Euphoria

“Hey, Walt, where is my suitcase?” Jake asked him as Walt unloaded the last of the luggage. 

“It should be right beside the door,” Walt replied, as he sat on the couch, exhausted. 

“Oh, I see it, thanks!” Jake appreciated as he retrieved his luggage. Subsequently, Lisa went inside the chalet. 

“Hey Walt, thanks for unloading the luggage for us,” Lisa said as she placed a brown box on the ground. 

“No problem. I should thank you for setting this trip. It’s so good!”

“It sure is wonderful so far. I remember my parents and I went to Julian before and it was so wonderful. We also rented a chalet just like this one.”

“Really?”

“Of course, and I am suddenly starting to get a bit nostalgic.”

While Lisa was marveling at the chalet, Mark came in. 

“Hey, Walt! I need you to do me a favor!” Mark said when he looked at Lisa. 

“What’s wrong with her?” 

“Oh, she’s just going down memory lane.”

“Well, I want you to go to the store.”

“For what?”

“To get ingredients for s'mores.”

“Is there even a store here?”

“Yeah, it’s right over there from the chalet.”

Mark pointed to the left to indicate which direction from the chalet. 

“Okay, I’ll see if they have the items.”

“Don’t worry, if they don’t have the items.”

“Lisa, do you want to go with me?” Walt asked Lisa who broke her gaze off the chalet. 

“Oh, to where?”

“To the store.”

“Oh sure.”

“Okay let me get my coat.” 

After Walt grabbed his coat from the rack, Lisa headed outside. 

“Okay, just stuff for s'mores, right?” Walt asked Mark who nodded.

“Yeah and also get skewers if they have them”

“Okay, we will. See you!”

“Yeah, see you.”

When Walt left the chalet, he walked beside Laura. 

Laura turned around to see Walt and she was smiling. 

“Walt, you wouldn’t believe the memories I was recollecting while gazing at the chalet.”

“Really like what memories?”

“Like the pies, we used to eat in the chalet, and the bonfires we would do! It was so fun, especially with Mom and Dad. They were so fun to talk to.” 

“That sure sounds fun, Lisa” 

Along the trip to the store, Walt saw a little owl perched on top of an oak tree. 

“Hey, Lisa look!” Walt pointed to the bird who flew away just as Lisa turned around. 

“Darn it, you missed it!” 

“Oh sorry, what did it look like?”

“It had gray and white feathers and had a yellow beak.” 

“Oh okay.”

The convenience store was called Howard’s Mart and its appearance looked very normal. Its roof was constructed with wooden panels, and the exterior was beige. Beside the glass doors, they were glass windows and one of them had an illuminated sign showing the word "OPEN"

“Do you want anything from the store?” Walt asked as Lisa shook her head. 

“Not really.”

“Really? I thought you would get your favorite chocolate-covered pretzels.”

“No, not today.” 

As they entered the store, the bell chimed. 

“Welcome to Howard’s Mart,” the man behind the counter greeted. 

Walt grabbed a small red basket beside the newspapers and he began shopping. Walt grabbed the graham crackers which were in Aisle 2. He also grabbed the chocolate and the marshmallows which were both on Aisle 4. Finally, in Aisle 5, he grabbed the skewers. When he was done, Lisa followed him to the cash register.  

“Is that it?” Laura asked him as he nodded. 

“Pretty much, are you sure you don’t want anything?” 

“Maybe some ice cream bars for tonight?” 

“Geez, you want bars after eating sugary s’mores?” 

“What are you a health coach? Today is a special day, you know that.”

“Oh well, okay get them.” 

Lisa went to the little fridge where the ice cream bars were located. She slid the door to the right and grabbed 6 ice cream bars. 

“Man this is a lot of variety!” Walt commented as he placed the items on the counter. 

“I know, I guess we have very exotic tastes, don’t you think?”

The man behind the counter had a red jacket on, and he wore a name tag. Behind the red jacket, he wore a blue plaid shirt and had Levi’s on. After he scanned the items, he told Walt the total. 

“That’ll be 14.50,” the man said in a gruff voice as Walt took out his credit card. After swiping it at the card terminal, the man gave them their items. 

“Here you go, have a nice day!” 

“You too!” 

When Walt and Lisa left the store, they both began talking about the memories they had during their childhood. 

“I remember in San Diego, along the road, a song was playing on the radio and I loved it. So whenever I would hear that same song, it reminds me of San Diego,” Walt recollected as Lisa chuckled. 

“What song was it?”

“‘Only the Lonely’ by the Motels.”

“Oh, I never heard of it.”

“You should, it's very good. Now, have you ever had something that reminded you of a trip during your childhood?“

“Well, I do remember the scent of a candle that I got from Bath and Body Works. That candle sure brought me back to the trip to Long Beach when we went to Bath and Body Works.”

