It's Gonna Be My Year

It turns out Jack and my parents had already finished packing and I only took 10 minutes because I was so excited. I loved the caravan trips we went on, our family caravan was really big and nice and it was one of the only times I actually felt like we were a family. And I knew Jack hasn’t experienced anything like this so I was excited to show him the beauty of caravan parks.

We had just collected the caravan and brought it home so we could clean it and get it all packed before we went. The caravan was really nice, it had two double beds either end, with storage above each of them. At one end there was the door on one side and a circular booth on the other, with a TV facing the bed. Behind the booth was a small bathroom with a shower and a toilet. Next to the door was the kitchen. It was quite big and had a load of cupboards and things. And it would be even better now that I got to spend the time with Jack too.
We ended up leaving at 2 and Jack was getting excited next to me. I knew he was excited because he’d never been out of state before.
“So kiddos, where are we headed?” Mom asked. I thought about it but couldn’t think of anything, I’d already been to most of the places I’d wanted to go. I turned to Jack.
“Where do you wanna go Jack?” I asked. He seemed a little overwhelmed. I suppose it would be, I mean he had anywhere in the USA to choose from. He shook his head a little.
“No, no you guys pick,” he said quietly.
“Jack, honey, we’ve already been to all the places we’ve wanted to go. You’ve never even been out of state. Don’t worry on these road trips we just take turns picking and it doesn’t matter where they are in the country, we’ll go. It’s all part of the fun,” Mom said. I was really glad she was my Mom, she was very soothing and had a way with words I think all Moms had.
Jack seemed to think that was a little better.
“Sorry, I just never really got to pick anything back home, at my dad’s place,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know if you were being serious or not,” he said. Even quieter. Why were people such assholes?
“Well, your home is with us now honey. Where’s one place you’ve always wanted to go but haven’t had the chance?” Mom asked.
“Uh, New Orleans? Or is that too far away? Never mind, I’ll pick Philadelphia. Uh yeah Philadelphia.”
“Ok Peter, let’s get going to New Orleans.”

We’d been on the road for 4 ½ hours when Mom spotted a sign for a caravan park in Rocky Mount. Mom and Dad started cooking straight away and Jack and I started to set up. We made the beds, set up the table and dragged the suitcases out the car and into the storage units above the beds. Jack was looking around in awe still. We’d passed from Maryland into Virginia a while ago and he had looked amazed. We stopped at the border and took a picture when Jack suddenly hugged my parents and then me.
“Thank you so much for helping me Alex. I never thought I’d leave, or even get a boyfriend, so thank you,” he had whispered into my neck. I had just held him tightly, not wanting to let go of the moment.
My parents had just called us in for dinner. It was just spaghetti bolognaise but it seemed like one of the most delicious things I’d ever tasted because I was so hungry. We were chatting and it felt like our family was whole once again. I was holding Jack’s left hand under the table, eating with my own left hand. I thought of how far we’d come in 3 ½ months. There were no bullies bothering Jack, my family had sorted itself out and Jack was away from his.
It definitely looked like things were turning out ok.
“So Jack,” Dad started, “Why New Orleans?”
“Uh, m-my parents met t-there,” Jack stuttered out. “I just w-wanted to see where they met, uh, because my uh, my mom used to talk about it and it seemed like a m-magical place, y’know? It shows a time w-where my parents were d-different and they didn’t d-ditch or abuse their c-children.”
Jack was crying a little now and the only thing I could thank his parents for at that point in time, was getting together so they could have my amazing boyfriend. I wasn’t sure I’d ever hated anyone more. I rubbed little circles into the back of Jack’s hand to try and stop the tears. He had been crying too much lately. We’d all finished dinner so Jack excused himself from the table and went outside.
I excused myself too because I knew he didn’t want to be alone. I found him sitting at a bench, shivering because it was about 45 degrees out and he was only wearing a thin jacket. He wasn’t crying anymore, just sitting curled up with arms around his knees bent. The sun was almost completely down so it was getting a little dark. At least there were only a couple of other caravans in the park and they were at least 100 metres from our own.
I sat down next to him and put my arms around his shoulders, pulling him into my side. He snuggled up to me and put him arms around my waist. We just sat and watched as the sun disappeared completely and waited until it was too cold for us to be out.
When we walked back in my parents were watching TV. We just had quick showers and headed for bed. Jack was a little clingier that night and I don’t know if it was because he was reminded of his mom leaving or because we hadn’t slept in the same bed for a while but I just held him tight, trying to convey the message I would always be there for him.
And I think he seemed to get it.