Chapter 27

Everyone was looking forward to March break. Hayden was planning to read through a bunch of new books. Liz had plans to go skiing with her family in Switzerland. Her father had to make a nearby work trip. She expressed disappointment that she wouldn’t be able to see Brent. Hayden informed her that Brent and Rob were going away too. Anne had already told Hayden that she planned a trip to Valcartier for the March break. It was going to be their yearly trip as a family. There was an outdoor playground in Valcartier that Anne thought the boys would love.

Hayden didn’t know until the night before that she was going with them on the trip. Anne had arranged everything with her parents already. Her mother brought a suitcase into her room and told her when she’d have to be up and ready. It was supposed to be a pleasant surprise, but Hayden was thrown off. She had never been on a trip with Rob’s family. She had only been in the car with them for short drives. She knew the drive to Valcartier was going to be long. She didn’t really know what she was supposed to pack. Anne hadn’t mentioned whether or not they would be gone for the full two weeks. Hayden did the best she could to pack appropriately. She knew the weather was similar, but figured she should dress a little warmer. She made sure to pack her long socks. She made a list of everything she needed in the morning to get ready and made sure everything was packed.

When Hayden brought her suitcase upstairs, her mother went over a list of everything that should be inside. Hayden was proud of herself for only forgetting a hairbrush. She got everything else. Including her toothbrush.

She had a really hard time falling asleep. She was nervous about the trip. She was nervous about being in a hotel with his family. She was nervous about the reaction the boys would have. Neither of them had been told ahead of time or Hayden would have found out sooner. They were going to be taken by surprise. Rob might be happy, but Brent would be frustrated. His girlfriend couldn’t come, and he wouldn’t think it was fair that Rob’s could. Hayden tried not to think about Brent’s reaction. Instead, she focused on Rob’s. She hoped he was going to be thrilled. She wanted to see that big dorky smile on his face and the way his eyes twinkled whenever he was excited. She loved seeing him that happy.

Hayden was dressed and waiting 25 minutes before Anne pulled into the parking lot. Hayden gave her mother a hug and kiss and headed out to greet her travel companions. The look of confusion on the boys’ faces was entertaining. Anne put Hayden’s suitcase in the back as Hayden climbed into the back seat of the van. Rob looked over his shoulder at her.

“What are you doing here?” He asked quietly. Hayden shrugged.

“Ask your mother.” She redirected. Rob looked at Anne, who had just got back into the car.

“Mom?” Rob questioned. Anne only briefly looked at the boys in the rear view mirror.

“She’s coming to Village Vacances Valcartier with us.” She answered. Rob looked back at Hayden.

“Great.” Brent groaned. Hayden rolled her eyes.

“I won’t be a problem.” She tried reasoning. Brent crossed his arms. Rob pushed his shoulder.

“Be nice.” He insisted. Brent looked over at Hayden and faked a smile. She faked one in return. She already knew Brent wasn’t going to be excited about her presence.

“Why is she coming?” Brent groaned. Anne raised her eyebrow.

“She’s not here as his girlfriend. She was already invited before that happened.” Anne explained. Hayden raised her eyebrow. She wasn’t aware of that detail either. She was a little disappointed that Rob wasn’t as excited as she hoped he would be. If he was, he was doing a good job hiding it. Maybe he was worried that expressing any excitement would make Brent feel even worse. Hayden kept to herself in the back seat until the first pit stop. When everyone loaded back into the car, Rob got into the back seat with Hayden.

“More room for me.” Brent gloated. Rob faked a smile.

“There you go. That’s the spirit!” Anne cheered. Rob rolled his eyes, directing his attention to Hayden.

“I’m glad you’re here.” He spoke quietly. Hayden smiled.

“Me too.” She agreed. Rob held her hand until the next pit stop. Even though their hands were sweating, Hayden was happy.

There were 2 beds in the room at the hotel they checked into. Anne told Hayden that it was going to be a girl-boy split. So Hayden would be sleeping with Anne. Rob and Brent would sleep in the bed with David. Hayden didn’t mind. It wasn’t going to be the first time she slept in a bed with Anne. There had been many nights Anne was babysitting her and Hannah and they climbed into her bed to watch a movie. It had been a while since Hayden shared a bed with anyone. She wasn’t sure if she moved around in her sleep or not. In the morning, Anne seemed to have no complaints. She loaded the kids into the car and drove to McDonald’s for breakfast.

After breakfast, Anne drove back to the hotel to pick up David. The ride to Village Vacances Valcartier was half an hour. Rob and Hayden sat in the middle, giving Brent the back row of the van. He looked comfortable with his feet up across the seats. Hayden kept looking back at him, just to make sure. The trunk was packed with winter gear, which Hayden owned little of. She had a hat and mittens and that was generally good enough for her. She wasn’t equipped to play in the snow. She wasn’t planning to either. She was planning to people watch, like she always did. She didn’t really know much about the Village. She had never been there before. Based on how the boys’ were talking about the hills, they had done this before. It was all new to Hayden. She was a little overwhelmed by how many people were milling about. She wasn’t used to that size of a crowd. Rob kept looking at her and faking a smile. She knew he was trying to be encouraging, which she was appreciative of. After they approached the snowboard rental shack, the boys disappeared with David. Anne wasn’t interested in falling on her butt and neither was Hayden. They decided to stay back and let the boys enjoy themselves. They went down the hill a few times before Brent wanted to do something else. Hayden and Anne just followed along behind the boys. Hayden had a handmade hot chocolate to keep her warm as they walked around the winter playground.