Walt nodded as he looked at Noah and Avery talking to each other outside on the patio in front of the chalet. 

“Hey, guys!” Walt greeted them. 

“Where did you guys go?” Avery asked Walt. 

“To the store to get stuff for s’mores.” 

“Oh, that’s great!”

“And also some ice cream bars,” Lisa interjected as Avery licked her lips.

“I can’t wait for that too,” Avery said as Lisa chuckled taking the bag from Walt. 

“I can put it inside,” Lisa said as Walt nodded. 

“Lisa, I have to tell you something that I discovered!” Avery said, getting up from the chair, heading to Lisa. 

Walt sat down for a bit until Noah said something. 

“Hey Walt, I have something to announce to you.” 

“Oh, what is it?” Walt asked, sounding bemused. 

“Well, we guys planned a ski trip tomorrow,” Noah started saying as Walt raised his eyebrows. 

“What!” 

“What’s wrong? You don't like skiing?” 

“No, it’s not that! It’s just I don’t know how to ski!”

“Don’t worry, Jake is a professional at skiing! He can teach you!”

“Well, he is a professional. Okay, I accept.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“I’m going inside, I’m a bit tired.”

“Okay, Walt.” 

When Walt went inside the chalet, he saw Jake on the couch watching Friends. 

“Hi Jake,” Walt said as he opened the refrigerator. 

“Hey, Walt, you sound tired all of a sudden.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I lugged six suitcases from the car.” 

“Sorry, but you insisted on getting them.”

“I did. Well, then it’s my fault, then.” 

After Walt chugged down a cold water bottle from the refrigerator, he trudged to his room. 

“I’m going to take a nap,” Walt said tiredly as Jake nodded. 

“Okay, Walt.”

 Walt was lucky to get a chalet that had six rooms, or else one of them would sleep on the couch. 

When Walt entered his room, he tumbled onto his bed groaning. Due to the heavy lifting of the luggage, Walt’s back was aching. 

“Man what an eventful day,” Walt murmured as he slowly closed his eyes drifting into a deep slumber. 

After two hours, Walt woke up to hear laughing. 

“Man, how long did I sleep?” Walt said, glancing at his watch. It was 6:30 pm. 

Walt got out of bed and went straight to the kitchen. In the kitchen, everyone was talking. 

“Hey, guys!” Walt said, rubbing his eyes, as everyone looked at him. 

“Hey Walt, how was your nap? You were pretty knocked out” Jake asked as Walt sat down with them. 

“It was refreshing,” Walt responded as he put his hands together in a ball. “What were you guys talking about?’ 

“We were talking about our childhood,” Avery replied as she sipped her iced tea. 

“Yeah, what was your memory of your childhood?” Noah asked as Walt made himself comfortable. 

“I told Lisa, right?” Walt looked at Lisa who nodded. 

“Yeah, he had that memory of going to San Diego listening to his favorite song,” Lisa summarized as Walt nodded, smiling. 

“Pretty much,” Walt said as Mark got up. 

“Guys I am going to get the bonfire ready,” Mark declared as Noah nodded. 

“I’ll help you,” Noah said as they both headed to the patio. 

Everyone followed suit except Walt who just looked at the table for some time. 

“Walt, what’s wrong?” Lisa asked as Walt clicked his tongue. 

“I don’t know Lisa I was just thinking about my father,” Walt responded melancholy. 

Lisa sat down next to him. “Walt, why are you remembering your father all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know, maybe it was the trip that I told you about. I remember along the road, my father asked me where I wanted to go, and he looked at me in the front mirror where I saw his eyes. I responded,’ I want to go to the mall’ and he would nod and take me there.”

“Walt, I am sorry that you are still mourning his death but it's been 5 years.” 

“I know but for some reason, he comes to mind. I don’t know what to do!” 

Lisa hugged Walt who wept. 

“Walt, don’t worry. I never experienced the death of a loved one so I don’t know how it feels. But what I do know is that your father would want you to move on, right?” 

Walt smiled faintly. “He would want me to move on.” 

After an intimate moment, they both decided to go outside to join the others. 

“I feel better, but I sure hope I feel better tomorrow and the day after that,” Walt said.

“Don’t worry, Walt you will. You have us, right?” 

“Yeah, I have you guys.” 

Lisa smiled as she motioned to the patio. 

“Let’s not keep them waiting!”

“Of course!” 

“Also.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Did Noah tell you about the skiing trip?” 

“Yeah, I was shocked!” 

“At least you are going to try something new, right?”

“Yeah, but I just hope I don’t fall face down on the snow!” 

They both laughed as they joined the others.