#after he goes on a two-week cruise in the Bahamas where one of his friends is getting married
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
smh my baby brother beat us all in Civ 5 with a cultural victory
#personal#and by baby brother I mean the 22-year-old man who is starting his CS PhD program in the fall#after he goes on a two-week cruise in the Bahamas where one of his friends is getting married#because he has that FAANG money
0 notes
Text
timeless - j. kiszka
a/n: this one is super long and holy shit i'm pretty proud of it :) my other song choice for this was wii sports resort theme song. warnings: cursing, past infidelity, some angst, stupid choices, allusions to sex, lots of wedding talk, readers family all being chill, reader being feminine (no real descriptions though) but they wear a wedding dress and are 'mrs', uh, petnames, josh being flirty. my qualifications for writing this is that my dad got married on a cruise but it will be inaccurate, whoops. word count: 10.2k words summary: you decide to be kind after being cheated on. it spirals out of control, thanks to josh kiszka. pairing: josh kiszka x reader now playing: timeless (taylor's version) (from the vault) - taylor swift "and sometimes there's no proof, you just know/you're always gonna be mine/we're gonna be/i'm gonna love you when our hair is turnin' gray"
You book the cruise about six months before you break up with him.
Your whole family is going, you tell him, and itâll be about five years since you got together when you go, itâll be romantic!
When he proposes to you two months later, you decide to get married on the cruise. Youâll have the ceremony with your closest family, and then friends will be able to celebrate with you two when you get back, youâll throw parties!
You catch him cheating on you about six months before you leave for the cruise.
At that point, you had already reached out to plan the wedding with the cruise line, you have your wedding outfit, you wonât be getting your deposit back. He will not be going, he says, because what sadist would go with your ex-fiancĂŠâs family to the Bahamas for two weeks after they find out about your infidelity?
Your sister convinces you to go, telling you that your parents can renew their vows and you donât even have to go.
You can get over the last of your feelings towards your ex while sipping a pina colada on a beach somewhere.
And this, dear reader, is the story of how you meet your husband on that cruise.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day One:
Okay, so you donât mean for him to be your husband, really. It goes something like this:
Your sister picks you up and you climb into this car with your parents, your sister, your nephew and your brother and his wife.
As your brother and his wife canoodle, still in their honeymoon phase, you make sure your nephew doesnât spill his juice, and you ask yourself, is this it? Are you meant to have random sex and live a life of freedom yet loneliness and eventually leave everything to your nephew when you croak?
Maybe it isnât that dramatic, but you still feel shitty!
 Youâre waiting at the port, sitting by the help service desk as you wait to board the ship. Youâre entirely too occupied trying to fend off thoughts of your ex, yet you hear something that just catches your ears just right.
âIâm sorry, Mr. Kiszka, I can offer you a voucher for your next trip with us, but unless a stranger here offers you their ticket, Iâm afraid youâre not going on this cruise. Weâre all booked up.â
The man the employee is talking to looks like he just came from a trip to the Bahamas, with this wild curly hair and sandals on. He has these, almost goofy, sunglasses on. He stands with a few other people, one who looks just like him with straight hair.
His body language seems angry, but heâs handsome. And you feel it.
You feel an attraction that you havenât felt since your ex.
And then you remember your ex, and the ticket in your bag that was abandoned by him, and you realize that someone can give this man their ticket.
You realize you can help this angry, handsome man.
You glance at your sister.
âIâm going to do something sort of crazy, and I need you to support me no matter what. Can you do that?â She smiles.
âAlways and forever.â
You get up and grab the ticket from your bag, heading over to the counter where the man stands with the employee.
âAnd Iâm telling you,â The man says, and you almost swoon at the strangerâs voice, âThese are my credit card bills! My payment for this trip is right here, there has to be something you can doââ
âExcuse me?â Heads turn towards you, and the employee sighs.
âIâll be with you in just a few minutesââ
âOh, no, Iââ You sigh, and hand the employee your ex-fiancĂŠâs ticket. âThis guest wonât be joining us on the trip, and since I paid for his trip, Iâd like to give his ticket to the gentleman here.â
Translation: This guest was a lying piece of shit who broke my heart and was supposed to marry me on this trip, and since I footed the damn bill for aforementioned piece of shit, Iâd like for the handsome stranger here to stay in my room.
The stranger looks at you like you just saved his life. Your heart swells.
You all look back to the employee, who looks exhausted.
âWe can do that,â They scan the ticket, and start reading your ex-financeâs information. âOkay, so, Joshua Kiszka is going to be the name on the room and the ticket,â she starts, âHeâll have to stay in your room, is that okay?â They glance at you. You turn to Joshua.
âAre you an axe murderer or a creep?â
âNot that I know of.â He answers. You smile.
âThatâs totally okay.â
âAlright,â The employee glances at their computer again, typing some stuff. âSo, thereâs two other things. Number one, thereâs the romantic dinner for two this Saturday. Is he going to that?â
âYes,â You answer, not thinking about it. You smile at the stranger, and he smiles back.
âAnd the wedding.â The strangerâs smile drops. Yeah, that was understandable.
Your hand lands on his arm, and you become vulnerable.
âJust, go with it for a while, okay? Weâre not getting married on this trip, I promise.â You smile, and this seems to reassure Joshua, who turns back to the employee.
âWeâre a couple of soon to be newlyweds, baby.â He smirked.
The Employee seems less sure. But they scan the ticket and type a few more things into their computer before handing the ticket to Josh.
âAll set. Iâd recommend boarding together to get your keycards and everything sorted out. Please step to the side so I can help the next guests.â
You oblige, and suddenly it hits you. Youâre a stranger standing in front of a family after you just saved their vacation. You just invited a stranger to stay with you. Joshua looks at you.
âWell, that was a crazy way to ask me on a date.â He tells you, and you laugh.
âDid it work?â
âAbsolutely, this vacation wouldâve been ruined without you!â He grinned. âIâm Josh.â
You give him your name, and you can just see the relief on his face. He introduces you to his family, and you meet his brothers, Jake, Sam, and Danny, as well as his sister and parents. Theyâre all lovely. Â They begin to call boarding numbers, and Josh takes his backpack from his twin.
âIâm gonna go with them to figure this whole thing out, weâll meet for lunch later?â They all agree, and Jake mentions how nice it was to meet you, and you head back to your family to board.
Your family looks extremely confused.
âEveryone, this is JoshâThere was a problem with his ticket, and I figured since we had an extra, we can hangout with Josh for the trip.â Your sister laughs, and your nephew copies her giggles.
âDonât worry, weâre not going to do anything wild together, Iâm just so grateful that Iâm actually going on this trip.â He said honestly. Then he turns to you. âSo, whatâs this about a wedding?â You laugh, and link your arm with his, a bit of a bold move on your part, but youâre feeling bold. For the first time in months, you want someone, and itâs making you feel bold.
Mostly, for the boarding process, you stand in pairs. You and Josh, your parents, your brother and sister-in-law, and your sister and nephew. Youâre waiting in line when you start to explain.
âSo, the wedding was originally supposed to be mine, yes. But, the groom turned out to be, uh..â You try to put it nicely, âNot the one.â Is the best thing you settle on, âSo weâre going to use it as a way to have my parents renew their vows, or something.â You explain. Josh nods,
âBut you realize that weâll be regarded as the happy couple the entire time weâre on board, right?â You laugh at this idea of this dude you barely know being in love with you and marrying you.
âJosh, you donât strike me as the type to shy away from the spotlight.â Itâs just something about him that gives you the impression that when he walks into the room, he is the center of everyoneâs attention. But he just laughs, almost a tad shy.
âFine, then Iâm making up a wild story about our meeting.â
âOh yeah?â
âYeah, you remember it, right? When you invited me to be a guest at a wedding for a man you were in love with but fell in love with me through out the night?â
âWhy does it always have to be about weddings with you, Josh?â
âYou know me, Iâm a romantic.â You roll your eyes at this, and you hand your boarding passes to the person at the podium, who scans them, and then glances to you.
âEnjoy your stay on the Princess of the Ocean!â The ship name almost makes you laugh, âAnd congratulations to you both! We hope your wedding and honeymoon is all you want and more!â You realize they must have your name on file, or something comes up when they scan your passes.
You donât get a chance to respond, because Joshâs arm is around your waist, and he says,
âEveryoneâs been lovely so far, thank you. Weâre having a great time already, right, Doll?â Your face flushes.
âItâs a dream, honey.â You respond and kiss his cheek. The employee wishes you a great trip, and you head off to the ship.
âI guess weâre going to have to get used to that, huh?â You donât move from his arm around you.
âI guess so, honey.â You tell him.
You make your way onto the ship, wondering if this could be different. When you get to your cabin, itâs decorated with wedding stuff, and it makes you and Josh both laugh with red faces. On the bed, are towels in the shape of swans, who make a heart with their necks.
Josh tells you they look just like the two of you, and you canât help but get this feeling that itâll be impossible to stay away from him while on this ship, no matter how big it is.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Three:
But then you donât see much of Josh for the second day of your cruise, finding your day full of drinking and running around with your nephew, who you canât help but indulge in all the kid stuff. You take him on the slides, in the pools, to bumper cars. You get him a Shirley Temple when he gives you puppy dog eyes.
But during your second day at sea, you sort of want to see Josh. Heâs out of the room before you even wake up, even though he got back to the cabin after you went to sleep last night. You miss your fake husband.
So, when you see him by a bar around noon, you approach him.
âYou look familiar,â you start, âDo I know you?â You ask, a playful smile on your face. He laughs.
âCould be, weâre getting married next week.â You giggle and ask the bartender for a tropical, fruity, alcoholic drink. Josh asks him to make it two. âI want to say thank you again, for letting me take your douchebags ticket.â You smile at his hatred towards an ex heâs never met.
âDonât worry about it. Whyâd you decide to come on this cruise in the first place?â You ask curiously.
âWell, we got back from tour about a month ago, and we knew weâd be wanting to take a vacation that doesnât involve preforming anywhere.â This leaves you with more questions then answers, and he sees it on your face, âWe play in a band, my brothers and I. We scheduled a tour for this year and wanted to reward ourselves with some relaxation.â Huh. âHow about you?â
âWell, my parents wanted me to go with them to celebrate their retirement. Then, it was to get married because that worked out so well.â You know you sound bitter about it. Itâs because you are.
âWell, I like your new husband more anyways.â He tells you. It makes you laugh.
âWeâre are you from?â
âMichigan, originally. I live in Nashville, now.â
âFor music purposes, right?â
âRight.â He takes a sip of his drink, âAnd you?â
âAtlanta, Georgia.â You told him. âBut I donât know, that cities way too small when you have someone living there that you thought youâd marry.â You confess. âWhat type of music do you play?â
âOh, weâll play anything, but weâre known for our rock and roll.â He smiles.