At some point, Brent and Rob got into a snowball fight. David lectured them about the potential of hurting someone else. The boys’ apologized. Hayden giggled. It was a lovely day at the snow park.

Hayden was so happy to get back to the warmth of the hotel. Even though she was bored, she was grateful. She enjoyed being involved, even if it was indirectly. Brent immediately put a sporting event on the TV. Him and David were completely engrossed.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Rob suddenly asked Hayden. She raised her eyebrow.

“Where?” She questioned. Rob shrugged.

“Just around the hotel I guess.” He offered. Hayden was quiet for a minute.

“I guess if it’s okay with your mom.” She agreed, looking over to Anne. She just shrugged. Hayden got up and got dressed back into warmer clothing. She followed Rob outside.

“So, what’s up?” She asked. Rob turned to face her.

“I just wanted a minute alone with you.” He explained. He leaned in and kissed her. His lips were freezing and it caught her off guard.

“You’re silly.” She dismissed. Rob shrugged.

“Yeah, but you like it.” He argued with a smile. She nodded as she kissed him.

“I do.” She agreed. He looked around the parking lot. There was a small hill over in the corner. Rob started walking, motioning for her to follow. She followed him over to the hill, where he dropped down into the snow and started making a snow angel. She laughed.

“Come on.” He insisted. Hayden shook her head.

“It’s cold.” She whined. Rob laughed.

“I’ll keep you warm.” He offered. Hayden bit the side of her lip. She slowly sat down in the snow beside him. There was a light snowfall beginning. There were flakes collecting on Hayden’s eyelashes. Rob didn’t seem to notice or care. He was happily flapping around in the snow. Hayden dropped her back to the snow and made an attempt at a snow angel. She stood up and shook off the snow.

“There.” She motioned proudly. Rob jumped up and grabbed her hand. He pulled her down into the snow with him. She practically landed on top of him, which seemed to be what he was trying to do. Hayden smiled as she slowly kissed him.

“This is really what you wanted, isn’t it?” She asked softly. He nodded.

“See? I told you I’m easy to read.” He joked. She nodded.

“You always were to me.” She corrected. He smiled.

“Then how come you didn’t know I liked you?” He countered. She sighed.

“I guess I was too close to it.” She reasoned. He pulled her closer.

“You’re not close enough.” He complained. She laughed.

“It’s all these layers.” She defended. Rob nodded.

“We can go back inside.” He assured. Hayden nodded as she struggled to stand up. They linked arms and walked back to the hotel room together.

The family had a three day pass to the Village, so they went back the next day too. This time, Hayden went snow rafting with the boys. Although the snow was cold against her face, it looked like too much fun to pass up. David and Anne waited at the bottom of the hill. The raft spun out a bit as it came to the end of the hill. Brent was the first one out. Rob held his hand out to Hayden, who seemed to be struggling to get up. She finally got her footing and pulled herself up. She followed Rob as they joined the rest of the family. They had lunch inside the playground at one of the restaurants. Hayden ate as little as possible because she wasn’t feeling great. She wasn’t used to traveling or that much walking. She figured it just upset her digestion. She ate every french fry on her plate and stole an extra few from Rob’s plate. He ended up eating her sandwich so it wasn’t wasted. After lunch, they made their way to the skating rink and Anne rented everyone skates.

Hayden was nervous about being on blades and ice. She wasn’t exactly graceful. She was clumsy and awkward. She was bound to get hurt. Or worse, hurt someone else. Rob insisted he would skate slowly with her, so she was more comfortable. At first, she thought it was silly. Balancing was harder than she expected. She took Rob’s assistance around the rink a few times. Then, she was out of breath and needed to sit down. Rob dropped her off at the exit and went chasing after his brother on the ice. Hayden sat down and took her skates off. She watched Rob racing around the rink. He was even better on the ice than his brother. His footing was steadier. She was surprised he wasn’t a hockey player, like Brent. For a brief moment, she thought about going to hockey practice with Liz. She thought about watching Rob on the ice. She felt exhilarated by the thought. It may have just been a silly fantasy, but it was working in her mind. She could easily picture Rob as a hockey player. It would make him even sexier to her. That could be dangerous.

The day before they left, the whole family went sight-seeing in the city. Rob and Hayden trailed behind, taking in the architecture. It was the first time in a long time that Hayden had been out of the province. She was always fascinated by the street lights in Quebec being sideways. It was confusing to know when they were supposed to walk or yield to cars. All the signs were in French, which Hayden didn’t really understand. She had tried to pay attention in class, but languages weren’t her strong point. Rob, on the other hand, could fluently speak French. Hayden thought Rob was really something else. As Hayden watched him looking around, she felt like she was falling more in love with him.