Labor Day Camping Trip Part 3

On Sunday morning, I woke with a stiff, sore neck and a headache.  The perils of sleeping on the ground, I guess.  We were heading back home early that afternoon, and Kinsley was dead set on going back to the beach before we left.  Brody, Damien, and I decided to stay at the campsite and just relax.

I was reading and ignoring Brody and Damien--who were having a lively sounding sports-related debate--when James and Haley came back to the campsite.  They both looked pissed off and Haley stormed off towards the bathroom.  James dropped into the chair next to me and sighed.

Brody, Damien, and I just sat and stared at him for several seconds.  "What?" he asked irritably, looking up.

No one spoke, and Brody and Damien looked at each other, then me.  Their mouths remained firmly closed.  Looked like they were punting this one my way.  Thanks, guys!  I looked at James and gently asked, "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" he snapped back.

I shook my head and made a face.  "You know exactly what I mean.  She is awful.  Seriously, wretchedly awful."  Brody and Damien quickly nodded their agreement.  At least they weren't going to argue with me.

James sighed and rubbed his forehead.  "I know," he admitted finally.  His eyes darted in the direction Haley stomped off in, then back to mine.  "I know.  She's actually really great one on one, but as soon as she gets around other people, she's a nightmare.  She was fine at the barbecue I met her at, and then we weren't around other friends for a few weeks after that.  And now, since she's a friend's cousin, I can't quite figure out how to extricate myself."

Brody shook his head.  "The longer you wait, the worse it's going to be," he pointed out.

"I know that," James replied.  "I--" He stopped suddenly and sat back in his chair.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Haley approaching.  I willed Brody and Damien to not turn around and make it obvious we'd been talking about her.  Luckily, they didn't.  She approached our little group and stood there looking at James.  He looked back at her evenly and she huffed out a sharp breath and continued, making her way back towards the beach.  He shook his head and stood.  "I should go talk to her," he muttered.

"You probably shouldn't," Damien advised.  But James shrugged and jogged after Haley.

When he was gone, I looked at Damien, "What's the deal?  I don't think it's just because Haley is his friend's cousin."

Damien shrugged, then said, "I'm not completely sure, but I think he's feeling a little bit like a relationship failure lately.  No offense, but between you, Cassie, and now Haley, I think he's trying a little too hard to make something work."

I wrinkled my nose, sighed, and said, "Well, he should find someone new to try really hard with, because she's horrid."

"I agree," Damien replied.

James and Haley didn't return until they came back with Lauren, Kinsley, and Alex.  Neither of them looked happy but they seemed fine otherwise.  We got to work cleaning up the campsite and taking down the tents.  Lauren walked over with one of my shirts in her hands.  "Here's the shirt I didn't wear," she said loudly.  "Thanks for letting me borrow them.  I'll wash the ones I wore and get them back to you.  Any ideas on how to get the sunscreen and lotion out of mine?"

I snuck a look at Haley, who was watching our exchange with the shadow of a smirk on her face.  Lauren suddenly turned towards her and sweetly said, "Maybe you've got some ideas."

"Why would I?" Haley asked snottily.

Lauren rolled her eyes and snapped, "Oh, stop pretending you didn't do anything.  How old are you, 14?"

"Lauren," I warned her softly.  I just wanted to get everything packed up and get home so I could spend the rest of the long weekend on the couch with Netflix.

Haley turned to James and said, "I'm not riding in a car with her.  She's rude."

James sighed and said, "Well, you also said you wouldn't ride in a car with my 'skanky ex-girlfriend' so I'm not sure how you want to get home."

"Skanky ex-girlfriend?" I repeated.  "We dated for a month.  It barely even counts!"

"Thanks," James snapped sarcastically back at me.  "That's so helpful."

Brody bristled, sending an angry glare in James's direction.  "Don't talk to her like that."

"Would you all shut the fuck up?" Kinsley yelled to be heard over the angry mutterings of half of the group.  "Seriously, are you all 14?  Let's finish packing shit up and leave.  Then none of you will have to even look at each other anymore."  Being the voice of reason was not a common thing for Kinsley, but in this moment she pulled it off.

To avoid further conflict, Alex handed his keys off to Damien and Damien drove Alex's car back.  James and Haley rode with Damien and Kinsley, and Alex and Lauren came with us.  The drive back into town was a rather quiet one.  Once we got to Lauren's house, we all went our separate ways pretty quickly.

Once Brody and I were alone in his SUV together, I said, "We can't do big group trips anymore.  Something ridiculous always happens."

"Always?" Brody asked, considering this.

"Always," I repeated.  "Savannah at the cabin...both times.  Savannah at Kendra and Christian's wedding.  This time we didn't even need Savannah, because we had Haley."

Brody shook his head.  "I'm too old for this shit," he muttered.

"Tell me about it," I agreed.  "At least we weren't planning on staying another night.  That would have gotten awkward fast."  Brody nodded in agreement, and then we changed the subject, putting the uglier parts of the weekend behind us.