âWell, what do you like to play?â
âI really love all of it, but my true passion is film. I sing. Iâm partial to singing jazz.â He explains.
âHuh..â
âAnd what about you? What do you do for work?â
âNothing as cool as singing for a rock and roll band.â You admit. âIâm a teacher. Iâve taught a lot of groups, but my favorite is high schoolers, honestly. I teach English.â
âOh, an Academic?â You laugh.
âShut up, film boy.â He fakes a hurt gasp, placing his hand on his chest.
âIâm hurt, Doll. I donât know if I want to marry you anymore.â
âThatâs a shame. We already put the deposit down, Iâm not getting my money back.â He laughs with you this time.
You talk a while more, and before you know it, your stomach is rumbling for lunch. He walks you to the popular lunch spot on board and decides to join you for lunch.
You both wind up taking bites from each otherâs plates.
âDo you like grapefruit, Doll?â
âGod no, I was sick once, so my mom gave me one, supposed to be very good for you,â You pause, âI threw up while eating it and havenât eaten a grapefruit since.â
âAw, thatâs a shame, it wasnât the grapefruitâs fault!â
âYeah, but now I associate the grapefruit with throwing up.â You told him.
âIâm sure the grapefruit longs for your forgiveness, Doll.â
âShut up, Honey.â
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Five:
You wind up spending all of day three with Josh, but you donât see him much on day fourâItâs your first day at the beach youâre docked at, so you both want to spend it with your family.
You learned a lot about him on day threeâHis favorite foods, his favorite movies, music, stories of him and his brothers on tour, growing up. He learns that you went to school in Florida before moving to Georgia, and that you have a scar on your stomach from getting your appendix removed when you were nine.
Learning about each other makes you yearn for him.
The fifth day, though, heâs still in the room when you get up. He grins at you when you wake up, coming out of the bathroom amid brushing his teeth. His hair is wet from a shower, and you sit up, deciding you desperately need a shower.
âMorning, Pumpkin.â He grins as you grab clothes for the day from your bag.
âMorning, sunshine.â You grumble.
âDo you want to go to the beach with me today?â He asks.
You grin and nod, âSure. Sounds cool. Just let me shower.â
When you finally head off the ship to the beach, Josh has decided he needs to hold your hand. Itâs a requirement, he decides.
âWeâre betrothed, after all!â He defends.
It makes you laugh, but youâre happy to hold his hand. The sun beats down on you, but thereâs this warmth that feels good. Youâre unsure if itâs from the sun or from Josh, but you donât ask. You just walk with him. Â
Thereâs something thatâs just easier with Josh around, something that requires no thinking. You canât really put your finger on it, but you love being around him.
You pass this private beach that you must pay to get into. Josh, in his infinite wisdom, decides the two of you can have fun with this.
âDo you trust me?â He asks, as he takes your hand and drags you off to a shop with a sign that says, âlocally made jewelryâ in itâs window.
Youâre suspicious, but you would follow him to the end of the earth.
âAbsolutely not.â You respond, but make no effort to stop him from walking you to the store. He looks around for a second before pulling you over to the ring section.
âPick out something nice, we might as well milk the whole marriage thing.â You wind up choosing a delicate looking ring that has gold flower decals and a small black diamond in the middle, which youâre pretty sure isnât real.
You ask the employee to try it on, and it fits like a glove.
Josh canât take his eyes off you with this ring heâs about to buy for you.
âWeâll take it.â He says to the employee, handing him his card before you can object, and you look to him.
âYou didnât have to do that.â
âWeâre getting married, of course I did.â He jokes, but then he becomes more serious for a moment. âPlus, I told you, I owe you a million times because I wouldnât be here without you.â He says softly.
You lean forward and kiss his cheek.
âIt was my pleasure.â You say softly. The employee is done ringing you up, and he looks like heâs on the verge of tears.
âI just want to say how happy I am for you two. Youâre a beautiful couple.â He hands you the ring and you slip it onto your ring finger.
âThank you.â You tell him, smiling, and admiring your new engagement ring. Josh wishes him a good day and takes your hand to head back to the beach, where the person letting people in stops you and Josh, telling you the cost to get into the beach. Josh goes for his wallet before smoothly throwing in,
âThanks for this, itâs such a nice place to spend our time before the wedding. One last quiet moment before the chaos leading up to it.â
âOh, when are you getting married?â She asks.
âNext Thursday.â You smile. âWeâre getting married on the cruise ship over there.â You point, and she shakes her head.
âDonât worry about the admission fee, I remember how chaotic it was to get married in a familiar place, let alone on a boat.â She chuckles softly and lets you pass.
âThank you so much!â You say gratefully, never letting go of Joshâs hand. He smiles to you.
âYouâre a natural.â He says, as soon as youâre far away from the employee.
âAre you kidding? Iâm literally shaking, I keep thinking someoneâs gonna call our bluff on the whole wedding thing! I donât know how youâre managing it.â You tell him honestly.
âI think youâre doing great.â He tells you. âBesides, weâre technically not lying! You were supposed to get married next Thursday on the ship, it just wasnât supposed to be with me and itâs now for your parents.â He reminds. This is true, you suppose. Plus, with Josh, itâs so easy for you to lie and say heâs in love with you or that heâs the love of your life.
The beach is beautifulâItâs clean and quiet, and you both lay in beach chairs that have been laid out for two.
Youâre just laying there for a while, but eventually you turn your head to admire him for a while. He wears a short-sleeved button up, thatâs this light blue color. Itâs opened, exposing his torso. He has on swim trunks too, and his sandals are discarded on the sand. He also wears this pretty necklace that matches his sunglasses.
âI can feel you looking at me.â He says softly, not turning his hand. Your face flushes and you turn your head back and close your eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun on your skin.
âSorry. Youâre just really gorgeous.â You confess. He smiles.
âDoll, if I didnât know any better, Iâd say you had a crush on me.â
âYouâre the one that bought me a ring, Honey.â
âTouche.â Your conversation is cut short when someone approaches you with two pina coladas from the bar. On the house for the happy couple, he says.
After a quick conversation with him, you find out he runs this tropical paradise, and that heâs celebrating twenty years with the woman who waived your admission fee. They got married on this very beach; he tells you. You thank him profusely and when he leaves, you and Josh raise your glasses to each other in celebration for your faux marriage.
âBajabule.â He hums, taking a sip of his drink.
You think you can get used to being engaged to Josh Kiszka.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Seven:
For those of us in the crowd who have never been on a cruise, thereâs always a day on board where you have to dress fancy and nice, and the captain makes this speech, itâs called the captainâs dinner.
When you got engaged to your fiancĂŠ, you decided that on this captainâs dinner night, you would book a private, romantic dinner to have a moment of peace before the wedding.
And, like everything else regarding your ex and the wedding, it was nonrefundable, and you were planning on either doing it on your own or giving it to someone else who could enjoy it.
Then, you met Josh. And you had a reason to go.
So, you ask Josh that morning to come with you to this dinner before you leave for breakfast.
âLike a date?â He asks. You smile. Except for swimming and showering, you havenât taken off your ring.
âExactly like a date. Be my date tonight, Honey.â
He puts his hand on your cheek.
âAnything for you, Doll.â
So, you spend the whole day excited for your date. You have breakfast with your parents, and then spend the afternoon with your sister and brother, while your sister-in-law takes your nephew and parents to the beach.
You tell them about Josh, and they share this look, youâre not sure what it means, youâre too busy admiring your ring and gushing about how funny and handsome he is.
Your sister sits on your bed, all dressed with her son on her lap as you get ready. Youâre nervous and youâre not sure why. Josh gets ready with his brothers.
âYou look great,â Your sister assures.
âI just donât know why Iâm so nervous!â
âMaybe because this is your first first date in six years?â That could be it.
âBut itâs not with just any random guy, itâs Josh. Heâs so casual and cool about everything.â
âIs that supposed to make you feel better?â You see her point.
You sigh and take one last look in the mirror, before slipping on your ring. You turn to your sister.
âHow do I look?â Your hair and makeup is nice, and your outfit looks really good on you.
âYou look amazing. If he doesnât like the way you look tonight, heâs not worth it.â You want him to be worth it. You want it desperately; in a way you never knew you could want.
âThanks.â You smile, nervously. You hear a knock on the door and open it to see him standing there. He wears a white button up with the top two buttons undone, as well as black pants. Heâs so good looking it almost kills you.
âHi.â He grins. âYou look amazing.â
âYou look amazing.â You respond. You lean forward and kiss his cheek, and he peeks into the room to see your sister and nephew. He greets them and smiles, before taking your hand in his.
âReady to go?â You nod and tell your sister to give everyone at dinner your love before you head out for your date. Dinner is at this candlelit restaurant, where you and Josh sit at a private table behind this beaded curtain.
âThis place is so nice..â You tell him. âI donât know If Iâve ever been on a first date this fancy.â You confess. He smiles.
âMe neither. Itâs beautiful here.â He takes your hand that rests on the table. Your waitress comes in with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket, introducing herself as Anna, and telling you about the menu for tonight.
âThe chef has chosen five courses for our patrons tonight. It isnât the same as last nightâs dishes nor will it be the same as tomorrowâs. Itâs preselected, so if thereâs any allergies, just let me know. Now, I understand that weâre celebrating a special occasion tonight.â She hums as she pours the two of you champagne.
You look to Josh and wait for him to make up some story about wanting peace and quiet before you get married. Instead, he looks to Anna and says,
âFirst date. I think this one might just stick, too.â
âFirst date on a cruise ship? My, what a fairytale.â She smiles. âWell, we hope to give you a night to remember and a start to something wonderful.â She tells you both. âIâll be back with your first course, soon. Enjoy the champagne, my friends.â She leaves, and you look to Josh.
âWhy didnât you tell her weâre supposed to be engaged?â
âI donât think sheâs the type to tell on us. Besides, this is real. I meant what I said, I want you to stick around...â
âI want you to stick around too.â You confess. You make conversation, getting to know each other through dinner. Itâs all delicious, really. Over dessert, you decide that you canât take it anymore. âIâm having a great time.â
âMe too.â
âI wouldnât have asked anyone else to go on this date with me.â You confess.
âI would hope not.â He smiled.
âNo, Josh, Iâm being serious. It has shocked me to my core, but Iâm finding myself wanting you more and more.â You tell him, your eyes meet his. âI think one of the best decisions I ever made was giving you that ticket.â
He says your name softly, and when heâs not saying anything like this back to you, you feel tears in your eyes. Is it possible that this man youâve found yourself falling for has been playing pretend the whole time, the way you were meant to be as well?
