed. “No, but I wanna go swimming and play with the animals and then go do more Disney stuff with my family.”

“Aww, sweetheart,” Michelle cooed, holding her arms out for him as he climbed across the bed and into them, “We’re going to do plenty of stuff with your family, don’t you even worry about that. This whole trip is all about you and this family.” She hugged him tightly, like she did everyday before she left him at school, and then released him. He crawled over to the edge of the bed and waited for Brian to come to him. He jumped into his dad’s arms and stayed there, his head on his shoulder.

The rest of them got changed and everyone met in the hallway outside their rooms. It was a bit of a walk to the shuttle that would take them to one of the restaurants, but no one really minded. EJ was carried most of the way, alternating between people he really wanted to talk to, but he always came back to his dad. He was the baby of the family and he fit in easily. These next few days were exactly what he imagined family would be and he was excited to be here. Brian spent the rest of the day with his son. He spent every moment looking at and talking to and playing with the boy. Tomorrow he would turn five and Brian would get to be there for his birthday for the first time. It was almost a year since EJ came into his life and Brian wanted to make it the best year of his life.

They ate dinner together in one of the themed restaurants and EJ talked everyone’s ear off, going on about everything and then Val and Matt’s baby, and then back to something else while the adults deviated to that subject. After dinner they all went to the pool at their hotel. It was gorgeous and African themed and had a water slide that EJ was scared to go down. But Matt, and Zacky, and Johnny, and Brian showed him how it was done, and then Mckenna and then he finally gained enough courage to go down and have Brian catch him at the bottom.

He spent the night in the lighted pool with his family, his hair darkened by the water and looking more like his father than ever. He was grinning the whole time, the other parts of his life a distant memory, and it was dark before the crew packed it up and headed back to the hotel. EJ complained about having to go to bed. It was almost his birthday, he said, and he wanted to spend the whole night awake, playing games and petting animals with his dad.

But Brian bathed him and put him to sleep anyway. Tomorrow would be a big day and he would have to be up early. He wasn’t an early-bird naturally, so he needed all the sleep he could get. Michelle made a list of all the attractions as the boy slept, and Brian watched her write each thing down. His mind was on tomorrow already, on the exact time that his boy would turn five. He had the day planned, the birthday celebration was going to be one for the ages. One that EJ would never forget, and Brian, more than ever, was so grateful to have the child in his life, to have the majority of his family here. Brian felt better than he had in months and he knew it was because his son was sleeping only feet from him.