Brothers wife was less than amused with us. However, Brothers wife really had no clue how long we were gone because the gift shop kept her properly occupied. When the ride stopped we all formed a single-line behind Brother hanging sunburn to sunburn, squatting down trying to hide from the....wife.
Brother is a loving and forgiving person. I don't believe he ever got over the loss of his first wife and he was having a lousy time because he was trying so hard to make this wife happy. There is no way to make her happy, unless she is in a gift shop.
To Brothers wife, Disney is nothing more than one big shopping spree and nobody else matters.
The girls and Waldo took off out the door and I was heading for the photo purchasing line. Scuba Steve stayed with me for about a second. He had time to say "Ya know, he could have wedged her in here pretty tight." when Brother and his wife showed up behind me. Scuba Steve turned and looked at them, let out an EEE'EKKK!' noise, jumped backwards and bolted out the door to find the rest of the crew.
Brother giggled.
Love ya, mean it.
I had no idea how long I was going to stand in that line. I had completely lost track of the time and Fantasmic was going to start. When I got to the counter for my photos I wanted the special frames to go with them. The CM lady was putting them in thier frames when I looked at the time.
1/2 hour before Fantasmic was going to start! Oh No!
I told the CM lady to just leave them the way they were, I would take care of it later, I had to go see if we could still get into the show. She told me I had plenty of time to make it to Fantasmic, no problem.
No, I kept telling her, the Dis says two hours ahead, you MUST be there two hours ahead of time.
She looked over her glasses at me and asked me if I was going to tell her if I would make it to the show or not. She was here daily, I was not. She obviously knew more about it than myself and whatever a 'Dis' was and continued to put my frames together, slooowly.
Behind me I could hear Brothers wife saying bad things to Brother. MY BROTHER!
The CM lady finally stopped farting around with my pictures and gave me my bag. Brother got his copies very quickly from the other side of the counter, which by the way, WAS to the left and turned out to be much faster.
See, CM lady, the DIS does know!
I was getting pretty wiped out from all this anger-holding-in that I had been doing all day. I was hurrying to catch up with my crew and Brother was right behind me pushing his wife. Scuba Steve and the rest were standing just outside the gift shop and we all started walking stiff-armed and stiff-legged very quickly to the entrance of Fantasmic.
Didn't want to get yelled at by the people traffic controlling CM's.
There, of course, was a rope across the entrance and two CM's directing people-traffic elsewhere.
Nope no Fantasmic for us again tonight.
Brothers wife was sitting in her wheelchair with her head in her hands, moaning and complaining, Brother was dealing with his wife’s rotten remarks trying to comfort her, the girls were sunburn-slapping Waldo....
Scuba Steve was the only one who wasn't busy doing something, so I let HIM have it. Scuba Steve and I aren't the kind of people who fight in public. We speak to each other through clenched teeth in a very low tone, using the eye contact to emphasize certain points. Nobody around us was aware we were in the middle of a problem.
The CM people traffic-controller came over to us and asked us when we would be leaving. We smiled and told her, not letting on that we were getting PO'd with each other. She told us her name, (I'm sorry I can't remember, I'll carry a notebook next time) and said she would arrange for us to have special seating for the 9:00 show the following night.
There's a big shot of pixie dust for you.
Scuba Steve and I went back to our clenched-teeth, low-talking, eye-threatening discussion. Brother was still taking it from his wife.
The girls came over and started to try to play with Scuba Steve. We were still eye- threatening each other and I didn't want to be interrupted so I yelled at the girls to 'Please, go over there and stay there, leave us alone for ONE MINUTE!'
I STILL feel so bad about that.
It took me by surprise too, I had been trying so hard to not blow-up about anything that when I finally DID, it was on the LAST people who had anything to do with any of the problems than had been going on.
I'm still so SORRY, guys! I really do love you, I really do mean it.
Enter guilt.
We started walking for the exit and went by the 'Tigger' store. I was feeling so bad about yelling at the girls, (guilt right there slapping me in the forehead) and I tried to get them in for some shopping.
Commando Nikki wouldn't go in. Her feelings got hurt pretty bad. Sorry, sweetie
Beatlebum, Em and I went in while Scuba Steve stayed outside with Commando Nikki. Brother was heading over to find Scruffy, who was STILL at WWTBAM and head his crew back to POR. Waldo stayed with us.
Waldo found people who only clenched-teeth, low-talked, eye-threaten each other easier to be around.
I found a stuffed Tigger I thought Commando Nikki might like. I handed it to Beatlebum and asked her if she thought Commando Nikki would like it. She said "I don't know, hang on."
Then ran out the door with it to show her sister.
I ran to the door and yelled 'Wait! I have to pay for that!' and the CM just smiled at me. She came right back with Commando Nikki who had thought it funny that her sister 'stole' for her. They found the cutest Tigger backpacks that they wanted which guilt was ready to pay for, but Em wanted a one-foot tall Tigger PEZ dispenser. "Can I have it? Can I, can I? Pleasepleaseplease?" she asked while bouncing up and down hugging the one-foot tall Tigger Pez dispenser to her cheek.
Guilt told her "Well, if youre going to be so cute about it. Yes."
Then she ran out the door to show her father.
I ran back to the door and yelled "You guys do know this isn't the free store, right?"
The CM was still smiling at me. I told him they all failed shoplifting class in school.
He told me most people there failed shoplifting class.
I collected the girls new fine prizes and gifts and guilt PAID for them. The girls were happy, singing "Its a small world" and pinch-fighting their way back to the exit. Scuba Steve and I were still upset with each other, but nobody needed to know that.
On the bus Commando Nikki decided she wanted to go to Pleasure Island and check out the Comedy Connection. She was feeling like having a laugh or two and thought that would be a good place for that.
Waldo and Beatlebum agreed.
Sounded good to guilt, even though I was exhausted but Scuba Steve decided he was going to take Em to the room for the night.
He really didn't have anything to feel guilty about, he was just standing there when I lost it.
When we arrived back at POR Brother was outside and he had a gift for me...