âIâm sorry...â You say shakily. âI thought that... That maybe youâd feel the same way about me, but I was- âHe squeezes your hand softly.
âStop. I do want you⌠I want you so badly itâs destroying me to not have you.â He tells you. Your face flushes. âIâve wanted you ever since I saw you, and Iâve been thanking whatever force that exists in the universe for meeting you.â He confesses.
Before you can respond, Anna comes back, asking if you want anything else, more champagne, perhaps?
âCan you have someone send it to our room in about two hours?â Josh asks. Anna, who must get that request often, thinks nothing of it.
âOf course. Enjoy the rest of your night, young lovers.â She leaves, and Josh leaves her a generous cash tip, before standing up and grabbing your hand again.
âCome on.â He tells you, and you follow him, curious as to what he has planned. Thereâs something in his eyes, a spark he gets when he has an idea. You follow him out of the restaurant, your hand locked into his, as you lean your head on his shoulder. He walks with you, all the way up to the top deck of the ship, where itâs quiet and the stars are plentiful. Maybe itâs the alcohol. Maybe itâs the way youâre looking at him. But Josh leans forward and kisses you, and itâs full of a gentleness you havenât felt in years.
Your hands land on his jaw, as you deepen the kiss slightly, the night air and the passion you feel sends a shiver down your spine, only amplified by Joshâs hands on your hips.
He pulls away for a moment, looking to you.
âLet me take you back to our room.â He says softly.
âTo do what?â You ask in a teasing voice. He groans and kisses you again before pulling away to add,
âSo, I can make you feel good, Doll. So, I can watch you in pleasure underneath me.â He tells you. His voice is low, and thereâs a lust you havenât heard before.
âOkay.â You tell him.
âOkay?â
âYes. Yes, Josh, please take me back to the room and fuck me.â
âAs you wish, Doll.â
And he does exactly that.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Eight:
Your entire body aches when you wake up, tangled in sheets and in Joshâs arms. You feel amazing. Your eyes flutter open to see him admiring you, and you bury your face in the pillow as you groan. He laughs, his hand gently tracing patterns into your shoulder blade.
âGood morning, Pumpkin.â He says gently, kissing your ear.
âGood morning, Sunshine.â You tell him, before finally picking your head up to look at him. âJosh, I think youâre something equivalent to a sex god.â You say honestly. He laughs.
âThank you, Baby.â He hums. âWanna order room service?â He asks.
âNah... I want you to do that thing you did last night, the one that made me scream.â You reply, and he has this smirk on his lips that makes you want him desperately.
âAs you wish.â
You donât get out of bed until lunch time, and even then, he joins you in the shower.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Nine:
Jake has to beg his brother to come up for air and ask you to join them for drinks that night. Heâs worried, maybe that youâll be scared off by the three of them, or maybe youâll realize you donât like him as much.
But youâre thrilled to get to know them, and you head down to the bar around six for drinks and dancing.
âHey guys!â Sam calls over to you when he sees you. Josh still seems nervous, and you donât really understand it. You both like each other more than you can put into words, so why is he so nervous for you to meet the three men he calls brothers?
Well, because his brothers are assholes.
You slid into the booth next to Jake, and you go to engage him in conversation. Instead, Sammy loudly calls over to the bartender. âHey! My brothers getting married next week, how about some shots?â
Josh looks like he might die.
âI am so sorry about himââ You laugh, leaning against him as you try to contain your laughs.
âNo, No, itâs funny, Iâm glad you told them about it.â You turn back to the boys. âHow are you guys enjoying the cruise so far?â
âItâs been great!â Danny yells over the music. âThe beaches are so nice!â
âDid Josh tell you about the private beach we found?â
âYeah! He also told me about the two of you conning your way into free drinks and shit!â
âItâs technically not a lie! I was supposed to be married on Thursday, just not to Josh.â You explain, and Sam laughs.
âYou know, Josh has been doing nothing but talk about you, but youâre much funnier than he mentioned.â He hums. You glance over to Josh, who just blushes and rolls his eyes.
âYou talked about me? What sort of things does he talk about?â
âLetâs not embarrass him, guys.â Jake says a smirk on his face.
âThank you, Jakeââ
âHis new beau doesnât need to know that heâs constantly gushing about âem!â The boys all break out in laughter, and you canât help but giggle a bit. Josh is overly embarrassed.
âDouchebags! All of you are assholes!â He laughed, not really mad at them. Heâs just enamored with you, and despite sleeping with you and telling you as much, itâs still a little bit embarrassing. Not that heâs embarrassed of you, but he finds himself falling for you more and more as the days go by. Itâs hard to verbalize.
âAw, Joshy, theyâre just having fun, honey.â You hum. Leaning over and kissing his cheek, a habit youâre finding yourself getting more and more used to.
Shots land in front of the five of you, and Sam holds his up.
âTo the happy couple!â You all drink your shots, and you think something crazy.
You think maybe you could get used to doing this. Being a part of their group. Being close to him, to them.
Maybe you could do this for the rest of your life.
You blame it on the alcohol, this feeling that this could last forever.
But when you look at Josh, youâre just enamored by him, in a way thatâs deeper than just being a fan or just a crush.
And it crosses your mind for a second.
This crazy idea.
You kiss Josh quick, forgetting about the idea, blaming it on the alcohol again.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Ten:
You wake up with this wicked hangover, and to your disdain, Josh is nowhere to be found. You decide to get dressed and grab breakfast, figuring heâll either text you or find you when he wants to see you.
But every few moments youâre turning as if you want to say something to him.
Itâs frustrating because you know how crazy it is that you like him so much.
And itâs scary because you havenât felt this way in a long time, maybe even a year or two, because with Josh, you realize how much you werenât in love with your ex-fiancĂŠ, and itâs wild because you thought youâd marry him.
But itâs different with Josh, Better, most definitely. That thought from last night comes back, and you canât blame it on the liquor anymore, and you canât blame it on Josh looking amazing in bar lighting, and you canât blame it on how connected you feel to his brothers because they arenât around.
Your hand drifts to your ring finger, and you play with your ring, thinking about Josh. You wonder what will happen when you get off this ship. You wonder how it would be taking weekly trips to Nashville, especially when the school year starts and youâre busy with grading and lesson plans.
It all seems totally ridiculous. Why bother then?
But you keep coming back to it. This crazy idea, like an itch you just canât scratch. You want to verbalize it, you want to ask it of Josh, but you realize how damn wild it is.
Maybe heâll like that.
Youâre lost in your thoughts when you feel a hand on the small of your back. You grin.
âYou know, Honey, Iââ When you turn around, you donât find Josh. You find some random asshole who is already drunk, because, when in Rome. âGet the fuck off me, Dude.â You move away from him.
âWhatâs the matter? You seemed into it beforeââ
âI thought you were someone else.â
âOh, you got a little boyfriend?â
âFiancĂŠ, actually.â Â Like magic, Josh appears behind the stranger. He looks angry. He looks jealous. He looks hot. âIs there a problem here?â he asked, tilting his head. He moves to you and wraps his arm around your waist.
âNo problem, man.â The creepy dude backs off, walking off. Josh looks to you and cups his hand to your cheek.
âAre you okay?â
âYeah,â You say softly, âIâm okay...â You bite your tongue, before adding, âThat was sort of hotââ
âIâm sorry?â
âNo, not that asshole, you! Being protective of me like that⌠Iâm not used to it.â
âOh⌠Wellââ
âAnd you were jealous. So hot.â
âI was not jealous!â
âHoney, you most totally were! It was so so attractive.â
âWhy?â He seems genuine.
âBecause... Câmon, I have to tell you a story, but we gotta go sit down so I can tell it.â You sigh. You wind up leaving the restaurant and sitting on a beach chair on the top deck. He keeps his hand on your thigh as you relax. Your heart is beating rapidly, and youâre not sure why youâre so anxious, but Josh seems to sense this.
âAre you okay?â
âYeah. Yeah, I just hate this storyâŚâ You take a deep breath before you begin. âI was with my ex for about five years. He asked me to marry him after we booked this cruise, and I donât know why I said yes⌠Maybe I loved him, but I wasnât⌠In love with him like everyone describes I should be... But he never did anything romantic for me, no flowers, no sexy things, certainly no jealousy⌠So, Iâm not sure why the cheating on me destroyed me so much, but it did. I havenât felt anything for anyone since then. Until you.â You told him, and he just has this focused look on his face.
âHe sounds horrible.â You laugh, tears falling from your face that you didnât even realize you had. He wipes them tenderly.
âYeah...â You say softly, leaning into his touch.
âWanna hear my sob story now?â
âSure, Honey.â
âIâm falling in love with someone who I met last week and might never see again after Saturday.â
âJosh...â
âWe donât have to ruin anything with commitment, we donâtâŚâ His breath is shaky, and you catch tears running down his face, too. âI just need you to know that Iâm falling in love with you, and I have no intentions of staying away from you or stopping that process.â
âI wouldnât ask you to. Never.â You tell him earnestly. âIâm falling in love with you too.â You wipe his tears. Even crying, your boy is beautiful.
âWell, then weâll just hope that the ship sinks before it docks so we can go down in history as the lovers who shouldâve made it.â He smiles. It makes you cry harder, offering all this comfort but no happiness. Josh frowns and wraps his arms around you. âIâm sorry for making you cry.â
âItâs okayâŚâ You whisper. âYou have this way with words... It makes it hard not to be moved or not to fall deeper in love with you.â
âI thought we agreed no preventing the inevitable like falling in love with each other?â You pull away from the hug and wipe his tears. He kisses yours away.
âRight, well Iâm instilling a new rule. Not preventing us from falling in love with each other. No more tears, either Kiszka?â You hold out your pinky. He links your pinkies together and then you both kiss the ends of your hands on instinct, giggling when you realize you both did it without words. Itâs like an invisible string that had connected you all this time.
âYou got it, Doll.â He says softly, before leaning forward and kissing you gently. You decide not to worry too much about it, realizing that if the universe was smart enough to bring you and Josh together for these two weeks, youâd find your way back to each other again. How could you not?
You were falling in love with each other, after all.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Eleven:
You wake up the next day to your favorite sight. Josh tangled in the sheets with you, but for once heâs still asleep. You love it. You wound up spending the day with him and then going to dinner with your family, the night full of laughs, because Josh is just so God damn charming.
Heâs so pretty.
You grab your phone from your dresser and then take a photo of him, all sleepy and shining under the sunlight.
His eyes flutter open after a few minutes of you admiring him.
âWell, good morning, Pumpkin.â He says in this low morning voice. Your fingers play with his hair,
âGood morning, sunshine.â You grin, leaning down and kissing his head. He turns to you and smiles.
