It was rare that Reagan ever took time off work. She had a day off most weeks, and here and there, she even had two. Never, however, did she request specific time off for a specific event. There was a first for everything, though, right? Freya and Finn had both convinced her that it was time for her to give herself a break (which, really, she hadn't done in years) to come to a fun, family-oriented function. Reagan loved big families with children of all sizes. It hadn't taken much convincing from her friend and her boyfriend to reassure her that, yes, going to Freya's father's birthday party was an excellent idea.
She'd packed a modest bag. They were staying in a cabin for a night or two -- she wasn't really sure yet, and had decided to leave all of that planning up to Finn. That in itself made her a little nervous -- while her general personality tended to be rather laid back compared to some of her coworkers' or even her best friend's, medicine was a very exacting field and it was difficult not to slip into the realm of neurotic nitpickiness. But this! This was a little mini-vacation. Meant to be enjoyed, surely, and so it would be!
Reagan slid the straps of her backpack over her slight shoulders and looked at herself in the mirror one more time. She looked awfully casual, but she was almost a thousand percent sure the Tricketts wouldn't mind. They weren't the most elitist people she'd ever met in her life or anything close to it. Her hair was done and her makeup was on, so that would do just fine. "Hey, babe, you ready?" The small witch turned her head over her shoulder to call down the hall and then met him halfway, smiling at him and taking his hand. "All set," She muttered, having to look up, as usual, to make eye contact with him. The snarky comments about height differences bombarded her thoughts for a second and made her grin. It was sort of comical, the difference. An entire foot.
"D'you want to do the honors?" Reagan suggested, waggling her eyebrows with a mischievous smirk and shortly thereafter closing her eyes to prepare for the apparition. Unlike a lot of other witches and wizards she'd met, Ray didn't mind apparating. She counted herself lucky that it didn't churn her stomach. It had certainly come in handy during the war and was still a useful tolerance to have built up.
When the two of them arrived at the location Freya had told them, her breath was stolen from her lungs. First of all, they were in a tree! Second of all, there were houses in the trees. Thirdly, there were lights, drinks, dancing, people -- all very much the Trickett family's style. Big, bold, beautiful, exciting, and just... so full of life. It was refreshing. "Freya said cabin number four," She reminded Finn, not bothering to disentangle the arm that was still looped through her boyfriend's. They could put their stuff down, and then they could go and socialize. Talk to almost all the family tree, whom Reagan had been a time or five, grab a drink, do whatever. It was strange to even have just that tiny bit of freedom to exercise without an orderly or a floor lead breathing down her tacky lemon-colored robes' neck.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She pondered, rambling a little as they walked down the winding wooden plank to locate the cabin they'd been assigned. It was nestled into a patch of branches that, strangely enough, seemed to cradle it exactly right. Had the tree been charmed to hold the cabin that way, or had the cabin been built to sit in the tree that way? Hmm. Not as though it mattered. It was perfect.
Ray tapped the tip of her wand to the door when they arrived at the threshold of their temporary abode, inhaling a tiny little gasp when it swung open for them. Finally, she let go of him and pranced toward the other side of the room, gesturing grandly with her arms in the open space. "Oooooh, honey, look at this. Isn't this gorrrrrrgeous?" The homemaker inside of her was doing cartwheels. It was like a little lumberjack haven. Complete with an open bar, a huge king-sized bed, dressers, and little soaps in tiny mesh baggies on the pillows. "How cute. Don'tcha think? I wouldn't mind staying here, but of course there are... festivities to attend to outside." Ray tugged off her backpack, mumbling a disgruntled 'ouch' when some of the clips got stuck in her long hair, and heaved her piece of luggage onto the bed. "What first? You pick."
