Trip for two

Now that all the packing had been taken care of, Jenny sat down on the sofa in the living room to rest for a few minutes before she would have to go and wake Charlie up from his nap. She planned to that in about half an hour. They would have some lunch and then they would get on the road. The ride to Prism mansion wasn't a short one and after that she still had to pick up Jason from work. Causing Jenny to let out a deep sigh as she thought that despite already having done so much and having ticked almost everything off her list, all in all she still had much to do before her pampering week for Jason could really begin.

Soon the thirty minutes had passed and she went to go get Charlie. When she walked into that room for the second time, he was no longer sleeping and was sitting up in the crib. Waiting patiently for his mother to arrive and help him out of his bed. Though he could get out of the bed himself, having figured out how to unhook and lower the railings early on, he hadn't moved from his spot. Since he enjoyed being taken care of by his most favourite person, especially after just waking up, he would usually sit in the crib like this until she would come to get him. But he would only do so on the days that he knew she would be the one to come get him. He had kept this piece of information regarding his independence piece a secret from Jenny. At least or so he thought. Not yet fully realizing that information about his actions and abilities was freely shared between the different people that cared for him.

Jenny finding this side of him endearing, acted along and feigned her ignorance whenever she would come get him in the mornings or after his nap. Even purposely announcing who would be getting him in the morning or after his nap when she would place him down for bed, just in case he would indeed already be awake by the time someone would come get him. So, when she walked in and found him like that, she greeted him like usual with her customary, "Hello my beautiful boy." The sweet boy responded with a soft, "Hello mommy." Warming her heart immediately. After that she would lower the bars and lift him out of the crib. Placing her love filled kisses on his freshly woken face. Once he was out and in her arms she chatted and joked with him as she normally would. "I see that I must have set your internal alarm to wake you up before my personal wake up service and have you welcome me in your room like this. What a great honour it is. Now what should we have you wear. My big boy is going on a trip today. So, I have to make sure you look extra dashing."

With a questioning look Charlie stared back at her as he tilted his head sideways and repeated her words, "A trip?" While Jenny changed him out of his pyjamas she answered his question. "Yes. A trip. Mommy and daddy are going away for a few days and grandpa and grandma are very busy. So, you will be staying at great-grandpa and great-grandma's place while we are away. Just for this mommy packed a big bag for you, just like she did for mommy and daddy. Are you excited?" Hearing the news of his parents departure only now, he seemed to be a bit saddened. "Can't Charlie come with mommy and daddy?"

Seeing his sad eyes and face, Jenny felt a sudden pang of guilt. She stroked his sweet looking face and answered with a gentle voice, "No, you can't sweetheart. Though mommy doesn't want to leave you either, mommies and daddies need to spend some time alone with each other as well in order to remain happy with each other. Only by being happy with each other, can we be a good mommy and daddy for our darling children. But I promise, that the next time we will go on a trip all three of us. Okay?" With this compromise Jenny tried to comfort her son, who still seemed to be unhappy about this news but accepted it after her explanation. He had promised his father that he would always put her happiness first and if that meant he would have to let her spend a week alone with his father, he would have to make due with that.

Once Charlie was dressed and they had both been fed, Jenny set off on the road. While she was making her way over to the Prism mansion, she made sure to make the most of her time alone with Charlie in order to compensate for the week that she would be away from his side. Chatting, joking, singing, playing games. Whatever she thought of, whatever was possible, she did during the hour-and-a-half long drive. As they were getting near their destination, Charlie seemed to have come to terms with Jenny and Jason leaving without him and noticed that he was becoming more excited for his own trip and all sad thoughts were fully forgotten once he was welcomed by his great-grandparents.

Jenny went inside with him for about half an hour to give him some time to get used to the environment before she took her leave. The moment she left, Charlie became sad again for a brief moment. Tears welling up in his big blue eyes, his lip starting to quiver. But all it took was for his great-grandmother to show him a video message of Jenny, that she had recorded and sent to her just in case, to lift his spirits back up and they would remain lifted until the two of them would return from their trip for two!