âWhat do you have planned for today?â At this question, you groan. Fuck, you forgot everything you have to do today.
âI have a meeting with a notary, who doubles as the cruise lineâs wedding coordinator, that I was supposed to go to with my exâŚâ You sigh. âBut now I gotta go and tell them that no, I am not getting married, and that the ceremony is going to be a renewal of vows for my parents.â You sigh and rub your eyes. Josh looks at you, and he has that idea spark in his eyes. You see it, and he knows you see it. âWhat? What is it?â You ask.
For a moment, you wonder if he has the same idea that youâve had for the past few days. But thatâs crazy, why would he possibly think that you two should go through with it, that you two should get married?
âWhat if we went through with it? Getting married, I mean?â
Well, Iâll be damned. He did have that thought.
âJoshââ You grin, and he shakes his head, burying his face in his pillow.
âNever mind, thatâs dumb, Iâm sorryâŚâ He sighs. âWe just met, itâs a completely crazy idea, I just canât get it out of my head, andââ
âLetâs do it.â
âWhat?â
âLetâs get married.â What the fuck are you talking about? Why would you agree to this? âItâs bonkers.â
âI completely agree.â He speaks. âYou need a dress.â
âWe need rings.â
âWe need to tell our familiesâŚâ You grab your phone and start to make a list. Get notarized, get a dress, get rings, tell families. Thatâs the list.
Busy busy day. Josh takes your hand and kisses the back of it, squeezing your hand. Then, you get up and head off to shower.
As the two of you get ready to meet the notary, you begin to realize how crazy this is. You met Josh what? Ten, eleven days ago? How did you manage to fall in love with him so quickly? You try not to think too much about it. Worst case scenario, you get an annulment, right?
Youâre getting married to a rockstar and youâre not even a groupie.
Josh meets you at the door and takes your hand, and you begin to grow nervous. Not to get married but to tell your parents. This was a wild idea that you most definitely did not see them approving of. But youâre an adult, you can make your own choices.
Josh squeezes your hand when you get into the elevator. As the doors close, you begin to kiss him, full of this need.
Eventually, you do make it to your notary, Linda.
âHi! You must be Mr. and Mrs. Austinââ
âNo, actually. Mr. and Mrs. Josh Kiszka, and I have no intention of being Mrs. Josh. Mrs. Kiszka is fine.â You smile.
âOh, my mistake. I didnât realizeââ
âSpur of the moment decision. Which, I know is crazy and you probably donât get that a lot, butââ
âElopements of all types are extremely common especially in the vacation business.â She assures. âAnd honestly, I met my wife and knew I wanted to marry her after a week. Some people wait years to get married and only last for a few months. Others get married after two weeks and stay together for the rest of their lives. When you know, you know.â She advises. You like that, and grin.
âWhen you know, you know.â You repeat. âWhat do we have to do to get married?â She hands you two forms for a marriage license and goes through them with you.
âAnd are you going to take his last name?â
Kiszka. Mrs. Kiszka. You imagine your students calling you that, imagine the name on your ID, on a sign in your home.
âYeah. Yeah, I think I will.â You smile. She guides you through the steps to do that on the marriage license. Â It takes a while, but you eventually get the licenses filled out, and Linda takes them back.
âAmazing. Iâm going to make sure everything looks good here and give you confirmation tomorrow. At the very least, you get married by the captain tomorrow and then when you get back to the states, youâll fill out the license again, and celebrate your anniversary as tomorrow not when the license goes through.â That seems simple enough.
âThank you.â You tell her. Josh parrots you, and Linda just smiles.
âOf course. I wish you two a very long and happy marriage.â She says, âIs there anything else I can do for you?â
âYeah, you remember how we said this was last minute?â She nods. âWhere can we get rings and a wedding dress?â
She directs you to a small boutique on the island youâre docked at, somewhere that has lots of gowns for stupid decisions like yours. Then, she tells you thereâs a jeweler on board. Is there anything this ship doesnât have?
So you head off to the jewelers first, and you, honestly, spend more time doing this than anything else. You look at black bands, and theyâre not your style. You look at silver, but it really doesnât go with the gold ring you got the other day.
Then you land on these gold wedding bands. Theyâre engraved with leaf patterns, and the jeweler advertises custom ring carvings in less than 24 hours.
âHey,â He says to the attendant at the counter. âCan we see the gold bands?â He takes them out and hands them to you, and you both place it on your right ring finger. Itâs bad luck to try them on your left hand, right?
They fit like gloves.
Josh glances up to the attendant. âHow long would it take to engrave our initials into each otherâs rings with tomorrowâs date?â
âCouple of hours. You can pick them up tomorrow morning.â He tells you two, and Josh nods.
âGreat.â He tells him your initials and his, so that he gets them right, and hands him his card.
Your next step is the boutique. And you stop Josh before you go into the boutique.
âWait here.â
âWhat?â
âItâs bad luck to see my wedding dress before the day of.â He scoffs, playfully.
âWeâre getting married tomorrow, doll. Besides, weâre not really traditional.â He has a point, but you shake your head.
âCâmon, for me? I wonât be long.â You play with his collar. He kisses you gently, and nods.
âOkay, okay. Good luck with your shopping.â He tells you, and you kiss him quickly before heading over to find yourself a wedding dress.
You donât find a bunch of white options, but here are your options:
The first is a pretty silk thing but it makes your proportions look bizarre. So, you move on.
The second makes you look like a Mormon, with long sleeves and a turtleneck. It goes down to your ankles and is made of a heavy fabric. No, thank you.
The third is a new age dress that is white with complex black designs. You appreciate the look, but you decide it isnât for you.
The fourth one is one you werenât excited about, but then when you try it on, itâs all you want. Itâs a 50âs style cut, and it comes down just past your knees, with a corset top. But the skirt and corset has floral designs, with the skirt being a thin lace layer with the flower print. Itâs gorgeous, and it almost makes you cry to see yourself in the mirror.
It exudes spring energy. You think about Joshâs face when he sees you walk down the aisle.
You go to pay for it at the counter, and you pick up a pair of simple white heels, and a pearl necklace.
Thereâs a bouquet of flowers that sits by the counter. You get an idea when you see them and throw them into the pile of wedding things you have.
âSpecial occasion?â The cashier asks, an amused smile on their face as they ring you up.
âMy wedding day tomorrow.â
âItâs a beautiful dress.â They hum. âCongratulations.â
âThank you.â You hum, a blush filling your cheeks. Â They put the dress in a garment bag, so it isnât visible, and you hold the bag in the other hand.
âHowâd you make out?â Josh asks.
âLovley. I even got myself accessories.â You grin. Josh leans forward and kisses you quickly.
âMy bride to beâŚâ
âMy husband to be.â You say softly. âWe need to text our families. Maybe we could have them meet us for dinner and tell them then?â
âYeah, thatâs a great idea.â He says. You whip out your phones and spend a few minutes texting your families on the cruise asking them to dinner. Then, you turn back to your husband to be, for real, not just to get free things.
âWanna go back to our cabin...?â You smirk. âWe should engage in premarital⌠activities.â
âOh, Doll⌠Youâll be the death of me...â He growls, taking your hand and leading you back to the ship.
You spend your time until dinner doing your favorite things with Josh, and then you spend about two hours fashioning your bouquet of flowers into a flower crown, leaving a few to tuck into Joshâs hair and suit pocket.
He was off grabbing coffees for the two of you, when thereâs a knock on your door. You answer it, and itâs your sister. Oh.
âHey!â You grin, going back to your work on the flower crown.
âHey, whyâd you ask your roommate and his family to join us for dinner?â She hums. Youâre about to answer when she looks around the room. She sees the garment bag hanging from your bathroom door, the white shoes and pearls, flowers scattered around the room. Her eyes land on the gold wedding bands on your dresser. She says your name, before adding, âYou arenâtâŚâ
âListen, I know how crazy it isââ
âItâs more than crazy!â She says, sitting on the bed with you. âYouâve known him for a week!â
ââŚTen days.â You say, a little ashamed, your older sister disapproving of your choices.
âCâmon.â She says.
âMom and Dad have been married for twenty years.â You say. âThey got married after six months. Arthur and Veroncia got married after a year! You had a baby with a guy who you arenât even dating anymore. So what if Iâve only known him for a week? Who gives a shit? People have gotten married after a week and stayed together their entire life, others get engaged after five years and donât even make it to marriage!â You sigh, rubbing your eyes. âMaybe itâs a mistake. But itâll be the best god damn mistake of my life, so just stand by the alter and look pretty for me.â You ask.
She looks at you for a few minutes.
âOkay. Yeah, Iâll be there. Youâre right, it could be a mistake, but it could be amazing.â She hums. âYou have a nicer man than I do.â She grins. You laugh and hug her. âNow let me see your dress, Mrs. Kiszka!â
That night at dinner, you hold Joshâs hand nervously, as if heâll float away if you let go. Your two families get along great. Your parents love his, your siblings quickly get accustomed to his, and your nephew sits on Joshâs lap, and they entertain each other.
Between Dinner and Dessert, when your nephew returns to his seat, you stand up and gently clink your glass for everyoneâs attention.
âHi everybody. Thanks so much for coming tonight,â Is this a rehearsal dinner? âSo, a few of you might have noticed my ring, and uhâIt started as a joke. To get free stuff.â You say, earning a few laughs at the table. âBut it developed into something more.â You look to Josh. âAnd what Iâm about to say, is crazy, I know that. And Iâve been thinking about it for a few days, and nothing has ever felt so right. So support us or not, I donât care. This is whatâs happening andââ
âSpit it out already!â Your dad laughs. You pause, your hands shaking. Josh takes it in his.
âSo, Josh and I are getting married tomorrow.â
Silence. No response. You feel tears in your eyes.
âMozel Tov!â Your mom gasps, standing up and going over to the two of you. She hugs you tightly, and her congratulations break the tension of the table as the rest of them come over to congratulate you.
Anyone who has reservations against your decisions keep them to themselves. Jake comes over to congratulate you two, and suddenly Josh is nervous again.
âCongrats, man!â
âYouâre not mad?â Josh asks.
âMad? Youâre marrying a girl you met last week. That is so rock and roll!â He pulls josh into a hug, and then he hugs you. âOh, good luck, hot stuff.â He hums and kisses your cheek. You feel loved.
âGood,â Josh grins, âBecause youâre going to be my best man.â You turn to your parents.
âYouâre not mad?â You ask.
âNo, of course not. Itâs crazy, but youâre an adult. If you love him, you need to do whatâs best for you.â You grin.
âThank you. We should schedule a different renewal of your vows, too, andââ Your dad hugs you.
After dessert, you hold your nephew in your arms, and heâs sleepy.
