"Please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you..." the flight attendant was going through the usual boarding procedure before takeoff. I zoned out as I plugged in my headphones and listened to my music while looking out the window. The roughly nine hour trip to France would be long, but thanks to my parents, I was sitting here in first class. Not that they were rich or anything. Far from it after sending me to school. But I had a job set up for when I came back and it would all be worth it. I hoped.

It still had not fully hit me that I had graduated college. School was over with for good and I honestly couldn't decide if this was a good or bad thing. The best thing now was this champagne I was handed before takeoff. They told me I'd have to drink it pretty quick as my family was one of the last to board. Fine by me.

A bump on my side from my brother, "Alex, what drink did you get?" asked Jeff. He was my older brother and was currently working in New York City. He loved it but could be a bit of a snob at times. The best of the best were in the big apple as he would say and he was always wanting more. He worked in Wall Street. At only 22 years old he had graduated from Penn State and was rocking his finance degree right into the big leagues of New York. The only reason he really got the job was his confidence. I've met most of his friends and they are like him, with their slick words and quick talking.

"I got the champagne, I'm celebrating remember?" I said as I raised my glass, "not tailgating..." I quipped as I pointed to his beer.

"I'm not celebrating though am I? I got to do that when I graduated, and oh yeah, when I got a job, and now that I'm engaged..." he laughed back at me.

Jeff had been dating a girl since he graduated college 3 years ago and now that he was 25, they were engaged. When I visited Jeff in New York my senior year, my first time through senior year that is, I had met Melissa. She was nice enough, but seemed to be sucking up to me. Until I realized apparently she was just that nice to everyone, not just me. I guess I was just a little more mean spirited than her, or a little more independent at least. But Jeff deserved someone like that, one who would adore him and take care of him.

"Look, I would really enjoy this vacation a whole lot more if you didn't give me crap every single time I raised a glass, OK? Otherwise this is about to be a really long vacation," I teased Jeff.

"Oh alright, but hey Alex, would you at least order the good stuff now? You're out of college now, so being a poor student isn't an excuse anymore!" He jokes with me.

"Well there's the excuse right there isn't it? I'm out of college now, so with debts and all, I'm the poorest I'll be until I start my job."

"Good point," he laughed, "but only use that excuse when we get back from vacation. For now, get whatever you like, because, I mean, you are celebrating, aren't you?"

"Ohhhh fine!" I surrendered. He had won the argument using my words against me. "Just get back to your tailgating beer will ya?" He continued to laugh with me before we both went back into our own rhythms. I sipped on my champagne and plugged in my headphones whilst he noisily gulped down his beer and got comfortable in the aisle seat beside me.

".... Smoking is prohibited on the entire aircraft, including the lavatories. Tampering with, disabling, or destroying the lavatory smoke detectors is prohibited by law," the flight attendant continued with her speech until takeoff. I leaned back into my seat once we passed cruising altitude. Looking out the window was only interesting for as long as you could see things on the ground. Anything past that and everyone knows it's all just clouds and sky.

With my headphones plugged in and the monitor in front of me, I picked out a good movie to bide my time until it was time to fall asleep later. They served us a nice dinner already and breakfast would be served before we landed.

~*~(A few minutes before landing)~*~

"Wow look at the Eiffel tower!!" Someone shouted behind me.

I turned to my window and there it was. The Eiffel tower glowing in the predawn sky. Beautiful. I couldn't believe we were here. Still, I hadn't slept as much as I thought I'd be able to, and while the Americans were fast asleep at home, France was just starting the day.

"Oh no Alex, I know that face, gotta wake up!" Barked Jeff, "This was what you wanted, were here for you, so wake up buttercup!"

"Yeah, yeah," I yawned, "but don't pretend like you just hate to be here, either. This is as much a vacation for me as it is for you. And you know it."

"Well yes, but I can't say I would've chosen France, to see wine vineyards..."

"Hey, just be happy to be here!" Cmon Jeff, you had your graduation trip, when I was forced to go to Alaska, of all the places..."

"Psh, yeah, forced my-" Jeff started back at me before my dad stopped him.

"Stop barking at each other, alright?" ordered my dad, "I know it's early but this is the first day of the trip. Let's start it off right."

"Yeah, and I really don't feel like hearing you ramble on like that in the car later either. I have enough of a headache as it is," said my mom.

