Maxerica

Making New Memories

Maxon gently shakes me awake.
I now regret telling him to wake me up early.
I groan and try to go back to sleep.
"It's time to get up honey," he says.
"But I'm tired," I complain.
"I know. But I brought you a waffle with strawberries."
This makes me sit up.
He smiles at me and hands me the plate.
Once he hands it to me I stretch my back which is sore from the days of walking we've done. My stomach has grown a tiny bit since we left the castle. The baby is finally growing more. I don't think Maxon's noticed yet, but I'm a little over three months.
I eat it while he gets ready.
I absolutely love waffles and strawberries, so I don't mind getting up for this.
I throw the plate and fork away when I finish.
I get ready. 
I put on a short summer dress with a white top and a mint colored skirt. There's a brown leather waist band with a bow on it. The dress has a thick tank top for the sleeves. I leave my hair down and put my plain black flats on. I put on the heart necklace Maxon got me.
Maxon has a mint colored dress shirt tucked into his white cargo pants.
We planned to match today since we will be arriving at Dominica this afternoon.
Once I'm ready I put my nightgown in my bag and zip it up. It's 6 so it's not very light out.
Maxon has the guards get our bags.
I carry his camera and he carries my bag for the car.
We make sure we have everything then we head out.
We get in the car and get situated.
I yawn and lay my head on Maxon's lap.
"We're going to Beckinsdale, Clermont first," Maxon informs me.
"How long?"I ask.
"Two hours," he replies.
"Ok."
I close my eyes.
He puts his hand on my arm.
I fall asleep.
Maxon wakes me up when we get there.
It's a very small town with wooden huts.
There's a patch of woods behind the village and a large field area.
Maxon and I both get out and look around.
"Is there anything specific you want to do first?" Maxon questions.
"No. Let's just walk around and if there's anything we want to stop at we'll stop," I answer.
He nods and holds my hand.
There are only a few booths out, and not many people around. Most of them are working in the fields.
We walk around.
One of the women there shows us how they survive on their own labor and with no electricity.
It's really amazing. I don't know if I could do it.
We stop at a booth with handmade clothes and jewelry.
"These remind me of the bracelet you got me," I tell Maxon.
"Oh yeah," he agrees.
I touch a purple necklace carved into a heart from stone.
"Do you want that?" Maxon asks.
"No it's alright. It's just really pretty," I reply.
"Just get it as another souvenir."
"I already got lots of souvenirs."
"So?"
"Do you think Eadlyn would want anything from here?"
"Probably not. She doesn't really like wearing jewelry."
"Let's just move on then."
He hesitates.
"Alright," he gives in.
We walk around to the other booths.
At nine we decide to head to the next stop.
We go to the car.
"I'm going to the bathroom real fast," Maxon tells me.
"Ok."
He kisses my cheek then goes with one of the guards. I get into the car with the other.
We wait until they get back to go to the next stop.
Once Maxon gets in I hug him.
He hugs me back.
"That was a really cool town," I comment.
"It was. It's amazing to see how some people live."
"Isn't it odd how different people's life styles can be?"
"Very."
I smile at him.
He smiles back and kisses me.
I kiss him back.
Our next stop is also two hours away. But with the traffic, it was more like three.
Once we get there we go to lunch.
It's a traditional German town named Bavaria which is in Clermont.
We get our seats and order our food.
We both get Schorle to drink.
Maxon orders chicken schnitzel and I get a potato salad.
We talk while we eat.
"We get to ride on a boat today," I remind Maxon.
"We do don't we?" he smiles.
"Yeah. I'm excited."
"It'll be fun."
"Yeah it will. I can't wait to see the open water."
"My dad always said he enjoyed the water."
"Are you excited too then?"
"Yeah. It kinda freaks me out though."
"What does?"
"The idea of it sinking. I'm not scared or anything, i just don't like to think about that happening."
"It won't sink."
"I'm not a great swimmer."
"Then I'll help you if the boat sinks. But it won't."
"Yeah. We're taking a cruise boat so they'll take us around the water for a bit."
"Wow that's cool."
"Yeah. We'll have dinner on it too."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Is that ok?"
"That's awesome!"
He smiles.
"I'm glad you think so."
We finish eating and walk around the town.
We go into a bunch of shops. Most of them are full of old fashioned German trinkets and toys. I end up buying a wooden jewelry box painted and topped with glass roses.
We go into a bakery to get something for the road. We buy a ginger bread cookie, a German spitzbuben cookie, a piece of ginger bread, an Apple strudel, two German vanilla cookies, and two German pfeffernusse cookies. We share a piece of German chocolate cake while we're there.
