060:

She had spent the entire day so far, hotter than blazes, following after Hannah's toddling form, keeping her from eating rocks, and cactus, and sticks, and lizards. She kept her away from the myriad dogs other people had brought, and from climbing folding camp chairs and having them collapse on her. She spent a good portion of the time retrieving the hat Hannah insisted on pulling off and slathering her with sunscreen. She spent another fair amount of time keeping the sun off Abby's face as she lay in the sling as Hannah had at that age. And she felt the baby weight sliding off her in sweaty rolls, she was so hot and stinky.

Where was Ryan? Doing PR as he said, it was the perfect opportunity, and he felt like he had to take it. He had originally asked her to stay in their RV, but she'd refused, feeling left out and like a pariah. The other women didn't have children, or theirs were a little older. She thought there were two, parked quite a ways away, which had a couple of kids, like she thought... older, like seven or ten.

They weren't anywhere near water, but a lot of the couples had brought squirt guns. They'd made a main camp, encircling the RV's and trailers out on the open desert, near some huge rock formations that some of the people were climbing, but it seemed like they had all started drinking the second they woke up and hadn't stopped. It was at least dinner time now, and there had been no talk about shared food, like there would have been if she'd gone camping with her own family. She longed for her sisters, for her Aunts, for her cousins, for anybody familiar.

Ryan had hung out with other people all day, ignoring her once again so completely she felt as if he didn't even know she existed. She was ready to drive the darn motor home back to the freeway herself. Hannah had toddled over to where a few people were playing cards at a camp table, and without warning, and before anyone could stop her, she'd knocked the whole thing over.

Melia snatched her up, apologizing profusely amid their offensive and derogatory expletives. Her shock was written all over her face when one of the women smeared her marriage to Ryan quite effectively by saying that it was obvious Ryan didn't need her, or want another man's brats, as he hadn't spent a single minute in their company the whole entire time, she was nothing but the old ball and chain to him.

"Not quite so, Joanna." Came a voice Melia was just as annoyed with, and she turned, holding the two children to her, as they both screamed. He took Hannah from her easily and urged her back to her safe haven, not explaining to Joanna what his cryptic comment was all about. He held the door for Melia.

"Damn, girl, it's hotter than blazes in here!" He commented. "Why don't you run the air conditioner?" He flipped a switch and the generator came on immediately flooding the space with cooler air.

"I didn't know how." She said calmly, but the tremble in her voice was unmistakable. Robert set Hannah on the table and gave her a cracker he saw above the sink behind her, she quieted immediately.

Robert was shaking his head dubiously. "Where's your fearless husband?"

"How should I know? Alicia is here, she needs him obviously more than I do."

"That's ridiculous." Robert smirked, and got water from the refrigerator and opened it for her, setting it on the table. He got Hannah a small tippy cup of juice and gave it to her. "I guess my plan has worked."

"What plan? Tell me this wasn't some sadistic plan of yours Robert. I am sick of being manipulated. Sick of feeling used." She sat down in the swivel chair and undid the clasp on the sweaty sling she wore, rubbing grit off her forehead. "I shouldn't have agreed to come. I am totally out of my league here, and everyone else has someone to talk to and someone to hang out with. I have no one. I'm uncomfortable and unhappy. I want to go home."

He settled Hannah in her high chair, took the baby from Melia's unresisting arms, replaced her with a cold bottle of water, and giving her the eye meant to keep calm, got out a diaper and began to change the baby. "Don't blame you a bit." He said as he used wipes to clean off the reddened skin.

"What made me think I wanted to go camping? This is dumb. I am not having fun. I have nothing to do with these people, I don't even know them. And everyone avoids me because I have children. And yeah, where is Ryan? Well, he's not responsible for them; he's not responsible for anyone, is he? He dropped us off in this god-forsaken desert hell hole and now he's off schmoozing some teeny bopper girlfriend of his who he talks to all the time, even on our wedding night." She took another sip of her water watching him replace the clean dry diaper on the baby. Vaguely wondering how he knew how to do it, if he'd never been around babies. "How do you know how to change her?"

He held the diaper up before putting it on, eyeing the wipes meaningfully. "It seems pretty self explanatory." He said. "Get the crap off the kid's butt, re-tape the sides....what's the big deal?"

Robert gave Abby back to Melia and eyed her carefully to make sure she knew to nurse the baby, then retrieved Hannah who was falling asleep in her high chair, cleaned her up, rocked her a few minutes and then disappeared into the bedroom to lay her in her now cooled off crib. He covered her with a very light blanket and then closed the door part way. A few seconds later he called someone and asked them to come to Melia's motor home. He got a water bottle for himself and watched her nurse the baby as he drank the whole thing in one gulp.

"Had enough have you?" He asked knowingly, and when she sat Abby up to burp her, he took her and put her over his shoulder as if he did it every day.

Melia looked out the darkening window, as the shadows of the rock formations lengthened and the smell of barbecue's permeated. It could have been fun, but not with an infant, and not alone like she was. There were dirt bikes going all over the place, rock climbing too.

A knock sounded and a head peeked inside. "You rang?" Said a female voice, and a young woman, maybe sixteen, crept inside shyly.