I filed that idea away to think about later.
“For now, we’re just trying to plan as little as possible,” I told them.
Matt looked wary. “You do at least have someplace to stay when you arrive in Thailand, don’t you?” he asked, bringing home to me the fact that Abby was his little sister. I no longer worried that Matt wouldn’t accept me as a suitable match for his sister. We were beyond that point. But he would always be protective of her. He would always do his best to look out for her. And he wasn’t quite to the point, yet, of realizing that I would sooner cut off one of my limbs than let anything happen to Abby.
Abby was laughing, though. “Yeah, we have a place to stay,” she said. “We’ve actually only have one night in Bangkok, and then we’re headed down south to the islands. We’re staying at this amazing resort there, bungalows out over the water, a really special place. It’s going to be five whole days of luxury and massages.”
“You’re making me jealous,” Leanne said, laughing.
“You’re making me jealous,” Matt echoed, “and I can’t even remember the last time I had a massage!”
“But then after that, we don’t know where we’re going. And we also don’t know how long the trip will end up being,” Abby continued. She smiled over at me. “We’re just going with how we feel. I’d really like to get to Australia at some point, but we’ll see.”
Leanne sighed wistfully. “That sounds amazing,” she said. “Even if you do have to work along the way.”
“Right?” Abby said. “Like, I don’t even care if I have to bring my laptop with me; I’m going to Thailand.” She turned to her niece and nephew, smiling at them. “That’s in Asia,” she explained to them. “And guess what? When we’re done with the beaches in the south, we’ll probably head north and get to feed elephants and give them baths and everything.”
“And ride them?” Layla asked, her eyes shining.
“Probably not ride one,” Abby said, shaking her head, “but we will be close enough to pet them. How cool is that?”
“Can I come with you?” Zach asked. “I can fit in your suitcase.”
Abby laughed. “I don’t think it would be a very comfortable flight like that,” she said. “And it’s a long flight, too. Like, hours and hours and hours. Longer than when you guys flew to California.”
Zach wrinkled his nose. “Yuck,” he said.
“Yuck,” Layla agreed, but I could tell she was still thinking about elephants. I made a mental note to try to find her a souvenir from Thailand with elephants on it.
“Well, it definitely sounds like quite the trip,” Matt said, smiling at the two of us. “Try and let me know where you’re staying if you can. I know that you’re probably sharing all that information with the office anyway, but I would just hate it if something were to happen to you and we didn’t know it.”
“Of course,” Abby said, nodding emphatically.
“I’ve already given your contact information to Erin as well,” I promised him. “So if anything comes up, she’ll be able to get in touch.”
“And I’ll give you Erin’s number, too,” Abby added. “So if you need to get in touch with us, you can do it that way.”
“Perfect,” Matt said, nodding approvingly.
Leanne sighed. “I wish we could do a trip like that,” she said. “But it’s so hard with the kids in school for most of the year. And when they’re not in school, that’s always peak travel times, either summer or the holidays, which makes it hard to book anything.”
I grinned at her. “Maybe next time I’ll take you all on vacation,” I said, only half-joking. We probably wouldn’t go anywhere as exotic as Thailand with the kids, and of course we would want to plan everything in advance. But I could see it already. Maybe a trip to Disney, or a big camping trip. The kind of trip I had always wanted to take as a kid but never got to. My own family hadn’t been anything like this.
Matt shook his head. “You don’t have to—” he started to say.
“I know,” I interrupted. “And I’m not making any promises.” I glanced over at Abby, seeing the way she was smiling at me. I squeezed her knee lightly. “But I think it would be a lot of fun. So we should think about this in the future.”
“But for now, one trip at a time,” Abby said, saving me from the hole I was surely digging for myself.
“One trip at a time,” Leanne echoed, but I could see the happiness in her eyes.
“You know, I regret ever telling you not to date this guy,” Matt joked. Everyone laughed. His face turned serious. “The biggest benefit I see is the light in my sister’s eyes. She practically glows with happiness and that’s something worth celebrating.” He cleared his throat. “And may your relationship last forever so we can all reap the benefits.” More laughter erupted around the table.
I smiled around at them, listening to Leanne and Abby chat about all the things we should make sure to do while we were in Thailand. Whatever we ended up doing on the trip, I realized, I was the happiest I had ever been. Blood relations or not, these people sitting around the table here were my family, and I loved each and every one of them. I never wanted to imagine a life without them.
Chapter 26
Abby