Page 1 of A Beary Nice View
Chapter One
Alaric
Floppingdowninmychair out on my back deck, I let out a long sigh. My crew and I have just finished up the final details on our current job, I’ve managed to get myself all packed, and now I’m allowed to relax for tonight before I’m on the road to the airport.
I’ve been in construction since I was old enough to start working. I learned all there was to know. Then I worked. All I ever do is work. Work, work, work. I’ve put all my time and effort into this one thing. Thankfully, all that hard work has paid off. Now I own my own company, affectionately named Alaric’s Team. We’re about to start on a two week vacation. Our next client isn’t scheduled to start until after that two week mark. My crew deserve the time off. Jesus, I can’t even remember the last time I took a break let alone one that’s going to lasttwo weeks.
My parents, my siblings, and myself are headed to Alaska for a seven day cruise. There’s going to be whale watching, shopping, and if we’re lucky, we might even see the Northern Lights.
My sister, Shelly, just graduated college. This will be her graduation present from me. There were so many ups and downs during her education but I’m so fucking proud of her for sticking with it and getting the degree she’s always wanted. My baby sister is officially a veterinarian. She already has an interview with a clinic that she’ll attend once we’re back from this vacation.
My brother, Nico, is planning on bringing his girlfriend along. They’ve been together for so long but he confided in me he’s finally ready to ask her to officially exchange mating bites. I say it’s about damn time. He’s been head over heels for Matilda this entire time. When you know you’re with your mate, why waste time?
Maybe it’s the big brother in me, or maybe I’m just getting old but I can’t imagine not diving in with both feet the moment you know. Life is too damn short to be messing around with games. I know what I want and the moment I find it, I’m holding on with both hands and not letting them go without a fight.
I pull out my phone and check my emails one last time, making sure everything with my crew and business is squared away. That’s when I see an email from the cruise company we booked our vacation with. Huh.
I open it up and my stomach drops.
“What the fuck?”
There’s no fucking way. I change over to my banking app, pulling it up so I can check my account. Sure enough, the full amount of our vacation has been deposited back into my account, a full refund.
Apparently, there was a freak storm up in Alaska. Somehow the tethers of the cruise ship snapped and the entire thingfloated out into open water with literally no one on board. They’re still trying to find it and wrangle it back to shore. Because of this, they’ve cancelled our cruise!
They’ve given us a full refund and a discount code if we ever want to use their cruise line again in the future. This is a really nice gesture but what the actual fuck am I supposed to do for the next two weeks before I’m supposed to go back to work?
Pulling out my phone, I dial my mother.
“Hi, Alaric! Are you excited for tomorrow? I’m excited!”
“Hey, Mom,” I say, letting out a deep sigh. “That’s actually why I’m calling.”
“Oh no. You sound upset. What’s going on, honey?”
“It’s about the cruise,” I start to explain. “I guess there’s been some bad weather and long story short, we won’t be going on the cruise tomorrow. It’s been cancelled. I’ll transfer over your share of the refund tomorrow, but yeah, our vacation is cancelled. I’m so sorry.”
There’s a long pause before my mother replies. “That’s okay, sweetheart. It’s not your fault. I can already hear the way you’re blaming yourself for this.”
“I’m disappointed and I know everyone was really looking forward to their time off.”
My mom makes a tisking noise at me. “Alaric, just because we’re not going on this cruise doesn’t mean we won’t still take this time off. I suggest you do the same. Don’t try to book anything these next two weeks. I want you to actually relax and take some time for yourself. Have some fun. Do something stupid. You work too hard.”
I smile, shaking my head. “Okay,” I say finally. “I’ll find something stupid to do.”
“That’s my boy! Now you let me call your siblings and tell them the news. I’ll text you if I need anything, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks, Mom.”
“I love you, Alaric.”
“Love you too. Talk to you later. Bye.”
After I hang up, I sit back in my seat, staring up at the sky. I feel strange. On the one hand, it’s been forever since I’ve had a proper break. I can be lazy or I can finally pick up a book I’ve been putting off for years. I can quite literally do anything. On the other hand, I wonder if my mother might actually be wrong for once; maybe the best thing I can do is jump back into work. I’m sure I can find some forms that need filling in, and planning for future projects.
I rub tiredly at my eyes, letting out a long sigh. I’ll take tonight to relax and then tomorrow, I can think about how I want to spend this little stay-cation.
It’s times like this that really hit me square in the teeth how lonely I am. If I had a mate or a couple kids, this wouldn’t even be an issue but I don’t have anyone in my life right now so it makes more sense just to keep on working. There’s no one waiting for me back home so it’s just easier to send everyone else home to their mates and families and finish things myself.