âIs Josh gonna be my uncle?â He asks softly, and you smile, kissing his head.
âYeah. I think so...â
âGood. Heâs coolâŚâ You look at Josh and admire him laughing with your sister and his brothers.
âYeah. I think so too.â
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Twelve:
Your wedding day goes by way too quickly, and before you know it? Youâre slipping on your heels and clipping the pearl necklace around your neck. Your phone rings.
Itâs Josh.
âHey, Honey. Whatâs going on?â You ask.
âDoll, thereâs a photographer by the venue, was this planned?â
Shit. You forgot about that.
âYeah, uh, let her take photos of you and our families, and sheâll photograph the ceremony. Then, sheâll take photos of the happy couple.â
âOh yeah? And who would that be?â
âI love you, Joshua.â
âI love you.â He says your name. You hang up, and your parents are knocking at your door. You open it, and theyâre speechless at your ensemble.
âDoes Arthur have the wedding rings?â You ask, hoping heâll give them to your nephew.
âOh, baby, you look beautiful.â Your mom coos, and it hits you.
Youâre getting married.
You grin, and head down to the small venue that has been put together on the ship. The photographer takes a few photos of you, and youâre suddenly happy you paid for the whole package.
And then itâs time. Your parents walk you down the aisle, and when you see Josh standing there, his brothers as his best men, your sister stands with your nephew on the other side of the alter. You kiss your parents quickly, before you stand in front of Josh, taking his hands. Your cheeks hurt from smiling.
âHey.â You say softly.
âHiâŚâ
âThis is crazy, right?â You whisper.
âAbsolutely. You look amazing.â He hums. Itâs funny because he looks ethereal. The flowers in his hair look amazing.
âYou look amazing.â
âI love you.â
âI love you.â
The captain, your officiant, begins the usual--- Telling everyone why theyâre here, about life and death.
âDo you two want to say a few words?â He asks.
âIâll go.â Josh says gently. âFor a long time, I never thought Iâd find anyone who could keep up with me. Who could love me for all the parts of me⌠And then you came along and immediately, you showed me this infinite kindness. I knew I would never get over you in that moment. I love you. And I hope this marriage is an infinite source of happiness and wild adventures. And if not, fuck itââ He cringes, realizing he used fuck in his wedding vows, âFuck it. Letâs make it a crazy and fun marriage even if it only lasts a week.â You almost kiss him right there and then.
âJosh, I donât⌠I never really thought Iâd fall in love again. I never thought I would fall in love with anyone again. I⌠I thought that maybe⌠Maybe I was unlovable or...â You play with his fingers. âWhatever. But when I met you, I realized that I didnât know what love was before you came into my life. And since Iâve met you, life has just been crazy, full of love and this⌠this general glow for life. I love you. I love you deeper than anyone Iâve ever known, and I like to think we have a golden type of love. Iâll love you forever, no matter what. Marriage or not.â
You realize youâre crying and Josh wipes your tears.
âI thought we promised no more crying, doll.â
âSorry, Honey.â You whisper.
The Captain smiles and looks to you.
âDo you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health? In richer and in poorer? For better and for worse?â
âI do.â A ring is slipped onto your finger.
He turns to Josh.
âDo you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health? In richer and in poorer? For better and for worse?â
âI do.â You slip a ring onto his.
âYou may now kiss the bride.â And he does. He places his hands on your hips and pulls you in, kissing you deeply.
The rest of forever starts now, and with Josh by your side, that doesnât seem so daunting.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Thirteen:
Only technically is it day thirteen.
After the ceremony, the photographer dragged you and Josh off to take photos, and then you went to dinner. You had cake, and then the party really started. Joshâs parents and your own call it an early night and promise to watch over your nephew.
The rest of you go out and drink until you and Josh stumble off into the night. Itâs around two a.m., maybe three.
You lay on the beach chairs that you had your talk on back on day ten. Josh holds your hand as you listen to the waves crash, and even drunk, you admire the stars from the top deck.
âHoney?â
âYeah, Doll?â
âI love you.â
âI love you.â
âWhat happens when we get off the boat..?â
âWeâŚâ he sighs softly. âWe try long distance. We can make It work until we decide to move in together.â
âItâll probably be a while, unless I can get a job before the school year starts in Nashville...â
âIâll wait for you.â
âAnd when you go on tour?â
âYouâll knit on our porch and wait for me to come back.â
âYouâll write songs about me?â
âBaby, every song is about you.â You kiss his cheek. âItâs all about you...â He hums.
You listen to the waves crashing as Josh starts to sing you something. Light My Love, you think.
It makes you realize youâll never regret marrying him.
â˘Â â˘Â â˘
Day Fourteen:
You have to get off the ship early. Like, eight a.m. and you have to say goodbye to Josh.
You say goodbye to his parents, his sister, and then his brothers. Jake holds you close for a while, and then tells you,
âSee you around, Sister. Be strong, yeah?â You smile and kiss his cheek. He climbs into the car, and youâre left with Josh.
Your husband.
You wrap your arms around his neck, and he places his hands on your waist.
âI love you.â You whisper. âDonât be a stranger...â
âA stranger? How could I ever be a stranger to my wife? I love you. Weâre gonna spend the rest of our lives together, doll. I donât give a fuck about distance. Youâre the only thing thatâs ever been easy.â
âIâm a real hassle.â
âOh, donât be so dramatic.â
âI want a divorce.â You giggle. He laughs and kisses you, pulling you close. He hugs you for a while. Neither of you say anything. You want to cry. But you donât. You maintain your composure. You begin planning, youâll drive up to Nashville next weekend, youâll make it work.
You have no other options.
None.
You have to be with him. Itâs like breathing, itâs the most natural thing in the entire world.
âI love you.â He says, pulling away to look at you. âDoll, I love you so fucking much.â
âI love you, honey.â You kiss him one more time, and then he leaves. He climbs into his car, and you start to cry on the walk back to your car. Your family says nothing, and you just cry as you start to drive. Your nephew frowns, and looks down at his dinosaur blanket, that always makes him feel better. He takes your hand in his and doesnât say anything.
You begin to look for teaching jobs in Nashville, searching for apartments too. As youâre searching for something, you get a text.
âGood morning, by the way, Pumpkin. See you soon?â You smile and wipe your tears, before texting back.
âgood morning, sunshine. see you soon.â
#josh kiszka x you#josh kiszka x reader#greta van fleet x you#greta van fleet x reader#greta van fleet#danny gvf#daniel wagner x you#daniel wagner x reader#danny wagner x you#jake kiszka x you#jake kiszka x reader#jake gvf#sam kiszka#sam kiszka x you#sam kiszka x reader#josh gvf#sam gvf#josh kiszka fic#josh kiszka fluff#josh kiszka gvf
222 notes
¡
View notes
Text
âI Put a Spell On You,â Part 2
A Kabby Halloween fic in three parts for the AU The Woman That Fell From the Sky, in honor of @brittaniasâ birthday! Â Â
Part 1 here
PART 2: âFox-Trot Timeâ (Halloween 2009)
âThe problem with putting two and two together is that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twenty-two.â -- Dashiell Hammett, from The Thin Man
When Abby left New York nine years ago, she left it for good.
She and Jake had built a life there, one theyâd believed would last. Â Sheâd moved there young and made it her home and loved it with the same fervent intensity as all the cityâs Midwestern expatriates. Â But all of that meant nothing without Jake.
There was nowhere she could run to escape the crushing sorrow of loss. Â Every bodega, every hole-in-the-wall wine bar, every bench in Central Park, every subway station, Jake was there. Â The bank where heâd been shot was on her way to work. Â The hospital cafeteria on the third floor looked out over the police station where sheâd sat, cold and numb and dry-eyed, filling out form after form while Marcus attempted to comfort the confused and tearful Clarke on the bench in the hallway outside.
She could not stay in this place.
The job in Massachusetts had been offered to her a month before Jakeâs death, and she had declined it. Â They were New Yorkers, sheâd explained to the hospital recruiter. Â Their daughter would be a New Yorker too. Â The city was their home, and they couldnât imagine leaving it.
The job was still open six weeks later, something that seemed to Abby to be a kind of miracle; they couldnât find any other surgeons of her caliber willing to move out to the middle of nowhere â leaving behind every modern amenity, from Korean barbecue to decent theatre â to take a job in a small sleepy town with only a few thousand residents.
But Jake had never set foot in that town. Â She had never even told him its name. Â It felt, in that moment, like the one place in the world she could go to escape.
So she packed up her car, strapped Clarke into the backseat, and off they went.
And she never went back.
Nine years ago, watching the New York skyline disappear in her rearview mirror as steel buildings turned into green forests, she hadnât been able to imagine ever returning. Â She hadnât thought the pain would ever fade.
But Clarke is a freshman in high school now, and theyâve made a life for themselves, and it doesnât hurt to remember Jake the way that it used to. Â Sheâs changed. Â Marcus has changed her. Â Sheâs older and sadder than she was when she and Jake were reckless urban twentysomethings together, but sheâs also steadier on her feet.
Itâs because Marcus knows this â because Marcus can sense this â that he even dares to ask her the question.
It starts with a senior citizensâ cruise to the Bahamas.
Abbyâs parents come to Massachusetts for Christmas every year, to flagrantly spoil their granddaughter. Â But this year, they have, improbably, entered some grocery store sweepstakes and actually won, which means they will be spending the latter half of December aboard what Marcus describes as âan unfathomably enormous maritime shrine to capitalism, with liquorâ, thus depriving them of their best opportunity to buy fourteen-year-old Clarke hundreds of dollarsâ worth of things she doesnât need. Â Abby suggests Thanksgiving as a compromise, privately hoping theyâll decline it; her parents have very particular views on proper Thanksgiving food, and with her mother there to appraise it she will never be able to relax about the turkey, even though Marcus has never messed it up once.Â
But they have an entirely different solution in mind. They want to take Clarke to Disneyland for Halloween.
Clarke, of course, is over the moon, and says yes immediately, only afterwards pausing to realize that Marcus â now the fall festivalâs most devoted attendee â will be crushed.  Itâs quietly become a tradition over the past few years, and if his fans have noticed that he never takes Halloween concert gigs, no matter how good the money, theyâve certainly never put two and two together. He would never dream of missing a Halloween with Clarke and Abby, and Clarke is afraid sheâll hurt his feelings if she tells him that this year, sheâll be the one who isnât coming home.
Like a chicken, she makes Abby break the bad news to him. Â Ordinarily her mother would protest this uncharacteristic abdication of responsibility, but the tradeoff is a promise to clean her room without being reminded every day from now until the trip, an offer Abby canât refuse. Â She approaches the topic gingerly, and Marcus is predictably disappointed, but brightens almost immediately, that endearing lift in his voice she knows means heâs just had a great idea.
