An Ounce of Prevention

He shook his head. "No, if that's what you want to do, then we'll find some wild horses. If Jonathan wants to see Arizona, then we'll see Arizona."

"And what about Alex? What does he want to do?"

His smile was wry. "I think we've already discussed that and you found it unacceptable."

She groaned. "Alex, if all you want to do is work at the clinic, then you do need a vacation - somewhere else than here."

He shook his head. "I have everything I need right here. Come on, you understand. It was you who didn't want to take a honeymoon."

"It was I who didn't want to fly anywhere. I regret that, but there is nothing I can do about it now."

He stood and carried his cup to the sink. "I told you I would go."

Yes, he said he would go - like he said he would go visit his father in Texas for Christmas. He did it for her and he made it clear he didn't want to be there. Hopefully he had learned something from that life lesson, but she had a dark feeling that he hadn't. Alex was near perfect for her in many ways, but he could be a trial when he got his head set about doing something for her or the children.

A week before they were supposed to leave, Carmen reserved a van. She didn't reserve a hotel room because doing so would put them on a restricted schedule. If they were going to relax, they needed to stop when they were ready to rest rather than struggle extra miles. Nevertheless, she did have a schedule of sorts. They had two weeks to drive to southern Arizona, camp in the desert and drive back. It would take two days to get to their destination, which meant that it would take two days to get back. Alex would want a few days to relax before going back to work, so that left eight days to camp and explore the desert.

She could hardly wait and the children felt the same way. Jonathan would be fifteen in November and Destiny would be seven in October. They were growing up fast. In only three years Jonathan would graduate and go away to college.

Jonathan was mature for his age. Maybe it was because he was the oldest, or maybe because of his handicap. Jonathan had been born with one short arm, but he never let it hold him back. The short arm had a small hand with completely functional fingers. If he was ever embarrassed about his handicap, he had never indicated so - not even when other children stared at him. His confidence helped others to get past the awkward situation. Some people joked about their abnormalities to clear the air. Jonathan never joked about it. To him, it was simply different. Some people had dark hair or blue eyes. He had one short arm. He might wish he had black hair or brown eyes, or two arms the same length, but he accepted what he had.