A little while later...

Kaila turned the bus onto the small angled road that led up what looked like a sheer cliff. The mortared boulders of orange brown rock had been quite noticeable, and I had remembered passing this turn off every time we had gone past it. The road curved along the hill, cut directly into the cliff wall. around another corner, and I suddenly noted a valet, who Kaila completely ignored and drove past.

"That's for the expensive one," She gestured at the small road that led away from the resort. "We've got the little one at the end."

"How much did this cost us?" I asked.

"You didn't pay, Brent." Carla called up from the back seat. "I did."

"Oh... well, uhm... thanks," I didn't really know what to say. The bus bumped over a few uneven patches in the road, set between elegant bungalows that screamed affair. Yeah, this place was, well, where I probably should have picked. But then, they never would have let me bring along a couple hitchhikers. Honestly, I would have felt out of place here. The way the people moved and walked, their style of dress, and the disdainful glances tossed in the direction of the bus all screamed money in a way that bling never could.

Kaila pulled the bus to a halt in front of a pair of low glass doors, and a sixties decor sculpture on brick that proudly declared the name of the place.

"I..." Kaila began, looking over at me as I unbuckled the seat belt. "This hurts."

"What does?" I asked, looking back at her with the door open.

"I thought... dammit. I thought I wasn't going to have to keep having Carla clean up my messes."

"She's not. It's still there." I stepped out of the car door and looked back at her evenly. "The work still has to get done, Kaila. I'm willing to do my part here. Part of that is trying to fix my relationship with a woman who I am having a baby with. So... we need time. You figure out what you want with Charlotte. Actually try listening to her tonight. Maybe... I don't know, I'm not going to try to direct your relationships, that's how this got started."

"That... actually helped a little, Brent. You... take your time too. I'll be back to pick you up around... tenish tomorrow? Then we can go home and... Start over, I guess."

"No resets. No mulligans this time," I sighed. "What happened happened, and if you can't accept that, then we're gonna have to be done. Because pretending something didn't happen, or pretending that somebody was somebody else is exactly what got us into this situation. So NO. I'm not going to start fucking over. I'm going to fix what we have."

"Yeah," Kaila nodded back at me as the sound of the sliding door closed to my left, and Carla looked my way. "I... better get going here. Got a lot of... work to do. You will be here tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. I promise." I nodded. "Please don't be late, and if you're going to be, CALL. Last thing I want is for this to get derailed by something right out of a romantic Comedy."

"Let me get my Gin Blossoms CD out..." Kaila rolled her eyes, "But yeah, I get it... we need to communicate better. See you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too," I closed the door with a quick motion and stepped back as she spun the wheel and pulled the bus back down the small road that led back to the highway. I watched it for a few moments, before I turned my attention to Carla, who had sat on one of the small wooden benches, her legs crossed.