Page 67 of Game Over

“I love you too, Mama. Bye.” I hung the phone up and stared at my reflection on the black screen.

“Is everything okay, baby?” Spencer tentatively asked.

“Um, yeah. Well, I mean, no, not really. My mom and sister are apparently sick with possible food poisoning, so they can’t go this weekend, and I… I know it isn’t their fault, but it sucks, ya know?”

“I know love, I'm sorry.” Pulling me into him, he held me tightly as he bent down to place small kisses on the tops of my shoulders.

“She said to tell you that you need to pack and that you’re going instead.” I could feel him instantly tense up. I turned around to finally face him, and he braced his arms on the bar, caging me between them.

“What? I couldn’t possibly go. This was a trip for your family. Your mom paid for this cabin, right? I-I would feel awful.”

“I said the same thing for feeling guilty, and she said to essentially suck it up and have fun.” I laughed because, even sick, good ole Donna got her way.

“Are you sure, Allie? I know how important this was for you,” Spencer asked, his tone and eyes full of worry.

“I know it’s last-minute, but maybe she’s right. This will be fun and good for us. Besides, if no one goes, we lose money.”

I didn’t want my mom to lose any money, so it made the most logical sense for Spencer and me to go. And I did think it would be good for us to travel together, even if it was only a short distance away.

“I’ll need to run home and put in time off and grab stuff, but yeah, I think I’d really like this. It’ll be fun to experience it for the first time with you.”

“Well, in that case, why don’t we run to your place to grab stuff real quick after dinner, and then I can pack when I get back?” I smiled at him, feeling excited that I got to show him around for the first time.

We got to his apartment, and I helped him gather clothes together to try to speed up the process. He worked on grabbing an assortment – shorts, jeans, button-ups, and T-shirts. I made my way to the bathroom and grabbed all his shower stuff, toothbrush, and other essentials as well. I looked at his body wash, and ah ha, there it is. Scents of eucalyptus, cyprus, and white birch. Thank you, scent gods. He always smelled so damned good.

After he made sure everything was packed, he hopped onto his work computer and put in time off for tomorrow and Monday as well, since I took that day off too. I was excited that he was able to get it approved at the last minute, but he said his boss was flexible when it came to time off. After we made sure he had everything packed, we checked all his windows to make sure they were locked, then turned all but two lamps off. I took his suitcase to the car for him while he made sure the front door was locked.

Quickly loading his suitcase into my trunk, we hopped in the car and headed back to my house so I could pack everything I’d need. I tried to start earlier in the week, but work had been so busy that I felt so drained afterwards that I didn’t have the mental capacity to work on it. Emma was usually my go-to packing partner, but she had her stretch of twelves at the hospital, and then she had been acting off, so I let her have the space she needed. Emma was like a scared animal backed into a corner. If I pushed her too much, she’d clam up even further and try to convince herself nothing was actually wrong. Whenever she was ready, she’d talk to me about whatever was wrong.

Needless to say, I had absolutely nothing ready, and it was stressing me out to the max. I grabbed my iPad out and propped it up on my dresser with my packing list so I could check everything off as I went. Traveling Allie was a different creature altogether. I needed everything to be perfect and in order, or I would be completely stressed out over it.

“What can I do to help you, my love?” Spencer asked as he walked up behind me to wrap his arms around me.

“How about you sit here in this spot on the bed while I pack.” Plastering a smile on my face, I tried to make sure my tone came out friendly and not like he was in my way or anything. I got overwhelmed when it came to things like this. I was so used to doing it on my own that it was easier for me to do it and not ask for help.

“Are you sure? You helped me with pretty much all of my stuff. I don’t want to sit here and feel like you can’t rely on me.”

“Spencer, I promise. I… God, it makes me sound like such a bitch. I don’t want you helping me. I know it’s a me issue, and I need to work on it, but I want things packed and done a certain way. It’s all around better for everyone if I do it the first time.” If this didn’t make him run, I wasn’t sure what would.

“That’s understandable, and if you need me to sit out of the way and be here to keep you company, I can do that. Anything you need from me, sweetheart.” I stood there staring at him. Just like that, he accepted what I needed. No second thoughts. No trying to convince me otherwise or telling me I was crazy. I opened my mouth to talk and then closed it again. Finally, I managed to get words out.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. I know it makes me sound insane.” I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

“It doesn’t make you anything but you.” He shrugged like it was that simple. “You want things a specific way, and right now you would rather you do them. Maybe later on you would show me, but for now it’s easier for you to do it this way. I get it, love, and that’s okay.” He kissed my forehead and went over to his designated spot on the bed. “If you need me, I’ll be right here for you.” He smiled, that dimple popping out. I grabbed my suitcase and tossed it on the bed, and set to work packing.

We decided that since I had a 4Runner, it would be the car to take, since there was more room. After I had finished packing and triple-checking we had everything, Spencer went ahead and loaded all the bags into the back of my car while I reinstalled the hammock for Dolly in the back seat since I had washed it before the trip.

It was nice to have validation of how I felt about my tendencies to complete tasks instead of being told I was insane. I knew to most people it didn’t make sense, but it did to me, and having Spencer see and understand that meant volumes to me.

We woke up early the next morning to get ready and to make sure we had time to stop for breakfast and coffee for the road. I didn’t want to have dishes left, so it seemed like the smartest option. The weather was perfect this morning, which made my mood significantly better. The crisp fall morning left a bite to the air, but I knew come this afternoon, it would warm up, and we’d be sweating. The sun was rising, casting a beautiful glow on the mountains and trees all around us. Not many people were out yet either, so it was a serene moment. This trip was already starting off perfectly.

Since Spencer had never been, I told him I would drive us up there to make it easier. Hooking my phone up and punching in the cabin's address, I turned on some music, and we hit the road after grabbing coffee. For most of the ride, we either sang along, mostly me giving Spencer a one-woman concert, to whatever song came on, or I rambled on about all my favorite places up here and ones that had closed or changed. I knew to most people this was another touristy town and wasn’t special, but I had so many memories growing up here.

Weekends and school breaks were spent coming to Dollywood with my grandparents. My mom, sister, and I went shopping on our little trips or frequently on the weekends when we had more time to be together. I was excited to get to share this piece of me with him.

Thankfully, we didn’t hit any traffic and arrived at the cabin in a little over two hours. It hadn’t been long since our last stop, but I still walked Dolly around the outside of the cabin so she could go and also become familiar with the area. The cabin my mom found was nothing short of stunning. It was three stories with a full wrap-around porch, large windows all around, and a hot tub and grill on the back patio. Off to the side, there was a large gravel area that had multiple chairs, a swing, and a fire pit. It was nestled in a large wooded area with no neighbors close by, so we had more privacy too.

Since it was going to be the two of us, we wouldn’t use all of this space, but it was still nice being here. I was already thinking about the early mornings on the porch with a coffee in hand, book in the other, and Dolly resting with me. Those quiet moments are what I live for. We managed to get most everything in one trip and headed inside.