Till the End of Time

Chapter Four: Bearer of Bad News

Friday morning, we had just finished loading up the luggage into Alex's trunk for our drive to Palm Springs when Alex's phone rang.

"Hi mom," he answered. "Mhmm, I see....no it's fine. I understand... Okay, see you soon." Then, he hung up and gave me a worried look.

"Uh-oh, what's wrong? You look like the bearer of bad news," I joked.

"Umm...well," he mumbled. Running his hand through his hair he gave me a pleading look.

I did not like that look, and I definitely did not like his nervousness.

"Alex, what is it?"

"Well, it seems like we're giving Vivi a ride to Palm Springs," he admitted.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"That was mom. They flew in early this morning and it seems Vivi does not want to drive up alone, so she asked if we can give her a ride."

I stared at him open-mouthed. I wasn't a girl to be at a loss for words, but I was definitely at a loss for words. I mean so much for our romantic drive. It looked like Virginia would be crashing our party.

"Babe, please understand. I couldn't say no. It's just two hours. Surely you'll be fine for that long."

"Ugh, Alex! Let's just go," I groaned.

Our drive up the canyon to Virginia's family home passed in silence. As we pulled in front of their place, she was standing outside waiting with her luggage. Alex exited the car to load up her bags, and Virginia approached my door.

I rolled down my window and gave her my brightest smile. "Hello Virginia, it looks like you'll be our third-wheel today."

The bitch smirked at me.

"I'm looking forward to this trip very much, but Athena I'm afraid I have to sit up front," she remarked.

"Excuse me."

"Well, I have the worst motion sickness and I'd hate to be puking my guts out the whole drive there."

I surely wouldn't have minded if she puked her guts out. Could someone die from excessive puking? Okay, so maybe not die but surely it'd be okay if she was hospitalized for the remainder of the weekend.

Alex finished loading up and approached us. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

No Alex, everything wasn't alright. This bitch was back to her games.

"Alex, I was just asking Athena if she would please let me sit in the front. I'd hate to get motion sickness on the drive, but she didn't seem at all accommodating," she replied.

"Motion sickness?" he asked, rubbing his hand down his neck.

"Oh, yes! You know how I get on long drives. I'd be miserable sitting in the back."

Alex turned pleading eyes to me and —for the second time in the same day— I was at a loss for words.

"Excuse me," I grunted. I pushed my door open and exited. Then, I slid into the back seat and slid all the way down to sit behind the driver's seat. If Alex expected me to sit in the back, I wasn't about to stay in his visual periphery. He could spend the whole drive enjoying the company of his precious Vivi.

The drive was spent listening to Virginia chatter on and on about all their wonderful memories.

Alex, do you remember that time we spent at Palm Springs and found a rattlesnake?
We had the best times there, didn't we?
Oh my God, I just remembered when we got caught sneaking out. Our parents were so mad.

And on it went.

I spent most of the drive looking out the window in silence. Alex tried to end Virginia's trip down memory lane with curt answers, but she wasn't deterred.

I turned my attention back to Virginia when she mentioned finally seeing Alex's sister again.

"Charlotte will be there?" I asked.

"Uh yeah, she flew in this morning," clarified Virginia.

"She decided she missed out on one too many family trips and wanted to join us," added Alex.

Alex's younger sister, Charlotte, was an avid traveler. She didn't like to spend too much time in one place. I'd been dating Alex for over a year and I'd only seen her a handful of times, but she was always very kind. Finally, I had something to look forward to during the weekend.

Virginia caught my attention again when she started to hum. I looked up and saw her adoringly cleaning her watch.

"That's a nice watch," I commented. "You seem rather fond of it."

"Oh, this?" she asked. "Thanks, it's a Rolex. Alex got it for my graduation. It's very valuable to me."

"Alex got that watch for you?"

"Uh, yeah," she snapped.

"It was a graduation present that I got her many years ago, babe," Alex emphasized.

"Right," I replied as I looked down at my wrist and the gold Cartier watch shining brightly at me.

Three Months Ago

Alex and I had just finished packing for our trip to Greece. We were going to spend two weeks sightseeing all over Greece and the islands. I was so excited to finally see my YiaYia and Pappous' homeland.

I was in the en-suite bathroom preparing for bed when I heard Alex calling for me.

"Athena, baby, can you come out here please?"

"Yeah babe, I'm almost finished," I replied.

I finished washing my face and dried off. When I walked into the bedroom, I saw Alex sitting on the bed waiting for me.

"I have a gift for you babe," he said. "I wanted to wait to give it to you in Greece, but you know I don't have the patience for surprises."

He patted the bed and smiled at me. I sat on his lap instead and smirked back at him. Then, he handed me a deep red jewelry box. Inside the box was a stunning gold watch that left me breathless.

"I had it engraved for you," he added.

I pulled the watch out of its box and turned it over. The back of the watch was engraved with the words:

Till the end of time.

Alex had claimed my watch was our anniversary gift, but a week later —on a yacht in Greece— he gave me my real anniversary gift: my engagement ring.

It turned out Alex was great with surprises.