“No,” I countered. “It makes me extra conscious of the important things. Like how I should be spending the money I’m spending on this trip on my son.”
Dad rolled his eyes. Nonetheless, his lips spread into a wistful smile. “You remind me of your mother,” he said. “She used to worry about your sister and you twenty-four seven. It was even worse before you were born—the first child is always the scariest. She would go and check to make sure Dawn hadn’t stopped breathing in her sleep until she was three years old.”
It hurt to see how much my dad still missed my mom. She’d died ten years before of breast cancer, and he hadn’t so much as looked at another woman since. Not that I knew of, at least. Granted, for the past five years he’d been a little preoccupied helping me raise my son.
Ah, another stab of guilt. How refreshing.
“Okay, okay.” I wrapped my arms around Dad, inhaling his peppery smell. “I’ll go have an amazing time, and I’ll try not to call more than twice a day.”
“Once.”
“Huh?”
My dad pulled back, a twinkle in his eye. “Don’t call us more than once.”
“You’re killin’ me here, Dad.”
His deep laugh filled the kitchen. “Sure, kid. Sure.” He patted me on the back. “Now get some dinner in you or you’ll be too hungry to save lives tonight.”
TWO
My eyes drooped heavily, making me stand out in the group of otherwise fresh and bright faces.
“Jeez, Skyler,” Sarah said, patting me on the back. “Are you going to make it today?”
I nodded and forced a smile. “I just need to get my second wind. I’ll be fine.”
I was no stranger to working long shifts without sleep. Now standing at the airport with a giggling gang of bachelorettes, I tried to think of this as just another shift at the hospital. In many ways, it wasn’t so different from what I’d been up doing the night before: making sure people were happy, keeping an eye on numbers flashing across the screens, and making sure nobody died. Except in this case, the numbers on the screens were our flight details and the one who was at risk of dying was me.
Who needed a hangover when there was utter exhaustion?
“I think I know what you need…” Heather, Sarah’s maid of honor, donned a mischievous expression. “We’ve got another hour until boarding. Let’s hit the bar!”
I withheld a groan. “Shouldn’t we wait until we’re actually on vacation?” I asked. “This still feels a little too close to home.”
Ariana, another bridesmaid, snorted disapprovingly. “Being on vacation is a state of mind, my dear,” she said. “And if you’re not there already, a fruity cocktail will help you on your way.”
I didn’t want to become known as the serial complainer, so I followed the girls to the little bar near our gate. Did they really have to drink at the airport? It was already an expensive weekend as it was. I would be out of cash by the time we got to our hotel at this rate.
That being said, the vodka and cranberry juice did help cheer me up a little. The bill, when it arrived, knocked me back down a couple pegs, but that was another matter. By the time we got on the plane, I was feeling more or less human again. And by the time I first glimpsed the long strip of casinos and hotels through the plane window, I was starting to feel a little excited.
I’d never been to Vegas before. I hadn’t been many places in general. I had always wanted to travel, but I had reasoned, in my youth, that I could do all the traveling I wanted after college. Then I’d met Sam’s father and, well, the rest was history.
But here I was, flying high above America’s den of pleasure and entertainment. Light flashed as the sun reflected off the windows of various buildings. I recognized a few from movies I’d seen, only adding to my excitement.
We got off the plane and found a cab to take us to our hotel. Sarah had insisted on staying at Caesar’s Palace, even though my budget was more three-star friendly.
I watched in awe as buildings flashed by the cab window. The day was hot, especially considering it was October, but tons of people meandered down the sidewalks and over the pedestrian bridges on the main strip. Flashing signs and billboards advertised shows I’d always wanted to see, as well as many I’d never heard of.