Road Trip
Chapter 4

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Logan sat in the RV, chomping on a cigar, tapping on the steering wheel impatiently.  He had been waiting nearly twenty minutes for his son to say his goodbyes.  He glanced at the front door of the mansion, and still no sign of the boy.  He once again leaned on the horn, giving several sharp blasts, hoping to get the kid moving.
 

Finally, the front door opened, and the boy appeared, bundled head to toe in warm clothing, being mauled by his grandmother.  Another short blast from the horn, and Francis broke free from Maggie's grasp, and began trotting to the vehicle.  He climbed in, and Logan revved the engine and pulled away from the building, as the boy flopped into the passenger seat, and waved good-bye to those gathered at the door.

 

"Jesus Christ!  What took you so long?"  Logan sped down the lane, toward the highway.

 

"Sorry.  I had to pee.  And then I said goodbye to my friends, and Dr. Jean, and the professor, and Marie, and Mr. Scott, and Miss O, and Granny, and then I had to pee again."

       

Logan snorted.  "Just how small is your bladder, anyway?"

 

"I guess I'm just nervous.  And Granny made me drink an extra glass of orange juice.  She's afraid I might get a cold."

 

"She told me, over and over and over."  Logan pulled onto the highway just as it began to snow again.

 

Francis removed several layers of his clothing, and settled into his seat, looking out the window, and then he began to fidget. 

 

Logan knew why.  "Oh no you don't.  I ain't stopping.  You gotta go again, use the head in back."

 

"But I never peed in a moving vehicle before."

 

"Learn.  Just aim and shoot.  And try not to piss all over the floor."            

 

Francis frowned, but did as he was told.  Logan laughed when he heard the boy cursing like a sailor, obviously having great difficulty hitting the target.  "Just make sure you mop up your mess!"  He called back to his son, chuckling some more at his son's creative use of the English language.

 

By nightfall, they were already well over the Canadian border.  Logan kept his word, and they did not stop except to fuel up.  Francis spent his time reading, playing on the computer, and napping.  He had made two huge ham sandwiches for their dinner, and the two sat quietly eating as Logan drove on.

 

"Goddammit!"  Logan looked down at his chest, and noticed a big plop of mustard had found its way there. 

 

Francis chuckled.  "You need a bib." 

 

Logan glanced over at the boy, and noticed he had a few mishaps as well.  "Who needs a bib?  I'm gonna have to hose you off.  Why did you use so much mustard?"

 

"I thought you liked mustard?"

 

"I do, but Jesus, half a jar?"

 

Their excahnge was interrupted by a gentle beeping.  Francis leapt out of his seat.  "Oh boy.  I wonder who it is?"  he slid into the seat in front of the computer, and tapped on the leys, calling up the web cam. 

    

Logan rolled his eyes, as he wiped the spill from his chest.  "I bet I know."

 

Francis squealed as his grandmother's face appeared on the screen.  "It's Granny!"

            

Logan muttered, "What a surprise."

 

"Franky?  This is actually working?  How are you?  Can you hear me?"  Maggie moved her face a bit too close to the camera.

 

"Granny, sit back a bit.  I can see right up your nose.  Can you see me?"  Francis stared at the screen, smiling brightly.

 

"Oops, sorry."  She sat back a bit.  "I can see you sweetheart.  Um, did I

interrupt your dinner?"

 

Francis wiped his mouth with a paper towel.  "I used too much mustard, I guess.  How are you?"

 

"Oh, I miss you.  Everyone does.  Are you having fun?  Why are you still up?  You're eating dinner awfully late, aren't you?"

 

Logan grumbled, listening to the conversation.  "Christ, we've only been gone for twelve hours."

 

Francis glared at the back of Logan's head.  "We aren't on a set schedule, Granny.  We're on vacation."

 

"What have you done so far?  Have you seen much?"

 

Logan grumbled some more.

 

The boy tossed his paper towel at Logan's head.  "We haven't done much.  The weather is sort of crappy, so there hasn't been too much to see."

 

Maggie showed concern.  "Are you still on the road?  Maybe you should stop for a while, until the weather clears."

 

"We're fine.  It's not snowing too bad.  Dad wants to keep going until at least midnight."

 

"MIDNIGHT!?  Oh, sweetie, that's just too long to be driving."

 

Logan grit his teeth, and was about to say something when Francis answered.  "Oh, it's ok.  Dad and I are taking turns driving.  We're fine."  Logan bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud.

 

"WHAT!?!  HE IS LETTING YOU DRIVE?  IS HE OUT OF HIS MIND?  She continued her nearly incoherent rant for a few seconds more, as the boy chuckled.  He finally interrupted her.  "I'm joking...really.  We'll stop soon, I promise."

 

Maggie fumed silently for a moment.  "Oh, very funny.  You scared me to death.  Why do you do that?"

 

Francis chuckled some more.  "Look, Gran, I'll let you go now.  I'm gonna get myself ready for bed.  I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?" 

 

"Ok, Franky.  You have a good night.  Sweet dreams," she paused and added, "to both of you.  Good night."  And then her image clicked off the screen.

 

Francis logged off the computer, and then climbed back into the passenger seat, and Logan gave him a side-long glance.  He wore a wide, rather smug smile.

 

Logan smirked at the boy.  "You are a real pain in the ass."

 

Francis let out a chuckle.  "Like father, like son, huh?"

 

Logan turned his attention to the road.  Yeah, he thought.  The kid was absolutely right.  So, he had managed to instill in the boy the fine art of being a pain in the ass, without much effort on his part.  It seemed this father-thing wasn't so hard after all.  Logan felt an odd swelling of pride.  Now to work on getting the kid some balls.

 

"Dad?"  Francis was staring at him.

 

"Huh?"

 

"Am I ever gonna get a nickname?"

  

Logan turned to face the boy.  "A nickname?"

 

"Yeah.  Most of the kids have one.  Mr. Scott, Miss O, you...don't I get one?"  His emerald eyes bored into Logan's.

 

Logan watched the oncoming headlights as he thought.  "Hmm, got any ideas?"

 

"How about Wolvie Junior?"  His bright smile returned, and his eyes sparkled.

 

Logan winced.  "Pain is the ass..."

Chapter 5

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