âCome to New York with me,â he says, startling her into silence.
âWhat?â
âFor Halloween. Come to New York this year.â
Abby has always thought she would never go back. But she loves the fall festival because Clarke and Marcus love it and she canât imagine enjoying herself there without them; so, surprising both of them, she says yes.
âYou used to love throwing Halloween parties with Jake,â he says, his voice gentle, cautious. Â âDo you think maybe . . . we could have one?â
She pauses for a long moment before responding, the magnitude of the thing hovering between them apparent to both. Â It sounds like such a small thing, but it isnât. Â Itâs massive. Â Itâs a real question. Â Itâs a decisive relationship step. Â Can she not only return to the city she left behind, the city where she was Jakeâs friend and then lover and then wife, but return there for the purpose of being a couple in public with somebody else?
The last time she did this, it was in the tiny Brooklyn apartment sheâd shared with Jake since they were college students. Â Heâd stood on the kitchen table to drape orange and black crepe paper along the ceiling and replace the bulbs in the light fixture with ones that glowed green, and theyâd handed out gummy snakes and spiders to all the trick-or-treating kids in the building. Â Clarke had been three and told her parents she wanted to dress up for Halloween as a cup, a bizarre notion from which they could not dissuade her (âClarke, why do you want to dress up as a cup?â âI like cups.â âWe could go to the store and look at other costumes ââ âNO A CUP A CUP A CUPâ), so Jake had sighed and gone down to the basement and dug through the piles of recycling in the trash room to find a cardboard box, which he cut into a cylinder and covered with a red plastic tablecloth, pleated at the top and edged in white, like a red Solo cup. Â He had written âDO NOT DRINKâ on it in black Sharpie, which Clarke found hilarious.
The last time sheâd experienced Halloween in the city, sheâd been a wife and the mom of a toddler and a big-shot surgeon on the rise, shooting up through the ranks at Sloan-Kettering, destined for greatness.
The last time she and Marcus were alone together in New York, they were drinking coffee and flirting and very nearly holding hands while Jake was being raced in an ambulance to the hospital where she worked.
Itâs not just about the party.
She thinks for a long time, and he waits patiently, quiet at the other end of the line, letting her have her space. Â She turns it over and over in her mind before finally speaking.
âCan we compromise?â she finally asks. Â âYes to New York, and yes to a party, as long as itâs very small and you can promise I wonât get my face in a magazine or something. Â I donât . . .â Â She pauses, unsure how to say what she wants to say without hurting him.
âYou donât want to go out in public with me in the city,â he finishes for her, and the sadness in his voice isnât directed at her, but she feels it anyway.
âI canât,â she says heavily. Â âIâm sorry.â
âYou donât have to apologize, Abby.â
âIâm just not quite ready to end up on a Worst-Dressed List,â she jokes weakly, but neither of them laugh. Â Itâs just a little too close to being true. Â
Marcus is very careful about deflecting attention away from Abby and her town. Â Heâs friends with a lot of beautiful women and he usually takes one of them to the red carpet events Abby finds too terrifying to even consider. Â He has a nice comfortable arrangement with a young actress friend of his named Lexa, a rising young romantic comedy star whose agents have been very blunt with her about not coming out as a lesbian until sheâs âmore reliably bankable,â so she and Marcus are often each otherâs red carpet safety net. Â Abby likes Lexa. Â They had lunch once when Abby was in L.A. for work. Â Every time an awards thing comes up, Marcus always asks Abby if sheâd like to go, and she always suggests he take Lexa instead. Â All it would take, she reminds him, is one sharp-eyed music journalist, and the whole house of cards would come tumbling down. Â Which is everybodyâs nightmare.
So Marcus goes on appearing in public with scores of different lovely women and journalists keep breathlessly speculating about who âThe Womanâ might be and Abby continues living the calm, quiet life she built for herself, which Marcus gets to share when he comes to visit.
But it doesnât go both ways.
Abbyâs town will always protect her. Â New York City never will.
âIâll come,â she tells him, âif we can be normal people for the weekend. Â If you can be Marcus, and not Marcus Kane.â
âIâll do the best I can,â he tells her, but then she hears that little lift in his voice again.
âWhat?â she demands. Â âWhat are you plotting?â
âA small private party,â he insists, and she can hear him grinning through the phone. Â âJust like you asked. Â I promise.â
Jake never liked black-and-white movies.
This was a fight they had many times. Â âCasablanca is a classic!â Abby would insist, causing Jake to roll his eyes.
âNo, Rocky is a classic,â was his inevitable rebuttal. Â âCasablanca is just old.â
âItâs considered one of the greatest films of all time.â
Jake would dismiss this with a handwave. Â âIt doesnât even have any explosions in it.â
âItâs a war movie, of course it has explosions,â Abby would retort, though she had not seen it in so many years she could not always reliably remember whether or not this was true. Â And so on and so forth, ad infinitum, until Jake would smack her on the ass and make her laugh and theyâd forget what they were arguing about because kissing was a much better use of the couch than watching a movie anyway.
But Marcus loves old movies as much as she does. Â Just one of the many small constant reminders that this relationship is profoundly different from her last one. Â Not better or worse, not more or less, but endlessly, constantly, impossibly different, in ways she is still discovering.
Theyâd watched The Thin Man together on the couch one night, three or four days after heâd first arrived on her doorstep, the whole world still reeling. Â Heâd been clicking through the cable channels, trying to find something that wasnât another replay of the same sickening footage of the plane smashing into the towers, and had landed on a marathon of Myrna Loy films on one of the classic movie networks, The Thin Man just starting. Â âI love this movie,â heâd said absently, almost to himself more than to her, and Abby turned from where she sat beside him to rest her forehead against the soft blue cotton of his sweater, and began to cry. Â He cupped her cheek in his hand and tilted her face up to regard her with confusion and a degree of worry that teetered on the edge of panic. Â But through the tears she was smiling.
âYou sounded like you,â she said softly. Â âJust now. Â When you said that. Â It was the first time since youâve gotten here that you sounded like yourself again.â
He didnât say anything. Â He knew exactly what she meant.
So she rested her head on his shoulder, curled up into the cradle of his arm, and they watched Nick and Nora Charles quip and banter and toss back oceans of champagne and solve murders in glamorous 1920âs New York, along with their faithful dog Asta, and for an hour and a half they forgot about everything that wasnât the movie and each other, and Abby fell asleep in bed that night with her head pillowed on his bare chest, listening to his heartbeat and thinking to herself that maybe such a thing as happiness was really possible.
Theyâve watched it dozens of times in the intervening years, and it has lost none of its charm, which makes it perhaps inevitable as Marcusâ suggestion for their Halloween costume.
âWhy are we dressing up? I thought we were just having a small, casual party,â she asks suspiciously, when he calls to make the suggestion, and she hears him hesitate on the other end of the line for just a moment before carefully answering, â . . . You never said âcasual.ââ
âI definitely did.â
âSmall. I agreed to small.â
âMarcus â â
âClarke will never forgive me if I donât make you wear a costume this year.â
âMarcus ââ
âIs that Marcus?â asks Clarke, strolling in from the other room as if on cue (which she might be; itâs entirely possible that he texted her). Â âHe showed me your costumes and theyâre so cool.â
So that, of course, is the end of that. Nick and Nora it is. Â (Heâs even managed to locate a stuffed wire fox terrier.)
Marcus has opted for the costumes from the Christmas party scene, with Nora in a floaty tiered confection of black-and-white striped chiffon, hair curled into sleek Marcelle waves, and Nick in a dapper pinstriped suit and white pocket square, hair slicked back, beard shaved off once again into a perfect tiny handlebar mustache. (âYou could just recycle your Gomez costume,â sheâd pointed out when he sent the photos, which he rebutted with indignation. Â âAbby, this is a completely different suit.â)
Heâs also decided the party should be held in one of the private banquet rooms at the old Sutton Club Hotel, where Dashiell Hammett wrote The Thin Man, a decision he plays off to Abby as merely aggressive commitment to the theme, but she knows better. Â Itâs to protect her, and their guests, from being seen coming in or out of his apartment, which is never free from the watchful eyes of paparazzi.Â
If theyâd had the party at Marcusâ apartment, Abby would never be able to let down her guard, too worried about being spotted.
But anyone can enter a hotel and get into an elevator and go up to the sixth floor and give their name to the pair of unsmiling security guards (incognito in hotel uniforms) outside Event Room C, and close the door behind them, without People Magazine being any the wiser.
They spend the nights before and after the party in the hotel.  It feels like a sinful indulgence to share a king-sized bed with Marcus after so many nights curled up together in the center of the full-sized mattress sheâd bought for a house she thought she would always live in alone, and which she has always felt superstitious about trading in for a roomier one now that an extremely tall man who sometimes hogs the covers is sharing her bed on a semi-regular basis.  It feels too much like tempting fate.  So theyâve simply gotten used to it, sleeping tangled up together in the center of the only-just-big-enough mattress.  The gleaming white linens and pillow-top at the Sutton Place are an unimaginable luxury.  Though they still sleep tangled up together in the center anyway. Old habits.
Marcus will not let Abby help with, or even see, the decorations until itâs time for the party.  He has not even shown her the guest list.  Itâs impossible to shake the worry that he has perhaps adhered too strictly to the letter of the law (âsmallâ) while entirely discarding the spirit of it (will they be drinking thousand-dollar champagne? Is she going to have to make small talk with Sting again?).  She dresses alone in their room (he put his suit on hours ago and is downstairs with the caterers), and realizes she feels oddly vulnerable without Clarke. Itâs only Halloween, itâs not Thanksgiving or Christmas, she knows that, but itâs the first holiday theyâve ever spent apart.  She would feel safer walking into a room full of strangers in a 1920âs movie costume if her daughter was there to zip up her dress and pin up the back of her hair and hold her hand.
But Clarkeâs not here, sheâs at Mickeyâs Halloween Ball with her grandparents, wearing a pair of orange neon light-up ears and beaming with joy and texting her mother picture after picture of the parade and the rides and the alarming number of shopping bags slowly accruing in her Cinderella-themed hotel room, which means Abby has to make an entrance on her own into a room full of famous strangers, which is basically her nightmare.
Her heart pounds in her chest as she puts the finishing touches on her bright red lipstick, closes the hotel room door behind her, takes the elevator down two floors, says hello to Marcusâ security guards, who wave her past, and then opens the white and gold door.
âSurprise!â says Marcus, and Abbyâs heart stops when she realizes she knows everyone in the room.
Marcus didnât throw a fancy Halloween party for all his famous friends to meet his girlfriend and shove her uncomfortably into a spotlight she doesnât want.Â
He threw a fancy Halloween party as a gift for her, and filled it with all the friends she left behind when she moved out of the city.
