1 Chapter 1 - Ready For Departure

Chapter 1

Ready for Departure

It was a sunny day in Lewes, Delaware. A boy no more than twenty was riding his bike along the Boardwalk. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of what was a familiar figure he had seen before – a familiar yet warming presence to the lad. He decided to walk towards the figure, revealing a girl that he knew. Up close, the girl was fair with wavy, light, blonde hair with deep, blue eyes that were almost a purplish shade. She wasn't extremely skinny nor was she curvy – just in between. While she was still catching a glimpse of the waves crashing into the area, the boy decided to sneak up to the girl and surprise her a little.

"I thought I would find you here, your parents are looking for you." He smiled at her.

"Mmhmm..." the girl responded to his open topic.

Edward, whom everyone called Eddie, was a tall, slender lad with black hair and blue eyes. He was known to be carefree, rebellious, was quite the jokester to anyone he's ever met. As Amelia gave a vague response to him, Eddie tried getting her attention once more.

"Mia?"

"I don't even feel like packing the rest of my stuff." The girl felt disgusted by the thought of packing.

"Amelia, you're only going to be gone for a week, right? It's not like you're moving away, and besides, the beach is not going anywhere." The boy tried to reassure her.

"I know." Amelia said blankly.

"Talk to me Mia, tell me what's on your mind? Are you really going to miss me that much?"

"Eddie, this will be the first time since I've been away from you since we've started dating. Aren't you as nervous as I am?"

"A little, but think of it this way, a week will fly by before you know it. Do you have your medicine packed?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I certainly can't forget that. I don't want another trip to be ruined by me rushing to the ER."

"As long as you keep taking it, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Right, lately I've been feeling on the edge like something isn't right."

"Like?"

"I don't know, I'm always paranoid anyway. I guess I better get going or I won't hear the end of it from my parents."

"Okay, call me when you get there in Oahu."

"Will do! Love you!" Amelia said as she rushes back to her home.

Amelia left Edward, her boyfriend, behind on the beach while trying to hurry back home to pack the rest of her bags for her stay in Oahu for a week. This would be the only time she has ever been to Oahu since her maternal uncle had been stationed there from the Navy. He had two daughters as well, but Amelia became distant with one that was closer in age with her. As for the younger one, it was unclear on where their relationship stood since she was five years younger than her.

Once she reached to her home, she opened the door to find the main hallway filled with suitcases and her flustered father waiting for her return.

"Amelia Coppinger! Where were you? Our flight leaves in an hour and you haven't finished packing!" Her father inquired her whereabouts.

"Sorry, Dad, I lost track of time." Amelia responded while catching her breath.

"'Sorry' isn't going to get your belongings packed faster, now move it!" Her father barked orders at her.

"Bill, have you seen the tags?" Her mother asked him from another room.

"I'm coming." Amelia's father left the room towards his wife's voice.

"Looks like someone's in trouble again..." Alex teased his sister.

"Don't you have a parrot to annoy?" Amelia rebutted that remark.

"Shouldn't you be worried about your canary?" Alex reminded her of her pet canary.

"For your information, I already took care of it first thing this morning unlike some people in this house." Amelia referred back to her brother.

"It's not my fault, Alex saws enough logs for a cabin." Aaron, her other brother and Alex's twin, came into the conversation.

"You should talk, oh wait, you do talk, in your sleep." Alex argued with him.

"Amelia, boys, I don't have time for you to argue, our flight takes off in forty minutes, can we please hurry it up and pack everything in the car?" Their mother pleaded.

"Yes mom..." Both boys responded in unison.

After a hurried effort of packing, near reckless driving from their father, and hassle with security clearance, Amelia and her family made it to their plane in a nick of time. Once the family found their seats, they plopped down in relief as they wait for departure to their destination. Meanwhile, Amelia's father turned to his wife Ashlynn.

"Finally, we made it." Bill sighed as the stress of making to their flight worn off. However, his wife felt a tinge of worry.

"Yeah we did. I can't help but worry if this will turn out like our last vacation. Will Amelia be alright? Will this not end in another overnight stay at the hospital?"

"Ash, it'll be okay. This time we came prepared. She has her medicine packed. She has her sleeping pills. Your brother and his wife know about her curfew. We'll be okay, I can reassure you that much." Bill reassured his wife as best as he could.

"Can you?" His wife still had doubts in her mind.

Meanwhile, a couple rows back, Amelia, Alex, and Aaron were taking amongst themselves.

"Do you think Uncle Hank has Wi-Fi at his place?" Alex asked in excitement.

"Why would you want Wi-Fi?" Amelia asked in a disinteresting tone.

"For video games, duh." Aaron replied.

"You guys are idiots." Amelia still replied in that same tone.

"Wonder what our cousins are like?" Alex asked out of curiosity.