When we walked into our house, I was still surprised to find it empty.  Even though Ken had only been living with us for a few weeks, I'd gotten used to his presence.  "It's so quiet here," I mused, as we tromped upstairs with our bags.

"I'm okay with that," Brody said.  "In fact, it's perfect."  I agreed.

We spent the rest of our weekend lounging on the couch and watching crappy TV and movies.  Well, I watched.  Brody spent a good chunk of time doing some work on his laptop, but he sat with me while he did it.

On Monday, I was making lunch when Brody wandered into the kitchen, laptop in hand.  "Liv?" he asked, setting the laptop down on the table and watching me.

"Yeah?" I replied, only half paying attention.

"Were you serious about wanting a dog?"

I paused, setting down the knife I was using to chop vegetables, and turned around.  "Yes," I said, "But not until after the wedding.  Why?"

"Well, Pete emailed me.  I had mentioned that we were talking about getting a dog, and his sister and brother-in-law are apparently moving in with his parents and can't take their dog.  Pete has the dog for now while they try to find him a good home.  He's really cute."

I laughed at Brody calling the dog "cute."  "Let me see," I said reluctantly.  Brody showed me the picture he'd pulled up on his laptop.  I had to admit that he was awfully cute.

"He's part Rhodesian Ridgeback and part German Shepherd," Brody continued excitedly.  His whole face lit up and it was adorable.  "He's 3 years old, and Pete says that he's really well-trained and well-behaved.  He's also a good watch dog, but he stops barking on command."  I bit my lip to keep from laughing at how excited Brody was.

"Brody, he is really cute, and he sounds great, but what will we do with him while we're on our honeymoon?" I asked gently.

"Well, I told Pete that dilemma and he suggested that we visit and see what we think, then if we want him, he'll keep him until after we're back and settled and ready to take him for good."

"You've got this all thought out, huh?" I asked.

"Hey, I know you well enough to know what all your arguments will be before you even make them," he replied.

"Apparently," I said, laughing.  "Okay, we can go meet him at least.  I feel bad for him, though, going from his home to Pete's, then to someone else's.  Poor thing."

"Yes," Brody agreed enthusiastically.  "Keep feeling bad for him.  Take pity on the poor dog."  I laughed and threw a dish towel at Brody, who apparently thought my empathetic nature might make me more likely to fall in love with the dog.  "Here," he said, picking up the knife I had set down. "Let me help."

"You know, I'm not against getting a dog," I pointed out.  "You don't have to convince me.  I just don't want to do it before the wedding.  So as long as we're waiting until after to take him home, your chances are good enough without sucking up to me."

"Well in that case, here's your knife.  Let me know when lunch is done!"  He set the knife down and made it two steps before he laughed and said, "Seriously though, do you want some help?"  I waved him off and returned to chopping things.

That evening, even though it was Labor Day, Lauren and I planned to hang out like we usually do on Mondays.  She offered to come out to our house though, and I took her up on it.  Brody retreated to the second living area downstairs that Ken had been using with his laptop and Lauren and I sat in the living room on the main floor with our takeout and wine.

"So James showed up today and offered to pay for any of my stuff that was ruined," Lauren said, once we were settled with our food.

"Seriously?  That's pretty much a guilty verdict for Haley."

Lauren shrugged.  "Yeah, that's what I figured.  I didn't take it though.  I mean, it's his fault that she was there, but I believe that he had no idea she was that crazy."

"He picks real winners," I said, shaking my head.

Lauren burst into laughter.  "You realize that includes you, right?"

"Well, I'm not crazy, but I was kind of shitty to him," I pointed out.

Lauren didn't disagree, but she said, "But you also warned him you weren't in a good place to date, so at least he should have been fully aware that there was a chance you'd end up being shitty to him."

"I guess," I agreed half-heartedly.  I didn't really want to talk about the drama-filled camping trip anymore.  Luckily, Lauren happily changed the subject.

"So, your wedding is less than a month away," she said, grinning.

"Don't remind me," I groaned.  "I have so much to do still."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Table assignments and place cards, find a card box, figure out music, find and book transportation for guests between the venue and the hotel, figure out the rehearsal dinner, find shoes, find someone to do my hair, decide on favors, figure out who hasn't RSVPed..." I rattled the list off easily, because it was constantly gnawing at my brain.

"I didn't hear you say 'get the marriage license' so you should probably write that on your list," Lauren said.  I smacked my forehead and flopped backward against the couch, groaning.  Lauren laughed.  "What can I do?" she asked.

"Let's go shoe shopping soon," I suggested.  "And any suggestions on someone for hair?"

Lauren and I talked wedding the rest of the evening.  She pushed me to grab the envelope where I was keeping the RSVPs we'd gotten back and helped me organize them and figure out which we hadn't gotten back yet.  Brody came up at one point, heard us talking about the wedding, and retreated quickly back downstairs.

Before Lauren left, she had come up with a list of places to call about hair, we'd set a shoe shopping date for Wednesday after work, and she'd emailed her sister to ask if she still had her old card box laying around.  I also had a list of tasks to do that week that Lauren and I had prioritized.  Sometimes her Type A personality was a major benefit.