He kept his promise; by Marcus standards, 30 people counts as âsmallâ, so sheâs willing to allow it.  Because every single one of them is a person that she loves and misses and thought sheâd never see again.  The elderly Italian couple who lived next door to her and Jake for six years, who babysat Clarke when the daycare was closed and brought pans of meatballs in Sunday gravy over every week so the broke young parents could eat at least one home-cooked meal.  The two nurses who worked under her the whole time she was at Sloan-Kettering, whoâd become her right and left hand, and who had been devastated when she left. The priest whoâd married them and said Jakeâs funeral.  The parents of Clarkeâs best friends from day care.  And more than a dozen others, friends of hers, friends of Jakeâs, people she has missed since the day she left but couldnât quite bear to face again for fear of reopening old wounds.  People sheâd thought, so often, about calling, or visiting, or emailing, but hadnât, because what if it turned out she wasnât ready to spend time with anyone who had their own memories of Jake?
But theyâre here, theyâre all here, and theyâre mingling with friends of Marcusâ who she actually likes, the ones who donât terrify her. Â No Cynthia Nixon, no Thelonious J. Â But she recognizes his drummer and bass player and road crew, she recognizes his old roommates from the shitty Queens apartment he was living in when she first met him, she recognizes the bartender from the East Village dive where he used to play every Thursday and who always snuck him a free beer when Marcus was too broke to pay for it himself.
These are their real people. Â These are their real friends. Â This is Marcus Kaneâs real New York.
Sheâs so overwhelmed by the sea of smiling faces in front of her that she doesnât notice until a few minutes have passed and sheâs been hugged by everyone in the room how perfect everything else is. Â The decorations, simple and elegant in black and white and gold. Â The food, indulgent but not so expensive that it makes Abby uncomfortable, and no pretentious hotel waiters; just trays heaped with crab cakes and spinach tartlets and chocolate truffles all over the room, for everyone to graze to their heartâs content.Â
No bartender, either; Marcus has taken on this job himself.
ââThe important thing is the rhythm,ââ she hears him quoting Nick Charles cheerfully to her old neighbors as she approaches the bar. Â ââAlways have rhythm in your shaking. Now a Manhattan you shake to fox-trot time, a Bronx to two-step time, a dry martini you always shake to waltz time.ââ
The neighbors are unimpressed enough with Marcus Kaneâs fame and fortune to roll their eyes at this ever so faintly as they take their dry martini, and Abby feels the tension in her spine unknit for the first time since Marcus said the words âCome to New York with meâ a month ago.
Her friends are talking to Marcus Kane as though he is a normal person. Â As though he is simply the man Abby loves. Â A man wearing the costume of a film noir detective, a man who cut decorations out of gold paper himself and taught himself how to shake a Manhattan to fox-trot time and who has spent so many years listening so carefully to everything Abby has ever said to him that he knew every single person she would want to see in that room. Â Marcus is already a star by now, Marcus has opened for U2 all over Europe and âThe Girl Inside the Mountainâ is already piling up an awful lot of zeroes in that bank account that will pay Clarkeâs way to college in a few short years. Â But nobody mentions this. Â They let him leave all of that on the other side of the door for tonight.
And none of them have forgotten Jake.
On the contrary, heâs everywhere, everyone mentions him, everyone tells stories about him, everyone asks if Clarke still has his eyes. Â Does Abby remember the year she tried to make Jake hand out raisins instead of candy because it was healthier, so he retaliated by purchasing an industrial-sized bag of king-sized Snickers bars. Â Or the time theyâd made a green Jello mold full of gummy eyeballs and it had worked flawlessly as a Halloween decoration but looked too weird to eat, sitting untouched in the center of the snack table until everyone went home and Jake threw it away, but left one gummy eyeball in the bottom of Abbyâs coffee mug to make her scream the next morning.
It has never occurred to Abby how deeply it would heal her heart to talk about Jake, to hear other peopleâs stories about him, to know how much he was missed by people who werenât her lover or her child.
She needed this, and she didnât even know it.
But Marcus did.
Sheâs wondered, from time to time, whether her old friends, the people who shared her life when she shared it with Jake, would look on her relationship with Marcus as a betrayal. Â Perhaps itâs this, in part, thatâs kept her from coming back to the city.Â
But she neednât have worried.
All of them see it.
When they look over at Marcus in the corner, brushing a loose curl out of Abbyâs eyes, they smile, every one of them.
âGood for her,â theyâll all say to their spouses in the taxis on the way home. Â âIâm glad sheâs happy.â
#kabby#marcus kane#abby griffin#kabby fic#kabby fan fiction#the 100 fic#au: the woman that fell from the sky#happy birthday b#brittany#oh btw#if you read the original fic and all the headcanons#the part that is lexa here was originally callie#i mentioned that somewhere#but a) i like callie better as abby's town friend#and b) lexa fits better#so just like retcon that in your head k thnx
47 notes
¡
View notes
Text
30 Things Every Man Should Do Before Turning Thirty
Become financially independent
Arguably, this advice is hard to appreciate, given how fully we as a generation have been impacted by the actions of the previous, but no pain, no gain right?
If you havenât already, get out from under your parentâs feet. They may say they âdonât mindâ giving you a helping hand, but you should.
2Have some discretion
Maybe donât broadcast every thought you have on Facebook. No one cares. No one has ever cared.
We donât need a thousand updates on the status of your relationship, selfies,
 or musings on how much of a âgeekâ you are. Uploading 400 photos in an album titled âlast nightâ is not a great use of time.
3Travel
On that note, youâve heard it a million times, but travelling will open your eyes.
Donât hit up KFC first thing when you get to where youâre going, be respectful and willing to learn. Youâll come back appreciating home much more, too.
For inspiration, check out the 28 Places Every Man Should Visit In His Lifetime.
4Be able to call it a night
OK. Unless things are going well with a little cutie, you donât have to stay up until 4am just for the sake of it.
The most mature thing someone can do is to say, âright, Iâm off,â and then actually leave.
Most parties tend to suck after a certain point anyway, so try and find the peak point of a given night, and then make your move.
5Learn to live with other people
College is the time to do this, and then maybe a couple of years after when youâre figuring out what to do with your life.
Youâll make horrible choices regarding roommates (if you even get to choose) and in the inevitable crises (rising damp, friends not paying rent) that follow, youâll be sure to learn a lot about yourself.
On that noteâŚ
6Ditch bad friends
I had a friend who used to literally scream at me when I told him I was trying to quit smoking, because he needed someone to validate his own choices.
This man was not a good man. Luckily, bad friends tend to weed themselves out. You might end up with no one beside you at times, but thatâs okay, it happen to all of us.
In that caseâŚ
7Learn to live with yourself
When you were younger, you probably had serious FOMO. If you donât know what that means, youâre too old to worry about it. But getting older means not having to be where the party is, at least not all the time.
Get to know yourself or youâll be running around chasing other people forever.
8Put Yourself Out There And Attempt To Fall in love
It could be a five year relationship, it could be a wistful look with a colleague at work. Hopefully it takes more than a look.
Falling in love with someone is so wonderful and horrible, so nerve-wracking and yet so becalming that youâll hate yourself for having done it sometimes. But itâs the best thing in the world for reminding yourself you are still human.
9Get your heart broken
Same sort of thing, really.
Could be big (a broken engagement), could be small (the girl whose name you donât know turns up at the bus stop with a man by her side), and while it may sting like crazy at first, youâll be grateful for the trouble in the long run.
10Give good/bad advice
I once volunteered to teach DIY at a charity, and school children would ask me, a 23 year old, for advice.
Did I give good advice? Hell no, I was a mess. But it felt nice to be asked, to impart whatever existential crisis I was having at the time, and how best someone can avoid it.
11Be a Role Model To Someone Younger Than You
You may be a younger member of a family, and therefore your siblings, or your cousins may started having kids of their own.
The best kind of kids, youâll find, are the ones that arenât yours. You get to be the cool and fun uncle who everyone loves, but as soon as they poop themselves or start crying, you can hand them off back to their mom/dad like youâre the star quarterback.
12Find your passion
It could be anything. Love playing sports? Love talking about sports? Love inventing new sports?
Go ahead, do these things. And do them as best as you can. You literally canât be wrong. It doesnât have to lead anywhere, it can just be for you, an ocean of calm in the sea of madness that is life.
13Make/Buy/Own something that is Yours
It could be a nice suit, or a house, or a set of pristine fire pokers from the 1800s.
It could even be a song youâve written. It can just be yours, to be passed down, or shared with future generations.
14Have your own place to call home
Nothing will bring you back down to Earth quicker than talking a big game to your friends, and then coming back to a nice cooked meal from your mum before you sleep in your childhood bed (shaped like a racecar).
Get out of there, soldier. Your parents may not be too happy about the empty nest, but in the long run theyâll thank you (from some booze-cruise in the Bahamas).
15Volunteer
As much as weâve talked about accumulating things and experiences, giving things back every once in awhile is incredibly rewarding too. Do you have any skills, or are you just good with people? If you have the time, do this.
16Help someone move
In life, only three things are certain: death, taxes, and being asked to help someone move.
This goes double, if not triple, if you own a van. Get ready for it, because it will happen. However, itâs a great thing to do for someone, and youâll need someoneâs help in the future too. Pay it forward.
17Begin to enjoy the finer things
Those 5 cent packets of ramen noodles got you through a lot of late nights at college, Iâm sure, but as you reach the big 3-0, you would do well to try a little harder at life.
18Learn to cook one meal that is impressive
It doesnât have to be a signature dish of your own concoction, but if you can make a decent meal and present it nicely youâll always be welcome at a grown-up house party.
19Live in another country
Bonus points here if you manage to do it without yelling about how ���cultural/spiritual/politicalâ it is.
Knuckle down, get some friends who arenât like you, and integrate for a bit. Learn the language. Other countries have a lot to offer beyond ânot being Americaâ.
20Appreciate art
Like you perhaps, I once did not âgetâ art. I once walked around a modern art museum with a friend complaining loudly like I was the coolest, most original person on earth.
Along with your newfound appreciation for being a modern, mature gentleman, itâs important to learn that a lot of art is designed to spark a conversation, so what parts of it donât you like? What issues do you have with it? Besides, there are so many amazing pieces out there, can you really ânot likeâ all art?
21Go through a crisis
âWhy do we fall, Master Bruce?â
In these moments, you will find out who your truly are, and you donât need a sad, cockney butler to help you do it. When life is good, itâs very hard to make adjustments for your own issues. Only when youâre on the floor, getting kicked when youâre down, can you find the strength within yourself.