We head to the car once we're done.
The guard starts driving to the next stop.
"I loved the food," I tell Maxon.
"German food is really good," Maxon agrees.
"Only if they make it right though."
"Agreed."
"I loved the cake."
"German chocolate cake is one of my favorite cakes."
"Me too."
"It's so sweet."
"We need to have the chefs make that on occasion."
"They probably already know how to."
"You think?"
"It's a well known cake. Of you haven't tried it, you've at least heard of it."
"True."
We talk about the German town for an hour until we get to the next stop, Mirfield, Clermont.
This stop is bigger than the others and is full of people. The buildings and homes are all close together. A lot of people are either walking or riding a bike.
We get out and go on the sidewalk.
"This our last stop before the cruise," he tells me.
"Really?"
"Yeah. So let's make sure we do everything you want to here."
"Alright...that makes me kinda sad."
"Why?"
"Because I still want to spend time with you. Yes, I'm ready to start working on the village, but I'm going to miss these moments of making memories with you."
"Then we'll just have to make new memories together. Even if we aren't traveling the country."
I smile at him and nod.
"Well there are lots of museums and there's a zoo here," he informs me.
"What kind of museums?"
"There's a Natural History Museum, there are some monuments, there's an artifacts house. Maybe we could find a tourist map somewhere."
"No it's alright. It's already three so let's just  go to one or two of the monuments."
"Do you want to pick?"
"No you can."
"Alright."
We go first to a monument in a garden. It has a statue of the major General during the world war in the center.
Around the garden is a wall with carvings into it. There are people, patches for ranks, and different military vehicles and divisions carved into the wall.
We take our time looking, then we go to the next monument.
This one is dedicated to the soldiers who died in the war. Many did, so this monument is very important. There's a wall with the names on it. There's also a water fountain with seats as a sign of respect. The wall has lots of notes and flowers left in front of it. Which I believe to be a beautiful thing.
Once we're done we go to a souvenir shop, but don't find anything. We walk around the small city, then get back to the car.
We arrive at the port after two hours.
We walk around the surrounding area for half an hour since the boat wasn't ready.
A lot of things are under construction, so there isn't much to look at.
We make a loop around the town, then go to the cruise that awaits us.
The captain greets us at the on ramp.
"Welcome to the Clermont Express. Please follow me your majesties," he kindly says.
We follow him into the boat.
He brings us into the dining area. No one else is there other than the staff.
This floor is below the deck. It has windows all along the walls. There's a bar in the back and in the center is a buffet table. By the windows are tables and seats. 
Being on the water feels weird.
He shows us to our table then bows and leaves.
A waiter comes as the boat starts moving. He gives us both sparkling water.
"Would you like any wine or champagne to drink?" he asks.
"No thank you," Maxon answers.
"Alright. Your food will be out momentarily."
He leaves.
Maxon holds my hand and I look out the window.
"This is really cool," I comment.
"It is. It feels weird though, the boat moving."
"That's what I was thinking."
I smile at him.
Once the water comes back, we start eating.
We both have a plate of chicken, rice, green beans, potato salad, and a brownie. 
Maxon changes his mind and gets some wine.
We enjoy our food, then go up the stairs to the deck.
I'm shocked when we get up there.
The view from the deck is amazing.
The water is absolutely beautiful, and you can see all the buildings from up here.
We sit on comfy chairs by the railing.
I watch the water for awhile, then I look at Maxon who's smiling at me.
"What?" I question.
"You're so gorgeous."
My cheeks heat up a bit.
"Oh stop," I demand.
"Never."
I roll my eyes playfully.
"I love it up here," I say.
"It is relaxing isn't it?"
"Extremely."
He holds my hand.
I smile at him.
"Oh, I have something for you."
I look at him confused.
He pulls a small box out of his pocket.
I watch him cautiously as he hands it to me.
I open it to find the heart necklace made of stone I was looking at earlier.
"Maxon. I told you not to get this. I already bought enough for myself."
"I could tell you wanted it. And it's from me."
I tear up and hug him.
He hugs me back.
"I love you," I say.
"I love you too. Don't be upset about it."
"I feel selfish. I got a bunch of stuff that I don't need."
"That's ok."
I just keep hugging him.
"Don't worry about it darling. It's a gift from me," he assures.
"But I got so much stuff."
"That's fine. Buying this necklace helped that lady anyway."
"It did?"
"Yeah. She earned the money from it."
"Oh."
"So it's fine."
I nod.
I move back and take the necklace I had on off. He puts the new one around my neck. I put the old one in the box.
We smile at each other.
He puts the box in his pocket and holds me.
We watch the water pass by together all the way to Dominica.