One look at Jeff and I knew he was thinking the same thing. This was just how we were, and it was never going to stop. We both burst out laughing. Poor mom and dad were just going to have to bear with us. Dad began to chuckle as well as he grabbed our bags above us. Although mom seemed a little frustrated still, she let out a few light laughs and the mood lightened.

My mother was named after her great grandmother, Evelyn. My dad nicknamed her Ev since it was easier for us kids to say growing up. Her first name also became my middle name when I was born, so I always felt close to her on that. She married into my father's family when she was 23, so she was pretty young. I was 22 now and had never had any serious boyfriends, so I would most likely not follow suit with her on that.

Once we landed, an announcement came on: "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Local time is 6:34 am. Was a great flight, and we thank you for flying with us, hope to see you again soon!"

I mentally shook myself awake as I got up from my seat. Once I stretched out and yawned a few times, I opened overhead storage to get my bag. I began pulling on it but it proved to be harder than I thought.

"Now Cmon Jeff, help your sister with the bags here, will ya?" My dad said to Jeff.

My dad, Alan, was what you'd commonly think of as a dabbler. He graduated from college with a degree in History, and ended up opening his own furniture store with a buddy of his. Since he had always been handy with tools and building things, he was able to get his start up from that and did pretty well. Then the lease ended for their one location and they were unable to keep customers in a different area. After that he reconnected with an old high school friend who got him started with bartending. He created a client base and was able to open his own bar a few years following and he still has it open now. Named it after my mother, "Eve's Tap house and Brewery." Come to think of it, he may be looking forward to these wineries more than my mother or I, and that's saying a lot.

Jeff handed me my bag, complete with his signature smart ass smirk. I made a face back him before thanking him and continuing out of the plane. Once we were all off the plane and gathered outside the gate, we continued on to customs. I'd been to Europe before only once in my life, but you couldn't pay me to forget the headache of customs that came with traveling internationally.

Two long hours later, we had finally made it off the plane, through customs, baggage claim, and the car rental services. Mom sat beside me in the backseat of our mid-size car rental, a Renault Kadjar. Dad and Jeff had been arguing over which direction we needed to go for about 15 minutes now and my mother and I were exhausted.

"Would you two just shut up already?" my mom scolded. "Jeez, I thought I'd have to worry about the kids, but Alan, your worse than Alexis. Just pick a direction and drive! Were in Europe, getting lost wouldn't be that bad!"

"Look Ev, I know where I'm going, the map clearly says we have to go right at this next light, but-" started my dad.

"No, dad, we have to continue straight a ways, and then we can head right. Just not this early, otherwise we miss the main highway." Interrupted Jeff.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! We turn right, but it doesn't matter when, we can enter the highway at any point, doesn't matter!" argued my dad.

"Well, then let's turn right, and see if your right, huh dad? Guarantee well miss it and it will just take us that much longer to get there." Jeff argued back.

"You guys do realize most of this trip is driving, right? Maybe we should've considered a car with a GPS so we wouldn't get lost," I spoke up.

"Alex, honey, we don't need a GPS, your father knows where he's going. And Jeff, I will be right. Just you watch!" my father said as he looked at my through the rearview mirror. I laughed aloud how he had just referred to himself as father, no one ever calls him that.

"Alright, alright, it's early. Everyone's tired. Jeff, just let your dad drive, or I'm taking back the front seat," my mom calmed us down. "Alan, honey, just please get us to the hotel," she spoke condescendingly to my dad.

I chuckled to myself before looking out the window, letting my mind drift to my last year at school. I graduated from Duke University a few weeks ago with a degree in Math. All those math classes in high school had been breeze for me, so I thought if I can do it, why not?

The fall of course was great, because it was football and tailgating season. But also because it hadn't been my last official semester yet. It was this past spring that it really began to sink in. Most of my friends were graduating as well, so everyone was preparing. It felt like the semester had just started, and then, boom midterms. And before I knew it, finals came and went as well. The ceremony itself was a blur. But I won't soon forget the big family dinner afterwards.

Anyone who hangs around my family for an extended amount of time always raved about them afterwards. I was lucky. Our family was distant with Jeff in New York, and me in North Carolina. Our parents stayed in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania where I'd grown up. But when we were all together, we laughed. All the time, we made jokes at each other, or of something else. We'd open up and talk for hours on end. Dinner conversations usually consisted of a fight to get the chance to talk. No matter how long we'd been apart, a few minutes together and it was like we had never been separated.