"Don't know, Mia, can you tell us a little bit about our cousins?" Aaron turned towards Amelia for an answer.

However, it didn't take long until Amelia's medicine kicked in during the flight. She began slurring her words in her next response giving a hint to the boys that they should leave her alone once they arrived to Oahu.

"They're more around my age, you'll meet them soon enough."

"She took her meds; we best leave her alone until we land." Alex suggested to Aaron

"Good idea." Aaron agreed.

For vacations or long trips, Amelia had to take some sleeping pills ordered by her doctor to not aggravate her condition; or worst-case scenario, it would be used to prevent an uncontainable situation if one of her episodes hit around when the family was in the air or on the road travelling. Doctors had diagnosed Amelia at a very young age of having Epilepsy. Yet the cause was unknown, and there was no known family history of the neurological disorder. Ever since then, her parents, including her brothers, had to be cautious at all times for Amelia's sake to not potentially trigger an episode especially when there is no doctor on sight to help alleviate or control the episodes as best as possible. However, it was a rare occasion that the family went on a family vacation given Amelia's medical history so travelling meant extra precautions to them.

After many hours on the flight, the plane finally met its destination without anything going wrong. The next agenda for the Coppinger family was to make it to the terminal and meet up their extended family.

"We're here. Boys, gently wake up your sister, please." Their father instructed.

"Sure." Aaron responded back. While taking on his father's instructions, Aaron did what Bill had asked him to do by lightly shaking his sister to wake her up.

"Hey, sis, come on, we're here." Aaron, with Alex by his side, tried to wake Amelia up.

"Mmm..." Amelia was still groggy from the effect of her sleeping pills.

"Go on, boys, I'll get her and meet you guys down at the terminal." Their mother came to them.

"You sure, mom?" Alex asked making sure if it was alright.

"I'm sure, I'll ask someone for a wheelchair." Ashlynn said insisting.

"Come on, boys." Bill said while catching on to Ashlynn's hint to him.

After getting off the plane with assistance, her mother was still waiting for Amelia to wake up in her wheelchair. Finally, the medicine was beginning to wear off, and Amelia was starting to wake up.

"Urgh... mom?"

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need a minute?" Ashlynn asked while peering into her daughter's tired face.

"Are we already here?" Amelia yawned.

"Yep, time flies when you are sleeping, huh."

"Sure does. How long was I out?"

"Not long, don't worry, just take it slow, don't rush," Ashlynn assisted her up out of the wheelchair.

"Mom, why do you always have to treat me like I'm some kind of cripple?"

"Honey, we've been over this, it's a precaution. Even the doctor says it's recommended for you to take your sleeping pills while traveling."

"Whatever, can you help me up?" Amelia asked in a dismissive tone.

"Only if you are sure that you can stand,"

After Amelia took her mother's hand, they went out of the room heading towards the terminal. Even if her mother said it was for "precaution", Amelia still felt annoyed by it being treated like a child or as an incapacitated individual. Taking the medicine during traveling, the constant worries her parents give her, and the treatment she gets even though she is not a minor anymore has put a strain on Amelia. She would always wonder if her condition would ever improve or if she would have to deal with this for the rest of her life. The only thing that would lift her spirits is if it were something that was not focused on her but rather seeing family or going someplace exciting.

While coming from the terminal, Bill and the boys were walking hoping to find Ashlynn's brother who was supposed to pick them up from the airport. Suddenly they saw a burly, blonde figure waving at them, then they recognized that it was her brother Hank.

"Hey, Billy, it's so good to see you again!" Hank said while patting his brother-in-law hard on the back.

"You too, Hank. Where's everybody else at?" Bill asked while rubbing his recently touched shoulder blade.

"Oh, the wife and girls are at home getting ready for your welcome home party!"

"Girls?" Alex said in a shocking tone.

"Well if it isn't my favorite nephews! Where's your sister?" Hank said while placing one arm around each of the twins.

"Ashlynn had to wheel her down and wake her up from the trip."

"Which I see right now!" Hank waved over at Ashlynn and Amelia as they made their way toward them.

"Hank, it's so good to see you." Ashlynn said while greeting her brother.

"You too, sis. How's my Mia doing?"

"Still tired." Amelia responded in an inert tone.

"Well, you'll be up before you know it once you see everyone."

"It has been awhile hasn't it?" Ashlynn inquired.

"Yeah, it's been ten years I believe since we've last seen you guys!"

"My, has time sure flown by." Ashlynn remarked.

"Sure has; well, what are we waiting for? Come on, I've got the car up and waiting for you!"

Hank always had energy wherever he went. He had a gift of giving that energy to those who needed it while still being lively himself. It was assumed that was why he joined the military to put that vitality into a more consuming atmosphere while serving for a noble cause for his country. It made you wonder if there were ever a dull moment in his household because of his lively personality.