22Learn basic DIY
You donât need to have a toolbelt or an extendable ladder, you donât even need to strip the walls of every house you move into or grunt approvingly when you see a hardware commercial on TV. Just be able to put a shelf up straight.
23Learn basic car maintenance
On a very similar note, the time to get over your fear of looking under the hood of a car is definitely before 30. Donât tear the wheels off or adjust your power steering, but definitely check the oil and maybe learn a little bit about using jumper cables.
24Learn how to use the washer and dryer
You canât keep making your laundry someone elseâs problem, or â ugh, never doing it at all.
Figure out your clothes, make some time every week or two, and just get it done. If you donât like separating our colours and whites, just put it all in at 40 degrees and let God sort it out. If it doesnât survive, it wasnât meant to be.
25Stop worrying about your purpose
I donât think anybody really knows what their purpose is.
We spend so much time worrying about it, when these things tend to come to us when we least expect it. Do things you love and youâll eventually realise you found it a long time ago.
26Break the bad habits
Want to stop smoking? Want to get a little time off the internet? Eating nothing but junk food? Make a concerted effort to stop before you turn 30 (as in several years before this, not when you are 29 and 364 days) or you may find some things too hard to kick.
27Start exercising
While kicking bad habits, itâs also a good idea to develop brand new good ones. Exercise will keep your aging body (sorry) fit, release all kinds of good chemicals, and give you a brand new thing to go on and on about.
Donât like running? Download Pokemon Go and do some walking or something.
28Open up your worldview
Typically, people tend to get more conservative as they get older, and thus we find ourselves in a position where a cranky, scared older generation is running the world and ruining it for the rest of us.
Break the trend: read widely, be skeptical of news outlets, be compassionate to your fellow man.
29Try anything you like
Youâre still young enough to pretty much give anything a go and not be too worried if youâre terrible at it.
The sky is still very much the limit, and before youâre 30 youâll find you have much more time to do it.
Do your best, but laugh it off if it doesnât work.
30Realise that you canât do everything
I read a cushion cover the other day that said, âOnly children think they can do everything,â and it stopped me in my tracks.
Mostly because it seemed like an incredibly depressing message for a decorative item, but also because I realised I agreed, I just didnât know it until then. Itâs fun to try things, but eventually, you must settle down, focus, and excel at your best qualities.
There you have it, guys. I hope at the very least this has added an idea or two to your bucket list.
0 notes
Text
Tanked: mixology woes aboard
The dull thud of your heart sinking at that horrifying moment when you realize what you just did and consequences will follow: we all dread it. It happens anyway. Cruising comes with higher highs, and lower lows⌠pouring the wrong stuff in your diesel tank is one of those lower points.
In mid-2012, Totem was being prepped to move after five months mostly at a dock and a year and a half in Australia. This was the first step to depart Australia: shifting from dockside liveaboard to river mooring before sailing north to Papua New Guinea and beyond. Wrapping up school (the kidsâ first and only formal stretch of four-walls education as cruisers), untangling the threads that weave a life integrated to shoreside people and places, packing up for multiple months off the grid and away from stores⌠we were a little busy, a little distracted.
One of our last steps before kicking off the dock: top of the water tanks. From below deck I listened to liquid gurgling in from the deck fill, and then came the unfortunate cry: âah, shit.â Jamie doesnât swear lightly. It hit me even before he filled in the detail, as sound locations processed: the water hose had been in Totemâs diesel tank fill.
Whoops. We own it now!
Water in the diesel tank
I dashed up to the cockpit and we looked at each other, mouths agape. Jamie got that faraway look in his eyes, then headed up to tell the marina manager weâd be late departingâŚregrets to the boat they had waiting for our berth.
The entire contents of our diesel tank were decanted and filtered, and like bad wine on a tropical island, salvageable.
Jamie started by turning off the valve between the diesel tank and primary fuel filter and lining up jerry cans to decant. Our magical dock neighbors, a French/South African family on the Dean 44 Merlin, offered time and support to get it done. Petroleum and water donât mix, but kids play always!
Greg helps his daughter, Clea, and Siobhan swing from the rigging aboard Merlin â Brisbane, 2012.
Greg brought over a diesel transfer pump they kept on Merlin which made the job far easier. Contaminated fuel was removed to jerry cans. At first we hoped that putting fuel through a funnel filter would remove the water â NOPE! Only trace amounts of water came out.
Borrowing Merlinâs transfer pump to return diesel to Totemâs primary tank
Enter our old friend, Gravity. Allowing the water to settle to the bottom (itâs heavier) of a jerry can, diesel on the top could be pumped into a clean jerry can. Rinse, repeat with a series of jerry cans until the entire contents were filtered. Ten gallons of water were ultimately removed.
Gas in the diesel tank
Jump ahead to yesterday around tea time. This was a call from Serendipity, but not about serendipity. Anchored off Antigua with guests arriving soon and plans to head for Barbuda, it was time to top up the diesel tank. With their permission, sharing the event in Kevinâs words as related in the closed Facebook group for coaching clients, Totem Raft-Up (self-named â the TRU Crew!).
TRU Crew comes through again! This post is at my prideâs expense, but Iâm going to eat the proverbial crow and share. Itâs long but there are some lessons here and recommended gear that saved my ass today and could save yours.
They say bad decisions happen when you are forced into a movement due to timelines like company coming. Looking back, I think it played a part in my stupidity today. We have guests arriving to Antigua tomorrow, and we want to take them up to Barbuda Wednesday. I spent some time the last few days getting the boat ready, and one last chore was to fuel up with diesel. We were happy in an anchorage, it was Callumâs birthday (our 8 year old), and Stephanie was busy making a cake and cleaning up for arriving guests. I had a few hours to kill so I decided instead of moving the boat to the marina Iâd just bring 30 gal worth of diesel cans in and fill them, then transfer to that boat. It would save us some time in the morning from having to motor into the harbor to fuel up. No problemsâŚ
TRU crew in Barbuda: Steph & Kevin from Serendipity (Live the Voyage) at center, Dave & Marcie from Kairos5 at right.
Well, as this plan was finalized Steph had a good idea to bring extra gasoline to Barbuda. We carry 15 gallons on the rail, but there is no fuel in Barbuda, and with guests from home visiting for week, we plan to spend a lot of time in the dinghy (snorkeling, tubing, etc). So I grabbed an extra yellow jerry can, wrote âGASâ on it, and proceeded to shoreâŚ.Iâm sure you know where this is going.
When I got back I unloaded the fuel, and started to fuel pretty quickly. I was distracted as it was Calâs bday and wanted to get going. I used a shaker siphon to fuel, which is handy on a boat. I started the siphon and quickly put 5 gallons of fuel into the boat. I started my second can, and then went to clean up the first can and when I grabbed it I saw âGASâ written on the back side of it. Holy shit, 5 gallons of gasoline into my diesel tank. I seriously looked like Jim Carey on Liar Liar kicking my own ass!
Lesson â if you use a yellow can to fill gasoline, mark the shit out of it!Â
Here is how TRU saved my ass. Going back to the fall, I lost my engine due to debris that clogged the fuel line. I got it running, but after had my fuel polished. Jamie was awesome help with this, and even though I didnât use his recommended âemergencyâ polisher, I took his advice and ordered some parts that you may not think to have on board. It takes two pieces of gear to polish your fuel in a pinch. First, a 12 volt transfer pump, and second, a funnel with a filter.
You could pull the fuel out of the tank and back in through the filter, removing debris. Well, I didnât use the funnel today but damn did that fuel pump earn itâs keep.
I opened the tank through one of the access holes and removed 23 gallons of contaminated fuel. I then used this handy pump to get the rest. I was able to empty all but maybe a couple ounces out of the tank. Iâm going to put a minimum of 40 gallons in the tank before I start the engine. Thatâs 5,120 ounces. Even if there is a quart of contaminated fuel, thatâs only .6% and only a fraction of that is gasoline. I think Iâll be okay, but damn, what a dumb move!
I called Jamie during all of this and he talked me off the ledge. Thanks! So donât be me and donât let distractions mess you up!
Serendipityâs crew recovered quickly. It helps to know youâre far from the first, and other TRU chimed in with their (mis)adventures in fueling. I didnât even get to bringing up the story about our own cruising mentors and the time they added diesel to the water tank⌠a step further in the levels of cruiser hell. Our highs are higher, but our lows can be lower!
Meanwhile, this is Serendipityâs recent view. The squall passed; it wasnât such a bad day after all.
TRU Crew anchored off Barbuda: thanks to Stephanie at Live the Voyage for this pic!
Gear to consider
A few bits that clearly can be really useful⌠and for more than just these scenarios, where the wrong liquid ends up in a diesel tank.
Twelve-volt transfer pump.
This diesel transfer kit from Orion Motor Tech would serve both Totem and Serendipityâs uses. We purchased ours (similar to this model) just a few weeks after the water-into-diesel debacle in Australia from a cruiser unloading gear prior to selling their boat.
Other everyday cruising uses: our 12v transfer pump (see top two pics of Jamie using it) is currently loaned to another boat in the anchorage that needed to polish their fuel to try and remove a diesel bug (a microbial contamination gunking up their fuel, common enough a problem). Itâs bailed us out from similar situations when we had a persistent diesel bug in Southeast Asia, and most recently helped polish dirty fuel we boarded at an outer island in the Bahamas.
Fuel filter.
Mr Funnel filters come in a range of sizes depending on how much fuel youâre running through them. We keep a small one for gas going into the dinghy and generator. And a large one for diesel. We also have a Baja filter, which havenât been made for over a decade. Note that funnel filters remove debris and trace amounts of water (but not more).
Fuel is almost always filtered before it goes in our tanks. The only time we donât filter is at a high-volume dock or place with a solid reputation. If thereâs concern about fuel quality, we put some in a glass jar and wait a few minutes to see if thereâs separation.
Siphon hose.
Self-priming hoses mean you donât get your mouth involved in the siphoning process (yuck!). There are no fuel docks in most of the miles weâve cruised; siphoning from jerry cans is a fact of life, and itâs good to be prepared.
Sponsorship/advertising note: we have zero association with these brands listed above. These recommendations do use Amazonâs affiliate program, so if you click through a product link and purchase something (anything) on Amazon, that slides some coin in our cruising kitty (thanks!). I point it out since a couple of people have asked if we had sponsorship from any of products mentioned in our new tools on Totem article recently. Nope! No affiliation with them at all, just like these; weâre just sharing some kit thatâs working well on board. Do we have sponsors? Yes, we do. Itâs a very few, deliberately kept to the select products/services that we love can be genuinely enthusiastic about, and in limited number to avoid ever being taken as shills. For more information, see our Values Statement.
from Sailing Totem http://bit.ly/2ULe3Op via IFTTT
0 notes