A Bet on Yellowstone

O N E : The Decision

The aroma of freshly brewed black tea cascaded into my makeshift dining room. "Where would we even go?" I set my elbows on my table and asked Erin who was leaning back in her chair, looking for different national parks on Pinterest. Erin, my best friend since middle school and current room-mate, had briefly mentioned a road trip a few weeks ago, but I didn't take the rash comment seriously. In the moment, Erin was balling her eyes out after finding her, now ex, boyfriend balls deep in a shallow prissy that hated Erin and I. The feelings were mutual if you were curious.

"Mark Twain National Forrest?" Erin held up her phone to show a generic photo of kids sitting around a campfire, laughing.

I scrunched my nose. "That's not really a road trip. It is like an hour away from here. Do you want something to drink?" I asked, getting up from the table.

"Uh sure. Tea is fine. Would you rather go north or south?"

"North. Missouri is humid enough. I've been up north once or twice when I was ten, I think. I know my parents always loved it. Plus, didn't you get a new pair of jeans on clearance the other day?" I replied.

"OH MY GOOSSHHH!! DAPHNE" Erin screeched my name. "They are so freaking cute. California?"

"Ehh" I started. I'm not into crowded beaches and tons of humans. "How about north...er." I cringed at my own grammar and began pouring tea.

"Oregon?" Erin answered.

"Let's look up some places in the northwest. I'm sure there is somewhere we are missing." I walked back to my table and sat down with our teas. "I'll look up the top places to visit." My phone almost slipped from my hand when I pulled it from my pocket. Finally, I grasped it and began searching for places out west to visit. "Well, Vegas is an option." I laughed.

"NO." Erin firmily proclaimed. Her family had taken her to Las Vegas last summer and she could not find a cover for her bathing suit after a quick swim. She ended up walking about 200 feet down a sidewalk and a man asked how much she was charging. "There are creepers everywhere there."

"There are creepers everywhere in general, Erin." I stated diplomatically. Finally, the list of top places to visit in the west popped up on my phone.

"Well there is Yosemite National Park in Cali."

"I heard they are having a lot of diseases going around and you don't want to go to Cali."

I kept scrolling through the list, skipping obvious no's until one of the most grand parks in the west crossed my screen. "Wait! Here's one!" I sat up excited. "I went here once when I was super little!"

"Well what is it?" Erin's smooth blond hair bounced as she sat up, staring at me with her icy blue eyes. Erin outnumbered me in a number of ways when it came to beauty. Her hair was smooth as previously stated, my hair, though, was slightly past shoulder length with loose curls that often had a bit of frizz. It matched my golden brown eyes. Her body was lean and her smile straight. I was a bit more muscular and broad. She had a smaller chest and I had to shop at special bra stores just to get my size. Despite our differences in appearance, our style was impeccably similar.

"Yellowstone National Park." I finally answered.

"Hmm." Erin caught my eye. "I think my parents went there for their honeymoon. I've seen some of the pictures. It is gorgeous."

I started pulling up pictures on my phone. "Look! There is so much buffalo! And Old Faithful." I smiled excitedly.

"What about Glacier?"

"Glacier?" I responded.

Erin held up her phone to show me a glorious picture of mountains.

My jaw dropped. "Where is that?!"

"Northern Montana."

I pulled up Map Quest on my phone. "I wonder how far it is from Yellowstone." I pondered aloud. I stuck in both of the parks. "They are only eight hours apart. A days drive." I smiled. "How long will this vacation be?"

"How much vacation time do you have?"

I laughed. "I haven't used a vacation day in six months. I have a little over two months saved up. How about you?"

"I almost forgot how much of a workaholic you are." She joked. "I have about three weeks." Erin took off of work more than I did. Her family also lived a state away, so when she visited them, she would take off for a few days. My parents lived about thirty minutes away. Erin and I usually visit them once a month or so.

"Well, how about we take off two weeks so you still have vacation time in case you get sick. Then we can spend a week in Yellowstone and a week in Glacier." I smiled.

"I like that idea. Which vehicle will we take, though?"

"My PT Crusier keeps overheating." I frowned.

"So my jeep? It doesn't have a ton of space." She complained.

"We don't need a ton of space." I laughed.

"Have you met me?" She laughed.

"Let me help you pack then. Remember we will be buying things there too."

"EXACTLY!" She proclaimed. "We need more room!"

"No!" I laughed. "I'll help you pack and we will fit everything in your jeep." I said diplomatically.

"Alright. Now do we have enough money for this?"

"I've been saving money for a new computer, but-"

"But you just got one last year." She finished my sentence.

"Yeah, I know. So there's $1500 for the trip. Plus I have a thousand in just spending money."

"Dang girl. Well I get paid on Friday and I have $2000 in the bank."

"We should be good then." I smiled. "I'm pretty sure I get paid next Friday. When do we want to leave?"

"Yesterday." Erin joked. "I just have to put time off in two weeks beforehand. You can get off easily, right?"

"Oh yeah." I scoffed.

"Two weeks?" She asked.

"It's a date, baby cakes."